Malicious Programs a Problem for New York Internet Users

Survey Finds Almost a Quarter Dealt with Badware Infection

NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Almost a quarter of New York
State Internet users encountered a badware infection on their computers over
the past year, often slowing their computers and prompting them to run
software to fix the problem, says a statewide survey by Consumer Reports
WebWatch, the Internet integrity division of Consumers Union.

Badware - known also as spyware or malware - maliciously infects computers
from a variety of sources: Infected Web sites, memory sticks, even digital
picture frames. It ranges from relatively annoying - prompting unwanted
advertising to pop up on your computer screen - to actively dangerous,
introducing programs that can take control of your computer without your
knowledge, sending your private data to a third party. It can even link your
computer to worldwide organized crime networks which, in turn, use it to
attack financial and government institutions.

The survey, focusing on online fraud in New York state, was commissioned by
Consumer Reports WebWatch, which evaluates the credibility of Web sites and
advocates for consumer-focused Internet policy and governance, and is being
released to coordinate with National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the
launch of Consumer Reports' free Online Security Guide. The survey is also
part of WebWatch's ongoing "Look Before You Click" campaign, supported by a
Cyber-Awareness Grant from the New York State Attorney General and the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission.

Badware creates problems for consumers, law enforcement officials, businesses
and governments, and by several measures the problem is getting worse.
Detection of the number of unique keyloggers - placed on your computer by
badware, then used to track everything you type on your computer without your
knowledge - and crimeware-oriented malicious applications detected rose to 430
in March, an all-time record, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
That number is about 18 percent more than the previous record month of
January, 2008, when 364 unique malicious applications were detected.

That said, a big percentage of New York state residents say they take
precautions against malicious programs - 83 percent say they use anti-virus
software, 80 percent say they use a firewall. Only 3 percent said they used
none of the listed protective measures in the survey. In addition, men were
slightly more likely to use certain types of protective measures on their
computer than women, and were slightly more likely to have a badware infection
in the last 12 months.

Other Survey Highlights: Spam
Spam e-mail is one way badware is spread. Prescription drug offers are the
most common type of spam e-mail received by New York state residents, with 64
percent saying they received one of these in the last year. Overall, men
reported receiving higher levels of spam than women.

Online Shopping
More than 20 percent of respondents reported not getting their money refunded
from a problematic online transaction; 17 percent had a problem getting their
money back from an actual online purchase. Consumer Reports WebWatch will
release more online shopping data from this survey in mid-November.

For additional information on Internet threats and how consumers can protect
themselves online, visit the Consumer Reports Online Security Guide, which
features a new musical video commissioned by WebWatch called "Gone Phishing,"
developed to educate consumers about the dangers of e-mail phishing scams.
Consumer Reports WebWatch is also preparing to launch, in conjunction with its
partner StopBadware.org, a new site called BadwareBusters.org, where people
can go to give and receive the help they need to fight back against badware.
The site is expected to launch in November.

Poll Methodology
The survey was commissioned by Consumer WebWatch, designed by the Consumer
Reports National Research Center and conducted in May with a sample of 2,008
panelists representative of the geographic population distribution of New York
State. Eligible respondents had been using the Internet more than a year and
owned a home computer for at least six months. The sample was representative
of New York State residents who had been online at least a year and is not
nationally representative. Results may differ for a sample of less experienced
users.

About Consumer Reports WebWatch
Consumer Reports WebWatch is the Internet integrity division of Consumers
Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine, the Consumer
Reports on Health and Money Adviser newsletters, and a variety of sites
advocating consumer rights in the marketplace. We research and investigate Web
sites on behalf of consumers, and we advocate for consumer-focused Internet
policy and governance. Consumer Reports WebWatch accepts no advertising.
Consumer Reports WebWatch is a member of the Internet Society and is an
at-large structure (ALS) in the user community of ICANN, the Internet
Corporation for Assigning Names and Numbers. WebWatch also serves as an unpaid
special adviser to StopBadware.org, a "Neighborhood Watch" initiative led by
Harvard University's Berkman Center and the Oxford Internet Institute devoted
to helping Internet users avoid downloading malicious spyware, adware and
malware programs. With the Center for Media and Democracy, WebWatch publishes
Full Frontal Scrutiny, dedicated to exposing the activities of front groups in
modern media and culture.

SOURCE Consumer Reports WebWatch

Beau Brendler, Director, Consumer Reports WebWatch, +1-914-378-2600