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Published February 24th, 2015 at 12:47 PM EDT , modified March 5th, 2015 at 10:28 AM EDT
- Is Avast Good For Android
- Is Kaspersky Good
- Is Avast Free Antivirus Good For Mac
- Avast Security Pro For Mac
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The security community is ablaze with news of Superfish being pre-installed on some Lenovo computers. The primary issue concerning experts is that Superfish replaced SSL certificates, used for ensuring secure connections on the internet, with its own certificates. It turns out that the same behavior is being exhibited by software that many people are inclined to trust: Avast’s anti-virus software!
Replacing SSL certificates is a significant security issue. The lock icon shown by browsers when the user is connecting to an “HTTPS” site is an indication that the connection is being secured, using a form of encryption that relies on an SSL “certificate” issued by a trusted certificate authority. So, when you connect to your bank’s website, for example, a certificate is used to encrypt all data sent between your browser and the bank site. This protects you from snoops, who cannot see any potentially sensitive data being transmitted.
What Superfish has done is replace these certificates with one of its own, which gives the software the ability to intercept any data being sent to or from such a secure site. This is what security experts call a “man-in-the-middle attack,” meaning something or someone that interjects itself between two parties attempting to have secured communications. It should be immediately obvious that this is a Very Bad Thing.
Surely this kind of thing could only be done by unethical hackers, right? I mean, Superfish is essentially adware, and in my opinion has now crossed the line into malware territory. So we shouldn’t be surprised at its misbehavior. No legitimate software would ever behave this way, would it?
Don’t be too sure. I received an e-mail from a reader yesterday asking why he was getting an error in Chrome complaining that his connection to Google was not private. The error message pointed the finger at a certificate issued by a certificate authority named “Avast untrusted CA.”
Some testing this morning showed that Avast is replacing Google’s certificate with one of their own. On my test system, though, the Avast certificate was trusted. (I’m guessing the certificate on the affected reader’s system was outdated, and had not been properly updated for some reason.)
As can be seen from the screenshot, the certificate claims to be for Google, but was not issued by the authority that Google actually uses (GeoTrust Global). This means that Avast has complete control over the connection between the browser and Google, and has the power to intercept – or even modify – any data being transmitted. https://surfingclever776.weebly.com/bit-defender-for-mac-vs-avast.html.
Okay, who cares, right? I mean, sure, there are some potential privacy issues involved there, but in reality, most people don’t care much if someone’s monitoring their searches. Those who do are probably using a search engine like DuckDuckGo, rather than Google, anyway.
Unfortunately, this issue isn’t limited to Google. Suppose, for example, that you go to the Bank of America site to transfer some funds or pay a bill. As with Google, and as would happen with any other secure site, it turns out their certificate gets replaced with the Avast certificate. I doubt anyone needs me to lecture them on the potential security issues involved in having a third-party watching their banking transactions without permission!
This is an extremely serious issue, but surprisingly, it apparently isn’t new! Searching the web for “Avast untrusted CA” or “Avast trusted CA” shows that people have been aware of this on a small scale for some time. On Avast’s own forums, questions about this are treated as bugs – not because of the potential security issues involved, but because of whatever has caused the user in each case to become aware of the problem, such as the error message that brought this matter to my attention.
It’s unlikely that Avast is using the power to snoop on your communications for malicious purposes. I imagine that they are using this power to monitor secured communications for possible malware. For example, Avast is probably intercepting e-mail being transmitted securely between your mail server and your e-mail client so that it can be scanned for attached malware.
However, the issue here is one of trust. Should you trust Avast with this kind of access to your private information? Avast has essentially chosen to hijack your web browser’s security without your permission, inserting itself as a silent watcher into all your secure communications. Worse, Avast has a history of sometimes showing untrustworthy behavior in the past, such as including an adware component in their avast! Online Security browser extension. This is not behavior that should be tolerated, and I strongly recommend uninstalling Avast immediately.
