Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Most In US Have False Sense of Online Security

Posted by kdawson on from the can't-hear-you-la-la-la dept.

BaCa sends along a link from Net-Security on a study of attitudes among Americans about the security of their PCs, versus their actual vulnerability. "More than half of computer users who think they are protected against online threats like spyware, viruses, and hackers actually have inadequate or no online protection, according to an independent research study conducted for Verizon... While 92 percent of participants thought they were safe, the scans revealed that 59 percent were actually vulnerable to a variety of online dangers. Ninety-four percent of those surveyed said they would find it helpful to be able to diagnose or check their online security status on a regular basis to make sure their PCs were safe."

4 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. Online security - HA , Stolen 1949 Chevy Saga by benadamsdotcom · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Even after meeting online criminals in person, they still tried to rip me off. Fortunately, I tracked them down and got them. Stolen and Recovered 1949 Chevy Saga

  2. What am I supposed to do? by maillemaker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Look, my Windows machines auto-update themselves, and I have AVG running, which also updates itself. I have a firewall downstream of my modem and upstream of every other machine on the network.

    What else can I do?

    My wife is constantly playing and downloading games from the internet. No doubt she is polluting machines on our network.

    Basically my approach to security on my home machines is I wipe them and rebuild them every 6 months or so, in case there is some hidden malware on there that has turned my machine into a zombie.

    What I would really like is a "smart firewall" I could buy and put in place of my current firewall. This device would monitor all network traffic going in and out of my house, and it would stop the bad things from going through. It could even be a service whereby the device is managed by some security firm and I pay them to protect my network through this device.

    --
    A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
  3. lulz by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    *GASP* I thought AOL was keeping us all safe online!

    --
    The game.
  4. Re:At least once a year... by iminplaya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    False Sense of Security Day

    It would be on the anniversary of the signing of the patriot act.

    So many political jokes to make about this...so little time to post them all

    --
    What?