Female PC users are less likely than males to succumb to
computer viruses and receive junk mail in their
inboxes.
A Mori poll of over 1,000 adults conducted on behalf of internet
security company StreamShield Networks found that men were much
more severely affected by spam and viruses.
The poll found that 46% of men reported that their PC had been
infected with a virus, compared with 38% of women, and that 50% of
men experienced excessive spam against 38% of women.
Men also experienced more unwanted pop-up ads, with 74%
reporting this problem, compared with 69% of women.
In addition, while 29% of male PC users reported having received
a fraudulent e-mail from a source pretending to be a financial
institution, asking for their banking details, this was true of
only 16% of female users.
Similarly, while 8% of men had experienced online fraud, only 4%
of women had been victims.
Despite these figures, the survey found that men had the greater
overall awareness of internet threats, such as viruses, spyware and
phishing.
Geoff Bennett, StreamShield director of product marketing, said,
“The research shows there is a clear difference between the male
and female experience when online. One possible reason for this is
that the two sexes may be using the internet differently.”