Security

Malware is a general term for any software designed to harm computers or computer systems — from viruses and worms to rootkits, spyware, and ransomware. We explain what malware is, how it works, and how best to protect yourself against malware attacks. What is malware?What does malware do?What are the main types of malware?How can […]

AES is a fast, efficient, and secure encryption standard. Certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), AES is used by the United States government to secure classified data. This has led many companies to market AES (especially AES with a 256-bit key) as “military-grade encryption”, although such terminology is as inaccurate as […]

Bloatware is unwanted software pre-installed on new PCs, laptops, and mobile devices by the device manufacturer, OS developer, or network carrier. It is not usually malicious, but it uses up system resources and can therefore slow down your device.  Most software people think of as bloatware is third-party trial software that is either time-limited or […]

An SSID is the name of a wireless network. Learn how SSIDs work, how to find your SSID, and whether it’s better to broadcast or hide it. If you set up your home WiFi network, you may have selected the network’s name (SSID) on your devices, entered the default wireless password, and connected. And that’s […]

The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a VPN protocol used to secure the connection between your device and a VPN server. One of the oldest VPN protocols, PPTP is plagued by multiple security issues and is now considered obsolete. Despite this, its broad compatibility with a huge range of legacy software and hardware, its ease […]

This post was updated on October 21, 2022. VPNs are not only a way to stream restricted content or hide your browsing activity. Learn how a VPN can increase your overall security, privacy, and freedom online, no matter how you use the internet. We explain why and when you should use a VPN and some […]

Many users turn to Proton to secure their most sensitive information. Your security is our number one priority, and we employ advanced encryption in all our apps to ensure that your personal data cannot be exposed by malicious actors.  However, Proton apps, like all apps, rely on the security of your operating system (OS) to […]

Update: Apple has listened to its users, and no longer exempts its own apps from any firewall interfaces in macOS. The information in this article is therefore of purely historical interest only. The new macOS release, Big Sur, has made headlines due to Apple’s decision to place 56 of its own apps, including FaceTime, Apple […]

UPDATE Oct. 13, 2022: Reports indicate that Apple has not fixed the problem in iOS 16. UPDATE Aug. 18, 2022: Recent testing has shown that while the kill switch capability Apple provided to developers with iOS 14 does in fact block additional network traffic, certain DNS queries from Apple services can still be sent from outside […]