Informing and Empowering Domestic Violence Survivors
January marked Stalking Awareness Month – it's meant to raise awareness and educate communities about the serious crime of stalking. One in three women and one in six men experience stalking at some point in their lifetimes, with approximately 13.5 million people experiencing stalking each year in the United States alone. The most common stalking tactics experienced by victims include technology through unwanted phone calls, texts, emails and messages.
Stalkerware, monitoring software that is used to discreetly track someone's device and activities without them knowing, is part of technology-facilitated abuse. The use of stalkerware and tech-abuse are escalating across the globe through tactics like incessant texting or calling, financial abuse, surveillance, tracking devices and spyware that harms and intimidates partners. Like any form of domestic violence, this can lead to severe and lasting physical and mental trauma.
Technology can also have a positive impact in the lives of survivors. Survivors can access help and essential tools to maintain their safety and privacy while remaining connected to family and friends. Our long-term partnership with the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) is focused on this. NNEDV offers programs and initiatives that address the complex causes and far-reaching consequences of domestic violence. It also offers information and resources to victims of domestic violence — and empowers survivors as they build new lives. Most recently, we provided $100,000 grants to support NNEDV's work in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Our Efforts to Help End Tech-Abuse
Over the last two years, we've successfully developed accessible tools and resources and created opportunities for outreach and education about tech safety, to help survivors and advocates address tech-abuse. Below are a few key highlights from our efforts so far.
Expanding Our Reach
In 2025, we're working with NNEDV to make these resources even more widely accessible and digestible. This will include videos focused on financial abuse and technology and about securing devices and accounts. We are more focused than ever on making sure these important resources get into the hands of the people who need them most.
For more information and to access and share resources, visit [placeholder] Avast's Stalkerware Quick Check to make sure you're starting the year off stalkerware free, NNEDV's Safety Net Project and SPARC's National Stalking Awareness Month site.
These grants were awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
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Tom's Guide
28-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
Avast Premium antivirus review
Avast Premium is a powerful antivirus program that's loaded with extra features. Compared to some of the best antivirus programs, this low-cost package doesn't throw in bloatware to make it seem like the subscription fee is worth it. Instead, you'll be able to create a backup of your sensitive files to protect against ransomware, search for sensitive files and protect them against prying eyes, and even block your biggest surprise with Avast Premium is that the list of security features doesn't stop there -- there is so much to explore in the app that it might even seem overwhelming at first. The antivirus software doesn't mess around, it also offers a highly capable security tool for protecting your email called Email Guardian. The app protects against DNS hijacking and remote desktop exploits, both dangerous and all-too-common attacks. Yet, with all of this power comes a downside: Avast Premium does not include a VPN or a password manager, features that are often included in competing products. You can still rely on the extensive security protection but will have to add a VPN and password manager if those are features you're going to need. That means Avast Premium can't best Bitdefender Total Security, our top pick for antivirus software. It's also not as capable as McAfee+ Premium or Norton 360 Deluxe. All three of those top picks include a VPN and a password manager for one subscription fee. (Thought Bitdefender Total Security has a 200 MB per day limit on the VPN and includes a trial version of the password manager.) Avast also tends to include many 'reminders' to upgrade to their VPN app, Avast SecureLine VPN, and add their performance tool, Avast Cleanup. That said, if you're mainly looking for extensive security protection, Avast Premium is a wise choice. Even with all of this security capability, Avast Premium is actually one of the lowest cost options out there, cheaper than most security packages for consumer use. To protect one device, the subscription fee is only $79.99, which is a good $30 less than most antivirus programs like Bitdefender. For protecting 10 devices, the yearly cost is only $99.99, which is about $10-$20 less than antivirus products from Norton, Bitdefender, and McAfee with a similar feature set. There's an exceptional value here if you can set aside the fact that the Premium version does not include a VPN or a password manager -- which are included with Norton 360 Deluxe and McAfee+ Premium. In fact, McAfee+ Premium does not set a limit on how many devices you can protect. With Avast, you can select the package for one device or 10. The app works with Apple Mac, Windows, tablets or your smartphone (iOS or Android). Avast includes limited privacy protection features, such as a data shield for your sensitive documents and a data shredder. For performance tools, the app only includes a tool for seeing if your installed software needs an update and a way to disable notifications while you work. That last feature is a