AI-based software by Avast blocks phishing attacks

Global cybersecurity firm Avast on Friday released an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based software to block phishing attacks.

The software, Avast 2019, is a free and premium flagship consumer security product, the Prague, Czech Republic-headquartered company said in a statement.

Powered by AI, the product is designed to ensure enhanced detection of phishing websites by automatically checking a site’s URL for suspicious tokens, domain meta information, and inspecting the visual aspects of sites.

This technology allows it to recognise new phishing sites in seconds, protecting users across all platforms from falling victim to phishing scams and other fraudulent emails, Avast said.

“Avast 2019 brings together next-generation phishing protection with great usability and convenience features, to provide our customers with the best security and privacy protections,” said Ondrej Vlcek, Avast’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

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“Phishing is a very effective social engineering technique, and cybercriminals have recently upped their game when it comes to creating phishing sites to trick people into giving up sensitive information, which is why we need to use powerful technology to combat the threat,” Vlcek added.

Avast said its new “Do Not Disturb Mode” silences alerts including those from third-party applications, such as Windows, email, chat and browser notifications while users run apps in full screen.

Earlier last month, Avast announced that they would be ending support for Windows XP and Vista. The new antivirus client version 19 will be released throughout the home and business products, but any new devices added to the network will need to use Windows 7 or later.

This doesn’t mean that those running older versions of Avast and AVG Business will be vulnerable to attacks. Avast will be taking care of its old versions for Businesses by extending virus definition updates.

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