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Title: 63% users fail to spot fake pop-ups Post by: Alex on September 25, 2008, 02:29:01 AM 63% users fail to spot fake pop-ups
Internet users are unable to distinguish between genuine pop-up warnings messages and false ones, a study at North Carolina State University has found. The study examined the responses of undergraduates to messages which popped up while they did other tasks on a PC. Seeing the pop-ups as a mere annoyance the majority clicked 'OK'. Fake pop-ups are a well-known vehicle for cyber-criminals to install harmful software on PCs."This study demonstrates how easy it is to fool people on the web," said co-author Michael Wogalter, professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. "Be suspicious when things pop up. Don't click OK - close the box instead," said Dr Wogalter." Participants were fooled by the fake messages 63% of the time, even when warned that some of what they would be seeing would be false. View: Full Story at the BBC Read full story... http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/neowin-main/~3/TyraZgywbz0/63-users-fail-to-spot-fake-pop-ups |