AVG Warns Against Growing Threat of Cyber Crime at Home

Melbourne, 13 January 2010 - According to the FBI, cyber attacks are potentially more dangerous than a nuclear attack and weapons of mass destruction. In our society, where everything of importance is controlled by computers, should these fall prey to cyber criminals, it could result in 'cybergeddon'.

While we have yet to experience anything on this scale, we are still under constant threat from cyber crime.

With PCs now containing up to 200 million lines of code of which 2 million could include bugs, and with homes full of mobile phones, games consoles and PDAs, the potential for falling prey to hackers and identity theft is a real and growing threat, according to leading distributor of anti-virus and internet security software, AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd.

Lloyd Borrett, Marketing Manager of AVG (AU/NZ), said: "We expect our workplace computers and data to be protected to the highest level but people are failing to fully protect their personal information. With cyber criminals becoming ever more sophisticated, it is crucial to be protected at home."

"Each line of code in your PC could include bugs that are easily infiltrated by hackers. A virus in your computer may only be an inconvenience but identity theft is a very real concern," he said.

Reports from the UK suggest that theft from online bank accounts is growing at a staggering rate of 50% per year.

"While government security services worldwide are doing as much as they can to protect us from broader 'cybergeddon', it's up to each individual to protect their own equipment and data," Borrett said.

AVG offers comprehensive real-time protection for home and small to medium businesses to guard against all threats from viruses, spam, spyware, adware, worms, Trojans, phishing and exploits to hackers, scammers and identity thieves.

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