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Nearly 40% of Americans Would Give Up Sex For Better Online Security, Survey Finds (huffingtonpost.com) 230

A recent survey of over 2,000 adults conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Dashlane, a "leader in online identity and password management," found that nearly 40 percent of Americans would give up sex for an entire year if it meant they'd never have to worry about being hacked. Huffington Post reports: 40 percent of people also said they'd give up their favorite food for one month in the name of peace of mind online. If all of this sounds drastic, the truth is that it probably is. The single biggest thing people can do to help keep their online identity safe is probably the easiest -- a solid password. 10 years ago, anti-virus was the primary method of online security. But since the Internet has left the desktop and is on laptops, tablets, and cell phones, and since so many people now use the cloud for backing up their sensitive data, following proper password protocol is critical. Of course, having a solid password doesn't do a lot of good if you're giving it out to people. And nearly 50% of people have shared a password to an e-mail account or to an account like Netflix with a friend or had a friend share theirs (which is a surprisingly high number when you consider that 4 out of 10 people said that sharing an online social media password was more intimate than sex). A look at the password habits of Americans showed that about 30% have used a pet's name, almost 25% have used a family member's name, 21% a birthday, and 10% each have used an anniversary, a sports team, an address, or a phone number. So if you just know a few basic, personal details about someone, you've got a decent chance at cracking their password. The study also revealed some interesting data in that younger Americans (those age 18 to 34) who grew up online are far more trusting with passwords than older generations, and married people are less likely to part with passwords than single people.
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Nearly 40% of Americans Would Give Up Sex For Better Online Security, Survey Finds

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  • by Dr_Barnowl ( 709838 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:06AM (#53353439)

    All you have to do is :

    • Install Linux
    • Spread the word to all the people you want to have sex with

    ... and you can do both!

    • Here in the UK over 90% of the population has already given up sex (We call it marriage)
    • Should surveys by a manufacturer of masturbation lotions be a valid source of information on sex?
    • by antdude ( 79039 )

      I already did that, but still a virgin. :(

    • Well, I would argue quite strongly that the research premise is flawed if they don't start by filtering responses by frequency and nature of sexual contact.

      Can't give up something you don't have. Or in the Captain Tightpants parlance, "Can't miss a place you never been."
  • Security? (Score:5, Funny)

    by The Rizz ( 1319 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:13AM (#53353461)

    In other news, 40% of Americans have bad sex lives.

    • In other news, 40% of Americans have bad sex lives.

      My first thought was . . . "Nonsense! 40% of Americans aren't Slashdot readers!"

    • by Cederic ( 9623 )

      Given 20% of Americans are aged 14 or younger and another 20% are aged over 60, 40% feels surprisingly lower.

      I know I'd sign up my 8 year old for a year of celibacy if it guaranteed a hackproof life for her.

  • by TimothyHollins ( 4720957 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:18AM (#53353479)

    I'm guessing the female participation in this study was also at 40%.

    • I'm guessing the female participation in this study was also at 40%.

      Are you living in some alternate reality where women don't have a sex drive? By the way, that reality sounds like it sucks, which is ironic because I don't imagine much of that going on.

      • by Evtim ( 1022085 )

        How was that movie by Woody Allen that got some Oscars?

        Q [physiatrist]: How often you make love?
        A: [the man]: almost never - 3 times a week!
        A:[the woman]: all the time - 3 times a week!

        It's not that women have no drive but it is quite a bit weaker than men's. Also, since the women control the sex, every woman gets 100% satisfied sexually [and every male is frustrated] since there is always much more demand than supply. That is if things are one to one [one man with one woman].

        The "fact" that women have as s

        • Re:Numbers don't lie (Score:4, Interesting)

          by serviscope_minor ( 664417 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @08:08AM (#53353943) Journal

          It's not that women have no drive but it is quite a bit weaker than men's.

          Nah that's just a rather recent social idea. Go back a while and you find that people considered the opposite to be true.

