A survey carried out by online security experts BullGuard has revealed that one in ten Brits have been victim of cyber fraud, whilst not protected by paid-for cybersecurity software.
Over 10,000 consumers were researched for the survey, which also revealed that 66% of BullGuard customers have used a free antivirus solution in the past and of those who switched from free AV to a paid-for cybersecurity solution, 65% said it was because they wanted better protection and 61% said they felt safer.

Paul Lipman, CEO at BullGuard said: “These findings illustrate just how important good cybersecurity protection is. They also undermine some voices in the security industry that claim paid-for cybersecurity software is no longer viable and that free antivirus is just as effective. Clearly, end users feel different and would much rather have the deeper levels of protection and service and support that paid-for cybersecurity provides.”
Respondents cited a wide range of concerns when asked what heir biggest online safety concerns were, including phishing emails to identity theft to card details being cloned, computers crashing, malware infected ads, PayPal accounts being hacked and also becoming victims of ransomware.
87% of those polled said protection against theft of personal information was their biggest concern, while 69% of respondents were concerned about phishing emails pretending to be from reputable companies.
The loss of banking information concerned 72% of respondents while a further 67% flagged up ransomware as of particular concern. Unsurprisingly though, a large 84% simply don’t want their computers infected by viruses when they go online.
