SAN JOSE, CA — (Marketwired) — 06/09/15 — New research from F-Secure highlights some of the ways Apple users are unique to people using other devices. The survey asked 2000 Americans what device they used the most during their free time, and collected responses from approximately 1000 “Apple respondents” and 1000 “non-Apple respondents”.
F-Secure conducted the research survey in April 2015* to get a better grasp on how people using different devices have different security and privacy needs. F-Secure asked the respondents 20 questions about what sort of devices they use, why they use them and how they view different aspects of their online privacy and security. Some of the more interesting findings included:
46 percent of Apple respondents said they used mobile devices to make most of their commercial transactions, compared to just 14 percent of non-Apple respondents.
56 percent of Apple respondents said they connect to public Wi-Fi more than once a week, compared to 29 percent of non-Apple respondents.
44 percent of Apple respondents either have, or are planning to use, a virtual private network (VPN), compared to just 27percent of non-Apple respondents.
The majority of Apple respondents said they would pay over 100 dollars to recover lost or stolen content, whereas the majority of respondents using other devices said they would only pay less than 100 dollars.
More Apple respondents felt their friends would describe them as “creative”.
More Apple respondents felt that their own device community (those using Apple devices the most) was safer than groups of people using other devices.
According to Sean Sullivan, F-Secure–s security advisor, the results paint a picture of Apple users as more mobile and open to taking online risks, but also more open to adopting technologies that allow them to manage those risks. “It–s interesting because people in the Apple community see it as being safer than others, and perhaps that–s why they–re more mobile and flexible when it comes to where they–re willing to make commercial transactions. More Apple users have used VPNs, so more of them seem to be aware of both the problems and solutions to their online privacy.”
More Apple respondents said that their friends would characterize them as “creative” than non-Apple respondents, making Apple respondents a significant percentage of the total number of creative respondents in the survey. Because more Apple respondents associated themselves with creativity than their counterparts, the creative subpopulation gave some additional insights into how different groups of people view and use their devices differently. Some interesting findings about creative respondents included:
The majority of creative respondents said they would pay 100 dollars or more to recover lost or stolen content, while the majority of efficient respondents would only pay less than 100 dollars.
44 percent of creative respondents either have, or are planning to use a VPN, compared to just 30 percent of efficient respondents.
37 percent of creative respondents felt that they were more vulnerable to online threats than other people using the same devices, compared to just 25 percent of efficient respondents.
Sullivan was not surprised to see that the majority of all respondents felt that their community was less vulnerable, but was surprised that creative respondents seemed to contradict this trend. “It–s interesting because people in the Apple community see it as being safer than others, and perhaps that–s why they–re more mobile and flexible when it comes to where they–re willing to make commercial transactions. More Apple users have used VPNs, so more of them seem to be aware of both the problems and solutions to their online privacy.”
While Sullivan is a self-professed “Windows guy”, he regularly and enthusiastically uses Freedome on his iPad. “The clean interface and comprehensive set of features is the kind of design that I think is important to Apple users, so it–s an ideal privacy and security solution for people using Apple devices.”
F-Secure–s Freedome VPN is a security app that respects people–s privacy, encrypts communications, blocks tracking attempts, blocks malicious websites and lets users choose from 17 different virtual locations to help them access geo-blocked websites and streaming services. Freedome is currently available for iOS, OS X, Android, Windows PC, and Amazon Fire devices. People can visit until June 11th to sign-up for an extended 3-month free trial, or get 50 percent off a 3-device year-long subscription to Freedome.
*Source: The survey was conducted in the United States by Toluna Analytics, and collected data from 1000 recipients that said they used Apple devices the most in their free time, and 1000 recipients that said they used other devices the most in their free time. More details and results can be found .
F-Secure has been defending tens of millions of people around the globe from digital threats for over 25 years. Our award-winning products protect people and companies against everything from crimeware to corporate cyberattacks, and are available from over 6000 resellers and 200 operators in more than 40 countries. We–re on a mission to help people connect safely with the world around them, so join the movement and switch on freedom!
Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
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