
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.
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