Avast SafeZone Browser Security Flaw Discovered

More often than not I recommend and install Avast Free Antivirus for my clients personal computers. Avast has been my antivirus since 2007, and it has rarely let me down. It's fast, light, and efficient.

Free has its price, however, and the price is usually bloat and up-selling. Avast tries to increase their value proposition by offering new features and modules. These offers motivate users to upgrade to paid versions of Avast. Some of these additional features are excellent, yet others seem redundant concerning features already present in Windows and through other installed software. For this reason, I always choose custom installation and remove options I feel are redundant, such as the Avast SafeZone Browser.

Avast SafeZone browser was touted as a safe alternative to other browsers. Except SafeZone is just a rebranded version of the open-source Chromium browser, the software Chrome is built from.

In December 2015 a serious flaw was discovered in the SafeZone browser, which could allow a malicious website to read cookies, stored passwords and local files: PCWorld

If you feel SafeZone is redundant or unnecessary, you can follow the instructions below to remove it from your Windows system.

How to Remove Avast SafeZone Browser from Windows

1. Hit Windows-Pause to open the Control Panel of the operating system. 
2. Select "Control Panel Home", and on the screen that opens "uninstall a program". 
3. Scroll through the list of programs and select Avast Free Antivirus. 
4. Click Change, then click Modify and deselect the checkbox next to Avast SafeZone Browser.
5. Click Change.

The image below shows the options I typically install for my client's.

If you don't yet use Google's Chrome web browser, you can download and install it directly from Google at chrome.google.com.

If your opinion differs, please chime in via the comments below. I welcome any and all points of view.

Risk of Fire for Samsung Galaxy Note 7

A fully charged Galaxy Note 7 smartphone contains a wallop of stored energy. Penetrate one with an ice pick and you'll instantly create a deadly fire. Modern Lithium batteries have several times the energy density of regular lead acid batteries you find under the hood of your car, so you need to treat them with care and respect.

Most phones are very safe and will not explode without reason, like sitting on them in your back pocket or using the ice pick method above.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is one notable and recent exception. If you've been avoiding the news lately, you may not know that these phones have become newsworthy in the past few weeks for exploding without warning.

If you have a Note 7, stop using it immediately and exchange it for a different model.

Samsung is currently in a firestorm of trouble surrounding these phones, and you may have some difficulty exchanging it until everyone gets the message that these phones are a serious public safety problem.
CNN Samsung shares plummet as Note 7 debacle deepens

c|net Exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 burns 6-year-old