* Survey shows lasting effects of spam and spyware
Imagine that a shopping mall found that 44% of its customers were shopping at the mall less often now compared to one year ago because hucksters, panhandlers and pickpockets were scaring customers away. That’s exactly what’s happening with individuals’ use of e-mail, the Web and the Internet at home.
As part of the survey conducted in January that I mentioned in the last newsletter, we asked people about the impact that spam, spyware and related problems have had on their use of e-mail, the Web and the Internet at home compared to one year ago. We found that for 56% of users, these e-mail-related problems have had no impact. However, 34% of e-mail users indicated that these problems have motivated them to modestly reduce their use of e-mail, the Web and the Internet, while 10% indicated that their use of these services has been reduced substantially because of the problems they face on their home computers.
A reduction in the use of information technologies and online commerce in the home by longer-term users may be the ultimate legacy of spam (although much of this reduced use may be masked by new users entering the market). Because an increasing number of companies are becoming more sensitive to personal use of the Web and e-mail in the workplace, many users that want to check personal e-mail accounts or make online purchases must do so from home.
However, if spam and spyware make doing so more difficult, or if individuals lose confidence that their identity will be protected when conducting transactions online, providers of these services may stand to lose significantly from reduced online purchases, fewer exposures to advertising messages and the like.
On the positive side, as discussed in the last newsletter, home users feel a strong sense of responsibility for maintaining their own defenses against viruses, spyware and the like. Further, all of the major ISPs are making a substantial push to eradicate spam and spyware by offering their own spam-filtering technologies on their servers or for download. Hopefully, the result may be a restoration of confidence in the use of e-mail and the Web by home users.
