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Dec 18 2009   2:00PM GMT

Is that network insecure or unsecure?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Business writing, CIO, commonly misused words, grammar, insecure or unsecure, Quiz, spelling

Which is correct?
The bottom line seems to be that you can’t browse securely on an ________ network.
a. insecure
b. unsecure


Answer: a.

Explanation:
According to most sources, unsecure is not a word. Describing a network as insecure makes it sound like it needs assertiveness training but that’s the form to use. Here’s a snapshot of usage online:

Google poll:
unsecure network: 47,500 hits
insecure network: 53,400
non-secure network: 621,000

Non-secure is the clear winner, although it’s not really a widely-accepted term. However, these things aren’t decided by Google poll — at least not yet — so use insecure.

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Comment on this Post

Leave a comment:

IvyW  |   Aug 31, 2010  4:45 PM (GMT)

I’m glad the US government agrees with me. Thanks for letting me know!


 

Roborant  |   Apr 1, 2011  9:49 AM (GMT)

If I do that I get:

“insecure network”: 319,000 hits
“unsecure network”: 46,000 hits
“non-secure network”: 519,000 hits

Did you include the search term in quotes for this?

However instead of “unsecure network”, google suggests “unsecured network” which generates 300,000 hits. Personally I prefer that.


 

Roborant  |   Apr 1, 2011  9:54 AM (GMT)

Also, without quotes, google automatically shows results for unsecured network instead of non-secured network.


 

IvyW  |   Apr 7, 2011  12:16 PM (GMT)

I got 318,000 for “insecure network” this morning. Not sure how I got just 53,4000 when I posted — that information’s lost in the mists of time now. I messed up somehow, though, clearly. :)

I think “unsecured network” [I]sounds[/I] better but seems to my ear to imply a network that has no security measures implemented, whereas an insecure, unsecure or non-secure network might just not be effectively protected.