AV Software Reduces Chance of Credit Card Theft by 50%
It is fairly common sense to assume that a reasonable presence of anti-malware software on a computer benefits data security and defends its user from data theft.
A new study conducted by scientists at Michigan State University claims that more extensive and complete protection can substantially reduce the threat of data theft. Those users who are running antivirus, anti-adware and anti-spyware software reduce the risk of credit card information theft by 50 percent.
“When you think about antivirus software protecting you, you might think about it keeping your files safe and not losing your music and photos,” said Thomas Holt, MSU associate professor of criminal justice and lead researcher on the project. “The important thing we’re finding here is that it’s not just about protecting your files, but also about protecting you economically – about reducing your chances of being a victim of identity theft.”
About 15 percent of more than 600 respondents in a survey said that they experienced some form of computer-related identity theft over the past year. Males were more likely to be victims than females and those users who engaged in downloading pirated music as well as pornographic images were a greater risk to be attacked.
Holt, however, noted that “you have a much better chance of not getting your credit card number stolen if you have all three forms of protective software."
I know of a person who used a computer who got infected with I SECURITY. Dumb enough they entered their CC info to download the antivirus....
I hope that person got what they deserved for blindly entering their CC info!
In all the time I've been running all this stuff that this researcher says to run, it has not caught one single instance of any threat simply because there have not been any. Threats are pretty easy to avoid, IMHO, and reports like these just amp up the fear factor, IMHO.
Really, most people aren't smart enough to avoid falling into these types of things. They run into them all the time. AV programs are for them.
i leave them in those sites, mainly because they have to be hacked to get the full card, and if they just purchase off amazon, than i have proof i didn't order it, and am not responseable.
cc theft is not the same as identity theft, i so despise social security numbers, wish they were an opt in thing.
Or if they run McAfee 2006 OAS (discontinued by now) and use unsecured wireless connection because the $10 router doesn't have the processing power to support any encryption?
Speaking from real life experience, if anyone gets your CC info, they will almost certainly use it at a site that is a favorite of theirs, not yours. In my instance, Mac Mall was one - I never shop there. Got full delivery info and turned it into the Secret Service. Luckily, it was a debit card and my account was overdrawn.
I caution against being overconfident. I delete my card info from sites, and somehow, it still got out.
"Well, our credit card or social security info hasn't been stolen yet, so why upgrade our perfectly good McAfee 2006 AV software and add a password to our wireless router?"
-My dad
from my understanding, if its possible that a credit card is compromised, we have always gotten a new number free.
and from my understanding on law, any fraudulent purchases are not your responsibility. if they only have the creditcard, thats not hard to get out of, however, if they have your ss number, it could be years if ever that it gets wiped from your record.
Why doesn't that give a warm fuzzy feeling inside?