IT and Society: Portrait of typical Net surfer in Russia released

Kaspersky Lab has presented a portrait of a typical Russian Web surfer, which rests upon the data of 14.6 million Russians received by Kaspersky Security Network – a cloud-based threat monitoring network in 2011.

Unlike citizens of most developed countries, an average Russian Internet surfer still remains loyal to Windows XP (55%), which is less protected than Windows 7, and as a result he turns out to be more vulnerable.

This year three fourth of Russian Internet users visited websites which either contain or distribute malware. Web antivirus of more than half Russian users (56%) at least once a year detects malware — this is the highest rate in the world. Internet Explorer appears to be the major target for cyber criminals with 17% of antivirus alarms. Browsers which proved to be less attractive for malefactors are Mozilla Firefox (14%), Google Chrome (11%) and Opera (8%).

7% of Russians regularly suffer from phishing attacks, and it mostly occurs on fake websites – on average, one user suffers 10 phishing attacks per year.

Within 2011 Russian users have become victims of 939 million cyber attacks. On average, one user suffers 64 cyber attacks per year. Of no less danger are cyber threats for the rising generation.