Men more at risk from spyware

Men aged 18 to 29 are at the highest risk of being infected with spyware, according to research from anti-spyware developer Webroot.

A survey of more than 600 UK respondents found that men are significantly more likely to be infected with spyware than women.

At the heart of the gender divide is the ‘risky behaviour’ of young males who are prone to opening instant messages (66%), downloading files (65%) and visiting adult entertainment sites (56%). Young women’s browsing is ‘safer’, with over 91% stating they had never visited an adult entertainment site and 61% never clicking on pop-up ads.

This survey follows a recent State of Spyware report from Webroot, which found that Britain has the highest spyware infection rate within the EU. The report found an average of 30.5 pieces of spyware detected on every consumer PC.

Webroot suggests that spyware education is a key element to keeping this threat in check. I would suggest ‘survey education’ might be an idea too. A battle of the sexes over which sex is more prone to spyware is hardly one of the weightiest pieces of research work.