bit unusual and seems to be mostly about not being interrupted. As mentioned, the security features are quite extensive and include a few options that go beyond our top picks in the category, such as Bitdefender and Norton 360. For virus scanning, you can do a quick scan or targeted (which allows you to select specific folders). Like Norton 360, you can also do a boot detector scan which runs before you load Windows. Digging into the app, there's a new feature to explore at every turn. You can scan your computer for sensitive information -- such as a Social Security number in a PDF or login info -- and then add extra protection to those documents by blocking access to them. The Email Guardian feature worked perfectly by scanning incoming messages, then adding a 'safe' label to emails that did not pose a threat. There's a sandbox mode to run any app in a protected environment, and a banking mode that lets you conduct financial transactions in a browser that runs on top of Windows. (You can't even take a screenshot when in that mode.) Avast doesn't stop there. You can run a dedicated browser beyond the bank mode, although it should be noted this Avast browser is available for free. The browser runs in a safe mode that doesn't allow you to be tracked by advertisers and blocks harmful sites. Avast Premium is a speedy and capable app while lacking some of the polish of Norton 360 Deluxe (though both apps are made by the same company). That straightforward design is a benefit for those who just want to run antivirus scans. In our tests, a fast scan only took about three minutes; faster than the Bitdefender, McAfee, and Norton antivirus offerings. The full boot sector scan took 12 minutes, which is about 15-20 minutes faster than the competing apps. However, Avast Premium only found about 900,000 files on the same PC used to test the competitors, which found about 1.5M files. Since Avast Premium does not include a VPN, we weren't able to test downloads using that encrypted connection. However, Avast Premium generally ran faster than the glossier competing apps, and we noticed the iOS and Android apps both operated in a streamlined way. When looking to measure how an antivirus program protects against actual threats, we compare the results produced by independent labs: AV Test, AV Comparatives and SE Labs. In AV Test's Jan/February 2025 Product Review and Certification Report, Avast scored 6 out of 6 in protection scoring where it was able to scan through over 16,000 samples in four weeks to search for malware samples. It also produced only three false positives in over 850,000 samples. In AV Comparatives March 2025 Malware Protection Test Avast scored a 99.96% protection rate and scanned over 10,026 files, correctly catching 4 compromised ones. However it produced ten false positives during this testing, much the same as Norton. In SE Labs' 2023 Endpoint Security testing, Avast produced 100% accuracy against both targeted and general attacks with zero false positives. While Avast Premium is loaded with security features as described above, the package is a little thin on extra protection for privacy and when it comes to disk cleanup tools and other features meant to make your PC or Mac run faster and leaner. It's clear that Avast Premium is focused primarily on antivirus protection, and if that is what you really need, this might be a top choice. Some of the competing apps in the space add both privacy and performance enhancing features designed to make your PC run safer and faster, but Avast mostly points you to add-on programs with a separate subscription fee. For example, you can scan for privacy problems and see the results, but to actually fix any of those issues, Avast only offers an option to buy Avast Secure Identity which costs $99.99 per year. That app does provide access to experts to help resolve identity theft problems, so it may be worth it depending on the issues you're facing. For performance-related functions like disk cleanup, you will need to buy Avast Cleanup Premium which costs $41.88 per year. That app can remove hidden files, clean up a broken registry, and even fix fragmented disk problems. It's similar to the Norton disk cleanup app. Avast Premium is a slim and functional app. It lacks the polish of a slicker and more polished app like Norton 360 Deluxe, which has a clean white and yellow look. The Avast interface looks more dated, although it was never hard to find a feature or run a utility. The interface has a black and green interface with red labels on anything important or that needs to be addressed. As such, you can find issues and solutions for them quickly. There are obvious buttons on the left for protection, privacy and performance -- although as stated above, the privacy and performance functions are limited. That means you might spend most of your time running antivirus tools. However, that may be exactly what you need and is what Avast Premium focuses on most. Avast Premium comes with 24x7 tech support by chat, and during our tests, the technicians helped resolve a question about cloud storage easily (the app does not offer cloud storage). The phone support is more for billing questions, but you can also send in a support ticket by email. Avast Premium is a highly capable antivirus package that focuses on the most serious security threats -- protecting you from ransomware scams, protecting sensitive documents, and even offering a safe browser for banking and other online activity. It's also reasonably priced,protecting one device costs lower than Norton, McAfee, and Bitdefender. In the end, Avast Premium is a good choice for antivirus protection at a fair price, but the lack of any privacy protection, a VPN or a password manager makes it less compelling.
