Recent virus and worm attacks that spread through "holes" in popular consumer software emphasize the role the online public must play in preserving the safety and integrity of the Internet. To protect the network commons, more users must engage in safe online behavior by such actions as controlling their private information, updating software security patches, downloading protective software, and filtering their email. While network security remains an abstract notion to the general public, online consumers can understand the issue in terms of their personal privacy behavior, actions that result in the undesired disclosure of information and unwanted intrusions on their personal cyberspace. The proposed project develops a theoretical model of online safety behavior, evaluates and tests that model in the context of current security interventions, and develops and tests a consumer online safety tool. The term i-Safety connotes information safety and also the role that all individuals play in preserving it. The project will improve understanding of online safety behavior. The proposed research extends and validates a model of the psychological and social factors that motivate Internet users to act safely online, with the ultimate goal of creating effective interventions that will encourage safe online behavior. safety instruction, and the effectiveness of the application will be evaluated. Broader impacts will follow from the dissemination of the results of the study to online security developers and educators and from the release of the personalized safety assessment tool to the public. The proposed research will guide the development of new network security models that require user actions to implement, evaluate the effectiveness of current approaches to encouraging safe online behavior, and provide the online public with a tool with which to manage and control their own risks while maximizing the collective security of the Internet
