Is your antivirus “good enough”? New survey shows more and more are paying for protection — but many of us just don’t seem to care
Both free and paid antivirus services are becoming increasingly popular
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Utilizing thebest antiviruscan be the difference between a good day and a bad one, especially as cybercrime took a toll of $12.5 billion on the American public in 2023.
New research has revealed just over half (54%) of Americans are now using either the “good enough” default antivirus included on theiroperating systemor none at all, with the rest relying on third-party services for protection.
Of those that use a third-party service, 54% pay for the service, while 43% rely onfree antivirussoftware. The remaining 3% aren’t sure if they pay or not.
Computer, tablet, and phone protection
The statistics come from a recentstudyby Security.org into the habits of Americans when it comes to device security. For paid protection, the American public tends to favorNorton, McAfee and Malwarebytes, with those using free-services pickingMcAfee, Avast and Malwarebytes as their device defender of choice.
In terms of devices and operating systems, nearly half (49%) of computer owners chose a third party service to keep their PC safe, with 48% of Windows users choosing a third party service, compared to 31% of Mac users and 24% of those using a different OS such as Linux.
When it comes to more portable devices, just 18% of tablet users chose to download a third party antivirus software, with phones following shortly after at just 17%. When it comes to why people are using antivirus, 84% use it for general security and protection againstmalware, followed by 56% citing general privacy concerns, and 48% using it for increased protection during online shopping.
Concerningly, 40% of those who currently do not use antivirus say that they don’t need it, with 45% also saying that it is simply too expensive. The survey also looked at the attractive additional services included with antivirus, with 20% sayingidentity theft protectionis most appealing as a feature, closely followed by the inclusion of aVPNat 17%, and asecure browserat 16%.
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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.
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