One out of every six PCs either has no security software installed, or the security software subscription has expired, according to a recent study by security software vendor McAfee.
McAfee analyzed data from voluntary scans of between 27 million to 28 million computers a month to determine the level of security on PCs being used to access the Internet. Researchers found that 17 percent of PCs had either no security software installed or had security software that had expired, according to the company, which is owned by chip making giant Intel.
The study hit on PCs in 24 countries, and the United States did not fare well, landing as the fifth least protected country, McAfee found. In the United States, 19.32 percent of Americans are browsing the Internet with no protection. Breaking that down, 12.25 percent of U.S. consumers have no security protection installed, while 7.07 percent have security software that is installed but has been disabled, such as through expired licenses.
Consumers around the world said that 27 percent of their digital files would be "impossible to restore" at all if lost and not backed up properly, and that those digital files had an average value of $10,014, according to McAfee.
To read the original eWeek article, click here: McAfee: 1 in 6 PCs Have No Security Protection