Epoch Times
08-05-2025
- Epoch Times
FBI Warns of Attacks on Old Internet Routers, Explains How to Prevent Them
The FBI on Wednesday warned that American internet users and smaller businesses should be wary of entities taking advantage of older internet routers that could be 'susceptible to vulnerabilities,' namely from a malware known as 'TheMoon.' 'When a hardware device is end-of-life, the manufacturer no longer sells the product and is not actively supporting the hardware, which also means they are no longer releasing software updates or security patches for the device,' the agency 'Routers dating from 2010 or earlier likely no longer receive software updates issued by the manufacturer and could be compromised by cyber actors exploiting known vulnerabilities.' The bureau noted that some older routers were breached by hackers using TheMoon malware and that recently some end-of-life routers 'were identified as compromised by a new variant of TheMoon malware,' allowing the 'cyber actors to install proxies on unsuspecting victim routers and conduct cyber crimes anonymously.' Private cybersecurity organizations have been detailing the threat posed by TheMoon for years, which 'After compromising these devices, the malware utilizes them to route traffic through a proxy service known as Faceless,' added Broadcom, which owns subsidiaries that produce the Norton, Avast, AVG, and Avira anti-virus programs. 'It actively seeks out specific shell environments to execute its primary malicious payload and establishes connections with the threat actors' command and control server to receive further instructions.' Related Stories 5/7/2025 5/7/2025 The FBI recommended that older routers be replaced with an updated model, and users apply a security patch if available for the device, as well as disable remote management or remote administration on the router, and use strong passwords of more than 16 characters. 'Commonly identified signs of malware infections on routers include overheating devices, problems with connectivity, and changes to settings the administrator does not recognize,' the FBI said. Telecommunications company Lumen Technologies 'Lumen has stopped all traffic to and from the infrastructures associated with TheMoon and Faceless across its global network,' the company said in a statement last year. 'Small office routers continue to be a key target for cybercriminals. In less than two years, Black Lotus Labs has discovered six large malware campaigns using compromised [small office/home office] routers.' FBI Director Kash Patel testified this week before Congress and said the FBI seeks about $11.1 billion to fund its law enforcement activities, $1 billion more than the White House proposed. 'We have not looked at who to cut,' Patel said, referring to possible staff terminations. 'We are focusing our energies on how not to have them cut.' Reuters contributed to this report.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Avast antivirus-owner Gen Digital forecasts upbeat 2026 on strong demand
(Reuters) -Gen Digital, which offers antivirus software such as Avast, Avira and Norton, forecast annual revenue and profit above analysts' estimate on Tuesday, signaling strong demand for its cybersecurity tools, sending its shares up about 4% after the bell. High-profile digital hacks and an increase in online scams have provoked companies to fortify their systems against evolving threats, boosting enterprise spending on cybersecurity solutions, even as growing economic uncertainty casts a shadow on clients' budget. The company forecasts full-year 2026 revenue to be between $4.70 billion and $4.80 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $4.13 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. It expects adjusted per-share profit in the range of $2.46 to $2.54, above the estimate of $2.43. Advanced security solutions have seen strong demand, especially as artificial intelligence increasingly enables more hacking techniques. Gen Digital posted fourth-quarter revenue of $1.01 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $997 million. The Tempe, Arizona-based company earned 59 cents per share on an adjusted basis during the period, compared with the estimate of 58 cents. (Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
