New F-Secure cyber security offering for consumers combines connected home protection and password management with internet security and a consumer virtual private network

The era of protecting everything that goes online is here. F-Secure TOTAL has been expanded to provide premium cyber security to anyone who uses the internet, their devices and their homes.

“Twenty years ago, you didn’t spend hours a week surfing the web through your phone. There was no free public Wi-Fi, no massive data breaches, no smart washing machines, no ‘smart’ anything,” says Sean Sullivan, Security Advisor at F-Secure. “This is the era old-school antivirus comes from. Back then, you just had to protect your PC from threats that mostly cost you time, not money. Now, almost everything goes online, cyber crime is big business, and everything that goes online needs to be protected.”

Last year, F-Secure merged its award-winning internet security solution SAFE and FREEDOME VPN – which enables customers to encrypt communications over Wi-Fi, use virtual locations, and surf the web without being tracked – to create TOTAL. Now TOTAL will include the premium features of F-Secure KEY and an F-Secure SENSE security subscription to protect all the smart devices in their home.

“TOTAL aims to fix a security problem that has existed for decades – password management,” Sean says.

The most commonly used passwords in the world are ‘123456’, ‘password’, ‘123456789’, ‘12345678’, ‘12345’ and ‘qwerty’, according to independent research from Ben Berkowitz of MWR InfoSecurity[i], which was acquired by F-Secure in May 2018.

Billions of leaked passwords over the last few years have left customers who don’t employ best practices for password security vulnerable to hackers, regardless of how well they secure their devices or homes.

“KEY makes it easy to use unique, strong passwords on every account, and keep those up-to-date in all of the devices you carry,” says Antero Norkio, F-Secure’s Vice President of Product Management for Consumer Cyber Security. “Best of all, KEY proactively notifies you on major data breaches rather than you finding out about them later, if at all.”

And F-Secure TOTAL now tackles even more insecure devices by including an F-Secure SENSE software subscription (the required SENSE device is still sold separately). The subscription allows you to protect every smart device you’ll find in the home, including things like internet-connected TVs and appliances that could make an entire home network vulnerable to online threats.

“Both Interpol and the FBI issued warnings in 2018 that say the time to start protecting IoT devices in your home is now[ii],” says Sullivan.

“Adding SENSE to TOTAL completes the feeling of safety that we want to provide to consumers, whether at home or on-the-go. And in the future, we’ll also be making the SENSE software available on third-party compatible routers,” adds Norkio.

A subscription to F-Secure TOTAL now includes:

• F-Secure SAFE’s award-winning internet security that protects you from viruses, trojans and ransomware, secures online banking connections, and allows parents to set limits for internet usage for children.
• F-Secure FREEDOME VPN that hides your online activity to ensure anonymous and secure internet browsing.
• F-Secure KEY password manager that protects all your passwords and PIN codes on all of your devices.
• F-Secure SENSE’s protection for connected-home devices and appliances. The required SENSE router is sold and available in the following countries: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

[i]Source:https://blog.f-secure.com/fbi-echoes-interpol-secure-iot-devices/

[ii]Source:https://github.com/berzerk0/Probable-Wordlists/blob/master/Real-Passwords/Top12Thousand-probable-v2.txt