I saw a piece on PBS News about “Ransomware”. Does avast have defenses against this kind of malware?
It depends on the kind of ransomware.
avast can detect e.g. Cryptolocker.
What avast can detect:
https://www.avast.com/virus-update-history
You need second level protection against this as it is fast mutating
CryptoPrevent install this programme to lock down and prevent crypto ransome ware
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/73555776/CryptoPrevent.JPG