20% OZ PCs “Unsecure”: McAfee

A shocking one in five PC’s in Oz have no security.

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Apple Mac recent trojan virus infected thousands of PC’s.

Thats according to security experts McAfee who found 17% of PCs scanned either had absolutely no anti-virus installed or else had software, but was disabled.

The study found that 84.3% of Aussie Pc’s had “basic security protection”, and 15% of PCs had no anti-virus installed or the software was installed but disabled.

These users are “are still leaving themselves open to malware, data loss and identity theft,” warned Michael Sentonas, CTO of McAfee Asia Pacific.

But we’re not doing badly for the protection of our PCs on a global scale – Australia ranked eight out of 20 of the most protected nations globally, beaten by the likes Italy (No. 1), German and neighbours New Zealand (No. 4).

But although we’re good for PC security – it seems we don’t afford our tabs and smartphone the same level of pretection, with a separate McAfee study released in September showing more than a third of people don’t have security protection on all of their devices and 7% had no protection at all.

Cybercrime on mobiles targeting accessible personal data, including financial and card information are attractive to criminals and identity thieves, and personal material such as digital photos can be irreplaceable should devices be lost or stolen, McAfee warns.

While not mainstream yet, consumers face a growing threat of mobile malware, and McAfee Labs predict that more than 1 in 20 devices will be infected within the next 1-2 years.

“Today smartphone and tablet devices are outnumbering PCs,” said Sentonas.

“I encourage everyone without security software to address the security risks posed to their personal devices by ensuring they protect all their devices and personal information against cybercrime with up to date security software.”

“These risks can be easily avoided and we want to highlight the importance of protecting yourself online,” he added.

The global survey also revealed consumers globally say 27% of their digital files are “impossible to restore” if lost, and not backed up properly, and had an average value of over $10K.

So, why do users not protect their devices?

Consumers may not be accustomed to installing their own anti-virus because security software is often pre-installed via the  manufacturer. They also may not understand that once the trial subscription expires they are no longer protected.

McAfee offers All Access, which protects all of a consumer’s digital devices for $149 in Australia and New Zealand –  a single solution that protects consumers’ PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets from a variety of threats.