The IT Nerd

AVG today announced AVG Zen which is a new application for Windows PCs and Android smartphones and tablets that significantly simplifies the way in which users can control their protection, performance and privacy settings. With its ease of discovery and deployment across consumers’ connected devices, AVG Zen helps people make quick and informed decisions from one place, making it simple to keep their devices and data protected in a hyper-connected world. The core mission of AVG Zen is to give consumers a quick view of changes they could make to tackle these everyday issues, such as showing some of the steps a parent could take to maintain their child’s privacy settings on a tablet, simple ways to make sure the antivirus solution on a smartphone is always up to date, or suggestions on how to maximize the battery life on the family laptop.

AVG Zen is available for core products, including AVG Internet Security, AVG PC TuneUp, AVG PrivacyFix, AVG Antivirus for Android, AVG Cleaner for Android, AVG PrivacyFix for Android and AVG Zen Admin for Android apps from Google Play. The AVG Zen application displays a circle that changes color and level of completeness according to the level of security for each of the focus areas of protection, performance, privacy and support. Users simply log on to their AVG account to start the application and click through to view the status of their own devices. They can also send email invites to add other devices to their AVG Zen network. AVG Zen users can also look forward to additional functionality later this year that, among other things, will enable them to update devices remotely with the appropriate AVG protection, performance and privacy services.

Download AVG Zen for free online from either www.avg.com/zen or the Google Play app store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avg.zen today.

A new Digital Diaries study by AVG Technologies that surveyed more than 6,017 parents of children across several age groups in the Canada, the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand during November and December 2013. The study reveals Canadian children score higher than average in some basic life skills.

The study revealed Canadian children aged 3 to 5 years are much more likely to know how to operate a computer mouse than tie their own shoelaces. Of the Canadian parents surveyed, 78% responded that their 3-5 year olds can operate a mouse (compared to 70% across the 10 countries) while only 28% could tie their shoes unaided (14% in other countries). However, only 16% of the same age group could operate a cell phone compared with 30% of their counterparts in other countries. Canadians did score well on key safety skills such as knowing a contact phone number (38% compared to 13% in other countries) and knowing what to do in an emergency (44% compared to 25%).

When comparing online usage across the countries, Canadian kids aged 6 to 9 years are average in Internet use, with 90% of the parents reporting their children are online in Canada compared to 89% in the other nations. However, Canadian children are not as likely to use established communication tools such as Facebook, email and instant messaging. While 16% of kids in other countries are on Facebook, only 10% of Canadians use the social networking site. Fewer than 7% of Canadian youngsters use instant messaging (compared to 9% across the other countries) and only 11% regularly use email compared to 18% of the survey’s total respondents.

The study also shows differences between Canadian parents concerned with safety and security and parents in other countries. Asked if the PC, laptop or tablet their child uses has parental controls, 59% of Canadian parents responded positively compared to 64% of the total.

Generally, Canadian children aged 3 to 5 scored above average in life skills such as being able to write their own name (56% compared to 38%); ride a bicycle (65% to 58%); swim (32% to 23%); and use a web browser (34% to 28%).  In addition to lower cell phone use (16% to 30%) the Canadian age group’s ability to make their own breakfast was also lower (21% to 26%).

For an interactive summary of AVG’s kids & technology survey, visit avg.com/digitaldiaries/homepage.

You may not know it, but if you walk into a retail store with a smart phone, that store could be tracking your every move. And they’ve been doing it for some time as evidenced by this story that I wrote on this practise almost a year ago. That should bother you as I’m sure you don’t want your every move tracked by a third party. In response to this, AVG has come out with an update to their AVG PrivacyFix application for Android where  a new Wi-Fi Do Not Track (DNT) feature has been added. It’s aimed at giving consumers the choice to block tracking of their location enabled by Wi-Fi networks in retail stores and other public venues.

The new Wi-Fi DNT feature within AVG PrivacyFix for Android enables users to have the Wi-Fi on their smartphones automatically suspended when they are out and about, only reconnecting in the vicinity of pre-set trusted Wi-Fi networks, such as their home, office or regular coffee shop, for example. That way retailers and others cannot track you. AVG PrivacyFix featuring the new Wi-Fi DNT feature has been developed as an additional element to the existing AVG PrivacyFix application, which allows people to manage their privacy settings across popular online sites, such as Facebook and Google+ and is available now to download for Android smartphones here.

