According to a study commissioned by Verizon, more than half of computer users who think that they are protected against online threats such as spyware, viruses and hackers actually have inadequate or no online protection.

"Internet security protection is like a smoke alarm," said Bill Heilig, VP for Verizon broadband services . "As long as it works, it's great. But with a dead battery, it's worse than no smoke alarm at all because it creates a false sense of security. That's the position that most Internet consumers find themselves in today, and what they don't know is definitely hurting them.”
 
Verizon's study, conducted with 545 U.S. Internet subscribers by the independent Internet research firm iTracks, contrasted participants' opinions about their level of online security against results of Verizon Security Advisor scans performed on their computers. While 92 percent of participants thought they were safe, the scans revealed that 59 percent were actually vulnerable to a variety of online dangers. Ninety-four percent of those surveyed said they would find it helpful to be able to diagnose or check their online security status on a regular basis to make sure their PCs were safe.

The study's comparison between the real risk, as determined by the Verizon Security Advisor scan, and the participants' perceived risks showed that people are unknowingly exposing themselves to threats through bad habits, such as relying on expired or old security software.

Verizon used the study results to tout the effectiveness of its free diagnostic software, which it said can evaluate the virus, spyware or personal firewall security software on a computer in less than five seconds so that users can take steps to close any gaps in their online security protection.