Even if you trust Avast 100%, however, an added issue is the potential for new security risks. In the case of Superfish, for example, security researcher Robert Graham was able to crack the certificate being used by Superfish, due to a poor certificate password, and could have then launched his own attacks on unsuspecting users using that certificate. If Avast’s security is at all sloppy, their certificate could cause security issues that would not exist if Avast did not tamper with certificates.
To be fair to Avast, it’s entirely possible they are not alone. Other anti-virus software could be behaving in exactly the same way. A quick test of a number of other free Mac anti-virus apps this morning did not uncover any, but I did not test every anti-virus app out there by a long shot. Still, any other anti-virus software that might be doing this should also be avoided.
To determine whether your system might be affected by such an issue, go to www.google.com in Safari. There should be a lock or “https” icon in the address bar, indicating that the connection to Google is secure. Click that icon, then click the Show Certificate button in the sheet window that drops down. The certificate should be issued by Google Internet Authority, which in turn falls under the authority of GeoTrust Global. If you see anything different, you may be the victim of a man-in-the-middle attack. This could be the result of other anti-virus software, or could be due to something else, such as a compromised network connection.
Updates
Thursday, March 5, 2015 @ 9:45 am EST: After taking some considerable heat from some folks – including an Avast representative – in the comments below, it turns out that the situation is even worse than I initially realized. Avast is replacing certificates with its own without bothering to check the validity of those certificates!
So what does this mean? Suppose that there’s a malicious site out there that uses HTTPS, in an attempt to trick the user into thinking the site is legit. (Or perhaps a formerly legit site has changed hands and become malicious.) Then suppose the malicious intent of the site is discovered, and the certificate is revoked. Your web browser should warn you that the site is not trustworthy if you try to go there.
If you happen to have Avast installed, no such luck. Because Avast will replace the site’s revoked certificate with Avast’s own legitimate certificate, eliminating the error and allowing you to navigate to a site that you shouldn’t!
Nobody needs to take my word for this. It’s trivial to test it if you have Avast installed, and have not disabled Avast’s HTTPS scanning: just navigate over to revoked.grc.com, a site designed for testing purposes that uses a revoked SSL certificate. As you can see from the screenshot at right, the site opens just fine, using Avast’s replacement certificate.
Is Avast Good For Android
You may say that my hypothetical situation above is unlikely to happen. That’s true. However, the news in recent years has been frequented by stories about SSL certificate theft. Hackers can use stolen certificates to execute real man-in-the-middle attacks, tricking your browser into believing that it is visiting a legit site when it isn’t. Stolen certificates are generally revoked after the theft has been discovered, but this vulnerability in Avast will allow those certificates to continue to work.
I’ve had some tips that other anti-virus apps behave the same way, in particular BitDefender, Kaspersky and ESET. However, I was unable to bypass the revoked certificate using Kaspersky, and ESET’s Mac software appears not to do any kind of HTTPS scanning as far as I can tell. The jury is still out on BitDefender, as I haven’t yet been able to download a trial version. (I haven’t received the e-mail I need in order to download the trial software.) I’ll update later, after I’ve tested BitDefender.
This is precisely the kind of security issue that tampering with HTTPS can result in, and is exactly why it should not be done. Case closed.
Thursday, March 5, 2015 @ 10:30 am EST: I finally got a copy of BitDefender’s Mac anti-virus software, and it appears not to be doing any HTTPS scanning. It may do that on Windows – I have to rely on third-party reports there – but as best I can determine, it doesn’t have this problem on the Mac.
Thus far, Avast is still the only one I’ve found on the Mac to do on-by-default HTTPS scanning and to fail to check certificate validity.
Tags: Avast, man-in-the-middle, SSL
Is Kaspersky Good
TECHReview of Avast Free Antivirus for Mac
Avast is one of the most popular free antivirus programs, and they have a version for Mac OS X. Avast Free Antivirus for Mac offers most of the same features, is free to download, doesn’t include advertisements, and is generally unobtrusive. But, how well does it work? We’re reviewing Avast Free for Mac to find out.
What Is It?
