Consumer Alert: McAfee Releases Results of Global Unprotected Rates Study

Security experts labelled 2011 “Year of the Hack,” with a string of high-profile attacks against corporations and consumers alike. There is no doubt cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate. The question is: what can you do about it?

McAfee set out to address this question by first understanding the overall level of consumer security preparedness worldwide. The study was conducted in 24 countries, analyzing data from an average of 27-28 million PCs each month, to determine a global estimate of the number of consumers who have basic security software.

• McAfee found that one in every six personal computers have zero protection: 17% of those scanned either had disabled or nonexistent anti-virus software.
• The country with the lowest rating was Singapore, with 21.75% of consumers unprotected.
• Perhaps the most surprising: the United States ranked in the bottom 5 least protected, with 19.32% of consumers living without basic security.
• The country with the highest percentage of basic security protection was Finland, with only 9.7% of consumer PCs unprotected.
• Consumers globally say 27% of their digital files would be “impossible to restore” at all if lost, and not backed up properly, and had an average value of $10,014 US.

If security software is so important, why doesn’t everyone have it?

Unfortunately, many consumers still believe that by simply sticking to known “safe” sites, they’ll be protected from all forms of malicious content. The fact is: the prevalence of sophisticated attacks is rising at an alarming rate. Furthermore, with the adoption of smartphones and tablets, mobile malware has become an immediate threat due to easily accessible personal data like financial and credit card information stored on mobile devices.

Finding a Solution

“The freedom to browse the Internet comes with the added risk of unwanted exposure, and cybercriminals are preying on unsuspecting victims,” says Steve Petracca, SVP and GM of consumer, small business and mobile at McAfee.  “With the increasing number of global cyber-attacks affecting consumers, it is critical that the 17% of consumers that are unprotected update their virus protection before it’s too late.”

Cybercriminals will only continue to increase in number and sophistication as time goes on, but consumers can protect themselves and take control from the bad guys. McAfee makes it easier than ever for consumers to protect all of their devices with award-winning McAfee All Access, which protects all of your digital devices.

See the complete results below, and join the conversation on Twitter by following @McAfee

McAfee Charts of Global Security Protection Rates:

Ranking of Countries by Percentage of Consumers with Basic Security Protection

Ranking	Country Ranking by Percentage of Consumers Protected	Percentage
1	Finland	90.30
2	Italy	86.20
3	Germany	85.55
4	New Zealand	85.22
5	Denmark	85.00
6	France	84.80
7	Brazil	84.50
8	Australia	84.30
9	Netherlands	84.20
	Norway	84.20
10	UK	83.52
11	Malaysia	83.20
12	Sweden	83.05
13	Philippines	82.87
14	India	82.67
15	Korea	82.42
	Ireland	82.42
16	Canada	82.10
17	China	82.00
19	Japan	80.65
	US	80.65
20	Mexico	79.40
21	Spain	78.67
22	Singapore	78.25

 

Ranking of Countries by Percentage of Consumers Unprotected (No Anti-Virus Installed or the Software was Installed, but Disabled)

Ranking	Country Ranking by Percentage of Consumers Unprotected	Percentage
1	Singapore	21.75
2	Mexico	21.57
3	Spain	21.37
4	Japan	19.35
5	US	19.32
6	China	18.02
7	Canada	17.92
8	Ireland	17.57
9	Korea	17.55
10	India	17.32
11	Philippines	17.12
12	Sweden	16.92
13	Malaysia	16.77
14	UK	16.5
15	Norway	15.72
	Australia	15.72
16	Netherlands	15.7
	Brazil	15.7
17	France	15.17
18	Denmark	14.9
19	New Zealand	14.77
20	Germany	14.47
21	Italy	13.8
22	Finland	9.67

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranking of Countries by Percentage of Consumers With No Anti-Virus Installed

Ranking	Country Ranking of Consumers Without Any Security Software Installed	Percentage
1	Spain	16.325
2	Japan	13.2
3	China	12.975
4	Mexico	12.9
5	US	12.25
6	Korea	12.225
7	Sweden	11.15
8	Netherlands	10.9
	India	10.9
9	Philippines	10.625
10	Ireland	10.55
11	Brazil	10.45
12	Singapore	10
13	Norway	9.75
14	Germany	9.7
15	UK	9.65
16	Denmark	9.6
17	France	9.5
18	Canada	9.475
19	Italy	9.15
20	Australia	9.075
21	New Zealand	8.525
22	Malaysia	8.5
23	Finland	6.175

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ranking of Countries by Percentage of Consumers with Security Software Installed, but Disabled

Ranking	Country Ranking of Users with Security Software Installed, but Disabled	Percentage
1	Singapore	11.75
2	Canada	8.45
3	Malaysia	8.27
4	Mexico	7.67
5	United States	7.07
6	Ireland	7.02
7	UK	6.85
8	Australia	6.65
9	Philippines	6.50
10	India	6.42
11	New Zealand	6.25
12	Japan	6.15
13	Norway	5.97
14	Sweden	5.77
15	France	5.67
16	Korea	5.32
17	Denmark	5.3
18	Brazil	5.25
19	Spain	5.05
	China	5.05
20	Netherlands	4.8
21	Germany	4.77
22	Italy	4.65
23	Finland	3.5

 

¹ PCs scanned either had no anti-virus installed or the software was installed, but disabled.
² Basic security protection is defined as working anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall technologies.

About Survey
McAfee analyzed security scans voluntarily submitted by consumers globally using a free diagnostic tool for PCs called McAfee Security Scan Plus. It works with most security software programs and actively checks a consumer’s computer for threats, anti-virus software and firewall protection. It is for Windows operating systems only.  Between 27 – 28 million scans took place each month globally. No personal information was collected as part of these scans.

Note: Due to rounding, country data may show a variance of +1%.