(Source: Marketwire)MONTREAL, CANADA--(Marketwire - Oct. 6, 2008) - More than one in two (53 percent) Americans are concerned about security threats when using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, yet 64 percent state factors such as viruses or unlawful access to personal information do not cause them to avoid using these types of services. The trend was uncovered by a recent survey conducted on behalf of Internet security and care provider Radialpoint, by Internet research firm iTracks. The survey, commissioned for Cyber Security Awareness Month, polled a sample of more than 1,500 respondents across the United States and identified similar opinions toward other Internet activities such as banking and shopping.

- Approximately 61 percent of respondents had security concerns while banking online, yet 74 percent indicated they would continue banking online regardless.

- More than 67 percent of respondents indicated they had security concerns with shopping online, yet 78 percent of those respondents continued the activity.

- When asked about downloading music and videos, 56 percent of respondents expressed security concerns, and 68 percent of those respondents indicated they would continue participating in the activity.

"This is a concerning revelation as online security threats are constantly evolving and becoming increasingly more sophisticated," said Hamnett Hill, CEO, Radialpoint. "As October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, this is an ideal time for home computer users to start being mindful of their online activities and begin taking the appropriate steps to secure their systems, rather than continue turning a blind eye to potential online threats."

Overall, 85 percent of respondents indicated a security concern with at least one common online activity including: online banking, shopping online, downloading music or videos, downloading update files or applications from pop-up windows, participating in social networking sites, uploading photos or videos to websites like YouTube and Flickr, filling out personal information online, using instant messaging services like Windows Live Messenger or AIM, visiting a website, and opening email attachments. The biggest concerns expressed by respondents were:

- Unlawful access to their personal information (77%)

- Downloading a virus (68%)

- Being infected with adware (64%)

"The fact that the majority of people are concerned about online threats indicates they either don't have confidence in their security software or their security software is not designed to handle the multitude of threats on the Internet," said Hill.