Kaspersky Lab has launched a new version of Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device 2016, developed specifically to protect what matters most to users: their privacy, data, identity, money and the device itself.
The new solution includes updated technologies to ensure users are protected, no matter what they do on their devices while online and no matter what platform they choose: Windows, OS X or Android.
The recent Consumer IT Security Risks Survey 2015 highlighted that the number of Internet users that are concerned about their online privacy has significantly increased from last year: 82% of users in South Africa are concerned that someone could gain access to their personal files, with 56% worrying that there may be programs on their devices collecting information about them, and 49% stating that they do not trust their own webcams – as the cameras are known to be frequently used to spy on device owners.
All of these issues require security solutions to find new ways of ensuring user privacy on a device. The new version of Kaspersky Internet Security – multi-device for Windows is designed with this in mind, incorporating new privacy protection technologies.
Social networks, advertising and analytical agencies often request information about users’ browser activities, their locations, search history etc. They access this information via the browser and did you know they can resell it, and use it to show contextually targeted advertising to the user.
While Private Browsing removes such data from the Internet traffic and reports any blocked requests to the user via a dedicated plugin (which is available for Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome) – Kaspersky Lab’s technology is different from other tools incorporated into browsers: as it does more than prevent users from being identified via cookie files, or warning sites that it does not wish to transmit data that could track users – it actually guarantees that this data will not leave the device.
It is also common for additional extensions to be incorporated on the user’s device without the user’s knowledge when freeware is installed. Those changes could also affect the browser home page and default search engine, or install extra plugins and/or extensions etc. In addition, network and system configurations could be modified without the device owner’s consent. All these elements potentially encroach on user privacy, since some plugins and extensions may also collect information about users and their online behaviour and use it for different purposes. Change Control detects any process attempting to introduce such changes, reports that to the user and asks for the process to be expressly permitted, or blocked.
“Personal privacy is everybody’s right, whether it’s in the real or the virtual world. This is why we at Kaspersky Lab do all we can to protect everything of value to our users – including their personal files, digital identities and privacy – from cybercriminals and other curious residents of the Internet. Naturally, these measures will be more effective if users follow safer Internet practices: by protecting their devices and accounts with strong passwords, avoiding downloading files from untrusted sources, and by running regular scans for cyberthreats on their computers and mobile devices,” says Riaan Badenhorst, MD of Kaspersky Lab Africa.
In addition, the updated Privacy Cleaner tool, within the Kaspersky Lab product helps remove all traces of user activity from a Windows computer, including the browser history, the list of the latest documents opened etc. Furthermore, the solution offers full Webcam Protection to prevent the interception of images from the webcam, as well as notifying users when the Webcam is accessed by legitimate applications and gives the opportunity to block all access to the camera.
“Since the cyberthreat landscape is a constantly evolving subject, we strongly recommend users to regularly update their security products to the latest versions in order to ensure the latest protection advancements are in place. All Kaspersky Lab’s flagship home products include free automatic updates and upgrades and can be managed remotely via a personal My Kaspersky account,” says Badenhorst.
