malware Archives | Private Internet Access Blog

Jan 12, 2019 |
Sean Doyle |
Cryptocurrency, General Privacy and Security, Online Activity, Tutorials,

Testing your web browser for cryptojacking

Cryptojacking or cryptocurrency mining is the covert use of your computer’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing unit (GPU) to mine for cryptocurrency. With the rise of cryptocurrency, cryptojacking has become very popular and many websites employ the use of scripts to use your computing device to mine for cryptocurrency. As a result of … Continue reading “Testing your web browser for cryptojacking”

Jan 2, 2019 |
Summer Hirst |
General Privacy and Security, Online Activity, Tutorials,

How to Know if You’re Being Tracked on the Internet

You just spoke to your family about how you need a new juicer. When you go online, you see ads for juicers everywhere. And you didn’t even search for a juicer online! Somehow, your conversations are being tracked to show you relevant ads. This is disturbing. You talk about a lot of things and you … Continue reading “How to Know if You’re Being Tracked on the Internet”

Dec 7, 2018 |
Summer Hirst |
General Privacy and Security, Tutorials,

How To Remove Adware

If you’re seeing popup ads on your computer, it might be infected by adware. While adware makes computer painfully slow with annoying ads, it can also contain spyware to track down your activities, which is why it’s important to remove it. Before we begin, you must know if you’re infected by adware. Here are some … Continue reading “How To Remove Adware”

Dec 3, 2018 |
Summer Hirst |
General Privacy and Security, News, Online Activity, Tutorials,

How to Prevent Spyware

If you’re annoyed by Instagram stalkers, imagine when someone takes stalking to another level. They can see your usernames and passwords, what you chat with others, the emails you send, and every little step you take online. This can be done with spyware. A cunning little piece of code that hides in your computer and … Continue reading “How to Prevent Spyware”

Dec 2, 2018 |
Sean Doyle |
General Privacy and Security, Tutorials,

What is Adware?

Adware is software that displays advertisements, directs your browser to advertising websites, and collects information about your browsing habits so that advertisements can be shown to you based from your online activity. Advertisements displayed by adware are typically produced within an Internet Browser window; However, they can also be displayed in the user interface of … Continue reading “What is Adware?”

Nov 30, 2018 |
Sean Doyle |
General Privacy and Security, Online Activity, Tutorials,

What is Malware? 5 Tips for Malware Protection

Malware is a term used to describe a malicious program or code that was written with the intent to cause harm to a computer system, smartphone, tablet, or other device. Malware is defined as any kind of software that corrupts computer system, gathers sensitive information, and gains access to private computer systems and networks. There … Continue reading “What is Malware? 5 Tips for Malware Protection”

Jul 14, 2017 |
Glyn Moody |
Governments, News, Privacy, Security,

Which would you prefer: backdoored crypto, government malware – or the third way?

As regular readers of this blog will have noticed, one of the hottest topics in the world of online privacy is government access to communications. Essentially, the authorities want to be able to read encrypted information, but at the same time, they insist that they do not want to weaken the online security of law-abiding … Continue reading “Which would you prefer: backdoored crypto, government malware – or the third way?”

Jun 21, 2017 |
Glyn Moody |
Governments, News, Privacy, Security,

Police use of trojans to hack into mobile phones will become routine under new German law

A new law allowing the German police to hack into mobile phones for even minor crimes, is expected to be passed by the German parliament this week [update: the law has now been passed]. Currently, the use of a “Staatstrojaner” – government trojan – is only permitted in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. Under … Continue reading “Police use of trojans to hack into mobile phones will become routine under new German law”

Jul 8, 2016 |
Caleb Chen |
News, Privacy, Security,

PIA Adds Ad Blocker: Introducing Private Internet Access MACE™

July 8th, 2016: Private Internet Access MACE™ is a new feature that block ads, trackers and malware. Private Internet Access (PIA) has always sought to provide the most privacy-preserving solutions for customers using the PIA desktop client. After all, “Privacy is our Policy.” Online advertising is often a free-for-all where the end user loses. That’s … Continue reading “PIA Adds Ad Blocker: Introducing Private Internet Access MACE™”