Avast Adds New Privacy and Scam Protection Features to Avast One

London, U.K. and Emeryville, California, April 5, 2022 – Avast (LSE: AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, has enhanced its all-in-one protection service Avast One with new features designed to protect people from online scams, fraud, and other personal privacy threats. A key enhancement, Scam Protection, makes it easier to spot malicious communications so that everyone, no matter their technical expertise, can stay safe from scams by proactively scanning web links in messages before they are opened, while Email Guardian blocks malicious attachments sent to and from email accounts. In a recent study carried out by Avast, the three most common ways people are targeted by scammers include email (62%), text messages (52%), and through social media (29%).*

Avast One is a cross-platform service that goes beyond antivirus to include built-in technologies that improve online privacy, security, identity and performance for the modern internet. In addition to scam and online fraud protection, the new update to Avast One includes Online Safety Score, a feature launching on Windows and Android which gives users regular feedback on their digital habits and provides personalized tips to improve online and device safety. Privacy Advisor, an educational tool that offers simple step-by-step instructions to adjust and improve privacy settings on popular platforms such as Google™, Facebook™ and LinkedIn™, is now available on both Windows and Mac while the Smart Virtual Private Network (VPN), a feature that automatically activates a VPN session when visiting banking websites or connecting to public Wi-Fi, is also available on both platforms as part of Avast’s multi-platform commitment. In a recent study carried out by Avast, the three most common ways people are targeted by scammers include email (62%), text messages (52%), and through social media (29%).*

“We know scams are a cause for concern for a lot of people so our goal with the new additions to the Avast One suite was to help them regain confidence and peace of mind when using the internet and their devices,” said Vita Santrucek, Chief Product Officer at Avast. “Not only are scams and other forms of online fraud more pervasive, they’re also more sophisticated, to the extent it’s really hard to differentiate between content that’s benign and content designed to exploit. Scammers take advantage of current affairs to reel people in, for example, two years ago we saw a spike in Covid-related scams, and in February and March this year we saw scams related to the Ukraine war.” 

Avast One is available in three different versions: Essential, the free service, and premium services Individual and Family. Avast One Individual supports a single user for up to five devices and Avast One Family for up to six users across 30 devices. 

The new features available in the latest update of Avast One Essential include: 

• Email Guardian: seeks to block malicious attachments to emails received in dedicated email apps installed on the desktop, and prevent the user from sending malicious attachments to others. When a malicious attachment is detected, an alert is displayed. The file can still be downloaded if the user chooses to trust the file. Available on Windows and Mac.

• Online Safety Score: gives the user regular feedback on their digital habits and personalized tips to help them take control of their online safety. Online Safety Score provides a ‘digital hygiene’ score calculated by analyzing the cyber hygiene of devices, including software and operating system updates and security settings such as antivirus shields and firewalls; the safer the device, the higher the score. The simple dashboard indicates status using green and red, and provides personalized tips for improving online and device safety. Available on Windows and Android.

• Privacy Advisor: provides a step-by-step guide to enhance privacy settings on popular websites and services such as Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Skype, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit, giving the user greater control over their data and how it’s used. Available on Windows and Mac.

Avast One Individual and Family now include:

• Scam Protection: notifies the user when they receive a message, over SMS, social media or messaging apps, where a potentially dangerous link has been identified. If a link is deemed safe, it automatically opens in the browser. If the link is deemed dangerous, the user is notified so they can decide if they would like to ignore the link or continue at their own risk. Available on Android.
• Smart VPN: Smart VPN allows users to configure the VPN to automatically connect during a preferred situation, such as when joining a public network or logging onto a banking website. Smart VPN also can be configured to prompt the user to turn on the VPN when those scenarios are detected. Available on Windows and Mac.

Avast One is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is available for download now at www.avast.com and is compatible with Android, iOS, macOS and Windows.

ENDS

About the research:

The research was conducted by OnePoll, between 11th March 2022 and 15th March 2022 polling 2,000 adults.