Do Senior Citizens Need Online Security?

The appeal of the Internet as a means of communication and of rapidly solving daily tasks tends to cover all age categories. That is why security vendors are trying to devise a way for the newcomers to this community to safely access online resources as well. One category of people who seem to have recently joined the e-world is that of senior citizens.

The basic assumption vendors seem to start from when designing products for these users is that things must be made easier. Though it does not appear to be bad in itself, this principle is likely to give rise to some sort of prejudice if it is understood as "senior citizens no longer have the mental flexibility of learning new things". Well, isn't this reluctance to adapt to the new valid for all age categories? If we agree that the answer is yes, then the root of the matter might lie elsewhere, not in the age of the Internet users.

Let's then start anew: senior citizen-oriented security should not be simpler and plainer for age reasons. Then how should it be? The answer to this question is quite complicated as it presupposes actually taking the time to talk to those concerned, understanding why they have not used the Internet and data security so far and listening to what they expect to be able to use on-line resources for.

Then, there are education, living standards and the political evolution of the region these people live in to be taken into account. Plus the simple principle of personal choice: we should all be able to decide how much new information we need at one point in time.

As far as education is concerned, it would be false to assume that all senior citizens around the world are equally computer literate. However, as computer literacy becomes a requirement in education systems, the very concept of senior citizen security is likely to disappear at one point. Practically, if all people who have access to the education system acquire basic computer knowledge, their skills in this domain will not be connected to their age anymore.

Moreover, if people are exposed, earlier in their lives, to exhaustive information about what the Internet is and how dangerous it can become, they are likely to build trust in it and to choose their security rationally, rather than just emotionally, out of fear of the unknown. Information dissemination is crucial here.

The living standard and the socio-political evolution issues are closely connected. They are relevant in as much as people will be willing to buy more complicated devices and even think about securing them once they can afford to get their minds off their basic survival needs: food, clothing, medication.

Furthermore, state level decisions in point of Internet use must be compatible with senior citizens' degree of awareness in this domain. Let's take a simple example. Requiring that senior citizens should use ATM machines and even on-line banking applications to access their retirement benefits in countries where these are still "recent technological developments" is quite counterproductive unless you make sure the beneficiaries are well aware of how the systems work. For lack of information, they walk to the ATM machine and take out all the money received as retirement benefits because they do not trust the machine. Which is even more dangerous than if the postman continued to bring them their money to their door.

Having considered all of these issues in principle, if and when the use of Internet is a rational and informed choice for senior citizens, here are a few practical things that might be taken into account when helping them choose a data security solution:

1. Find a reliable source of information about the Internet and about how it can help/harm you. It should be adapted to the senior person's level of computer knowledge and to his/her needs.

2. Consider the language barrier. Make sure the solution is available in your local language so that the user will not be at a loss in front of cryptic pop-up messages. The BitDefender data security solutions, for instance, are available in 18 languages.

3. Try to find out the user's expectations with respect to the security solution as well as the main activities he/she is likely to use the computer for. The solution itself should indicate what kind of online activities it protects and why. All of this background information will tell you if the person in question actually falls within the official "senior" profile or not.

You might find that security solutions not specifically dedicated to senior users are just as easy to use. For instance, in its intuitive installation wizard, BitDefender Total Security 2010 provides its users with the possibility of choosing a specific profile, based on what they plan to do on the Internet. By choosing the Typical profile, senior users can secure their browsing and multimedia activities.

Additionally, if they select the Novice profile they will not receive any notification about the activity of the product, which will do its work silently, in the background.

4. Make sure the user can understand the solution's user manual and that support is available in case he/she needs it. To meet this request, all BitDefender solutions provide a support link directly from the interface, which makes it easier for users to get assistance right away.