Kaspersky Lab has announced the release of its newly updated product for home users, Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2015, in South Africa. The solution was developed to protect users of Windows, OS X and Android devices from existing and new threats, making their online lives easier and safer.
Research conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International indicates that Internet user’s biggest concerns while online is the protection of their privacy and identity, their personal data, their finances and their children’s safety.
Furthermore, with as many as 66% of people using devices on different platforms, they require multi-platform security solutions – especially when considering the constant growth of online threats.
According to Kaspersky Lab, approximately 315 000 new samples of malicious software appear every day. No operating system can be considered safe anymore; the days when attackers focused almost exclusively on Windows are long gone, and attacks on Macs and mobile operating systems are on the rise.
Following the global trend of mobilisation, the amount of malicious software for the most popular mobile OS, Android, continues to grow rapidly: Kaspersky Lab detects approximately 20 000 new samples per month. In turn, phishing Web sites – fake pages designed to steal personal information – are a universal cyber-threat which pose a danger to all users, regardless of their preferred device or operating system.
Every month Kaspersky Security Network logs over 137 000 new phishing sites aimed at deceiving people into handing over their sensitive personal and financial data.
In a world of increasingly sophisticated online threats, people want reliable security software capable of fully protecting them from cyber-threats on all the devices they use to interact, shop and bank online.
To secure customers’ data, safeguard their privacy and financial transactions, and help keep their children safe from online harm, Kaspersky Lab is constantly updating and improving the components of its security solutions.
These latest versions of Kaspersky Lab’s consumer software incorporate several new technologies that improve the level of protection against encryption malware, prevent Web cam surveillance of the user, and shield against the risks of working on vulnerable WiFi networks.
Key new features include:
* Web cam protection – Web cam hacking, or intercepting images from the Web cam, is one way of using malware for online espionage. Many users pay little attention to what might be recorded on their Web cams – even though the camera could capture images of documents containing bank details, credit cards or personal activities that people prefer not to expose to strangers.
For our customers to be confident that they are never observed without their knowledge or consent, Kaspersky Lab has developed the Web Cam Protection feature. It helps monitor which applications attempt to connect to the Web cam, warns the user of access attempts, and, if necessary, blocks Web cam access.
* System Watcher – one of the most serious threats to customers’ documents, pictures and music comes from so-called crypto-malware, or malware that encrypts files and demands a ransom before restoring access to the information.
Once the data is encrypted, not even removing the malware itself can restore access to the encrypted files. Kaspersky Lab has built a way to regain access to data without paying any ransom.
Kaspersky Lab’s System Watcher module analyses all processes running on the operating system, and now features new data backup functionality. When System Watcher detects a suspicious programme attempting to modify a user file, it instantly creates a local backup copy of that file, free from any external changes.
If further observation indicates that the programme that changed the file was malicious, then the changes will be rolled back.
* WiFi security notification – in the hands of criminals, public wireless networks can easily become yet another tool to intercept user’s data. That’s why Kaspersky Lab has introduced a WiFi security notification module into the new edition of Kaspersky Internet Security.
This module verifies the security of WiFi hotspots and alerts the user to any potential threats, such as a vulnerable network connection or the transmission of an unsecured password via the Internet. Users also receive tips and recommendations on how to securely configure their own home WiFi networks.
In addition to these key new features, Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2015 includes a number of extra enhancements:
* Automatic updates and upgrades when newer versions become available. This innovation means users will always have the most recent and reliable version of their security product without the hassle of manually downloading and installing it.
* Improvements were introduced into the Safe Money module to protect online financial transactions at every stage. Now, Safe Money also blocks third-party applications from accessing the web browser clipboard, which may temporarily contain confidential data (such as copied login credentials). The Safe Money module continues to offer protection from screen-capture technology, malicious browser extensions, and other money-stealing tactics used by cybercriminals.
* For users of paid Wi-=Fi networks, 3G or LTE connections, the solution now includes the Cost-Aware Networking feature that reduces the amount of data communicated by the product via the net.
* In the anti-phishing module, which helps the user avoid unwanted and malicious webpages, improvements were introduced into the text, image and website link analysis technology. This leads to faster and more accurate detections of fake Web sites designed to steal money and sensitive user information.
* The main menu and interface has been unified across all products so users can easily navigate applications regardless of the operating system or product version. Careful attention to resource consumption has helped improve the effectiveness of security tools without affecting the performance of the operating system.
“Today, people rarely access the Internet from just one device; therefore, they need to be aware of the full variety of online threats and know how to deal with them. Kaspersky Lab has developed a multi-platform solution that enables the user to easily manage protection products on Windows, OS X and Android-based devices under a single license.
“The technologies integrated into Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2015 have proved their effectiveness not only in independent tests but in practice, protecting 300-million people around the world every day,” says Nikita Shvetsov, acting CTO at Kaspersky Lab.