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac is a free antivirus program with a virus scanner, firewall, and various features that you can turn off or on. The program is free, but will request payment for some features, which means that you can’t expect everything in the features section to be free.
Features
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac offers numerous, configurable features. The free features include an antivirus scanner, a firewall, reports, and that’s it.
Scan – Avast offers a free antivirus scanner that you can use to scan files, folders, hard drives, and your computer. This is actually a very versatile scan because you can use it to scan your full system, removable volumes, custom files, folders, or drives, or your network. This makes it extremely useful for finding network based viruses which are on another computer and spreading to your own. Interestingly, the network scan will also tell you every device currently on your network. If you find a virus on your computer, you can also upload it to Avast’s online database.
What’s the catch? The full system scan isn’t as accurate as some of it’s competitors, and it can take a very long time to do a full scan, even when you don’t have much on your computer.
Shield – Shield (Not S.H.I.E.L.D.) is Avast’s firewall and it works to protect you from the web, files, and email infections. The firewall is passive, meaning that you don’t have to run it, doesn’t require a great deal of system resources, which makes it a great choice.
Virus Chest – The Virus Chest is simply your system quarantine
Jun 21, 2017 Don't install Avast on your mac because these free antivirus programs are designed to distrupt your mac.İ was installed Avast 2 months ago and last week my mac is malfunctioned but i was fixed my mac.İ'm not advise the free antiviruses for mac that is free. Mar 02, 2012 I finally discovered aswclear, downloaded it, and managed to remove avast. Then, I was able to install avast 7. Unfortunately, at the end of the installation process, the. Avast for mac wont install stuck at installing scripts. Somebody installed Avast! On this MacBook running OSX 10.8 (that's what uname said) and now it won't boot, it gets stuck at the apple logo and nothing more, I was able to boot into single-user mode and made a backup. I have already run Avast!' S uninstall script at. If the install wizard is not in your language, you can change it in the top-right corner. Your selected language will also be the one in which you will have the Avast user interface, though you can change the language anytime later in the program settings. Sep 01, 2014 Then, I wanna try Avast antivirus but I couldn't install it even I already uninstalled Sophos. First of all, most anti-virus software will not find adware since it's considered to be annoying, but not malicious, so you're wasting time with both products.
Reports – You can see an up-to-date log of all system scans, infected files, etc.
Configuration
One of the best things about Avast is that it is highly configurable, and you can update everything from the notificaitions to the Firewall. Use what you want, and nothing else. Under ‘Preferences’ you can find a number of configuration options. For example, you can disable any one of the firewall settings. You can also change popups or even turn them off, set your updates to how you want them, and even remove the Avast Icon from your toolbar.
Extras
Avast Free for Mac includes what is essentially an advertisement for Avast’s premium software. You have a “tools” section which includes a VPN and Avast Online Security. You will have to pay in order to use these features. You will also occasionally see popups or reminders about these features. However, if you do want them, they work well.
Is Avast Free Antivirus Good For Mac
Review of Avast Free Antivirus for Mac
Avast Free Antivirus for Mac has a lot to offer for those who want a low-system impact, don’t necessarily need maximum quality protection, and who want customization. The program is slow for full scans, but you will rarely need a full scan, which means that this doesn’t impact the program too much. However, Avast doesn’t detect as many viruses as other programs like AVG or Bitdefender, which means you will be sacrificing some quality. That aside, Macs aren’t a huge target for viruses anyway, so you’re likely still safe without maximum protection.
Should you get it? If you’re worried, AVG still makes a better option, but Avast is well worth trying out. If you’re looking for customization and light system impact, it could be the way to go. To help you decide before you buy it, we recommend that you try the trial version of Avast. It’s good for 30 days which should be long enough to feel it out. Let us know what you think of it if you have it or you try it!
Avast Free for Mac works well, offers a lot of features for a free antivirus, is highly configurable, and has a very light system impact.
Avast Security Pro For Mac
The antivirus scanner isn't as good as some free competitors, takes some time to perform a full system scan, and offers features that aren't available unless you upgrade to the premium version.