Topic: Heads in sand about internet security

[Clive]

March 9, 2006
Quentin Reade

British consumers' awareness of internet security is higher than ever, but most still don't do enough to protect themselves online, a new study has found.

The reports found that understanding of terms such as 'phishing', 'trojan' 'virus' and 'spyware', has increased over the past 12 months, and, for the first time, a majority of those surveyed claimed to know most terms presented to them.

Yet, even though 86 per cent say they are concerned about internet security - and with online identity fraud costing consumers £12m a year - report authors AOL UK found less than half of Brits (48 per cent) actually use any specialist protective software. A further 20 per cent just rely on their ISP to protect them and 16 per cent do nothing at all to protect themselves online.

According to AOL UK security expert, Will Smith, the findings highlight the gulf between awareness and action: "It's good to see a shift in awareness, but it's taking action that will really make a difference. There's no point knowing what the threats are if you then do nothing about them.

"People need to think of their online personal security the same way they do out on the high street."

AOL found the most commonly understood internet security term is 'virus' (76 per cent), while the least known is 'phishing' (18 per cent). Phishing is defined as the act of falsifying the identity of a known brand or organisation to steal personal details and is actually one of the biggest threats to personal online security.

AOL recommends the following five steps to improve personal online security:

1. Make the most of spam controls to reduce the number of junk emails you receive.
2. Use firewall protection, which acts as a protective barrier between your computer and the Internet.
3. Take advantage of anti-virus software that scans your entire computer to help guard against viruses, trojans and other invaders.
4. Use anti-spyware tools to help speed up your computer and protect your privacy.
5. Avoid phishing and other online scams by thinking before you click on any links and never giving out your personal details to unknown sources online.