Data issued today by the European Union shows that half of Maltese Internet users reported having suffered a computer virus even though the Maltese, along with the people of Norway, Lithuania, Finland and Luxembourg, take the most IT security precautions.
The data was issued by eurostat - the EU's statistical arm - to coincide with Safer Internet Day.
In the EU27 in 2010, almost one third of individuals (31%) who used the internet in the 12 months prior to the survey reported that they suffered a virus or other computer infection resulting in loss of information or time during this period. The highest shares of internet users who suffered a virus or other computer infection were found in Bulgaria (58%), Malta (50%), Slovakia (47%), Hungary (46%) and Italy (45%), and the lowest in Austria (14%), Ireland (15%), Finland (20%) and Germany (22%).
Use of parental control software remains limited
In 2010, 14% of individuals in the EU27 who used the internet in the last 12 months and live in a household with children had a parental control or web filtering software installed. This share was highest in Luxembourg and Slovenia (both 25%), followed by France (24%), Denmark, Austria, the United Kingdom (all 21%) and Finland (20%). Malta was 9%.
Of the individuals in the EU27 who used the internet in the last 12 months and live in a household with children, 5% reported that they experienced children accessing inappropriate websites or connecting with potentially dangerous persons while using a computer within the household. The highest shares were recorded in Italy (11%) and Latvia (9%). Malta's figure was 2%.
Internet security problems and use of IT security software
(% of individuals who used the internet in the last 12 months)
|
|
Caught a virus or other computer infection (worm, Trojan horse, etc.) |
Abuse of personal information sent on the internet and/or other privacy violations |
Financial loss due to 'phishing', 'pharming' or payment card misuse |
Use any kind of IT security software or tool (anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall, etc.) |
|
EU27 |
31 |
4 |
3 |
84 |
|
Belgium |
32 |
3 |
3 |
89 |
|
Bulgaria |
58 |
7 |
1 |
73 |
|
Czech Rep. |
26 |
1 |
1 |
68 |
|
Denmark |
29 |
4 |
3 |
89 |
|
Germany |
22 |
2 |
3 |
88 |
|
Estonia |
42 |
4 |
2 |
65 |
|
Ireland |
15 |
2 |
4 |
80 |
|
Greece |
34 |
3 |
2 |
83 |
|
Spain |
33 |
7 |
4 |
84 |
|
France |
34 |
5 |
2 |
89 |
|
Italy |
45 |
6 |
4 |
67 |
|
Cyprus |
34 |
1 |
2 |
79 |
|
Latvia |
41 |
5 |
8 |
62 |
|
Lithuania |
34 |
2 |
1 |
79 |
|
Luxembourg |
28 |
5 |
3 |
91 |
|
Hungary |
46 |
4 |
2 |
84 |
|
Malta |
50 |
4 |
5 |
91 |
|
Netherlands |
23 |
6 |
3 |
96 |
|
Austria |
14 |
3 |
5 |
87 |
|
Poland |
30 |
3 |
1 |
79 |
|
Portugal |
37 |
4 |
2 |
86 |
|
Romania |
* |
5 |
2 |
64 |
|
Slovenia |
37 |
1 |
1 |
88 |
|
Slovakia |
47 |
3 |
1 |
86 |
|
Finland |
20 |
1 |
2 |
91 |
|
Sweden |
31 |
1 |
2 |
89 |
|
United Kingdom |
31 |
4 |
7 |
88 |
|
Norway |
28 |
3 |
3 |
91 |
|
Croatia |
33 |
2 |
2 |
78 |
|
Turkey |
36 |
4 |
3 |
58 |