The report found that over three quarters of the UK's population (83 per
cent) don't know enough about protecting themselves online, and that 42 per cent
of the population just rely on friends and family for online safety advice
rather than finding expert information for themselves. It estimates that online
sales are worth £10 billion a year and 14 million people use online banking.
John Hutton, the Cabinet Minister responsible for e-Government, said: "The
internet has become an essential tool for businesses and consumers, but we all
know there are risks too. That's why we¹re running the Get Safe Online campaign
to make the internet a safer place to make financial transactions and exchange
personal information."
The campaign urges everyone to do a SAFE check on their PCs:
S = Spyware - run an anti-spyware program.
A = Anti-virus - get anti-virus protection.
F = Firewall - have a firewall and make sure it¹s switched on.
E = Ensure your operating system is updated.
"This is a step in the right direction to help educate the public over how to
stay safe online. The problem at the moment is that internet security is a
confusing landscape, with technical jargon going over the head of the typical
consumer,¹ said Tom Newton, product manager for
SmoothWall Limited.
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