Use antivirus? Our research shows you probably update it manually

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In light of stories about hacking, malware infestation and millions being lost to scam and phishing, TechRadar carried out its own investigation about the state of PC desktop security with the help of you - our readers.

We carried out a randomised, non-scientific survey that got more nearly 50,000 responses.

Two questions were asked: Do you update your software on a regular basis? (software referring to your operating system, Java or your browser), and: Are you aware that outdated software can leave your computer vulnerable to attack?

A whopping 74% of those who answered said that they manually update their software applications, with only 11% claiming that the applications did it automatically.

Updating apps? What's that?

Worryingly, 15% didn't update their applications at all because they didn't know how to do it, because they didn't have time to do it or because they couldn't be bothered with it.

Perhaps more worrying is the fact that despite all the media coverage and constant badgering from bundled security applications, a staggering 17% of respondents claimed not to have been aware that not updating their outdated software left them opened to all sorts of nasties.

Commenting on the results, Avast's COO Ondrej Vicek said: "Faults in application designs and codes are frequently exploited by cybercriminals and are therefore serious security threats. Hackers like to target vulnerabilities in popular software and devices because it gives them a good chance of infecting a large number of users at once. It is therefore vital that you update all your software on a regular basis."

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