In the EU, 25% of Internet users experienced certain common security issues, such as viruses affecting devices, abuse of personal information, financial losses or children accessing inappropriate websites, in 2015, whereas 75% encountered no such problems.
Internet security related problems in 2015 were least frequent in the Czech Republic (10%), the Netherlands (11%), Slovakia (13%) and Ireland (14%). At the opposite end of the scale were Croatia (41%), Hungary (39%), Portugal (36%), Malta (34%) and France (33%).
For those users who had security related issues over the internet in 2015, catching a virus or other
computer infection (e.g. worm or trojan horse) was the main problem experienced. Twenty-one percent caught a virus or other computer infection, with the highest share in Croatia (41%), Hungary (36%), Portugal (33%). Compared with 2010, the share dropped in all member states, except Croatia.
On the other hand, 14% of Croatians did not use the Internet for specific activities because they had concerns about security, as against 35% of Romanians, 34% of Swedes and 30% of Portuguese.
Security concerns also kept 6% of Croatians from e-banking activities, as against 27% of Internet users in Germany, 26% in Portugal and 24% in Italy.
Using the Internet with a mobile device via wireless connection from places other than home was limited or avoided due to security concerns mostly in the Netherlands (22%), Latvia (21%) and Spain (20%), and 4% in Croatia.