          Also, since the women control the sex,

          No they don't, that's an incredibly stupid thing to think.

          every woman gets 100% satisfied sexually

          Fucking moron. I mean really. You actually believe that? Have you, like, ever actually talked to a woman ever? I was going to try to come up with a "logical" argument, but how can you argue with someone who just invents facts to support their world view. On an entirely unrelated note, did you vote Trump?

          and every male is frustrated

          I ain't.

          since there is always much more demand than supply

          Haaa hahahaha.

          There might be a shortage of women who you think are hot enough that you want to bonk. However saying "there's a shortage of women" is somewhat different from, for example, "there's a shortage of supermodels who want to bonk me".

          The "fact" that women have as strong drive as men is simply political correctness...sadly it has penetrated even biology text books.

          At times past other cultures have considered the opposite to be the case.

          The refusal to recognize that 9 out of 10 men are sexually frustrated [if monogamy is obeyed] is at the core of enormous amount of social trouble....

          How do you know the women aren't sexually frustrated too? Oh right you don't. You just invented a fantasy where they aren't. Try actually speaking to women, or failing that, visit some internet forums where people are more likely to talk about their personal lives, such as the comments section of agony columns.

        • "It's not that women have no drive but it is quite a bit weaker than men's. "

          People who say that are doing it wrong.

        • It's not that women have no drive but it is quite a bit weaker than men's.

          what? [theatlantic.com]

          (sources abound)

          • sources abound

            Won't matter. Attitudes like that often come from "women won't have sex with me therefore the fault must lie with women". To further add to the absolution of personal responsibility and fatalism add that "it's a biological fact, so it can't possible be any fault of mine".

            • Won't matter.

              Yes, that's why I kept it short and sweet. No sense in spending a lot of time, effort, or energy there.

              To be fair, some women have little libido, and I know what that's like. But I've definitely been the one trying and failing to keep up, in other cases.

              • To be fair, some women have little libido

                Oh yes. I won't try to deny it, there's a lot of variation (for men too).

              • Won't matter.

                Yes, that's why I kept it short and sweet. No sense in spending a lot of time, effort, or energy there.

                To be fair, some women have little libido, and I know what that's like. But I've definitely been the one trying and failing to keep up, in other cases.

                I wonder though, does the study take into account the non-trivial number of people who simply don't have a sex life? It is pretty easy to give up something you aren't getting anyhow.

                I'm assuming that they didn't count masturbation as sex either. What got me wondering was that the survey also included questions about giving up a favorite food. People were apparently willing to give up on that for only a month. That is showing some priorities perhaps? To give up only a favorite food - not going without.

        • every woman gets 100% satisfied sexually

          What color is the sky on your planet?

          Seriously, your statement is the kind of thing that's said by someone who's never actually had sex, but who watches a lot of porn.

      • by amiga3D ( 567632 )

        He's in the reality where women refuse to have sex with him.

    • by zifn4b ( 1040588 )

      I'm guessing the female participation in this study was also at 40%.

      Nah, that 40% doesn't have sex anyway so they're not giving up anything. Profit!

  • Really? That's it? Well, nothing to see here, everyone just move along...
  • "The single biggest thing people can do to help keep their online identity safe is probably the easiest -- a solid password."

    Fucking cannot be absolutely more wrong on this one. Firstly, you "shouldn't" re-use passwords. So it isn't a "solid password", but instead a "solid password per web site". But what *IS* a solid password? That's right. Complex as fuck shit to remember. Upper, lower, number, specials, with a minimum and maximum that isn't even remotely consistent from web site to web site.

    The correct a

    • Re:Easy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by TimothyHollins ( 4720957 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:41AM (#53353561)

      "The single biggest thing people can do to help keep their online identity safe is probably the easiest -- a solid password."

      Fucking cannot be absolutely more wrong on this one. Firstly, you "shouldn't" re-use passwords. So it isn't a "solid password", but instead a "solid password per web site". But what *IS* a solid password? That's right. Complex as fuck shit to remember. Upper, lower, number, specials, with a minimum and maximum that isn't even remotely consistent from web site to web site.

      You aren't thinking about the real world here, you're thinking like a programmer.

