Internet Users Underestimating Online Threats

A new study by security firm AVG highlights that one in ten Internet users surfs the Web without any sort of security protection, thus making their personal details more susceptible to cyber attacks.

According to AVG, Internet users make a heavy mistake of underrating the risks from the increasing number of computer viruses and malware.

In the survey, the security firm discovered that downloaded music worth £718 Million is at stake because the people storing their music online do not have sufficient online security solution (such as anti-virus and anti-malware software) in place. As a result, the music is left exposed to cyber attacks in case the PC is compromised.

An interesting fact that has come out in the survey is that women are far ahead of men in using Internet security software. In addition to this, 95% Internet users over 50 years of age install security software that safeguards them from PC viruses. This clearly indicates that the younger generation is more susceptible to online attacks, which may be due to downloading of content from websites hosting malware or visiting social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook that are regularly attacked by cybercriminals.

Mike Foreman, Managing Director, AVG, stated that it's quite surprising to see the huge quantity of data that is currently being stored on PCs and the extent to which users expose themselves to cybercriminals as well as the loss of important personal and financial details, as per the news published by scotsman.com on June 7, 2010.

Giving another reason for the rising threat to the users' personal information, Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager, AVG (AU/NZ), said that cybercrime is getting increasingly organized and sophisticated and thus, becoming more difficult to understand, reported itwire.com on June 7, 2010. Moreover, such incidents are under reported as victims are confused and embarrassed, he added.

Remaining ignorant towards the nature of cyber crime and the emerging risks is something that poses the biggest threat to the Web users. The study, in fact, highlights that 80% of cyber attacks can be easily prevented if the user is knowledgeable.

Related article: Internet Threat Volumes Overwhelm Security Companies

» SPAMfighter News - 6/16/2010