A question to AVG, when’s the iOS version of this coming? Those users, like yours truly would like to see the same sort of protection.

AVG is always interested in the safety of those who use the Internet. Today they announced that senior security evangelist, Tony Anscombe, has authored and released  a book, One Parent to Another. The book is a hands-on practical guide and discussion of the challenges parents of all ages are facing in today’s digital world, based on Anscombe’s experiences as a father and as an expert with over 20 years in the security industry.

In One Parent to Another, Anscombe looks at the impact of technology on family life and the challenges it presents to parents and children alike. Some of the important topics he addresses in the book include:

• What we actually mean when we use the term “connected devices” as it’s not simply about the computer, the laptop, the tablet and the smartphone any more
• Connecting to the Internet safely by using the tools available to everyone to provide basic security and privacy
• Technology etiquette and behavior for the whole family: over-sharing, cyberbullying and leading by example
• Tools for parents to get up to speed on the latest technology, parental controls options and tips to help keep your child safe online

If you’re a parent, I highly recommend that you take a look at this book. Download One Parent to Another here: http://www.avg.com/ebooks/one-parent-to-another

If you use Facebook, AVG suggests that you may want to look at their new privacy app for the social networking platform. AVG CrowdControl is designed to make Facebook experiences safer by customizing who can view a status, videos and photos posted on a personal timeline. AVG’s goal is that this will make privacy and online security, a more front-of-mind issue for users. AVG CrowdControl also is integrated directly into AVG PrivacyFix, which I wrote about recently.

AVG CrowdControl scans the user’s Facebook profile and organizes their friends’ based on who they interact with most.  Clicking on any friend’s image marks them to be excluded from the custom list. Once this personalized list has been created, the app takes users to a guided screen showing them how to change the default setting and opens a new tab for them to change it – a simple two-click process. As the app is integrated into users’ Facebook accounts, the list can be easily adjusted and kept up to date as new friends are added. When the user wants to share something more broadly, they can always select all Friends or Public as the audience for a specific post.

Check out the app at facebook.com/avg,

This past week, leading security and privacy vendor AVG launched it’s 2014 product lineup. There are seven key products in this lineup:

• AVG AntiVirus FREE 2014: the new version of AVG’s award-winning free solution includes the brand new File Shredder feature to help keep sensitive data private. Provides peace of mind by detecting and removing viruses and protecting users while searching, browsing, social networking and emailing.

• AVG AntiVirus 2014: includes File Shredder and also Data Safe, which encrypts and securely stores valuable files on a virtual disk on your PC. This is advanced protection for people who don’t shop or bank online, but still want to search, surf, email and download safely.

• AVG Internet Security 2014: ultimate protection for anyone who wants complete online peace-of-mind online. Extended Data Safe functionality offers multiple secure virtual drives, while smart performance technology helps you play games and stream video without lags caused by scheduled updates and scans.

• AVG Premium Security 2014: not just for your PC, this is the very best in protection, privacy and performance, updated for 2014 to cover multiple Androiddevices by including Premium Mobile Security and Premium Tablet Security. This bundle also features proactive identity protection through AVG Identity Alert, while AVG Quick Tune helps your PC to restore peak performance.
• AVG PC TuneUp 2014: monitors and automatically maintains your PC to ensure trouble-free operation, with less crashing and increased speed, disk space and battery life.   Based on customer requests and research, there are improvements across the board to the most popular features, a much improved UI, and new capabilities to clean up your hard drive and further extend battery life: Duplicate Finder, Disk Cleaner, Browser Cleaner and Flight Mode.
• AVG PrivacyFix puts control of your personal online privacy back in your hands. Available on your PC, mobile and tablet, it allows you to check, manage and personalize your privacy settings across popular sites such as Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, as well as overall tracking across websites in general, all from one easy-to-use central control panel.

• AVG AntiVirus PRO v3.3 for Android is the latest version of AVG’s market-leading application for Android smartphones and tablets. It helps to protect your devices by combatting viruses and malware so you can download media and apps, and browse the web with confidence. The advanced anti-theft features also help you to find your device if it’s lost or stolen.

The new product in this lineup is the new AVG PrivacyFix application which makes it easy for customers to manage their online privacy settings across a broad range of social media services as well as every day websites. It should also be noted that AVG Premium Security 2014 has also been updated to allow customers to secure their PCs and Android smartphones and tablets with a single purchase, emphasizing AVG’s ability to offer complete protection and valuable performance enhancements across multiple devices and platforms.

