A recent survey carried out by internet security company AVG found that British people were more likely to get angry at their computers anything else.
The anti virus software provider surveyed a total of 3,000 people throughout the UK and asked them a number of questions, including how they felt when they experienced computer problems.
Just under half of those surveyed said they got angrier with their computers than anything else in life, including their partners.
The top reason given for why they got so mad at their computers was because the computer was too slow. Now that’s understandable, I don’t know anyone who has a computer that goes fast enough, until there’s a totally instant response, we’re always going to complain.
The second reason was computer crashes. Anyone who has suffered a computer crash, and surely we all have at some point, will know how infuriating it can be.
The third most popular response was annoying popup advertisements whilst surfing the net. Obviously these people didn’t know how to turn them off.
Now here’s one that will make you smile, almost a third of those surveyed admitted that they had even shed a tear or two over computer problems. Hey haven’t we all, the rest probably didn’t want to own up to that.
I don’t think the Brits are any different to anyone else when it comes to emotional reactions to computers.
Also revealed by the survey was the fact that one in ten people use no anti-virus software whatsoever, even though there are free versions of anti virus protection offered online, including the one from AVG, and despite the fact that a quarter of users had lost data as the result of a virus.
AVG reckon that in general, people underestimate the risks of surfing online without protection, including the emotional cost when things go wrong.
“It’s astonishing how much we store on our personal computers today – and how open we can leave ourselves to cyber criminals and the loss of content with financial and emotional implications” said AVG managing director Mike Foreman.
The survey also revealed that downloaded music worth £718 Million is at risk because people don’t have enough protection in place on their computers.
Other interesting findings were that men are more likely to risk using the computer without some form of anti-virus protection and older users were the most cautious with over 95% making sure they had anti virus software in place.
