I have avast free home edition my question is are your bank and debit/credit card details safe when using avast.
I am asking this as my dad recently bought a laptop and when he said that i would download security for him they said that free antivirus do not keep your bank details safe.
I said they were just after making a sale but would check for him.
Can anyone verify for me please
Avast is a anti virus software,it is also purchasable so is not just freeware.The differences in the pro and free would not make any difference to credit card safety.Avast is as good and if not better than many other anti virus software.Credit card safety would fall under different categories,i.e.shopping online.Avast or no other anti virus can protect you if you buy of a rouge.If you mean keeping details safe on your computer you could use encryption software and also make sure it has password protection.Is this the information you are seeking. :-.I hope I have been of some help in your query.No doubt others will post later and give you more advice. ;).
Some firewalls will block credit card numbers from being sent from your computer (unless you’re doing some shopping of course) but not any AV program.
To know what will keep your cc numbers/ account details safe, you have to be aware of the likely ways they would be compromised.
That falls (very broadly) into two categories:
-1) there is a type of malware on the computer that is capable of transmitting information on the computer out,
-2) you think you are logged into your bank account site, but have inadvertently been directed to an imitation. Once you enter your details, the operator of this fake site has all he/she needs to access your account.
Avast is as capable as any AV at preventing malware arriving on the computer. Bear in mind that no single AV application will detect and prevent them all, all the time. IMO, you would have to be a bit unlucky to have a trojan on board that the AV failed to recognize. But with several million users, a failure rate of just one % could represent thousands of people that have, at some stage, malware on the computer. And the real life figure is probably much higher.
A two way firewall that will alert to outbound connection attempts, and block same from unknown programs (unless they are allowed by the user) is in my opinion the absolute minimum second layer of security that should be installed on any computer used for online banking.
Google “phishing” to learn about how to avoid the pitfalls of no. (2). Banks are also keen to avoid this happening, and most will have a reasonable amount of information about what their protocols consist of.
Whatever happens, if you receive an email that looks like it is from your bank, asking you to re-enter you account details on the linked form, don’t go there.