July 14, 2005
Spyware Gets Users to Change Online Habits
Over 90 percent of internet users in the United States have altered their online behavior significantly to counter the threat of spyware programs, according to a study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Spyware and the threat of unwanted programs being secretly loaded onto computers are becoming serious threats online. Tens of millions of Americans have been affected in the past year by software intrusions and many more have begun to take precautions by changing the way they use the internet. Overall, 91% of internet users say they have made at least one change in their online behavior to avoid unwanted software programs.
Among the changes:
- 81% of internet users say they have stopped opening email attachments unless they are sure these documents are safe.
- 48% of internet users say they have stopped visiting particular Web sites that they fear might deposit unwanted programs on their computers.
- 25% of internet users say they have stopped downloading music or video files from peer-to-peer networks to avoid getting unwanted software programs on their computers.
- 18% of internet users say they have started using a different Web browser to avoid software intrusions.