Opinion: Whistling past the (computer) graveyard

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Remember the study a few years ago that showed U.S. students thought they were much better at math and science than they really were? Internet users seem to have the same level of self-deception when it comes to spyware and other malicious programs distributed through the Net.

A survey released this morning by StopBadware.org, a project led by Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, found that 88% of Internet users feel safe when using their PCs online. In fact, half of those polled under age 30 said they felt “very safe” online. This comes despite an estimated $7.1 billion in damages from viruses, spyware and phishing, according to Consumer Reports.The magazine put the odds of an Internet user falling prey to some form of malware at 25%.

The lack of perceived threat stems more from the amount people use the Net than the steps they’ve taken to defend themselves against risks. Computer security firms (which, admittedly, sell more products when people feel more threatened) say less than a quarter of Americans have a firewall and up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware software on their PCs. OK, some of them are Apple acolytes who don’t have nearly as much to worry about as Windows users do, but that would explain the blithe attitudes of about 7% of computer users.

“What we have here is an Internet security paradox,” Maxim Weinstein, manager of the StopBadware.org team at the Berkman center, said in the news release. “Americans see themselves as safe online, even as we see an ongoing trend of organized criminal elements using the Internet to target unsuspecting users.”

The cynical among you will observe that StopBadware.org’s financial backers include firms such as Trend Micro that rely to varying degrees on the sale of products to combat malware. Nevertheless, anybody who feels safe from spyware, viruses and the like is either not using the Internet or not paying attention.