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Internet Threats a Constant Worry for the US Citizens

Internet users are becoming more and more concerned about online threats like spam, viruses and ID theft, according to a Washington-based independent educational and research institute ACI (American Consumer Institute), which recently conducted a survey in this regard.

The study also reveals that people are worried about the invasion of their privacy by programs designed to monitor and record the Websites they browse.

The study of 648 households with internet access found that privacy concern was top on their minds than spam. Around 61% of respondents reported a great worry that their privacy was at risk due to internet-tracking programs.

However, the majority (around 74%) of those polled said that they were extremely concerned about identity theft against 68% of respondents who expressed similar concern in another ACI survey in 2006. Moreover, the percentage of people who reported high concern about viruses rose from 61% in 2006 to 70% recently (2008) and those worried about spam increased from 51% to 56% over the same period.

Further, 50% of surveyed reported considerable concern about unsolicited internet ads, and 45% said that spyware was an important issue of concern for them.

According to Steve Pociask, President of ACI, the survey suggests that consumers are now able to distinguish between threats capable of causing serious troubles and threats that can be regarded as mere annoyances, as reported by webpronews on September 30, 2008.

Pociask further added that computer viruses and identity theft could be highly disruptive and therefore, it wasn't surprising that they were consumers' top concerns. However, people's concern about online safety, privacy and divulging of personal data to dubious third parties suggest that not all the ISPs are doing enough to protect their consumers. They (ISPs) are not properly telling them about what data is gathered, for what purpose it would be used and for what time period it would be held; or whether consumers have the option to at all allow such data collection.

Finally, the survey indicates the increasing concern of phishing attacks on educational and financial institutions in the US.

Related article: Internet Threat Volumes Overwhelm Security Companies

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