How responsible are you for your internet security?

In the 21st Century we have many more responsibilities at a younger age than in the past. Of course this is due in part to the boom in the internet. Relating back to my previous post of who the responsibility should be with, in regards to online security a recent poll should that behaviours of some Americans ”limit their ability to protect their valuable information and data,” despite the fact that the study results show that 85 percent of Americans feel they are “most responsible for keeping their computers secure, and 40% feel that individual computer users are most responsible for keeping the entire Internet secure.

Clearly we can't be responsible for the entire security of the internet, however, we need to maintain proper 'cyber hygiene' if you will. This could come in the form of having proper anti-virus software, anti-spyware, malware etc, etc.

Some other interesting statistics from the same report are
only 27% of Americans make an electronic backup of their critical files on a weekly basis
more than 55% backup their files less often than once a month. 

“Couple those findings with the fact that the use of computers to store personal data such as photos (76%), music (60%), banking information (39%) and tax returns (30%) continues to steadily rise, computer users face potential significant losses of valuable information,” warns NCSA executive director, Michael Kaiser.

Kaiser makes the point that passwords are also a critical component of cybersecurity enabling computer users to securely access online services and personal information, but nevertheless, the study found that less than 25% of those polled change passwords quarterly and more than 50% of Americans never change them.  In addition, 40% of those surveyed don’t use different passwords for their various online accounts. 


I'll admit, I am certainly a contributor to some of these stats, and we become so complacent with our online security that we neglect to take a proactive approach to ensuring our security in the 21st century.
 
Stay tuned for a list of my favourite and effective "anti-'softwares' to better protect yourself.

The stats were retrieved from an article on iTwire, if you are interested here ya go:

iTwire article