Our curiosity is contagious
More than one million Hungarian internet users visit virus-infected websites despite receiving a clear alert from their antivirus.
And one in ten adults will turn off security software if they want to access a file that the antivirus has blocked.
"No security software can protect users if they do not deal with its alerts," points out Gergő Zoltán Kiss, ESET's senior consultant in Hungary. On behalf of ESET, the NRC conducted the research, which proved the belief that a significant proportion of Hungarian users do not take anti-virus software signals seriously, thus voluntarily and knowingly infecting their computers.
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According to the results of the research, a quarter of Hungarian Internet users browse an infected website despite its anti-virus software alert, if they are interested in its content. 15% of men also turn off their antivirus to launch a file that security software has indicated is infected, while 6% of women do so. Young people are particularly at risk. 18% of 29-17 year olds usually turn off their antivirus to launch infected files and 12% to visit infected websites.
“The creators of viruses take advantage of human curiosity and the false sense of security of users sitting in front of a monitor. Our survey also revealed that more experienced Internet users are most at risk. They are the ones who mistakenly think that they can easily manage the threats and can also afford to visit infected websites or disable the antivirus in order to open an infected file, ”says Gergő Zoltán Kiss, who said that in addition to applying adequate computer protection, users should also strive to use the Internet responsibly.
