Articles about Avast

Online scams are evolving quickly, and while younger people often adapt with ease, older adults may not be keeping up.

According to Avast, nearly 60 percent of older loved ones have already fallen victim to cybercrime. Even when younger family members raise the alarm, the message does not always get through. Although 84 percent of adults say they have spoken to older relatives about potentially risky online habits, only 53 percent of those warned have taken the advice seriously and made changes

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Adware doubled globally from July through September 2023 compared to the previous quarter, according to the Q3 Threat Report from Avast.

A new strain of mobile adware dubbed 'Invisible Adware' has already gathered over two million downloads in the Google Play Store. These applications display advertisements while the device screen is off, gaining revenue through fake clicks and views. This is not only contributing to ad fraud but can also impact battery life and potentially install dangerous software without the user’s knowledge.

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Smaller businesses are not immune from cyberattacks. In fact, because they lack the resources for the latest defenses and to train their staff to spot threats, they can be particularly vulnerable.

Education and training are key to protect any business and to help smaller companies stay up to date Avast -- now part of digital security and privacy brand Gen -- is launching a new Cybersecurity Training Quiz.

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The first quarter of 2023 has seen a significant increase in cyberattacks looking to exploit trust in established tech brands like Microsoft and Adobe.

A new report from Avast also finds a 40 percent rise in the share of phishing and smishing attacks over the previous year. Overall, two out of three threats people encounter online now seek to use social engineering techniques, taking advantage of human weaknesses.

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It’s almost inevitable that at least one of your online accounts has been hacked in the past, and while you can manually check for such breaches using websites like Have I Been Pwned, keeping on top of new breaches (never mind existing ones) can be a chore.

This is where Avast BreachGuard rides to the rescue. This standalone tool provides a continuous monitoring service for all your email addresses and passwords, enabling you to take timely action whenever a new breach is detected.

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In the world of system optimization and clean-up utilities, there are lots of names vying for attention, but it is CCleaner that wins the popularity contest. It has been a while since the app received a significant update but that changes with the release of CCleaner 6.

There is a lot to talk about in this latest release, but the headline grabber is the new, unique and patented Performance Optimizer feature. While many performance optimization techniques found in other apps make only a subjective differences, the boost given by this new feature can be measured in benchmarks.

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Piriform Software, best-known for its CCleaner cleaning product for PCs and Macs, has released Kamo 4.0, a major new update to its Windows privacy tool.

Kamo 4.0, which blocks online trackers through a range of tools built into a single application, has added location masking through the implementation of a basic VPN, which masks the user’s IP address and exact geographic location via an encrypted connection through another server in their own country.

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Launched last year, Avast One aimed to offer a comprehensive protection suite with both free and paid for editions.

The company has now announced significant enhancements to the product, with new features designed to protect people from online scams, fraud, and other personal privacy threats.

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We reported on Monday that popular Avast-owned system cleaning tool CCleaner had uninstalled most of a user’s programs without permission.

The reason for this was down to how CCleaner’s uninstaller works, and in normal circumstances wouldn’t cause a problem. However, to its credit, Avast is now working on an update to ensure this situation doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.

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Although it’s had a number of problems in the past, most following Piriform’s takeover by Avast in 2017, CCleaner remains a great program for removing junk from your computer.

Except that’s not true of the latest version of the program which users report is unable to clear cookies from Chrome and other browsers.

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Released at the same time as the company undergoes a redesign involving a new logo, Avast One is here to help keep you protected online. This is more than just an antivirus tool -- although an AV component is present -- this is a comprehensive suite of protective tools covering various aspects of security and privacy.

Things start off with Avast One Essentials, which is the free version of the security suite. For anyone with concerns about privacy, even this free version includes a powerful VPN with a generous weekly allowance. There is also protection against spyware, password theft and identity theft. And there is even more to explore in the paid-for editions.

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Following on from news of merger talks last month, NortonLifeLock has confirmed that it is buying Avast in a deal that values the Czech-based and London stock exchange listed firm at up to $8.6bn (£6.2bn).

In a joint statement the companies say that the combined business will serve more than 500 million cybersecurity customers, including around 40 million direct customers.

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For years, millions of PC users have trusted CCleaner to keep their computers clean and running smoothly. Now Piriform has added a major new feature to the tool’s impressive roster with its latest release, CCleaner Professional 5.82.

That feature is a full driver updater tool, enabling users to check their computer for out-of-date drivers, plus apply updates quickly and easily.

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Avast Antivirus 2021 has just received its April update, and it's an important one. In addition to the usual array of bug fixes and improvements, there are also some serious changes and additions to enjoy. Chief among these are big improvements to scanning, helping to boost the overall performance of the software.

There have also been changes to the way notifications work in the app. While you, of course, want to be made aware of things that need your attention, an overload of notifications can be annoying. And it is with this in mind that the latest version of the app will no longer show you pop-up messages when you have the antivirus tool open. But it does not end there.

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Having already enjoyed success on macOS, Android and Windows, the security and privacy focused Avast Secure Browser has made its way to iOS and iPadOS. With security at the forefront, the undoubted headline feature of the browser is the integrated VPN facility.

On top of this, there is ad blocking and tracker blocking, both of which go a long way to improving your online experience and ensuring that your data does not fall into the wrong hands. The ad blocker is customizable, so you can choose to block absolutely everything, or opt to allow less annoying ads to be displayed.

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