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How to avoid of Valentine’s Day scams

11 Feb , 2016 No Comments

February 14th is fast approaching bringing with it mixed emotions as always. If you’re the romantic type and have someone to celebrate with I’m sure you have prepped for Sundays events and are anxiously anticipating the festivities. If you’re single you are most likely anxiously dreading the day everyone else’s happiness is rubbed in your face. Whatever side of the fence you’re on there is definitely reason for anxiety.

Valentine’s Day scams will be back in full force from bargains and cards to WhatsApp emoticons. Here is our list of things to look for to keep yourself free from cyberattacks.

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Mac-Viruses

The Reality of Mac Viruses

28 Aug , 2015 No Comments

For years, Mac users have been safe in the knowledge that their platform was relatively protected against malware. A combination of the lower number of users on the platform, less attention from security researchers and fewer exploited security holes in the operating system than Windows, has led to a generally virus and malware free experience. Windows also represents a far larger target than Mac for profit-seeking virus and malware authors, due to their greater market share.

But in quick succession, two new serious vulnerabilities have been discovered in Mac OS X.

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Types-of-Credit-Card-Fraud

5 Tips for More Secure Online Shopping

17 Jul , 2015 No Comments

Over 100 000 stores worldwide use online credit card facilities as a method of payment. Cyber-criminals do not steal each individual’s details,  instead they  infect the most sensitive part of the system with malware, that is designed to collect payment data of the entire customer base. 

Far from wanting to make you fear shopping online, cases like this are used to point out the risks we face.

Below are some tips on how to avoid becoming the victim of a cyber-attack when using an e-commerce platform:

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Kids-Safety

Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Web?

21 Nov , 2014 No Comments

“My Google, what big lies you have. All the better to trick you with.” This might very well become the line from a bedtime story that you tell your kids. Children tend to be more tech savvy than most adults, but they are also more vulnerable. They might know how a game is played or how a particular app works, but they are ignorant to the risks involved.

There are many different ways to protect your child online. It is important to communicate with your children and to enforce rules and restrictions.

Here are 10 tips from Panda on how to protect your children.  

  • Install strong security software on your computer – Panda’s 2015 consumer range, boasts the new XMT Smart Engineering engine providing complete protection with minimal performance impact. These products harness protection capabilities against viruses, malware, hackers and Wi-Fi intrusions. 
  • Monitor your children’s activity on the web – the 2015 range includes an advanced parental control feature that allows parents to monitor their children’s activities online. The dashboard provides a summary of the most visited Web pages and categories, and a detailed report of all pages accessed (page, category, date/time). The Parental Control technology is fully browser-independent, so deleting the browser history or using other browsers won’t affect the monitoring feature.
  • Teach your children about social media and the risk involved – Social media and online communication is a huge factor in the lives of youngsters today. Talk to your children about the content they post to social media sites; such as photos, statuses or personal information. Make sure that the privacy settings are set up correctly, so that their content and information is not visible to the public. Make them aware of the dangers involved in talking to and sharing information with people online.

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SA-Cyber-Safety

South Africa: Third-highest number of cybercrime victims in the world

18 Nov , 2014 No Comments

Intel’s recent “Global Cost of Cyber-Crime Report” shows that the economic impact of cyber-crime in South Africa is equivalent to 0.14% of the country’s GDP. This is roughly R5.8 billion a year and growing.

According to security experts, neither government nor business are combatting cyber-crime correctly. This is mainly due to a shortage of skills and a lack of urgency in taking action against cybercriminals. Prevention is better than cure and South Africans must be made aware of these crimes and how to prevent them.

Industry reports indicate that South Africa has the third-highest number of cybercrime victims, after Russia and China. The most common cyber-attacks locally are related to phishing. “South Africa is the second most targeted country globally when it comes to Phishing attacks,” says Drew van Vuuren, CEO of information security and privacy practice, 4Di Privaca.

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Quarterly-Report-Q2-2014_cover-image

PandaLabs Q2 2014 Results: PUPs on the increase

06 Oct , 2014 No Comments

The Q2 2014 results from PandaLabs show that Malware is still being created at record levels, roughly 15 million new samples were generated – an average of 160 000 daily.

Trojans remain the most common type of malware, accounting for 58.20% of new malware and 62.8% of infections. This figure is significantly lower compared to the previous quarter at 71.85% and 79.9%. The difference is however not due to a decline in the number of new Trojans, but rather a substantial increase in PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs). In recent months there has been a notable increase in software bundlers, which install PUPs – without the user’s consent – along with the original program. According to the report PUPs account for 24.77% of infections. In most instances these programs change browser settings, display unwanted advertising or install additional programs that the user may or may not want.

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