All these products are now available for download from www.avg.com. If you need to secure your PC, look no further than AVG.

Oh, I should also direct you to a research paper done by AVG which questioned almost 5,000 consumers across eight global markets, showed that while consumers are being offered more ways and opportunities to connect online than ever before, frustrations with the management of multiple devices and the increased invasion of privacy is threatening to overshadow the achievement. It’s a very interesting read.

Frequent readers of this blog will know that I wave the flag for Canada, Canadian companies and Canadian Talent. Today I get to wave the flag for a Canadian who has taken over the helm of AVG Technologies. Gary Kovacs has been named as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for AVG yesterday:

“We welcome Gary to AVG and look forward to benefiting from his seasoned leadership skills as CEO and as a member of the Management Board. His past career successes are directly applicable to the opportunity and the future of AVG ­­– mobile, cloud, software and platforms — and we believe that his rare blend of experience, leadership and drive will take AVG to new levels,” said Dale Fuller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of AVG.

He’s done a fair amount to get to this point:

Over the course of his 25-year career and prior to joining Mozilla, Mr. Kovacs was Senior VP of Markets, Solutions & Products at Sybase (acquired by SAP) and General Manager and VP of Mobile & Devices at Adobe Systems. He also held a variety of senior marketing, product management, technical and operating positions with other industry leading companies including Macromedia (acquired by Adobe), Zi Corporation (acquired by Nuance Communications) and IBM, where he was instrumental in creating products and strategies that drove long-term growth.

That’s a pretty extensive background. I should also note that he came from Mozilla Corporation, where he wastheir CEO. Clearly AVG wanted someone who could take them to the next level. Plus he’s Canadian which means that he gets a bonus point or two in my book. It seems to me that AVG is in good hands.

Keeping children safe while they are online is an important topic. We should all be woking to ensure that our kids are safe at all times. That’s why Internet security company AVG is participating in the Inaugural Child Internet Safety Summit:

Organized to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Safer Internet Day, The Child Internet Safety Summit will address the urgent concerns faced by parents and teachers in the UK and Europe in relation to child abuse online.  The day-long event will be attended by approximately 300 education and online safety professionals and will offer keynote sessions from industry leaders including Claire Perry, the UK government advisor on childhood and John Carr, the UK government advisor on online child safety, amongst others.

AVG is going to be a key player at this conference by delivering a keynote speech at 11.20am on July 11^th, to discuss the barrage of online threats facing children, and the action needed to ensure their online safety and privacy:

“With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets and the rapid increase in Internet usage, the debate over children’s safety online and how they engage with technology has never been more important,” said John Giamatteo, Chief Operating Officer, AVG Technologies. “We are passionate about supporting Internet safety and believe the Child Internet Safety Summit 2013 will serve to further reinforce the importance of education and the ways in which we can help to reduce the threats to children online.”

Additionally, AVG executives Siobhan MacDermott, Chief Policy Officer; and Jim Brock, VP of Privacy Products, will go on to host an interactive privacy seminar which offers attendees firsthand access to industry-leading experts on online privacy and security policies. Clearly AVG is bringing all the required resources within their company to make an impact at this summit. I think it says a lot about AVG, doesn’t it?

This story is of particular interest to me being a Canadian. AVG yesterday announced that they have acquired LPI Level Platforms of Ottawa who specialize in remote monitoring and management software. The fit is clear according to a press release put out by AVG:

Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, LPI Level Platforms provides next generation remote monitoring and management software (RMM) through Managed Workplace, its award-winning cloud-based remote monitoring and management platform.  With its advanced hybrid agentless architecture, this platform provides visibility and unified management of the entire IT infrastructure, including devices, applications, networks and cloud, while providing superior ease of use, security and control for the user.  The acquisition will enhance AVG’s cloud-based services model by adding LPI Level Platforms’ Managed Workplace software to AVG CloudCare™, integrating products such as RMM and Mobile Device Management (MDM).  In addition, it will significantly expand AVG’s distributor network by adding over 1,500 active LPI Level Platform Managed Service Providers (MSP) partners. 

The way I see it, adding LPI Level Platforms’ products strengthens AVG’s AntiVirus, content filtering, back-up and optimization portfolio, creating a best of breed platform to address the needs of small business types. The deal is subject to approval of course, but this sounds like a win to me.