Improving Protection and Security Awareness Amongst Home Users

Relatively little is known about the home user's protection, with increased protection with throughout business making them a much harder target and the success and proliferation of bot networks home users present an easier and more lucrative targeted. A survey was conducted into understanding user's perceptions and knowledge of security. The survey received over 415 responses of home users about their knowledge of security issues and their use and protection of their computer systems at home. It revealed interesting conclusions that while users are generally confident about their security and feel they have heightened awareness about the main threats. While such firewalls and anti viruses are installed on their systems they are not updated regularly sufficiently enough to provide sufficient protection. Especially with a willingness to use submit financial and personal details online and store sensitive information on their machines. There is also a lack of awareness about phishing threats and insufficient protection against more recent threats such as spyware this may have worrying implications for the future with rising uptake and consequently threats from Instant Messenger and Voice Over IP applications and technologies. What is key to the results is that users do not feel that there is not the information available, to help them and there is a sever lack of awareness of government run initiatives such as Get Safe Online. Users would also not know where to report crime. Research was also conducted to see if there is adequate level of security teaching within information technology courses and qualifications. It revealed that while the importance of accurate and secure information is significantly emphasised there is relatively little about the actually threats to home users 9r how to protection procedures to use.School of Computing, Communications and Electronic