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UK consumers lax with online financial security

13 August 2012

Consumers expose personal financial details to unnecessary levels of risk shows research from Kaspersky Lab on the launch of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013

More than half (58 per cent) of UK consumers are leaving personal financial details exposed to cybercriminals despite placing online financial security at the top of their list of safety priorities, according to a new Kaspersky Lab study. Though 45 per cent of consumers fear financial details could be intercepted while shopping and banking online, the majority still fail to pay for internet security software meaning that personal information is not adequately protected.

UK consumers are lax with financial security in general. 13 per cent of respondents still leave their password stuck on the front of their computer, and 31 per cent store important account details and passwords on their desktops making their data easily accessible to criminals.

The study by Harris Interactive , commissioned by Kaspersky Lab, demonstrates that users are aware of Internet dangers with over a third (34 per cent) having seen phishing messages trying to steal their banking, social networking and other credentials when shopping or banking online. In spite of this, many users are still very casual about using their credit cards, with 30 per cent of consumers using credit cards for online purchases without a second thought, making themselves easy prey for cybercriminals.

To help consumers protect their most personal and financial details, Kaspersky Lab launches the new Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 to ensure that users are always safe as they shop, surf, visit social networks and importantly, bank, with the new ‘Safe Money’ feature, alongside a new anti-spam module, a new antivirus engine, and a simplified user interface.

 “When developing the new versions of our home user products we paid particular attention to the users’ needs as well as the threats they face. Knowing that the loss of sensitive data and money are the things that worry users most, we have developed an entire set of new protection technologies to address these concerns,” commented Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab. “Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 is now better than ever when it comes to protecting the most valuable information during online banking and shopping. With its new Safe Money technology and Automatic Exploit Prevention, Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 helps our customers to build the most efficient security system on their PC.”

About Kaspersky Internet Security 2013


Safe Money technology contains a diverse set of protection methods for when the user deals with real money online. Such activity may include making purchases online, working with an electronic payment system like PayPal, or accessing a bank account. The new feature provides enhanced protection for all financial operations. Here is how it works:

  • Switches automatically to special “Safe Browser” mode when visiting banking websites; this isolates your payment operation from other online activities to ensure a transaction is not monitored
  • Activates automatically when visiting most common payment websites, and the user can easily add his own bank or shopping website to the list
  • Checks the authenticity of the payment website itself to ensure the site isn’t compromised or a fake
  • Safe Money evaluates the security status of the computer, and warns about significant threats that should be addressed prior to making payments
  • Virtual Keyboard, designed to protect the most sensitive data against keyloggers when in Safe Money mode, has been bolstered with another technology called Secure Keyboard which utilises a special keyboard driver to prevent malware from logging keystrokes. This ensures tamper-proof entry of password or credit card numbers


Kaspersky Internet Security 2013: The technology behind the world-class security suite


Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 offers a number of brand new technologies, designed to combat the most widespread and sophisticated threats that target personal data and bank accounts. Main highlights are:

  • Unique Safe Money technology protects users’ money “at all costs” during online shopping and banking
  • Unique Automatic Exploit Prevention technology targets the most sophisticated threats utilising vulnerabilities in popular software
  • New anti-spam module efficiently blocks unwanted mail, saving you time and hassle
  • New antivirus engine with better detection rates for the entire scope of emerging cyber threats
  •  Simplified user interface provides easier installation, activation and day-to-day use of the product
  • Better performance in key user scenarios and longer battery life for mobile computers

Protection from zero-day exploits


Automatic Exploit Prevention technology was designed to address some of the most sophisticated threats – those exploiting vulnerabilities in popular software. Exploits have long become the cybercriminals’ weapon of choice for performing online attacks known as ‘drive-by downloads’” – when a user gets infected just by visiting a certain webpage. Automatic Exploit Prevention protects Kaspersky Lab’s customers against these types of exploits, including those that utilise so-called zero-day vulnerabilities. The latter are among the most dangerous, infecting the system using unknown or unpatched security flaws in popular software. Based on Kaspersky Lab’s vast experience in IT security, the Automatic Exploit Prevention technology is able to recognise unauthorised activity by an exploit without blocking the normal operation of a potentially vulnerable program such as a web browser, document viewer etc.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013: the backbone of a PC’s security system


Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 is the backbone of a PC’s security system, working behind-the-scenes to deliver the fastest and most trusted virus and spyware protection in the world. Main highlights are:

  • New antivirus engine with better detection rates for the entire scope of emerging cyber threats
  • New anti-phishing module that features automatic updates and improved heuristic detection of websites that try to steal passwords and other valuable data.
  • Simplified user interface provides easier installation, activation and day-to-day use of the product
  • Real-time protection against viruses, spyware, Trojans, rootkits, and more
  • Automatic Exploit Prevention to ensure vulnerabilities won’t compromise your PC
  • Website and email scanning to detect malicious software
  • Fast and efficient PC performance
  • Instant safety checks on files, applications and websites
  • Rollback of harmful malware activity performance

System Requirements

Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 are optimized to use a minimal amount of system resources. This includes:

  • Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP (32 or 64 bit)
  • Processor: 800 MHz CPU for Windows XP or 1 GHz CPU for Windows Vista or Windows 7 
  • RAM: 512 MB for Windows XP or 1 GB (32 bit)/2 GB (64 bit) for Windows Vista or Windows 7
  • Disk Space: 480 MB of free space on the hard drive for installation

Availability and Pricing


Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 will be available from 28 August 2012. One-year licences of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 can be purchased for £39.99, and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013 for £29.99.

To learn more about Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013, please visit: www.kaspersky.co.uk

UK consumers lax with online financial security

Consumers expose personal financial details to unnecessary levels of risk shows research from Kaspersky Lab on the launch of Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
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About Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection, specialized security products and services, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help over 200,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

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