Avira introduces the Japanese version of its virus protection
German IT security expert takes its virus protection program to Japan and continues its internationalization in Asia
Tettnang/ Tokyo, 1 December 2009 – Avira’s anti-virus protection now speaks Japanese because as of today the entire product range is available for private customers in Japanese. Also new is the local Japanese-speaking Support service, which is on hand to help out, should problems arise. Avira founded a Japanese company on 9 November. The German IT security expert already has branch offices in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It is due to open an office in China shortly.
More than 750,000 Japanese private users and a number of businesses, mostly from the banking sector so far, already use the English version of Avira’s anti-virus program. Avira now aims to improve on the already high level of customer satisfaction by introducing a Japanese version. At the same time, the IT security expert will become more accessible for existing customers and will expand its range of services. This means, on the one hand, that a Japanese team will control local activities and will act as an ear to the ground in the local market, enabling products to be tailored more closely to the needs of customers. On the other hand, premium product users will be able to access telephone support in their native language. All users will also be able to obtain immediate help at any time from the new Japanese online support forum.
“Our products feature an excellent detection rate, while at the same time also using resources very sparingly. All solutions are internal developments that reflect our almost 25 years of experience in fighting virtual malware,” explained Travis Witteveen, Head of Sales and MarCom at Avira. “We are very proud that the Japanese have already recognized the quality of our software. The localized versions of our products and additional services will enable us to cater to their needs more closely in the future and to gain new customers. We look forward to being able to consolidate our market launch with a local branch office in the near future.”
All Avira products are available online: Avira Premium Security Suite, which includes a firewall, parental control feature and backup function, offers all-round protection at a cost of Yen 5,000 for an annual license. The comfort edition, Avira AntiVir Premium, which uses WebGuard to provide additional security for surfing the Internet, costs Yen 3,500 for an annual license. Free basic protection with Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus is now available to download at free.avira.com/jp.
Avira Moral Issue
Most web surfer take a responsible attitude with their passwords
Avira advises against the use of universal passwords and offers tips to producing better access IDs
Tettnang, 11 December 2009 – In a survey carried out on www.free-av.com in July 2009, IT security expert Avira investigated how Internet users handle their passwords. The answers from the 5,281 respondents show that although most users are aware of the security of their personal access data, in some cases they use just one password for all cases, thereby exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.
According to the survey, 33 percent (1,753) of Internet surfer handle their passwords very responsibly. They use a different secure password for each account and generally treat their passwords as strictly confidential. According to expert recommendations, this is exactly the right approach. However, the survey also shows that 25 percent (1,326) of all users use just one password for all of their accounts. If their universal password is revealed, they open the doors to all their online activities to cybercriminals. Once the single password has been cracked, criminals can misuse several services using assumed names, for example sending links to harmful software disguised as private messages. In the worst cases, hackers manage to use the account holder’s data to make purchases at his expense.
As the Avira moral issue question also shows, almost 20 percent of users (1,039) make a note of their password to ensure they don’t forget it. In order to maintain an overview when using multiple secure passwords, Avira recommends using a password manager. Such tools, which are also available free-of-charge, are already used by almost 13 percent (669) of respondents. Those who cannot remember their access data or who log in too infrequently are among the nine percent (494) of users who have a new password sent to them every time they log onto a site.
“A secure password should contain more than eight characters and should be a random sequence of uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters and digits,” advises Travis Witteveen, Head of Sales & Marketing at Avira GmbH. “There are useful tricks for memorizing these usually hard to remember passwords: thus for example, the sentence ‘My 2 kids go to school at 8 in the morning and I see them again in the evening at 6’ gives you the secure password ‘M2kgtsa8itmaIstaitea6’. Users should generate a separate secure password for every service or account they use if they are to avoid putting several accounts at risk should they ever lose a password.”
Avira’s free AntiVir Personal offers basic protection against viruses, worms and Trojans. Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira Premium Security Suite offer users additional security as they surf the net. Their MailGuard and WebGuard features offer reliable protection against phishing and spyware and thus prevent password theft. Avira also guarantees that all its products are “Made in Germany” and contain no backdoors for data espionage. For further information see www.avira.com.
