PC Tools’ research reveals US consumers are apathetic about online security

San Francisco, December 12, 2007: Leading security vendor, PC Tools, today released the findings from a worldwide survey of more than 25,000 respondents of which 12,307 were from the US. Results revealed that despite customers having a high level of awareness regarding online security and the requisite computer security products, consumers are demonstrating widespread indifference to other preventative measures. This result comes despite an overwhelming number of respondents reporting that their computer had been infected by a malicious threat.

US consumers surveyed were aware of the security threats posed by social networking sites, emails and downloads such as viruses, spyware, malware, spam, firewalls and trojans, for example. Yet an alarming 49% of US consumers surveyed indicated that they continue to download and file share regardless of the known risks, despite the fact that 78% of respondents had reported that their computer had been infected by malicious threats.

“The fact PC Tools’ website visitors - who are at least aware and in most cases well informed of the risks - are unconcerned s suggests that we can expect a significantly greater problem among the general public, exposing consumers to financial loss and identity theft,” said Simon Clausen, Chief Executive Officer, PC Tools.

“This research has confirmed our belief that the industry must approach computer security and cyber crime from an educational perspective. Unfortunately, it’s not so simple - consumers need to want to be educated. All too often it takes an incidence of an attack involving identity theft or monetary loss for it to affect real behavioral change,” said Clausen.

PC Tools warns that, if users insist on file sharing or other risky online activities, it is critical that they deploy real time behavioral-based protection, such as Spyware Doctor, or the free ThreatFire.

Key Findings

The following research confirms PC Tools’ US website visitors have a high level of awareness about computer security:

Only 8% of US respondents were unaware of the associated risks of downloading and file sharing

• 92% of US respondents understand the term computer virus
• 88% of US respondents understand the term spyware
• 71% of US respondents have both anti-virus and anti-spyware software installed on their computers
• 87% of US respondents are confident that their computers are protected but 49% still engage in file sharing through downloads and social networking sites
• 51% of US respondents scan their computers for spyware and viruses weekly, while 37% do so daily
• 74% of US respondents have real-time blocking protection

Methodology

This survey was conducted online by PC Tools’ newsletter subscribers between September 2007 and November 2007. 25,506 people responded worldwide, with 12,307 US respondents.

Contingencies

This survey was a customer-based survey so may not be reflective of the Australian public as a whole. We could expect that PC Tool’s customers are likely to have much greater knowledge about emerging threats and security protection.

ABOUT PC TOOLS

PC Tools is a global software leader with a cache of security and utility products, including the multi award-winning Spyware Doctor®. PC Tools is an industry leader in real-time anti-spyware and has a number of key patents pending.

The PC Tools Malware Research Centre monitors trends and emerging spyware issues and provides security solutions for the consumer and enterprise marketplace. The company is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in San Francisco, London, Shannon (Ireland), Melbourne, Kiev, and Boulder. PC Tools has a global network of distributors, resellers, and retailers.

Media Contact

pr@pctools.com