LEAP OF FAITH: USING THE
INTERNET DESPITE THE DANGERS
Results of a National Survey of Internet Users for Consumer Reports WebWatch
By Princeton Survey
Research Associates
International
October 26, 2005
Consumer Reports WebWatch
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, N.Y. 10703-1057
914.378.2600
www.ConsumerWebWatch.org
Executive Summary ................................................................1
About Consumer Reports WebWatch..........................................5
Credibility and Trust Online ......................................................6
What Is Important for all Sites ..................................................9
E-Commerce Sites ..................................................................12
Financial Sites ......................................................................14
Credit Card Fraud and Identity Theft ........................................17
Sites for Children and Teens ....................................................20
News and Information Sites ....................................................22
Search Engines ......................................................................27
Appendix A: Survey Methodology Report ................................28
Appendix B: Final Topline Results ............................................32
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONSUMER REPORTS WEBWATCH
1
Early in this second decade of the Web, Internet users are
more demanding of Web sites, less trusting and adjusting
their behavior in response to what they see as very real
threats in the online world. These are some of the findings
of the latest Consumer Reports WebWatch poll of 1,501
adult Internet users, covering a broad range of the issues
confronting the Internet.
With trust in the accuracy of information from Web sites
central to credibility, there are signs of declines in this
type of trust since the first WebWatch national survey, A
Matter of Trust: What Users Want From Web Sites, also
conducted in 2002 by Princeton Survey Research
Associates International.1 And Internet users remain q