Vietnam lost $283 mln in 2010 to computer viruses
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Virus related damages cost Vietnamese computer users US$ 283 million in 2010, a recent study by Bkav warned.
The Vietnamese antivirus software developer Bkav has just released its independent study on financial damage caused by computer virus in 2010.
The damage cost was calculated based on users’ incomes and the amount of working time lost during computer glitches.
The study reveals that an average Vietnamese user lost US$ 57 due to virus related problems last year, which makes up a total loss of US$ 283 million for 5 million frequent users.
93 percent of computers in Vietnam were attacked at least once by viruses in 2010, compared with 97 percent in Bkav 's 2008 study, while 36 percent got virus at least once a month.
USB flash drive continues to be the main source of spreading viruses as 96 percent of users said their memory sticks were infected at least once last year.
Fortunately, users’ awareness of computer security and how to deal with virus have increased over the past year.
93 percent said they would use legal and copyrighted antivirus software to protect their computer while 49 percent would contact antivirus software producers for assistance, compared with 2008’s 34 percent.
Also, users are more cautious about internet links sent through chats or emails; only 10 percent said they would click on those unfamiliar links.
53 percent have not paid enough attention to personal passwords to their emails or PCs while 63 percent do not frequently or have never locked their computer when leaving them unattended, the study warned.
“To protect information security, users should provide strong passwords which usually have more than 9 characters comprising numbers, texts, capital letters and symbols such as @ # $ % ^ & *”, a Bkav technician said.
“They should not reveal passwords to anyone, write them somewhere or change them too often,” he concluded.
