User Perceptions of Privacy and Security on the Web

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Authors

Scott Flinn
Joanna LumsdenORCiD: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8637-7647

Research units

Computer Science Research Group

Abstract

This paper describes an online survey that was conducted to explore typical Internet users' awareness and knowledge of specific technologies that relate to their security and privacy when using a Web browser to access the Internet. The survey was conducted using an anonymous, online questionnaire. Over a four month period, 237 individuals completed the questionnaire. Respondents were predominately Canadian, with substantial numbers from the United Kingdom and the United States. Important findings include evidence that users have tried to educate themselves regarding their online security and privacy, but with limited success; different interpretations of the term "secure Web site" can lead to very different levels of trust in a site; respondents strongly expressed their skepticism about privacy policies, but nevertheless believe that sites can be trusted to respect their stated policies; and users may confuse browser cookies with other types of data stored locally by browsers, leading to inappropriate conclusions about the risks they present.

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Details

Publication date	2005
Publication title	Third annual conference on privacy, security and trust, October 12-14, 2005, The Fairmont Algonquin, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, Proceedings. 2005
Pages	15-26
Number of pages	12
Original language	English
Event	3rd annual conference on Privacy, Security and Trust - St. Andrews, Canada Duration: 12 Oct 2005 → 14 Oct 2005

Conference

Conference	3rd annual conference on Privacy, Security and Trust
Abbreviated title	PST 2005
Country	Canada
City	St. Andrews
Period	12/10/05 → 14/10/05

Keywords

human factors, privacy, risk, risk management, security, transparency, trust, usability, web, web browser, www

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