53% of IT Pros Plan To Upgrade to the More Secure Windows 8, New InformationWeek Reports Research Finds

San Francisco, Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InformationWeek Reports (http://reports.informationweek.com), a service provider for peer-based IT research and analysis, announced the release of its latest research report. Windows 8 Survival Guide: OS and Browser Security encompasses analysis of results from InformationWeek's recent Windows 8 Survey and guides readers in evaluating the security improvements in Microsoft's latest server OS and Internet Explorer 10. More than 850 business technology professionals responded to this poll.

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Research Summary:

Windows Server 2012 brings significant security improvements, including application controls to limit the fallout of exploits, improved password management tools, a beefed-up anti-malware package and more encryption options. Yet of the 452 respondents upgrading to Windows 8, few have definite adoption plans for these controls.

Findings: 

• 49% are concerned enough with the SkyDrive technology within Windows 8 to block access.
• 21% say they will not use the built-in Windows Defender antivirus and anti-malware protection vs. 18% who will definitely adopt.
• 14% will use the built-in Password Manager, which caches passwords for multiple accounts and makes them available across devices.
• 18% of those expecting to use, or considering use of, Picture Password are extremely concerned about security.

The report author, Michael A. Davis is the CEO of Savid Technologies, a technology and security consulting firm based in Chicago, and an InformationWeek and Network Computing contributor.

For full access to the research data, members can download now: http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/8969/Security/windows-8-survival-guide-os-and-browser-security.html?cid=rpt_press_rls

"Microsoft is really trying to mend fences with security pros," says Lorna Garey, content director of InformationWeek Reports. "The low percentage of respondents saying they'll definitely adopt features like Windows Defender shows the resistance that remains, but we believe that once IT gets to do some testing, they'll see the benefits. IE 10 is also a vast improvement that can't come quickly enough."

For more information:
Art Wittmann
VP & Managing Director, InformationWeek Reports
415-947-6361
awittmann@techweb.com

Source: UBM TechWeb

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