With the weather warming up, it’s time for spring cleaning. Not just the closets, not the house, or the backyard, but all the computers and mobile devices can benefit from some TLC. Boost the security defenses, upgrade software, and make sure the data is protected. The first step is to…
Researchers at Check Point (our parent company) recently detected evolving phishing and bot attacks. The attackers are sending phishing emails purporting to be from Citibank or Bank of America. The malicious emails contain subject lines like “Merchant Statement” and invite recipients to open an infected Microsoft Word attachment with names,…
If you haven’t figured out how you’re going to show mom how much you care, it’s not too late. Emails from brands you trust and the Web can help you shop, ship and rest easy knowing that your gift will arrive on time – all without having to leave your…
What personal documents and files do you risk losing or having exposed in the event your computer is stolen, compromised by an online attacker, or it falls into the wrong hands? You can avoid the pain of having to recover from the disaster of exposed information by simply locking up…
Online banking is convenient: it’s easy to check balances, schedule payments, and transfer funds. It’s also easy for cybercriminals to target online banking sites, separating consumers from their money. You know about being careful and not clicking on random links or downloading software from unknown sources in order to avoid…
Your email account is not accepting your password. Your friends are asking how you got stranded in London and whether you got the money they wired. Your mother wants to know why you are sending out emails with nothing in it, but a link. Surprise, your email has been hacked….
Tax season is in full swing as U.S. Residents and businesses gather up their tax documents and file their returns before the April 15 deadline. It’s also the season for scammers and criminals to brush off their fraud campaigns to swindle you out of your hard-earned money. According to industry…
If you think that online ads are just an annoyance, think again. One of the ways criminals harvest malware onto your computer is through the use of malicious online advertisements (malvertisements). Cybercriminals can serve them up by hacking into a trusted website and injecting their malware into third-party banners and…
ZoneAlarm 2013 security products are now available! The new product line is Windows 8 compatible and integrates a new Facebook Privacy Scan and Do Not Track. ZoneAlarm 2013 products also offer improved performance and security through advanced antivirus and firewall capabilities. With new features like Facebook Privacy Scan and Do…
A new attack called Eurograbber recently stole an estimated 36+ million Euros from more than 30,000 bank customers across Europe. The attacks began in Italy, and soon after, tens of thousands of infected online bank customers were also detected in Germany, Spain, and Holland. The attack involved a sophisticated combination…
If you have a pre-teen or teenager, odds are you wouldn’t let them stay out with their friends or roam the streets too late at night. But even when your children are safe at home, some of their online activities could be putting them in harm’s way. A recent ZoneAlarm…
On November 6, the United States will complete the most digital Presidential election in our history. In the run up to the big day, millions Americans are flocking to the Web to inform their voting and follow campaign trails. With all the excitement, though, comes a sinister reality: Voter, candidate…
More and more ghastly ghouls are coming out of the crevices of the Internet every day — especially during Halloween. Besides the typical monsters that lurk online all year-long, a whole new class of fright mongers who make social media sites their playground, are among us. All of these shifty…
It’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month! The Internet is an important part of our daily life, and we are more connected than ever before. While Googling, tweeting, and friending may be routine, are you doing everything you can to protect yourself online? National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) reminds us…
UPDATE 11.15.12: ZoneAlarm products are now Windows 8 compatible. Go to the Free Downloads page on the ZoneAlarm website for the latest version. The long awaited Windows 8, which Microsoft expects to make available on October 26, will offer a few major enhancements – one of them being a new…
Whether you’re a parent of a kid in elementary, middle or high-school or a college-bound young adult, your last few days of summer probably seem to be anything but lazy. With so many things to think about, you don’t want to put security on the back-burner. At the very least,…
With the 2012 Summer Olympics in full swing and everyone paying attention, it is important to remember that athletes are not the only group competing this summer. Another group, cybercriminals, is also chomping at the bit to take advantage of the games, which offer the perfect online environment for launching…
