TORONTO – Security is uppermost in the minds of on-line Canadians, a new survey released today shows.
According to the results of a new Internet safety and security poll from Rogers and Yahoo!, 79% of respondents feel it’s extremely important to protect their home computers from potential Internet and security threats. The nuisance of online threats is frustrating more users than ever before, even though 98% of polled users have security software installed on their personal computers.
The poll was released today at the same time the two companies announced the launch of a new integrated suite of safety and security tools for Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet customers. This is the first high-speed Internet service in the Rogers Cable territory to provide a security software suite including PC Anti-Virus to all of its customers at no additional charge, says the company.
The Roghoo! survey revealed that respondents are aware of Internet security threats, aren’t sure if they know enough to stay safe online.
For example:
* 57% of those polled feel held back from exploring the Internet due to concerns about potential online threats like viruses
* 73% would use the Internet more if they felt safe from identity theft
* 86% of those polled have installed and upgraded their anti-virus Internet security software in the past six months
In a mock situation, respondents were asked to imagine their personal computers were about to be invaded with a powerful virus that would erase all files on the system. If given the choice to save two files, respondents most often chose to rescue personal account information.
* 46% chose to save financial account data
* 37% chose to rescue photos and video
* 35% chose to save email and address book contact details
Respondents also said protecting children from offensive material and on-line threats was very important.
The Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet survey was conducted June 14-16, 2005 by Yahoo! on the Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet portal. The survey had a total of 1,510 respondents.
