AVG the company behind the very popular free anti virus software is running an awareness campaign about Data Snatching on the web. Data Snatching occurs when trusted websites are hi-jacked by undesirables who capture and collect visitor data. To combat this threat AVG have a free tool called LinkScanner.
The average hi-jacking is less than 24 hours, the villains come, collect and move onto their next target. The clever fellows over at AVG have come up with real time protection, in the form the LinkScanner software, that checks each web page before it opens on your PC. If it sees trouble ahead, it stops you.
Last week Twitter and Facebook were brought down by a network of unwilling accomplices who bombarded the social network sites with requests until they caved in. The cyber criminals who launched this “denial of service” attack recruited PCs from all around the Internet into a “botnet” to stage their attack. One of the features of LinkScanner is that it prevents computers from being recruited for botnets by checking the links you use on the web before they are opened on your PC.
AVG Free is a well trusted anti-virus and anti-spyware solution and LinkScanner is a great tool in AVG’s arsenal against cyber threats. You don’t need to be running AVG Free to use LinkScanner, it can be can be downloaded for free as a stand-alone product.