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| 1 in 4 PC users hit by phishing attempts |
| Monday, December 12, 2005 at 21:53 by Rich Kavanagh |
Phishing attacks aimed at identity theft now affect roughly one in four Americans (23%) each month, according to the second annual AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study released last week.
Additionally, more than two-thirds of consumers (70%) who received such scam e-mails thought they were from legitimate companies, putting them at high risk of losing sensitive personal information to identity thieves or criminals. The AOL/NCSA Online Safety Study is the largest study of its kind, sending technical experts into hundreds of typical homes to examine personal computers for known security risks and threats.
Highlighting the growing risk from phishing attacks, one in five respondents (18%) taking part in the study said a friend or family member had already fallen victim to an online identity theft scam. And, demonstrating the growing need for consumer education on this threat, the survey revealed that only 42% were familiar with the term "phishing," and of those, just 57% could accurately define it. Most phishing emails appeared to come from legitimate companies - like banks or credit card companies - and tried to convince consumers to surrender personal information like credit card numbers or passwords.
Tatiana Platt, Senior Vice President and Chief Trust Officer for AOL said,
"Phishers are getting better at tricking consumers into revealing their bank account and financial information, and most Americans can't tell the difference between real e-mails and the growing flood of scams that lead to fraud and identity theft. Consumers need to be aware of the risk, and they need to use critical protections like anti-virus software, spyware protection, and a firewall to help protect them from online threats."
The study found that 81% of home PCs lack at least one of the three critical protections - updated computer virus software, spyware protection, and a secure firewall - necessary to help guard against viruses, spyware, hackers, and other threats. More than half (56%) of the participants either had no anti-virus protection or had not updated it within the last week, almost half (44%) did not have a properly-configured firewall, and four in ten (38%) lacked spyware protection. Yet, despite these findings, the large majority of users (83%) falsely believed that they were safe from online threats.
Ron Teixeira, executive director, National Cyber Security Alliance said,
"There is a major perception gap: Even though most consumers think they are protected, this study shows the opposite. Far too many people still lack the three fundamental protections they need to stay safe online - current anti-virus software, spyware protection, and a secure firewall. As we move into a broadband world, where consumers have an always-on connection to the Internet, these core protections are even more vital. This is particularly troubling, given that more than two-thirds of those surveyed say they keep sensitive information on their PCs."
In addition, the study found that while more homes are connecting to the Internet using wireless networks, too few of them are properly set up to keep out intruders. More than one out of four homes had a wireless network (26%), and nearly half of these homes (47%) failed to encrypt their connection, a safety precaution needed to protect wireless networks from outside intruders.
Additional information about the National Cyber Security Alliance, including tips to stay safe online are available at http://www.staysafeonline.org
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| We use Cloudmark jhere in the office and find it fantastic for stopping both Spam and Phishing attacks
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| AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA)
Excuse me, but I don't trust those AOL Prikcs. These are the three things a person REALLY needs.
1)spybot - free
2)firewall (that comes with sp2) - free (if you don't count the cost of xp lol)
3) a pop up blocker and setting your cookies to "accept none".
That's a good strategy, it's worked for me and it's been a year. No need for that bull$hit, it's just a hype to make people pay more. I saw the price of all this hardware.. it's not something a person wants to pay especially since some software almost becomes a commodity because it must be upgraded daily by paying an annual fee.
anti-spyware software = 2o bucks,
anti-virus software = 20 bucks
firewall = I've seen some for 40 bucks...
plus all the annual fees
anti-s= 20 a year
anti-virus = 40 a year
so
60x+60 for the first year....120$ for the first year. I could be wrong, but does anyone follow how I'm thinking of all this ? I mean, what if some software has monthly rates of service ? If someone came up with the actually price range for being fully protected for a year please post ! |
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| Looking back at my post I noticed that I added incorrectly, but still....
think software A cost x dollars a month
Software B cost X dollars a month
Fire wall cost X amount of dollars
Software A without software or monthly rate is x bucks
Software B without online service cost x bucks
that's really the idea behind it all.
what is the annual cost ? |
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