Nearly half of Americans are still using third-party antivirus software, despite the fact that most mainstream operating systems have security code baked in.

In all, 46 percent of almost 1,000 US citizens [1]surveyed confirmed that they used third-party security software on their computers, with 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, 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 bizarrely, 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.

[2]

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 was at eight percent, doubled since last year's survey.

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It also looks like the [4]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.

[5]No defence for outdated defenders as consumer AV nears RIP

[6]2.8M US folks learn their personal info was swiped months ago in Sav-Rx IT heist

[7]Apple boosts bug bounties but may not fix some bugs in past operating systems

[8]Researchers claim Windows Defender can be fooled into deleting databases

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 and having more assets to protect, but this hack wonders if it isn't simply that they grew up in an era when computer operating systems were dangerous without someone else's security code on there, 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 [9]to advertise that it was immune to malware, 31 percent of those polled brought in outside security code. In the "Other" OS camp, presumably Linux or ChromeOS users, 26 percent reported using third-party code.

While Apple and Microsoft do have their own native security systems, these are the first thing malware operators test their code against. Having a third party add an extra layer of defense might not be the worst idea in the world. ®

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[1] https://www.security.org/antivirus/antivirus-consumer-report-annual/

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/malwaremonth&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZoQkHieSdnL4vVYr9CttDQAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/malwaremonth&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZoQkHieSdnL4vVYr9CttDQAAAIM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/20/us_bans_kaspersky_software/

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/10/opinion_column_consumer_av/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/28/savrx_data_theft/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/28/apple_boosts_bug_bounties_blogs/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/22/edr_attack_remote_data_deletion/

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0feR5grSa4

[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/