Avira Asks About Online Reputation: Are You Confident or Naive?

Avira Security Web Survey Finds 40% Confident That No Damaging Information About Them Exists, While 36% Have No Clue

Tettnang/München, Germany, July 5, 2011 – A recent survey of its customers conducted by Avira and Ruflotse found that an almost equal number of respondents claim no negative information exists about them on the Internet while the other half has no idea if damaging info exists and doesn’t keep tabs on their online reputation.

A survey question was presented to Avira’s 100 million customers worldwide during May, 2011: Be honest; is there any unpleasant or potentially damaging information about you on the Internet?

• 36% – No idea, I've never monitored whether anything bad about me exists.
• 15% – Yes, unfortunately. If I knew how to do it, I would delete the information right away.
• 6% – Yes, but I don't really care. It doesn't bother me.
• 4% – Not any longer - I erased all the information.
• 40% – No, there is no negative information about me on the Internet.

1,555 respondents with a margin of error of +/- 2.49 percent.

“This survey highlighted the two main groups of Internet users: those that care about their online reputation and those that don’t bother to keep track,” said Travis Witteveen, COO Market & Operations from Avira. “It’s critical to know what information exists about you online because if it’s negative it can damage your reputation and not knowing isn’t much of an excuse in this generation of instant information.”

Avira and Ruflotse offer these tips to stay safe online:

1. Personal Information: Less is best! – Do not make all information about you available online or on any social media site such as address, city, telephone, friends, preferences, relatives, etc. - If this information is freely available, someone with a little luck could theoretically impersonate you even on most secure websites since the questions asked to retrieve a password are usually related to this type of information.
    
2. Passwords
   • Don't use the same password on all the social networking websites.
   • Do not use the same password for your email address and a website or instant messenger solution.
   • Never keep emails containing passwords in your email account folders since if your email account is compromised, then those other accounts will be easy pickings.
      
3. Monitor your account: With monitoring services like Ruflotse Protect Plus, users can monitor their own names as well as their children's names and are routinely updated on new entries on the Internet.

Chi siamo

Avira desidera che i suoi clienti siano immuni da spyware, phishing, virus e altre minacce vaganti su Internet. L’azienda è stata fondata 25 anni fa in seguito alla promessa di Tjark Auerbach: “Creare software da cui i miei amici e la mia famiglia possano trarre beneficio”. Oggigiorno sono più di 100.000.000 gli utenti e piccole aziende che fanno affidamento sull’esperienza di Avira in termini di sicurezza e sul premiato software antivirus, e Avira è diventata la seconda azienda leader nel mercato. Avira fornisce protezione e sicurezza informatica a computer, smartphone, server e network, sia tramite software che con servizi cloud.

Oltre alla protezione dell’universo online, il CdA di Avira promuove il benessere di quello offline, attraverso la Auerbach Foundation, una fondazione che supporta progetti di carattere sociale e filantropico. La filosofia della fondazione è “aiutare le persone ad aiutare se stesse”.

Per ulteriori informazioni visitare il sito www.avira.com oppure unirsi alla community su www.facebook.com/avira.