Internet Security Learning Center

Survey Finds 97 Percent of Web Users a Click Away From Infection

A recent survey conducted by McAfee found that 97 percent of Web users could infect their computers with spyware with just a single click. "Of the 14,000 people who took the spyware quiz, 3 percent got perfect scores, 97 percent got at least one wrong," said McAfee's Shane Keats. "So I think it's fair to say," Keats continued, "that the vast majority in a typical month of clicking will end up on a Web site that potentially exposes them to spyware." McAfee received 14,464 responses to a spyware quiz posted on its SiteAdvisor Web site that asked users to identify which of a pair of Internet sites is safe and which could be opening the door to spyware, and then repeated the exercise with several file-sharing sites. The number of people who made multiple mistakes indicates that people think they are savvier than they actually are, and that bogus sites have gotten slicker and more professional looking, said Keats. Sites that have advertising from marquee brands such as Circuit City and Monster.com appear especially convincing, though the leaders of those companies are so far removed from the actual ad placement process that they are most likely unaware that their ads even appear on spoofed sites. In the McAfee survey, respondents fared especially poorly when asked to distinguish between a legitimate and a bogus lyrics site due to the ads. Identifying spyware once it is installed can be even more challenging than determining the legitimacy of a Web site, particularly since spyware can disguise itself as valid system-level files. Spyware continues to proliferate as Internet users increasingly look to the Web for entertainment and download a steadily growing number of applications.

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