Panda Security Launches 'Internet in Safe Hands' Campaign, Encourages Senior Citizens to Stay Safe

Internet usage study finds users over 60 years old spend most time on email, searching the web for information on leisure activities and online shopping

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Panda Security

Feb 15, 2011, 01:14 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Security, The Cloud Security Company, today announced initial results from an Internet usage study, marking the launch of the "Internet in Safe Hands" campaign, which aims to educate and protect the whole family by offering Internet security tips according to each member's common habits and online behaviors. This month, Panda Security will highlight guidance to users over 60, who did not grow up using computers and may be unknowingly exhibiting risky online behavior.

According to a Panda Security study conducted from November to December 2010, 69 percent of Internet users over 60 in the United States are male, and 68 percent spend more than five hours a week online, mostly checking their email (100 percent), searching for information on leisure activities (73 percent), online shopping (72 percent) and banking online (57 percent).

While the study indicates that use of social networks and actively commenting on blogs is not a frequent habit of most senior citizens (34 and 14 percent, respectively), even use of email can put users at risk for phishing and other malware schemes.

When asked about comfort level, 65 percent of senior citizens claim to have average Internet knowledge; 76 percent feel safe when surfing the Web; and 44 percent find face-to-face training to be the most effective tool to become web savvy.

When asked what they perceive to be the most serious Internet security threats, the most common answer is virus infections (95 percent); followed by identity theft (83 percent) or, more precisely, theft of email credentials and banking data. The security of banking transactions is also a source of concern for 67 percent of respondents, as well as spam for 58 percent. Thirty-eight percent of senior citizens are also worried about coming into contact with strangers while using the Internet.

When asked whether they know how to protect themselves from Internet security threats, 44 percent of US senior citizens admit they are not sure. However, some senior citizens do take precautionary measures such as keeping anti-virus up to date (41 percent) and avoiding unfamiliar websites and email attachments (32 percent). Thirteen percent report to have a firewall installed and enabled, and 8 percent even browse the Web for the latest security news, tips and recommendations.

Since many senior citizens are also grandparents, they too must be mindful of children's activities on the Internet. Eleven percent of respondents over 60 acknowledged that minors use their home computers, of which 41 percent only sometimes monitor their activities and 17 percent do not monitor or do not how to monitor them.

When global respondents were asked about main difficulties when shopping online, the most common answer is identifying safe, trusted sites to buy from (64 percent); the second is creating strong, easy-to-remember passwords (51 percent); followed by third, using payment platforms for online shopping (44 percent). Strikingly, 41 percent of the global respondents over age 60 say they use the same password for all their online accounts to avoid remembering various credentials, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation.

A graphic representation can be found here: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Graph-2-ENG.jpg

About "Internet in Safe Hands" Campaign

Panda Security's "Internet in Safe Hands" campaign aims to educate and protect the whole family by offering Internet security tips according to each member's common habits and online behaviors. The campaign focuses on increasing the safety of teenagers, parents and senior citizens by enhancing their knowledge through simple tips and other content.

Men, women, children and senior citizens can find a dedicated section on the website detailing main concerns, threats and risks for their age group. With simple tips, Panda Security hopes to increase every user's confidence and ability to avoid security threats. Families will find resources to help better understand online security and easy ways keep themselves protected, such as free online courses and PDF guides ready to print or download.

For more information on how to stay in safe hands, please visit: http://protectyourfamily.pandasecurity.com/

About Panda Security

Founded in 1990, Panda Security is the world's leading provider of cloud-based security solutions, with products available in more than 23 languages and millions of users located in 195 countries around the World. Panda Security was the first IT security company to harness the power of cloud computing with its Collective Intelligence technology. This innovative security model can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples every day, guaranteeing corporate customers and home users the most effective protection against Internet threats with minimum impact on system performance. Panda Security has 61 offices throughout the globe with US headquarters in Florida and European headquarters in Spain. Panda Security collaborates with Special Olympics, WWF and Invest for Children as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility policy.

For more information, visit http://www.pandasecurity.com. Follow Panda on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Panda_Security and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PandaUSA.

SOURCE Panda Security