Do people have security concerns about using the

The questions regarding security problems show that security concerns are not a major barrier to people's use of the Internet (Questions 73 to 81). Although many people had experienced these security problems, particularly receiving unwanted electronic mail and computer viruses, the majority were not less likely to use the Internet as a result. Of a total of 3002 people who were asked if their computer had ever been hit by a virus, 62% responded that it had (see Table 13, below).

Males were more likely to respond that their computer had been hit by a virus, that they had been invited to take part in a fraud and that someone had tried to steal their online banking information. These issues did not make them significantly less likely to use the Internet. Females were significantly less likely to report that someone had tried to steal their online banking information or that they had been invited to take part in a fraud. Again, these issues did not significantly impact upon the likelihood of further Internet use.

Table 13: Yes or no responses to Internet security questions

*70% of respondents reported this related to online banking and 27% to the Internet as a whole.

New Zealand Europeans were significantly more likely to have answered 'yes', that they had been hit by a virus (62%) and that they had received spam (55%), but this did not influence their continued use of the Internet. The Indian ethnic group was significantly more likely to reduce email use as a result of a virus (59%). Other differences were within normal ranges, or the group number was too small to be considered representative.

Respondents aged 40-49 were significantly more likely to have received spam, while people aged over 70 were significantly more likely not to know if they had experienced any of these issues. People in the oldest age group were also significantly less likely to have received spam. Those in the 60-69 age group who had experienced someone trying to steal their online banking information were significantly less likely to use online banking in future. This was the only instance of respondents being less likely to use the Internet as a result of their negative experience, when examining the data by age.

Respondents living with children were significantly more likely to not use the Internet because of viruses (29.5%). They were also more likely to receive spam, although this did not significantly impact on their email use. Those aged between 40 and 49 were also more likely to report receiving spam (57%), as were salary and wage-earners. Respondents aged over 70 (58%), super annuitants, living alone, or on incomes between zero and $19,999 were more likely to say they had not received spam.

Respondents who were self-employed or salary or wage-earners were significantly more likely to have received email inviting them to take part in a fraud, as were those earning over $60,000. There were no significant results to the following question which asked about the impact this had on use of the Internet, except that those in the 20 to 29 age group were significantly more likely to respond that this did not impact upon their Internet use.

Only a small number of respondents (145) reported being contacted by someone trying to steal online banking information. Only those who were self-employed or owned their own business were markedly less likely to use the Internet because of this (20%). In addition, the number of people in this category was very small: a total of 39 people who answered this question were self-employed. The size of the group calls into question the reliability of the result.

There were few significant responses to this question-set in relation to urbanisation. Respondents living in cities were significantly more likely to report a computer virus, at 63% (Q. 73) and they were significantly more likely to respond that this did not make them less likely to use the Internet: 24.6% (Q. 74). City-dwellers were also more likely to report that someone had invited them to take part in a fraud at 42.5% 'yes' answers (Q. 80) while those living in the country were significantly more likely to report that this had not happened to them (34% 'yes' / 64% 'no').