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October 02, 2008, 03:46 PM ET
Study Finds Many Americans Lack Adequate Firewall Protection
Many Americans who think their computers are safe from hackers actually lack adequate security tools to defend their personal information, according to results from a recent study conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Symantec.
While 80 percent of those polled said their computers have firewall protection, only 42 percent have the proper protection to secure their personal information, the NCSA-Symantec Online Safety Study found. (The full study is scheduled to appear on the alliance’s Web site later today or Friday.)
Representatives from Symantec, the alliance, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security discussed those findings at a news conference in Washington today to kick off the fifth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
The study, which surveyed around 3,000 Americans and included checkups on the personal computers of 400 individuals using Symantec’s PC Help, also found that 26 percent of those polled felt their computers were “very safe” from viruses and 21 percent said they felt “very safe” from attacks by hackers. According to the survey, Americans fared much better against computer viruses than against other threats, as 95 percent of those checked had adequate antivirus software installed in their computers. —David DeBolt
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