The threat from AI-powered online scams is on the rise. You can be fooled by realistic-looking fake emails and messages pretending to be from your bank or other companies, that convince you to unwittingly install malware on your device. How can everyday people have a chance against these hugely sophisticated schemes? Avast has the answer – fight fire with fire. It has launched a new AI assistant that can answer security-related questions about communications you may suspect are fraudulent, as well as check URLs to see if websites really are what they report to be. So, if you want to stay safer online, it’s time to level-up your defences with an AI powered scam detector. Getty Ask the Avast Assistant if you’re worried about something being fake One of the main ways that AI-powered scams work is in trying to trick the recipient into believing that they have received a message or email from either a business, friend or family member. There’s often also some kind of time-pressure involved, which is there to force you into making a snap decision – ‘Do this now or your account will be closed!’ In those moments, it would be good to have an advisor on-hand who can tell you whether the crisis is authentic or fake. With Avast Assistant, you can simply paste in the link that’s included in the message, the email address, and you can even copy and paste the text from the message itself. Then the AI software will analyse it for you and tell you whether it’s likely to be trustworthy or not and how you should proceed. It’s a simple, fast and reliable way to avoid being scammed, plus the whole experience is conducted as a conversation, so you don’t need any security experience to be able to use Avast Assistant. It also offers you tips on how to improve your privacy and security online, so you’ll have a constant advisor there to help keep you safe. New – Scam Guardian will fight scammers for you Avast Avast Assistant is part of Scam Guardian a new suite of tools that are included in Avast Free Antivirus, and purpose-built to seek out and help protect against online scams aiming to steal your data, identity or money. Alongside Avast Assistant there is also Web Guard that analyses the content and code in the websites you visit for hidden scams before it has a chance to get past your defences. If you move up to the Avast Premium Security plan, then you’ll also have access to Email Guard, which scans messages before you open them to ascertain whether they include malicious links or scams that attempt to deceive you and do you harm. All of the tools use the latest AI training helping ensure they stay up-to-date with emerging new threats that appear. Getty Use Avast AI technology to keep your security strong Online threats are moving too fast and becoming so sophisticated that everyday people simply can’t be expected to fight off the constant attacks. That’s why it’s important to take security seriously and bolster your defences with powerful tools of your own. You can download Avast Free Antivirus today, at no cost, and instantly have Avast Assistant and Web Guard by your side in the fight against online scams. Sign up to Avast Premium Security Sign up to Avast Premium Security (£39.99 for the first year) and you’ll also get Email Guard as well as several other features that help protect your device and data. AI is powering up the scams that are out there, so now is the time to match it with your own security-focused armour. Read...

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As a federal antitrust investigation into Google’s Chrome browser wraps up, rivals are striking: Perplexity has launched an unsolicited bid to buy Chrome for a whopping $34.5 billion, according to reports. Bloomberg reported the proposed deal, confirmed by a Perplexity representative, as did The Wall Street Journal. But there’s a hitch: Perplexity doesn’t have $34.5 billion to fund the deal with. In fact, the WSJ estimates its own valuation at just $18 billion. This means Perplexity would have to come up with another source of cash, and it appears that it has done just that. Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko told Bloomberg that “multiple large investment firms have agreed to finance the deal.” Google Chrome is built upon Chromium, the open-source foundation that powers virtually all of Chrome’s rival browsers, including Microsoft Edge, its closest rival on Windows. In the United States, Chrome holds 51.05 percent of all user sessions, Statcounter reports. According to the WSJ, Perplexity agreed to maintain Chromium and keep Google as the default search engine within Chrome, at least for now. Last August, a federal judge found Google’s search and advertising business to be an illegal monopoly. In November of 2024, the Department of Justice proposed a dramatic remedy–that Google should sell Chrome. And with that, the vultures started circling: ChatGPT expressed interest in buying Chrome. In April, Perplexity and Yahoo also expressed interest in buying Chrome. Google, in an attempt to curry favor with the government, killed off its DEI initiatives and chief executive Sundar Pichai tried to glad-hand President Trump at his inauguration. So far, those efforts haven’t worked. Google also said that it’ll appeal the ruling. Now, it’s up to Google to accept or reject the deal–or to force Perplexity’s rivals to put their money where their mouths are. One thing is clear: Google’s Chrome is a hot property, even if it isn’t clear how any bidder will rake in enough revenue from a (mostly) free browser to recoup its payment. Read...

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Is there a way that Intel can be saved? Former Intel chief executive Craig Barrett thinks so, and it isn’t the way the company’s former board members suggest. Intel should have a number of its customers invest a total of $40 billion in the company to ensure a steady supply of chips, the company’s former chief executive wrote over the weekend. Barrett’s comments come as current chief executive Lip-Bu Tan is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Monday at the White House, according to a report. However, the meeting doesn’t appear on Trump’s public calendar. Intel faces numerous crises. On one hand, the company has already announced the layoffs of thousands of employees, dating back to last year. Although Intel solicited billions from the U.S. government as part of the CHIPS Act, it has warned that it might exit chip manufacturing altogether if it can’t find a customer for its 14A manufacturing process. The 14A process follows the 18A process, the foundation of Panther Lake, which Tan has said remains on track. But Trump has also demanded that Tan step down, citing Tan’s ties to a number of Chinese firms in his role as a venture capitalist. In the interim, former Intel chief executive Craig Barrett has weighed in with a list of bombastic thoughts on the matter. Barrett, writing in Fortune, is the 86-year-old former CEO who took the reins at Intel in 1998, succeeding the iconic Andy Grove. Barrett oversaw the Pentium III and Pentium 4, as well as the early days of the Xeon processor. An investment into the future In Barrett’s mind, customers should be investing in Intel to ensure a stable (and American) supply of semiconductors. “Neither Samsung or TSMC plan to bring their state of the art manufacturing to the U.S. in the near term,” he wrote. “U.S. customers like Nvidia, Apple, Google, etc. needs and should understand they NEED a second source for their lead product manufacturing due to pricing, geographic stability and supply line security reasons.” Barrett suggested that Intel’s customers invest a “competitive” $40 billion into the company. “Where does the money come from? The customers invest for a piece of Intel and guaranteed supply,” Barrett wrote. “Why should they invest?  Domestic supply, second source, national security, leverage in negotiating with TSMC, etc.  AND IF THE USG GETS ITS ACT TOGETHER, they catalyze the action with a 50% (or whatever number Trump picks) tariff on state of the art semi imports. If we can support domestic steel and aluminum, surely we can support domestic semiconductors.” (Emphasis Barrett’s.) Fortune, which has apparently dug into its contact list to solicit advice on the Intel matter, previously published an opinion written by former board members arguing that Tan should be fired and the company broken up. “Be serious,” Barrett wrote. “By all means, if you want to complicate the problem, then take the time to split up Intel and make the FFWBMs [the “four former wise board members”] happy but if you’re in the business of saving Intel and its core manufacturing strength for the USA then solve the real problem — immediate investment in Intel, committed customers, national security, etc. Read...