Computer Security for the Home User

ABSTRACT

The home computer user is an important but poorly understood factor in computer security. Anecdotal evidence and some studies have shown that this group is poorly understood and poorly served. Few studies have accurately captured their perceptions of Internet threats, their resulting behavior, or their risk-to-benefit judgments.  Most security strategies are not as effective as they might be because they are not tailored to a user’s perceptions and needs and may exceed the users’ resources (time, money, knowledge). We approach the problem of security for the home computer user through three directions. First, we study the psychology of two vulnerable user groups: college aged and older adults. Second, we create new models of computer security that better address the context and needs of home users. Third, we design systems for automatically acquiring these models and incorporating them in an agent for assisting home computer users in avoiding security vulnerabilities. Our poster will present our current results in these three directions. 

Award ID No.: 0905232