avast

'Freemium' antivirus firm Avast gets funding boost

The security vendor Avast has received a $100 million investment from private equity firm Summit Partners, in exchange for a minority stake in the company.

Avast chief executive Vince Steckler described the $100 million deal on Monday as "a vote of confidence in our disruptive 'freemium' business model," which sees the vendor giving its product--including updates--for free to millions of non-corporate users.

The company's current model is based on providing its antivirus program, which contains similar features to competitors' paid-for offerings, to home users for free. As with rival antivirus firm AVG, this is done in the … Read more

Malware delivered by Yahoo, Fox, Google ads

Malware that exploits holes in popular applications is being delivered by big ad delivery platforms including those run by Yahoo, Fox, and Google, according to Prague-based antivirus firm Avast.

Viruses and other malware were found to be lurking in ads last year on high-profile sites like The New York Times and conservative news aggregator Drudge Report.com, and this year on Drudge, TechCrunch and WhitePages.com. The practice has been dubbed "malvertising."

Now, researchers at Avast are pointing fingers at some large ad delivery platforms including Yahoo's Yield Manager and Fox Audience Network's Fimserve.com, which … Read more

Explore what's new in Avast 5

Avast has recently partnered with Google Chrome and crossed the 100-million-user mark, but the new interface and revamped feature set in Avast 5 are far more intriguing and important. Gone is the old car-stereo design, replaced by a more user-friendly design. On the feature front, users can expect seven real-time shield components, a silent/gaming mode, and a multitude of protection data to explore.

Watch this First Look video to get a quick tour of what's new in the free antivirus powerhouse Avast 5.

Avast 5 gets a new look, finally

Freeware antivirus Avast 5 debuts today with several new features, but longtime fans are most likely to notice that the old interface has gone to wherever interfaces go when they die. Along with the new interface, Avast Free, Avast Professional, and the new Avast Internet Security introduce an overhauled feature set that keeps the suite highly competitive. Arguably, the free version provides the most complete free antivirus on the market.

Before detailing the new features, the importance of this interface change can't be understated. Gone is the music player default look, which was skinnable but confusing. In its place … Read more

Virus buffer

BufferZone Pro for Vista is security software that functions as its own environment. You can surf the Internet through the program's interface and be protected from threats like viruses and malware.

BufferZone Pro for Vista has an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface with a lot of good features to help enhance your computer's security. You have the option to monitor activity on computer peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, flash drives, and USB hard disks, which is a nice benefit. The program comes with its own Firewall and it also has an Event Log that you can check to see … Read more

Google Chrome now bundled with Avast

You wouldn't necessarily expect it, but Avast and Google Chrome might be the next peanut butter-and-jelly combo in the software world. Google's nascent browser has paired with one of the most popular free security programs in the world so that when users run the Avast installer on a computer that has neither Chrome nor Avast, they'll be offered a chance to install Chrome simultaneously. This is the first such bundling for Avast in its 21-year existence.

The Chrome option in the Avast installer does two things differently from the more familiar opt-out user experience that many programs … Read more

Some Avast users must reinstall flagged files

An Avast virus definition file update late Wednesday accidentally marked hundreds of legitimate files as threats. The Czech Republic-based publisher Alwil responded quickly, issuing a fix less than six hours later, but some users are still dealing with the aftermath.

Going through Avast's forums, the Avast-written guide for rescuing files falsely marked as threats should be quite simple. Force an Avast update, then from the main interface go to Menu, then Virus Chest. Right-click on the file in the chest you want to resuscitate, choose Scan to double-check that it's not a threat, then right-click on it again … Read more

Avast update falsely flags good apps as malware

Czech Republic-based Avast issued an update late on Wednesday to its antivirus software that mistakenly flagged hundreds of innocent files as a Trojan. It fixed the situation five and a half hours later.

Falsely labeled as malware were programs from Adobe, Realtek, sound card drivers, and various media players, among others, according to a blog post on the Avast Support Center.

The errant update had been issued around 12:15 a.m. GMT. A new update was issued at 5:50 a.m. GMT that corrected the problem. Customers who did not use their computers between that time will most … Read more

Featured Freeware: Avast

If you're into freeware antivirus and antimalware apps, chances are you're running either AVG Free, Avira Antivir, or Avast. Avast Home Edition guards your PC and the network with multiple shields that scan executables and files. You can select parameters for scanning, and even choose wildcards to exclude specific file types. You can adjust the sensitivity level for the program's detectors when it comes to scanning downloaded files, instant messages, e-mails, and a host of P2Ps. Its efficient interface opens up window after window to tweak its settings to your liking, for novice to advanced-level protection.

Though … Read more