Americans’ Understanding of Basic Internet Safety [Infographic]
How much do Americans know about internet safety? Not much, it turns out. According to a recent poll conducted by the internet security company Panda Security, many Americans do not take sufficient precautions to protect themselves and their computers and smartphones against the everyday hazards of the web. Only 11% of Americans use a virtual private network, or VPN, to protect their data from being mined for illegal use.
Hackers regularly exploit public WiFi networks to gain information from websurfers that can be used maliciously such as financial account information, names and addresses, account information, and other data sent unencrypted over the web. 49% of Americans do not use a VPN, and 40% of Americans even admitted to not knowing what a VPN is.
Furthermore, the results of the Panda Security poll indicated that most internet users do not know the difference between HTTP and HTTPS. HTTPS offers a secure browsing experience with a level of encryption to protect data being sent over public networks from being read by third parties such as hackers. The survey also revealed that most Americans fail to update their computer software regularly, leaving them exposed to viruses and other software vulnerabilities.
You can read a complete explanation of the survey questions, as well as the survey’s results, at the Panda Security blog here.
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