Today, we’ve launched a new in-depth and easy-to-read threat analysis newsletter called AVG Insight. Published monthly on the AVG Media Center, this replaces our long and highly technical quarterly Threat Reports we’ve previously published, with each issue focusing on a single topical security threat.

To begin with, we’ll promote AVG Insight through our social media channels and direct to technology and consumer journalists and bloggers. If you’re interested in receiving it each month, please drop us an email and we’ll add you to the AVG Insight distribution list (please note this is for AVG Insight only, not general marketing).

To whet your appetite, here’s a taster of the first issue:

Reputation Means Nothing Online

Think you can trust a website as long as it’s well-known and well-trafficked? Think again: the AVG Web Threats Research Team has identified two cybercrime campaigns coded into some of the Internet’s most popular sites.

After installing good Internet security software, the best way to stay safe online is to visit only sites you trust, right? Stick to browsing major websites from large companies or well-known people and you’ll avoid the Internet’s dark alleyways, where cybercriminals lurk waiting to steal your bank details. Sadly, that’s just not true anymore…

To read the full story, please head to the AVG Media Center, where you’ll also be able download a PDF version of this AVG Insight to save or share.

Needless to say, I hope you enjoy reading this first AVG Insight and find it and future editions useful as a way of staying up to date on the latest web threats and online scams being perpetrated by cybercriminals or mischievous software developers.

It’s about educating people rather than scaring them, because when you’re browsing the web, things are not always what they seem – and as the first issue describes, just because a website is well-known and well-established, it doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.

To help you stay safe, here are three simple steps that anyone can take to make sure that they don’t fall foul to hidden attacks such as these.

• Scan those links: This has to be your first line of defense against web-based malware. After all, if you can avoid the infected pages, your PC stands a much better chance of staying healthy. AVG security products like AVG Internet Security come with AVG LinkScanner, which will check the validity of any links you click, before you reach the target page. If you’re not be able to install AVG products on the computer you’re using (for example if you’re using a public or work machine), take a look at the web version here.
• Security software: If link scanning is your first line of defense then installing security software on your computer should be your second because it can help prevent malware from doing any damage. Security software needn’t cost the earth, either – in fact, you can get a good level of protection from totally free products such as AVG AntiVirus FREE 2013.
• Moving target: Even if you’re browsing using your tablet or smartphone, you still need to stay sharp about online threats and take action to protect yourself. Recent studies show that mobile malware is rising, and many people are unsure which actions are safe on a mobile. AVG can help protect your mobile device through AVG Safe Browser for iOS and AVG AntiVirus FREE for Android.

If you’d like to be notified each month when a new AVG Insight is available, please send an email to Insight@AVG.com and we’ll add you to the distribution list – and don’t worry, we won’t spam you with marketing emails!

Yuval

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