Are You One of Them?
I'd like to bring an article from InformationWeek to your attention. The title of the article is "Consumers Think Their PCs Are Secure -- But They're Wrong". It was written by Sharon Gaudin and references a study* by the National Cyber Security Alliance.
When it comes to putting their computers -- and their personal and financial information at risk -- consumers simply don't know how much trouble they're in.
This comes from a study jointly released by the National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee. The survey shows a dramatic gap between consumers' perceptions and the reality, according to Bari Abdul, VP of McAfee Consumer.
"We found that consumers have a heightened sense of awareness about cybersecurity," Abdul told InformationWeek. "The bad news is that they have a false sense of security. For instance, 70% say they have anti-spyware, but only 55% do. They think it's either part of their antivirus software or they think they installed it but they haven't. There's a huge difference between perception and reality."
Abdul pointed out that 93% of consumers polled said they're confident that they're protected against malware. And 94% said they have antivirus software. They're not even close to the truth.
According to Abdul, 48% of those same respondents actually had let their anti-virus software expire and they were running without any AV protection whatsoever.
"They are full exposed," he added. "Maybe they don't renew their antivirus because they're under a time crunch or they think it's a bother. We know a lot of consumers ignore those messages they get about the product. Sixty-five percent of consumers don't like to manually click on an update. ... We have our work cut out for us to tell them they need to renew."
Abdul also noted that the study showed that 78% of consumers don't have a full combination of antivirus, firewall, and anti-spyware applications. And for the 81% who do have a firewall installed on their computer, only 64% actually activated it.
As bad as these numbers might look, it's not slowing people down from storing more of their personal and financial information on their machines and doing more of their banking and investing online. ...article continues [here].
Now the study was done in 2005. I'd be quite interested to see another done in 2008 to see if the situation has improved, gotten worse, or remains relatively the same.
My question to you is, which group do you belong to?
Are you a responsible 'netizen', or are you part of the problem?
Stay safe folks!
*This link is to a [PDF] file. Depending on how your browser handles PDFs you can view it or download it and then read it. To download it, right-click on the link and choose "Save as".
Note: If your computer uses Adobe's PDF Reader, you need to update it because of recent vulnerabilities. Read about the vulnerability and get an updated version here (vulnerability page includes links for Windows and Macintosh versions).
Give it time, sounds like you're doing the right things..
Hi Ken,
It sounds like you're on the right track. Just like so many other things in life, it takes time to learn. Sometimes we learn the hard way, and those are usually the lessons that stick with us, but if you can learn from others and avoid some of the pitfalls so much the better.
You sought out someone experienced for advice on what programs to get, and you're careful who you give your credit card info to. Sounds like you're quite responsible. Now as long as you keep your programs updated and ask questions whenever you're unclear about things you'll be on your way towards being the guy others ask for help.
One of the tricks is to keep learning. Technology is changing so fast these days, but once you get the basics down it's easier to keep up.
These days banks protect you pretty well when you shop online as long as you keep a close watch on your accounts. The sooner you catch something that doesn't look right and bring it to their attention the better. The Internet has made doing that much easier with online banking. It's not foolproof, but as long as you know how to protect yourself and stay alert you can keep an eye on your banking whenever you want to 24/7. Pay bills, transfer money, check your credit report, all from home. The main thing is keeping your computer protected and free of anything that shouldn't be on there. The other part is making sure that you have a secure connection with the bank or online merchant, and that the site you *think* you're on is legitimate.
All the links to 'Safe Browsing' and 'computer security tips' I've provided in past postings are excellent places to start learning about what to look for and how to stay safe.
If there's ever anything I can do to help don't hesitate to contact me. That goes for others too. There's no better feeling than being able to help someone in need. One of the things about writing a blog like this is that without feedback I can't tell if I'm doing any good. Also, whenever I help someone solve a problem or have one myself, I always learn something in the process.
And as far as hitting the 'Send' button before thinking... I'm guilty of that too, but I've learned over time to think a bit more before hitting that button. It's like dropping it in a mail box, you can't reach down and get it back!
Sure you could just avoid shopping on the Internet, and you could avoid driving or anything else that's potentially dangerous, but who wants to live like that? We learn to avoid the dangers of life as we grow, this is just something else to learn about, right?
Have a good one Ken, and let me know if I can help in any way.
TR
My problem is I don't know enough to evaluate these warnings even when they come from someone as public spirited as yourself. I got the best advice I could find about what security programs to buy, and I only give my credit card information to established retailers who have been in business a long time. I guess it would be safer never to shop online at all. But what's a person to do?
All anyone could learn about me from reading my other e-mail is that I'm sometimes a horse's ass who flies off the handle and hits Send too fast.