Users are more reluctant to use email or conduct business online because of growing security problems caused by spam and viruses, says Consumer Union.
As reported by ClickZ News, a solution to these issues is needed quickly says Consumer Union’s website Consumer Report, as 27% of the 2000 US email users surveyed found that spam has changed the way they use the internet, with 38% of that group saying they had cut down on email and 30% admitting to spending less time shopping online.
Since the beginning of 2004, the amount of spam has risen, as 47% of those surveyed said that they had more unwanted messages since CAN-SPAM went in to effect and 69% saying they got more spam than actual legitimate email.
As well as spam, 64% of survey respondents had a virus on their computer in the past two years and 36% reported their web-browser home-page had been changed by spyware.
Permanent lose of data has also been a problem for 7% of those who had detected a virus with bills topping $100 or more to repair the inflicted damage.
However despite the problems of spam and overly aggressive filtering concerns, eMarketer has predicted that email in the US is set to grow more than ever and will nearly double to 2.7 trillion by 2007 (see US Email Volume Set To Double By 2007).
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