Indian tweens fast adopting Internet, but neglecting security measures: McAfee

Indian tweens, children between 8 and 12 years of age, are enthusiastically adopting the Internet using multiple devices, but are using risky or low level security passwords, a survey by cyber security major McAfee revealed.

McAfee's Tweens and Technology Report 2013 said tweens are vulnerable to risky behaviour on the Internet, and a good number of them have chatted to someone online that they didn't know previously.

"On an average, online tweens in India are using between 3 and 4 devices that can be Internet-enabled - laptop, mobile and desktop predominantly. While 61 percent respondents said they use desktops, 40 percent use tablets and 68 percent use mobile to access the Internet," the survey said.

However, the report notes a disturbing trend on the rise among tweens is their apathy towards their own online safety. 58 percent of the respondents surveyed use risky or low level security passwords online and almost half of the tweens surveyed share information about themselves over Facebook (41 percent), it added.

McAfee's survey was conducted on Indian tweens comprising 572 male and 428 female respondents from Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Another dangerous trend that the survey by the US-based firm revealed is that Indian tweens are becoming more trusting of the virtual world to familiarise themselves with unknown people, in spite of being aware that it is risky.

Thirty-six percent of the respondents said they have spoken to someone online that they didn't previously know, while 22 percent said they have shared personal information online. 26 percent who did share this did not think it to be risky.

"Tweens have a clear preference for not only the devices used for Internet connectivity but also the type of activity on these devices. So while desktop is preferred mainly for home work, tablets are dominant when it comes to exchanging pictures and playing games," McAfee said.

70 percent of the respondents primarily using the desktop said they use it for academics, compared to 38 percent who use tablets. Almost half of the respondents said they use tablets for playing games and exchanging pictures, compared to 40 percent using desktops, it added.

About 22 percent of the respondents said they spend 2 to 4 hours every day on Microsoft's gaming platform Xbox, the report added.