Good citizens of technological America, this story is not for you. Today we honor the louts, the Luddites, and the lazy. Everyone has a little techie vice--raise your hand if you have ever used “password” as a password--but with this outing we're digging a little deeper, calling out the really bad habits that can cause permanent damage to your high-tech psyche.
Without further ado, it’s time to get our hands dirty. We present to you our 25 worst high-tech habits.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Time for you and your PC — to talk like a pirate
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming September 19, and AVAST Software would like to help you join in this global celebration of pirate-speak.
To keep yer ship safe from treacherous malware and you in a good pirate mood, we’ve made a special change to our avast! antivirus software. Beginning on September 15, you can switch to the new “Pirate English” for your antivirus protection (or 34 other language options). Just visit microsite or go to facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/avast for more information.
To keep yer ship safe from treacherous malware and you in a good pirate mood, we’ve made a special change to our avast! antivirus software. Beginning on September 15, you can switch to the new “Pirate English” for your antivirus protection (or 34 other language options). Just visit microsite or go to facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/avast for more information.
Friday, September 10, 2010
AVAST warns students to protect their computers
As students prepare to return to school across the globe, AVAST Software, providers of the AVAST Antivirus program, features infected education-related websites in its third monthly “America’s Most Wanted” list. AVAST points out that downloading antivirus and anti-spyware software can go a long way to protect the investments made in new computers for the coming school year.
As the new school year begins for students, many will find themselves scouring the web to keep updated on the latest trends in school fashion, supplies, learning tools and more.
As the new school year begins for students, many will find themselves scouring the web to keep updated on the latest trends in school fashion, supplies, learning tools and more.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Growth Equity Investor Summit Partners Invests $100 Million in AVAST Software
AVAST Software, developers of the world’s most popular antivirus program, today announced that growth equity investor Summit Partners has invested $100 million for a minority stake in the company.
”Summit Partners' investment is a vote of confidence in our disruptive ‘freemium’ business model, which combines a full-fledged free product with a premium one,” said Vince Steckler, CEO of AVAST Software. ”This approach is already upsetting the traditional antivirus market. Instead of paying for advertising or installation on new computers, AVAST continues to experience dramatic growth as fans of avast! recommend our products to their friends. Word-of-mouth from our large and loyal satisfied customer base is certainly the most effective—and low-cost—form of advertising.”
avast! antivirus now protects one out of every five computers around the world from malware. Its award-winning protection is based on the CommunityIQ system of user-submitted data on suspected viruses and infected websites. Independent testing confirms that avast! Free Antivirus protection meets or exceeds the performance of most paid products.
”Summit Partners' investment is a vote of confidence in our disruptive ‘freemium’ business model, which combines a full-fledged free product with a premium one,” said Vince Steckler, CEO of AVAST Software. ”This approach is already upsetting the traditional antivirus market. Instead of paying for advertising or installation on new computers, AVAST continues to experience dramatic growth as fans of avast! recommend our products to their friends. Word-of-mouth from our large and loyal satisfied customer base is certainly the most effective—and low-cost—form of advertising.”
avast! antivirus now protects one out of every five computers around the world from malware. Its award-winning protection is based on the CommunityIQ system of user-submitted data on suspected viruses and infected websites. Independent testing confirms that avast! Free Antivirus protection meets or exceeds the performance of most paid products.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Free Software Saves You Money
Whoever said nothing in this world is free obviously hasn't spent much time on the Web. Thousands of downloadable programs and online services exist in cyberspace — if you know where to look, that is. From powerful photo editors to no-cost alternatives for storing important files, there's no shortage of quality programs you can take advantage of. The catch?
Some of these apps may be advertising-supported and don't offer extensive tech support, if any. In some cases, you might also see a "nag screen" to upgrade to a pro version of the software. If you can live with these minor inconveniences, the following is a look at five recommended freebies.
Some of these apps may be advertising-supported and don't offer extensive tech support, if any. In some cases, you might also see a "nag screen" to upgrade to a pro version of the software. If you can live with these minor inconveniences, the following is a look at five recommended freebies.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
New Wave of Zbot-Infected Emails
Security researchers warn of a new wave of spam emails with different subjects and content distributing a variant of the Zbot trojan in attachments.
Judging from the subjects of the rogue emails, like "Another candidate brought to you", "EBOD Meeting MEC Update", "Fw: New Taxes Coming", "Summary of payments" or "Sales Dept" the attack targets business users.
The interesting aspect of this campaign is that there are several emails with different subject and content that carry the same payload – a new Zbot variant with a very low detection rate.
One of the messages, which sounds credible enough, even misuses IBM's name in order to trick recipients into opening the malicious attachment and executing the malware.
Judging from the subjects of the rogue emails, like "Another candidate brought to you", "EBOD Meeting MEC Update", "Fw: New Taxes Coming", "Summary of payments" or "Sales Dept" the attack targets business users.
The interesting aspect of this campaign is that there are several emails with different subject and content that carry the same payload – a new Zbot variant with a very low detection rate.
One of the messages, which sounds credible enough, even misuses IBM's name in order to trick recipients into opening the malicious attachment and executing the malware.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
avast! antivirus delivers results for free
avast! Free Antivirus scored better than some of the best-known paid products in the latest Virus Bulletin test, proving cost is not an effective measurement of quality.
avast! Free Antivirus detected all In-the-Wild viruses – including the newest W32/Virut samples – on a computer running Windows Vista. The tests were made by the Virus Bulletin, an independent authority on computer security.
“With extra kudos for prettiness, reliability and ease of testing, avast! comfortably wins another VB100 award,” wrote John Hawes, team director of Virus Bulletin’s VB100 testing program, in his August 2010 review.
In addition to spotting 100% of the In-the-Wild viruses, avast! Free Antivirus was a top performer in VB’s battery of malware detection tests, beating out paid products from McAfee and Symantec.
avast! Free Antivirus detected all In-the-Wild viruses – including the newest W32/Virut samples – on a computer running Windows Vista. The tests were made by the Virus Bulletin, an independent authority on computer security.
“With extra kudos for prettiness, reliability and ease of testing, avast! comfortably wins another VB100 award,” wrote John Hawes, team director of Virus Bulletin’s VB100 testing program, in his August 2010 review.
In addition to spotting 100% of the In-the-Wild viruses, avast! Free Antivirus was a top performer in VB’s battery of malware detection tests, beating out paid products from McAfee and Symantec.
