AARP survey reveals New
Yorkers' concerns about online safety and desire for
information…AARP teams up with Microsoft, Geek Squad to raise
awareness among Older New Yorkers with the 'Get Net Safe' Tour
A new AARP survey to be released
Tuesday found that more than half (54 percent) of adults in the New
York metro are at risk of losing their personal information through
a phishing scam. The survey found that roughly two-thirds of New
York City residents age 40 or older own a computer and regularly
access the Internet. The overwhelming majority, 92 percent, of
Internet users are concerned about providing their personal
information online.
Alarmingly, three quarters of Internet users are
unaware that when a website has a privacy policy, it does not to
prevent them from sharing customers' personal information with
others.
The survey is being
released at a seminar open to the public sponsored by AARP,
Microsoft and Geek Squad 24 Hour Computer Support Task
Force. The seminar is the New York stop of the Get Net Safe
Tour, which seeks to heighten awareness and empower people
to use the Internet safely around the country. A second
seminar will be held Thursday.
Who:
-- 200 older New Yorkers concerned
about Internet safety
-- AARP New York
-- Microsoft Corporation
-- Geek Squad-24 Hour Computer
Support Task Force
When:
-- Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2 p.m. to 4
p.m.
-- Thursday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to
noon
Where:
The Graduate Center/CUNY, Baisley
Powell Elebash Hall, 365 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.), New York City
Why:
People 50 and over are the fastest
growing group of Internet users. With Internet criminals constantly
finding new ways to take advantage of online users, older computer
users with little Internet experience are particularly at risk.
Computer experts estimate that a computer comes under attack about
300 times an hour by spyware, viruses and other unwanted software.