Utilizing the best antivirus can be the difference between a good day and a bad one, especially as cybercrime took a toll of $12.5 billion on the American public in 2023.
New research has revealed just over half (54%) of Americans are now using either the “good enough” default antivirus included on their operating system or none at all, with the rest relying on third-party services for protection.
Of those that use a third-party service, 54% pay for the service, while 43% rely on free antivirus software. The remaining 3% aren’t sure if they pay or not.
Computer, tablet, and phone protection
The statistics come from a recent study by Security.org into the habits of Americans when it comes to device security. For paid protection, the American public tends to favor Norton , McAfee and Malwarebytes, with those using free-services picking McAfee , Avast and Malwarebytes as their device defender of choice.
In terms of devices and operating systems, nearly half (49%) of computer owners chose a third party service to keep their PC safe, with 48% of Windows users choosing a third party service, compared to 31% of Mac users and 24% of those using a different OS such as Linux.
When it comes to more portable devices, just 18% of tablet users chose to download a third party antivirus software, with phones following shortly after at just 17%. When it comes to why people are using antivirus, 84% use it for general security and protection against malware , followed by 56% citing general privacy concerns, and 48% using it for increased protection during online shopping.
Concerningly, 40% of those who currently do not use antivirus say that they don’t need it, with 45% also saying that it is simply too expensive. The survey also looked at the attractive additional services included with antivirus, with 20% saying identity theft protection is most appealing as a feature, closely followed by the inclusion of a VPN at 17%, and a secure browser at 16%.
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