Over the course of a few weeks at the beginning of September, the National Cyber Security Alliance, with the assistance of McAfee Software, conducted a comprehensive survey of nearly 400 Americans regarding the security of their home computers. The study was comprised of three parts: telephone, email and a consensual scanning of their personal computers. Although this study was conducted in the United States, it is estimated that the data for Canadians is not all that different. The executive overview of the survey concludes that while we are aware of the importance of security, we are far less secure than we think.

On to the numbers! Most Americans believe they are well protected:

87% believe they have antivirus software installed

73% believe they have a firewall

70% believe they have anti-spyware software installed

The reality:

Of the 87% that believe they have antivirus software, 92% of those believe that their software is up to date. In reality, only 55% were up to date.

Only 64% have their firewall enabled

Only 55% of those that thought they had anti-spyware software really did

Only 12% have anti-phishing software

Only 22% of survey participants are considered “well protected”

These numbers are not at all unexpected to me. Perhaps it’s my cynical nature, but the results of this survey are actually more positive than I had anticipated. In my years of experience in the security field, I estimate that only about 20% of home users actually keep their antivirus and antispyware software up to date. My definition of “up to date” is AT LEAST once per week. If you’re not updating your virus or spyware definitions weekly then you’re looking for trouble.

So why is there such a disparity between what we perceive to be our level of protection and what is, in fact, the harsh reality? Are people just lazy? No. We just want our computers to work and we don’t want to have to spend too much extra time on tasks that don’t enhance our productivity. My guess is these numbers will never get better. Security professionals, along with those “IT guys” everywhere have always preached the importance of protective software and keeping it up to date. I don’t blame anyone for their lax attitude toward the never-ending need to keep up with the overwhelming security issues we’re forced to deal with. Unlike many in my profession, people’s complacency about their computer’s security does not bother me. What does, however, is how people continue to rely on Windows PCs, especially for their home. The business market is a different situation altogether, where the need for Windows PCs is more reasonable, and complacency about security can be disastrous.

I’ve always maintained that the day will come when Macs get hit with a nasty virus and spyware begins to infiltrate the operating system. But as time goes on, and the more that I learn, I believe this day is a few years away. Until then, I see no reason, other than for those who require Windows for gaming or business software, why more of us aren’t buying Mac. I may be a Mac fanatic, but Mac is certainly not the only almost-worry-free game in town. There are many great Linux distributions that can be used as well, and they’re not only free but much more user friendly than their reputation of being hard to understand.

Not a week goes by without someone telling me how frustrated they are with their Windows PC, especially Vista. It’s no wonder that PC users don’t have the time to fool around with updating all the security software!