By John P. Mello Jr. 09\/08\/14 3:49 PM PT<\/p>\n
Worried about the NSA spying on your smartphone? How about online hackers? Truth be told, the greatest threat to your confidential information is a lot closer to you -- namely, your partner. <\/p>\n
That's what a recent survey of more than 13,000 people in the United States revealed. <\/p>\n
Avast last week reported its findings. Among them: The majority of women snoop on their men's phones just because they're curious, but a third of married women peek at their hubby's mobile to see if he's faithful. <\/p>\n
Paranoia? Maybe not. Seven of 10 women who snooped on their partner's phone found evidence he was deceiving them. More than half the peeping men found such evidence about their women. <\/p>\n
Once they had the goods, women were 20 percent more likely to confront their significant other with the incriminating evidence, Avast researchers discovered. <\/p>\n
\"It surprised us that people you trust would be checking your phone,\" said Jude McColgan, Avast president of mobile. <\/p>\n
Much is made of elaborate schemes to break into someone's phone, but that's typically not a problem for a partner. Almost half the women surveyed (41 percent) and a third of the men (33 percent) said their partner's phone wasn't protected by a pass code. <\/p>\n
\"It's remarkable that people don't use their pass codes,\" McColgan told TechNewsWorld. \"That's scary if you lose your phone, because you're essentially carrying a PC in your pocket, and all your information is wildly at risk.\" <\/p>\n
In Fourth Amendment circles, advocates often refer to a \"reasonable expectation of privacy.\" <\/p>\n
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