Users' conceptions of web security: a comparative study

  • Authors:
  • Batya Friedman;David Hurley;Daniel C. Howe;Edward Felten;Helen Nissenbaum

  • Affiliations:
  • University of Washington, Seattle, WA;University of Washington, Seattle, WA;University of Washington, Seattle, WA;Princeton University, Princeton, NJ;Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

  • Venue:
  • CHI '02 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

This study characterizes users' conceptions of web security. Seventy-two individuals, 24 each from a rural community in Maine, a suburban professional community in New Jersey, and a high-technology community in California, participated in an extensive (2-hour) semi-structured interview (including a drawing task) about Web security. The results show that many users across the three diverse communities mistakently evaluated whether a connection is secure or not secure. Empirically-derived typologies are provided for (1) conceptions of security based on users' verbal reasoning, (2) the types of evidence users depend upon in evaluating whether a connection is secure, and (3) conceptions of security as portrayed in users' drawings. Design implications are discussed.