Hardware faults and malware pose greatest danger, according to research from Kaspersky Lab
89% of consumers regard preserving personal data as extremely important, yet over 45% of users have suffered at least one form of data loss within the past five years, according to a recent survey conducted by B2B International in conjunction with Kaspersky Lab.
Results from the survey revealed that hardware faults are the most frequent reasons for data loss, as reported by 22% of respondents. This was followed by malware infection, with 13% of consumers losing sensitive data as a result of a malicious program - a figure which rose to 20% in regions such as South-East Asia.
User error was also to blame for data loss, including accidental deletion of data (11%), and physical damage to a computer or a laptop (5%). Meanwhile, 3% of consumers ran the risk of their personal data falling into the wrong hands when their computer was lost or stolen.
The survey also indicated that users want to store information on their computers for several years. Despite 59% of respondents buying their current PC within the last two years, most of them use external hard drives to preserve and transfer older information. Even with the high frequency of data loss, 11% of users have information from more than 10 years ago stored on their computers, and 41% have files dating back 3-10 years. Only 6% of users try to purge files that are more than six months old.
The latest research shows that preserving personal data – an important aspect of a consumer’s digital life – is almost universally regarded as extremely important. Two key security measures significantly reduce the risk of losing personal information: regular backups, and proper protection from malware and other threats. Kaspersky PURE 2.0 is one of very few products that combine both highly efficient anti-malware protection and backup functionality. This solution also features Parental Controls and centralised monitoring of all protected computers on a home network, designed to deliver the highest level of protection for the entire family.
Learn more about Kaspersky PURE at: http://www.kaspersky.co.uk/pure
