1

I saw a piece on PBS News about “Ransomware”. Does avast have defenses against this kind of malware?

2

It depends on the kind of ransomware.
avast can detect e.g. Cryptolocker.

What avast can detect:
https://www.avast.com/virus-update-history

3

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