Spyware changing online habits

2005-07-07 14:53

New York - Internet users worried about spyware and adware are shunning specific websites, avoiding file-sharing networks, even switching browsers.

Many have also stopped opening e-mail attachments without first making sure they are safe, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said in a study issued on Wednesday.

"People are scaling back on some internet activities," said Susannah Fox, the study's main author. "People are feeling less adventurous, less free to do whatever they want to do online."

Like no other internet threat before it, spyware is getting people's attention, she said. "It maybe will bring more awareness of all kinds of security issues."

Linda Parra, a technology usability consultant at an insurance firm in Wisconsin, is typical of the once-burned, now-vigilant crowd.

Hit twice by spyware, after which all her internet searches went to a rogue search engine rather than Google, she bought the safer Mac computer, installed two layers of firewalls and began switching off her broadband-connected machine when she's out.

'All it takes is one click'

"All it takes is one click ... and you can end up going somewhere you don't want to go and getting a little bonus pack (spyware) with your freebie," she said. "I believe that's what happened."

Spyware generally refers to unwanted programs that often sneak onto computers without their owners' full knowledge. A subset called adware covers software designed to display targeted ads to subsidise another program's development.

While some computer users knowingly install spyware and adware, they often hitch rides with games, screensavers and other freebies, or exploit security flaws in Microsoft's Windows operating systems and Internet Explorer browsers.

According to Pew, 48% of adult internet users in the United States have stopped visiting specific websites that they fear might be harbouring unwanted programs.

Twenty-five percent stopped using file-sharing software, which often comes bundled with adware. Rogue programs can also disguise themselves as songs or movie files on file-sharing networks.

Eighteen percent of US adult internet users have started using Mozilla Firefox or another alternative to Internet Explorer.

In addition, 81% have become more cautious about e-mail attachments, a common way for spreading viruses, though rare for spyware or adware.

Avi Naider, president of adware company WhenU.com Inc, said he's not surprised.

Although in theory, adware is about exchanging value for value - free software for ads - in practice, some in the industry engage in deceptive practices and alienate consumers such that they "just stop visiting websites", Naider said.

Although many users have changed their online habits, they haven't necessarily fixed their machines, even as infected computers slow, often to a crawl.

The survey also found that 43% of internet users say they've been hit with spyware, adware or both. Those who report spyware were more likely to have previously engaged in "risky" behaviour such as playing online games and visiting adult sites. Broadband users tend to be at greater risk.

Pew also found that three-quarters of internet users do not always read user agreements and other disclaimers where spyware and adware are sometimes disclosed.

- AP