Smartphone Users are Lax about Security, AVAST Survey Finds
Security company AVAST surveyed 9,060 smartphone owners in the US and found that most smartphone owners do not take security seriously.
Or to put it in other words, AVAST’s survey found that most smartphone owners in the US are careless about security. 49% do not backup their data and 34% do not use anti-theft or anti-virus software.
Earlier this year, security company AVAST surveyed 9,060 smartphone owners in the US. The results of the survey have recently been made public. After taking a look at the figures, the main conclusion is that smartphone users do not take security seriously.
“The findings suggest an ongoing disconnect people have with their phone and computer when it comes to security protection. Many smartphone users have not yet grown accustomed to thinking of their devices as small computers that store valuable, sensitive, and often priceless personal data,” said Caroline James, US PR Manager for antivirus software company AVAST.
“One can now perform the same functions on their phone as the trusty PC or laptop, but the majority of people are still learning about the necessity to protect their phones from viruses and hacking,” Caroline James added.
AVAST Survey – Main Findings
Or to put it in other words, AVAST’s survey found that most smartphone owners in the US are careless about security. 49% do not backup their data and 34% do not use anti-theft or anti-virus software.
Earlier this year, security company AVAST surveyed 9,060 smartphone owners in the US. The results of the survey have recently been made public. After taking a look at the figures, the main conclusion is that smartphone users do not take security seriously.
“The findings suggest an ongoing disconnect people have with their phone and computer when it comes to security protection. Many smartphone users have not yet grown accustomed to thinking of their devices as small computers that store valuable, sensitive, and often priceless personal data,” said Caroline James, US PR Manager for antivirus software company AVAST.
“One can now perform the same functions on their phone as the trusty PC or laptop, but the majority of people are still learning about the necessity to protect their phones from viruses and hacking,” Caroline James added.
AVAST Survey – Main Findings
- Respondents – 9,060 smartphone owners from the US took part in the survey.
- Data backup – 49% do not backup their data. This is surprising, because 80% say they are concerned about losing data stored on their smartphones.
- Virus and theft protection – 34% do not have anti-virus and anti-theft software on their smartphones.
- Guys vs. girls – guys are more likely to get a virus on their smartphone. 34% of males compared to 32% of females are vulnerable to mobile malware.
- Most sensitive data – 79% of respondents consider passwords as the most sensitive data; 74% consider contacts, 66% consider email, 57% consider photos/videos, and 50% consider text messages as the most sensitive data on their smartphones.
- Internet connection – 80% connect to the web with their data plan and 40% with public WiFi.
- Most popular smartphone and brand – the iPhone is the most popular smartphone choice in the US. But Samsung is the most popular brand. 35% of male and female respondents chose Samsung; 26% of male and 24% of female respondents chose Apple.
- Phone usage – 87% use their phone for calls, 80% for SMS texting, 75% for browsing the web, 72% to send and receive emails, 67% to socialize on Facebook, and 67% use it as a means of checking the time and as an alarm clock.
- Brand loyalty – Apple manages to keep 76% of its users loyal to the iPhone. Samsung manages to keep 67% of its users. Blackberry use is in decline; most Blackberry users who gave up on the device, switched over to Samsung.
