INTERNET SECURITY

The ability of individuals to feel confident about releasing personal information, such as credit card details, into the network, or authenticating and verifying the information that they access, is an issue of concern for many who use the Internet. Security threats such as computer viruses, identity theft, spam, spyware, phishing and other scams reduce user confidence and trust and can be costly to individuals. Lack of security discourages people from purchasing goods and services over the Internet (ACMA 2005).

Most Australians who use the Internet make some effort to protect themselves from internet security threats, possibly because many new computers tend to have protective software pre-installed. Australians who used computers at home in 2008 made extensive use of Internet security devices. Nearly all had antivirus software installed on their home computers, and most had anti-spam filtering and firewalls (AIC 2009a).

Exposure to illegal or harmful content is also a concern for users, particularly for households with children (ACMA 2005). See the Children and technology section for more information on Internet security issues relating to children.