Poll: Net privacy fears increase following web attacks, half of Gallup Poll respondents believe their credit card information is at risk online.

By Robert Lemos, ZDNet News
February 23, 2000 4:31 PM PT - Copyright © ZDNet

A majority of users say the Internet has made their lives better, but almost half are worried that their privacy and security might be compromised online, according to a Gallup Poll study released on Wednesday.

According to the Gallup Poll, 62 percent of Internet users thought the Internet is a better use of time, compared with 25 percent that valued TV. Those percentages flip-flopped, however, when users were asked which was more enjoyable: 59 percent said watching TV, while 33 percent thought surfing the Internet. The study, conducted by the Princeton, N.J.-based firm, found that 72 percent of current Internet users believe the Net has made their lives better. The study comes almost a week after a controversial report claimed that the Internet
isolated its users.

• Yet, while only 9 percent of respondents were affected by recent attacks on major Web sites, 48 percent believed that their credit card information was at risk, and 51 percent were less likely to give personal or financial information to a Web site.

Another 20 percent said they are less likely to use the Internet at all because of the early February attack that slowed, and in some cases halted, connections for several hours to many Web sites.