Ninety-one percent of internet users have changed the way they
behave online as they try to avoid unwanted and invasive software,
according to the latest survey from the Pew Internet & American
Life Project.
The survey also suggests that:
- 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; and
- 18% of internet users say they have started using a different
web browser to avoid software intrusions.
Pew's report claims that 68% of US internet users (about 93
million people) have had computer trouble in the past year that is
consistent with problems caused spyware and viruses, though 60% of
those who had problems were not sure where the problem
originated.
Some 25% of internet users have seen new programs on their
computers that they did not install or new icons on their desktop
"that seemed to come out of nowhere." One in five internet users
(18%) have had their homepage inexplicably changed.
The survey was conducted by telephone among a sample of 1,336
internet users.
