Young web users most at risk from Cybercrime

According to the security vendor, recent research revealed that 18-32 year olds are the most social web users with 59 percent regularly using instant messaging and 67 percent frequently visiting social networking sites such as . When they're not social networking, 57 percent of 18-32 year olds are using the web for online banking.

"Many would assume that the younger generation is too savvy to be fooled by online threats, but just because they are tech savvy doesn't mean that they are security savvy - and this is a very important distinction," said Michael Greene, vice president of product strategy, PC Tools.

"In fact, younger people are at greater risk because of their high consumption of a wide variety of online content. The popularity of social networking sites, instant messaging services and shopping, music and video websites make these venues a virtual open door for financial gain for cybercriminals," he continued, using the recent , which attacked Facebook users as an example.

"As cybercriminals adopt more sophisticated methods to trick users into downloading malware, even the most tech-savvy and cautious internet users are at risk of infection. It is imperative that consumers adopt the latest in security software, behavioural-based protection."

With this in mind PC Tools has launched a Security Savy quiz on its website, which it hopes will let web users "determine their security know-how and find out more about behavioural-based security".