German IT security expert takes its virus protection program to Japan and continues its internationalization in Asia
Tettnang/ Tokyo, 1 December 2009 – Avira’s anti-virus protection now speaks Japanese because as of today the entire product range is available for private customers in Japanese. Also new is the local Japanese-speaking Support service, which is on hand to help out, should problems arise. Avira founded a Japanese company on 9 November. The German IT security expert already has branch offices in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It is due to open an office in China shortly.
More than 750,000 Japanese private users and a number of businesses, mostly from the banking sector so far, already use the English version of Avira’s anti-virus program. Avira now aims to improve on the already high level of customer satisfaction by introducing a Japanese version. At the same time, the IT security expert will become more accessible for existing customers and will expand its range of services. This means, on the one hand, that a Japanese team will control local activities and will act as an ear to the ground in the local market, enabling products to be tailored more closely to the needs of customers. On the other hand, premium product users will be able to access telephone support in their native language. All users will also be able to obtain immediate help at any time from the new Japanese online support forum.
“Our products feature an excellent detection rate, while at the same time also using resources very sparingly. All solutions are internal developments that reflect our almost 25 years of experience in fighting virtual malware,” explained Travis Witteveen, Head of Sales and MarCom at Avira. “We are very proud that the Japanese have already recognized the quality of our software. The localized versions of our products and additional services will enable us to cater to their needs more closely in the future and to gain new customers. We look forward to being able to consolidate our market launch with a local branch office in the near future.”
All Avira products are available online: Avira Premium Security Suite, which includes a firewall, parental control feature and backup function, offers all-round protection at a cost of Yen 5,000 for an annual license. The comfort edition, Avira AntiVir Premium, which uses WebGuard to provide additional security for surfing the Internet, costs Yen 3,500 for an annual license. Free basic protection with Avira AntiVir Personal – Free Antivirus is now available to download at free.avira.com/jp.
Avira Moral Issue
Most web surfer take a responsible attitude with their passwords
Avira advises against the use of universal passwords and offers tips to producing better access IDs
Tettnang, 11 December 2009 – In a survey carried out on www.free-av.com in July 2009, IT security expert Avira investigated how Internet users handle their passwords. The answers from the 5,281 respondents show that although most users are aware of the security of their personal access data, in some cases they use just one password for all cases, thereby exposing themselves to unnecessary risk.
According to the survey, 33 percent (1,753) of Internet surfer handle their passwords very responsibly. They use a different secure password for each account and generally treat their passwords as strictly confidential. According to expert recommendations, this is exactly the right approach. However, the survey also shows that 25 percent (1,326) of all users use just one password for all of their accounts. If their universal password is revealed, they open the doors to all their online activities to cybercriminals. Once the single password has been cracked, criminals can misuse several services using assumed names, for example sending links to harmful software disguised as private messages. In the worst cases, hackers manage to use the account holder’s data to make purchases at his expense.
As the Avira moral issue question also shows, almost 20 percent of users (1,039) make a note of their password to ensure they don’t forget it. In order to maintain an overview when using multiple secure passwords, Avira recommends using a password manager. Such tools, which are also available free-of-charge, are already used by almost 13 percent (669) of respondents. Those who cannot remember their access data or who log in too infrequently are among the nine percent (494) of users who have a new password sent to them every time they log onto a site.
“A secure password should contain more than eight characters and should be a random sequence of uppercase and lowercase letters, special characters and digits,” advises Travis Witteveen, Head of Sales & Marketing at Avira GmbH. “There are useful tricks for memorizing these usually hard to remember passwords: thus for example, the sentence ‘My 2 kids go to school at 8 in the morning and I see them again in the evening at 6’ gives you the secure password ‘M2kgtsa8itmaIstaitea6’. Users should generate a separate secure password for every service or account they use if they are to avoid putting several accounts at risk should they ever lose a password.”
Avira’s free AntiVir Personal offers basic protection against viruses, worms and Trojans. Avira AntiVir Premium and Avira Premium Security Suite offer users additional security as they surf the net. Their MailGuard and WebGuard features offer reliable protection against phishing and spyware and thus prevent password theft. Avira also guarantees that all its products are “Made in Germany” and contain no backdoors for data espionage. For further information see www.avira.com.
