Nearly half of Americans are using third-party antivirus software and the rest are either using the default protection in their operating system - or none at all.

In all, 46 percent of almost 1,000 US citizens surveyed by the reviews site Security.org said they used third-party antivirus on their computers, with 49 percent on their PCs, 18 percent using it on their tablets, and 17 percent on their phones. Of those who solely rely on their operating system's built-in security - such as Microsoft's Windows Defender, Apple's XProtect, and Android's Google Play - 12 percent are planning to switch to third-party software in the next six months.

Of those who do look outside the OS, 54 percent of people pay for the security software, 43 percent choose the stripped-down free version, and worryingly, three percent aren't sure whether they pay or not. Among paying users, the most popular brands were Norton, McAfee, and Malwarebytes, while free users preferred - in order - McAfee, Avast, and Malwarebytes.

The overwhelming reason for purchasing, cited by 84 percent of respondents, was, of course, fear of malware. The next most common reasons were privacy, at 54 percent, and worries over online shopping, at 48 percent. Fear of losing cryptocurrency stashes from wallets was at eight percent, doubled since last year's survey.

It also looks like the recently enacted ban on Kaspersky software in the US won't hurt the Russian security shop much. Only four percent of survey participants actually paid for it and three percent used the free version.

Interestingly, use of paid third-party security software doubles with the over-65 age group compared to the under-45s. The report suggests that this is down to the older generation being more cautious, though this vulture wonders if it isn't simply that they grew up in an era when you absolutely had to have some kind of antivirus on your PC or perhaps they are running operating systems that are no longer supported.

Speaking of operating systems, Windows was the OS most likely to have third-party security software at 43 percent of respondents. With Apple, meanwhile, which used
to advertise that it was immune to malware, 31 percent of those polled brought in outside defenses. In the "Other" OS camp, presumably Linux or ChromeOS users, 26 percent reported using third-party tools.

While Apple and Microsoft, to name two, do have their own native security systems, these things either work really well or are bypassed, and are among the first thing malware developers test their code against.

Having a third party add an extra layer of defense - even if that third-party solution is not infallible either - might not be the worst idea in the world, in this vulture's opinion. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/02/third_party_secutity/