Survey shows that large number of people are DUMB about viruses

Over one-fifth of home and office personal computer (PC) users using e-mail have knowingly opened an unknown e- mail attachment out of sheer curiosity, exposing themselves and others to e- mail borne viruses, according to a survey conducted by Central Command. The survey, titled 'Are You Practicing Safe Computing', was e-mailed to over a 750,000 PC users worldwide and explored individual's computer security settings and behaviours with known computer security vulnerabilities. With a 12 per cent response rate, the survey represents a cross-section of PC users that exist today.

The results show that 31 per cent of respondents using Instant Messaging (IM) software have accepted and downloaded a file transfer within the last six months, with 16 per cent of those users claiming the file transfer came from an unknown source. "Based on a new trend of viruses written to exploit these IM channels, this statistic is alarming," said Steven Sundermeier, product manager at Central Command. .

Click here to go directly to the Press Release at Central Command

Of the 72% of users who maintain they use e-mail at their workplace, 38% stated that they use an alternate web-based e-mail account for personal reasons at work. "Employees are continually opening security holes within corporations. This is just one of many examples," Sundermeier concluded. In addition, 14% of the respondents said they open all attachments they receive at work regardless of the sender. Sundermeier recommends that system administrators develop strict security policies to protect their corporate networks.

That million’s of PC' to date have already been infected came as no surprise to Central Command. What was surprising was the fact that the majority of the surveyed PC users expressed no interest in changing their online activity or security practices after knowing the danger of recent threats, such as CodeRed, Sircam, Magistr, Hybris, and Loveletter, once again indicated a global weakness in the defense against cyber attacks.

41% of respondents claimed to have anti-virus software installed. Of those, only 26% update their antivirus software for the newest virus threats at least monthly.

1.)
What
continent are you located in?

North
America
South America
Europe
Asia
Africa
Other

39%
9%
22%
7%
3%
10%

2.)
What
is your age (yrs.)?

Under
17 yrs
Between 18 yrs. - 25 yrs.
Between 26 yrs. - 45 yrs.
Over 46 yrs.

12%
29%
40%
9%

3.)
Are
you currently employed?

Yes
No

89%
8%

4.)
How
would you rate yourself as a computer user?

Expert
Above average
Average
Below average
Poor

6%
17%
42%
8%
2%

5.)
What
is your main reason for using your computer?

E-mail
Work
Internet browsing
Chatting
Other

34%
21%
18%
4%
9%

6.)
Do
you currently use Instant Messaging (IM) software as a form of communication?

Yes
No

31%
55%

7.)
What
IM software do you have installed?

AOL
Instant Messenger
Microsoft NetMeeting
MSN Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
ICQ
Other

29%
3%
12%
2%
22%
16%

8.)
Approximately,
how many minutes do you spend chatting online?

Under
15 minutes
15 minutes - 60 minutes
61 minutes - 300 minutes
301 minutes - 600 minutes
Over 601 minutes

6%
15%
29%
17%
1%

9.)
Have
you ever accepted and downloaded a file transfer using your IM software within the last
six months?

Yes
No

31%
36%

10.)
Typically,
who were the file transfer requests from?

Friend(s)
Co-worker(s)
Family member(s)
Unknown user(s)
Never accept file transfers
Other

10%
6%
9%
16%
34%
2%

11.)
Do
you use e-mail as a form of communication?

Yes
No

81%
6%

12.)
What
e-mail application do you currently use?

Microsoft
Outlook
Outlook Express
Eudora
Pegasus
Web-based (ie. Hotmail, Yahoo!)
Other

19%
8%
6%
2%
11%
20%

13.)
Do
you use e-mail at work?

Yes
No

72%
13%

14.)
If
yes, do you use web-based e-mail accounts for personal reasons at work?

Yes
No

38%
41%

15.)
If
yes, how often do you access this account?

Weekly
Daily
Two or three times a day
More than three times a day

2%
5%
30%
16%

16.)

Have
you ever received an e-mail attachment?

Yes
No

62%
21%

17.)
If
yes, what did you do with the attachment you received?

Deleted
it immediately
Opened the attachment immediately
Saved the attachment first before opening
None of the above

9%
13%
4%
18%

18.)
What
is your most likely reason for opening attachments?

Curiosity
Looked cool!
Work related
Came from a known source
I always open attachments
Why not?

20%
7%
6%
2%
4%
17%

19.)
Would
you open an attachment from an unknown sender?

Yes
No

14%
47%

20.)
Do
you know the difference between *.txt and *.txt.vbs?

Yes
No

4%
41%

21.)
Do
you currently have anti-virus software installed?

Yes
No

41%
30%

22.)
If
yes, how often do you update your anti-virus software?

Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Every six months
Yearly
Never

3%
6%
17%
13%
4%
8%

23.)
Have
you ever been infected with a virus?

Yes
No

49%
26%

24.)
If
yes, how many times has your PC been infected within the last year?

Never
1 - 5 times
6 - 10 times
11 - 25 times
26 - 50 times
Over 50 times

6%
18%
14%
8%
3%
1%

25.)
Do
you currently have a personal firewall installed?

Yes
No

12%
58%

26.)
If
yes, has your PC been a victim of an intrusion attack within the last six months?

Yes
No

35%
18%

27.)
Have
you modified your default Internet settings for higher security?

Yes
No

10%
61%

28.)
Do
you accept incoming and outgoing cookies?

Yes
No

4%
18%

29.)
Have
you heard of CodeRed, Sircam, Magistr, Hybris, or Loveletter before?

Yes
No

48%
16%

30.)
If
yes, have they changed your security practices when online?

Yes
No

9%
32%

31.)
Do
you keep up on the latest security patches and vulnerabilities that exist today?

Yes
No

14%
27%

32.)
What
do you estimate the total US dollars amount in damages caused by viruses, trojans, worms,
and other malicious applications to be?

Under
$1,000,000
$1,000,000 - $5,000,000
$5,000,001 - $500,000,000
Over $500,000,000

11%
15%
8%
38%