The broad adoption of digital media and social networking, combined with the increasing amount of sensitive data that is stored online, is making personal computer security more important than ever before. But do different generations understand this problem and protect their systems while online? Does the younger, more tech-savvy generation…
Teens are immersed in video, whether it’s using video chat applications, shooting and sharing video, or streaming video live for others to view. That said, with more video use comes more security risk. Let’s explore just how much teens chat, share, and stream, and look at a few simple steps…
Pinterest is making headlines, thanks to its explosion in popularity (it reached 11.7 million unique users as of January 2012). Unfortunately, this quick growth has attracted a growing group of spammers and scammers eager to take advantage of gullible Pinterest users. In addition, some users have criticized the site for…
The Internet has proven to be a powerful and useful tool for billions of people worldwide. However, in the same way that you shouldn’t leave your house unlocked, you shouldn’t venture online without taking some basic precautions. Where do you start? Learn more about online threats and ways to protect…
Between the cybercriminals who are constantly evolving their techniques and launching new attacks on consumers every day and the explosion of information sharing via social networks, new security threats are on the rise. Luckily, ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall defends against these identified and emerging threats, giving you peace of…
Many people have found themselves in the following scenario: You log on to the web from your computer, surf a few sites, log in to check your Facebook or bank account, then close your browser when you’re done surfing. Notice the mistake made? You didn’t log out of your accounts….
It’s an unfortunate reality, but the online and offline world is teeming with fraudulent organizations claiming to be raising funds for a variety of charitable causes. And with the prevalence of social media and electronic communication, online scammers do their best to play on the heartstrings of unsuspecting individuals. The…
Source Every year, a fervor comes across the land as college basketball takes center stage during March Madness. Fans eager to get a seat at the Final Four games fight for tickets. Gamblers place their bets. And everyone is checking scores, whether in a cubicle or at a bus stop….
When a massive spam attack posted violent and pornographic images across the news feeds of many Facebook users last year, many wondered how hackers had launched the attack. Turns out, it was by exploiting a vulnerability in users’ web browsers. The event shed light on an often-overlooked issue of online…
Valentine’s Day is the second largest holiday for giving greeting cards, second only to Christmas, and e-cards are being sent to loved ones more than ever. But when are e-cards safe to open, and how can you tell which links are safe and which are not? We provide these answers…
Protecting your child is a not a new concept, but protecting your child’s online activity is an ever-evolving task. Now that most things take place online, including your child’s social life, it’s important to make sure both you and your child are aware of the dangers that lurk on the…
2011 was a big year in terms of online security. From well-publicized data breaches of major companies to the takedown of giant botnets, cybercrime made many headlines. And though hackers came up with more innovative ways to steal information and wreak havoc on the Web, the spotlight on online security…
Though the general public may be worried about Mayan predictions and the end of days in 2012, the real threats to fear next year aren’t those predicted in books and movies. It’s online attacks you should be worried about. From your smartphone to your Facebook profile, cybercriminals have one New…
Cybercrime is a worldwide threat that affects everyone from high-power governments to your hometown neighbor. But in the U.S., the average citizen is at risk of falling victim to malicious cybercriminals every day. Furthermore, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar…
A new paper released last week by researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (“The Socialbot Network: When Bots Socialize for Fame and Money”) has created a stir by highlighting social media sites’ vulnerability to infiltrations by socialbots. In an eight-week experiment, the UBC researchers deployed 102 socialbots on…
Internet users need a strong firewall as well as antivirus software. If you don’t have a firewall, “it’s basically like leaving your home with the doors unlocked and the windows open,” said Michael Calce, the hacker once known as “Mafiaboy.” In addition to a built-in or pre-installed firewall, protect your…
