Antivirus

Beware of Online Music Threats at SXSW 2011

by jessica on Tue, 2011-03-15 11:06

SXSW, the annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival is taking place in Austin, TX this week and PC Tools discovered that SXSW festival acts like Cee Lo Green, The Strokes and Duran Duran are being targeted by cybercriminals. As fans search for music downloads, concert videos and photos of their favorite artists, they may be hit with viruses or malware. These scams are particularly malicious because they look – and feel – like legitimate websites. Here are some scams to watch out for:

Bogus Music Downloads: This new search-related scam involves legitimate-looking websites offering free or discounted music downloads. A search for "Cee Lo Green, Forget You" turned up free download sites that either tricked users into providing their credit card information or convinced people to install fake antivirus software by telling them their computer was infected.

Search Results Virus Scam: Cybercriminals are using new search-related scams by buying online ads or key search words so their sites appear as high-ranked results. In a search for SXSW's headliner "Duran Duran," the top results featured legitimate-looking advertisements that redirected people to fake antivirus malware sites like "Get free lyrics," "Take this quiz to win," or "Enter to win contest." This technique of seeding search and seeding ad results dupes users and attacks systems with viruses and malware. Read more

avast! Free Antivirus Gets Even Better with avast! 6.0

by jessica on Thu, 2011-02-24 14:40

There's no need to pay lots of money for an (often overpriced) antivirus program. The new avast! Free Anitvirus 6.0 is packed with advanced capabilities you won't find in your mainstream antivirus product.

Here are six good reasons why you should remove antivirus products such as Norton or McAfee and install the new avast! Free Antivirus 6.0.

1. AutoSandbox - The first automatic virtualization feature in a major antivirus package.

AutoSandbox identifies suspicious applications and automatically prompts users to run them in a safe virtual environment. "If the item is dangerous, the virtual computer is shut down and the user's real machine remains safe. And, if the item is safe, there is no hassle from a false positive," stated Ondrej Vlcek, CTO of AVAST Software.Read more

Tips to Protect Your Internet-Connected Device

Still can't put down the smartphone you received for the holidays? Can't get the kids to disconnect from their gaming console?

Many families don't take the necessary steps to protect themselves from the dangers of cybercrime associated with new technology devices. But in light of rising cybercrime rates, the latest technology gadgets are only as good as they are secure. Here are some tips from McAfee explaining how to protect your latest Internet-connected devices, monitor your family's technology use, understand the limitations of free security software, and more.

1. Be aware that threats aimed at mobile phones are growing – Use software that backs up smart devices and use strong discretion when storing, saving or editing personal information on your smartphone or device. Don't keep all of your personal passwords on your device, and avoid using it to store financial information like credit card and bank account numbers.

2. Keep in mind that gaming and entertainment devices are now Internet-connected – Many people don't realize that their new gaming console may represent another port of entry for cybercrooks into their household. Some Internet TV applications can expose personal information, so be sure to install anti-virus software, two-way firewalls, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, and safe search capabilities, just as you would on a PC. Block free browser access via these devices and use parental controls wherever possible to ensure the safety of children who play interactive games. Read more

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AVAST Antivirus Warns Consumers to Beware of America's Most Wanted Websites

June 16, 2010 – This summer, consumers will continue to scour the web to keep up with their interests and news. While surfing the Internet is statistically safer than, say surfing in Hawaii, it is not a risk free activity. Around 85 percent of new computer infections are contracted via the internet; largely through the 396,679 hijacked and malicious web pages which avast! identified in May.

Landing on an infected site is as simple as just looking for something … games, Hollywood gossip, even recipes. To keep Americans protected during the hectic summer, AVAST Software, providers of the avast! antivirus program, has released the first of its "America's Most Wanted" roster of the most infected websites, alerting consumers to beware of the month's infected websites as well as trends and site genres to approach with caution. Read more