We just released ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012, the latest version of ZoneAlarm’s powerful 2-way firewall, and we’re very excited about it! ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 is compatible with any standalone Antivirus (AV) package, and it blocks hackers and prevents viruses and spyware that by-pass antivirus software. To download a free…
It sounds like an impressive James Bond gadget: Spyware. But this software is far from fantasy, and it is used everyday to steal information from millions of users. Spyware is a type of malware that gets onto your computer in different ways, but it all has the same goal: to…
Smart computer users know about the importance of security software. These are the programs that prevent hackers from stealing your information and protect against viruses corrupting your computer. But did you know that some of the programs advertised as security software are actually fakes that don’t protect, and in some…
On Halloween night, ghouls and goblins abound, aiming to scare anyone they can. And though these mini monsters only show up on your doorstep one night of the year, did you know that actual monsters exist online all year-round? It’s true. Virtual villains are constantly attempting to wreak havoc on…
Most people are thrilled when they encounter free Wi-Fi in various spots: the library, a local coffee shop, or the airport. As Internet access becomes an everyday necessity, cities across the country, from San Francisco to Philadelphia, are providing or proposing citywide Wi-Fi for their residents. However, though citywide Wi-Fi…
Complaints about Internet criminal activity dropped 10 percent last year, even as the number of computers hijacked by botnets shot up more than 600 percent. Computer users may be getting savvier, but online criminals are finding new methods of attack. (Click Image to Enlarge) by Zone Alarm Free Antivirus EMBED…
It sounds like the plot of a sci-fi thriller: Thousands of dormant robot cells lie poised to attack wherever their malevolent leader directs them, and once activated they wreak havoc on mankind. But this scenario is not fiction; it is happening every day in the digital age. Botnets, villainous computer…
Source With the introduction of smartphones, the mobile world has been revolutionized. One of the most popular features of the smartphone is the mobile app. So popular, in fact, that the Apple App Store reached 10 billion downloads this year, and that doesn’t even factor in downloads from Android, which…
Your computer is your gateway to the world of information. Unfortunately, it’s also the portal to your personal information. From online hackers trying to steal your financial information to power surges that can fry your hard drive, your computer is more vulnerable than you think. So how does the everyday…
Julian Assange, World Famous Hacktivist Source Hacktivism–a portmanteau of the words “hack” and “activism”–despite all the recent news coverage, is not a new movement. In fact, it’s a concept that’s been around since the 1980s, and it typically used to achieve–or give awareness to–some political/social goal. It’s sometimes ambiguous in…
Source The term “augmented reality” has come to permeate our everyday, tech-driven lives in the digital age. But what is it, exactly? Augmented reality is what is sounds like–the “heightening” of one’s perception of reality through the use of advanced technologies. The Guardian explains it thusly: “The idea is straightforward…
Hackers and computer technology have been a source of cultural obsession since the late 1980s (from the 1995 film Hackers to the most recent incarnation of the Disney Tron films). Still, sometimes not even the most illustrative fiction can compare to what real hackers have pulled off in their time….
Social media is hotter than ever right now, and it’s not showing any signs of going away either. Don’t believe us? In 2008, Reuters announced that social media sites had overtaken porn as the number one Internet search. Since April 2010, Twitter has gained forty million users, and Facebook reached…
Unfortunately, even the day of love can’t escape malicious scams. As February 14th approaches, be on the lookout for marketing pitches, suspicious flower deals or phishing e-cards. Here are the most common Valentine’s Day scams: Fake E-card Tricks This Valentine’s Day, expect e-cards to arrive in your email inbox….
By the ZoneAlarm Team We’ve got new and interesting survey results which revealed that 79% of consumers use risky password construction practices, such as using personal information and common words. This is quite risky because the very first thing a hacker will do to break into a computer or secure…
The ZoneAlarm Team We can’t wait to see those costumes! But, just as you have always lectured your kids about safety as they run off to enjoy this night of mischief, it’s time for us to share a few online security tips that will keep those scary online ghosts and…
By the ZoneAlarm Team Whether you shop online, pay your bills or research your next vacation destination, no matter how often you surf the Web, all PC users need Internet security to protect vital information that can be used in identity theft or to prevent viruses from damaging the computer….