      Yes, a long and complex password is better from a cryptographic view, but noone will ever remember 200+ characters.
      If you want to be safe, then you need a simple, reusable password for low-risk sites (forum accounts like /.), a secure and long password for critical sites that you access through special services (like your email account), and possibly a third medium security password for sensitive sites (like online gaming where your credit card is involved). This allows you to remember the passwords, and if a low/medium-risk password should be compromised, it doesn't matter so much. Better yet, since you only have three passwords to keep track of, you can make them a bit tougher.

      This stuff is actually something everyday people can use in the real world.

      • And I thought we should all use "correct horse battery staple" for everything and that would be secure!
        • And I thought we should all use "correct horse battery staple" for everything and that would be secure!

          If we were allowed to compose passwords this way, we would indeed be secure. It's when there are silly rules that require us to remember the equivalent of c0rrectHorseB4tterystaple&* that the idea breaks down.

          • by agm ( 467017 )

            Agreed. I think rules like "must include 2 numbers and 2 special characters" should only apply for passwords shorter than 10 characters. My passwords are easy to remember, unique per site and > 22 characters long. I'm happy that's it's secure.

        • And I thought we should all use "correct horse battery staple" for everything and that would be secure!

          Don't forget to put your year of birth on the end to make it unique to you...

      • doesn't matter how solid your password it is if it can be reset through some mechanism you don't know about - like customer service.

        or if the attacker gets a copy of your browser cache(and cookies) and gets in through that, to reset said password.

        two factor yes, but the PASSWORD IS THE FUCKING EASIEST THING and well, as long as it is a password that can't be guessed in 10 tries, it doesn't really help at all.

        however, since such articles would be "too hard" to understand if they talked about the actual risks

      • If you want to be safe, then you need a simple, reusable password for low-risk sites (forum accounts like /.), a secure and long password for critical sites that you access through special services (like your email account), and possibly a third medium security password for sensitive sites (like online gaming where your credit card is involved).

        No. You're kind of sort of close but not really. Every critical resource, like a bank or credit card, must have its own password. You cannot trust that your password is being properly protected or that you will be notified of a breach in a timely fashion.

        You should probably also have a unique password for every site where someone can spend your money, but hey, it's your money. You can decide on that one. I guess that's true only if you care about whether other people can spend your money. I don't have an un

      • If you want to be safe, then you need a simple, reusable password for low-risk sites (forum accounts like /.)

        Fine, and exactly what I do.

        a secure and long password for critical sites that you access through special services (like your email account)

        No, you need a unique secure and long password for each critical site. Otherwise if any one of those sites gets compromised, they all are.

        Your email account, the one that is the password-reset confirmation method for all of your other sites, is the crown jewel, the master key to all of your online accounts needs even better security. You need a secure password and a second authentication factor. If your email service doesn't support 2FA, get a better one that does and change th

    • The solid password that you can remember is the one that you use to protect your password manager. All of the others are randomly generated.
      • by arth1 ( 260657 )

        A password manager is also a potential vector for attacks. Can you guarantee that the password manager and the OS it runs on are both secure? Otherwise, it's putting all your eggs in one basket.

        Never mind the (not completely uncommon) problem of losing access to your password manager. Then you're faced with having lost all your passwords.

        tl;dr: I'd rather lose a credit card than the whole wallet.

        • Team Password Manager (http://teampasswordmanager.com/)is self hosted and has a Chrome extension, and free for two users.
          Not affiliated, just a happy user.

          • Re: Easy (Score:5, Insightful)

            by arth1 ( 260657 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @09:22AM (#53354259) Homepage Journal

            Team Password Manager (http://teampasswordmanager.com/)is self hosted and has a Chrome extension, and free for two users.

            So you have to trust a closed source program, and run it on a server with PHP, IconCube, MySQL (with ALL privileges, no separation between user and admin rights) and Apache, and poke a hole in your firewall to reach its web server? That's increasing security?

            Never mind the mind boggling idea of using a browser extension to give your browser a backdoor into it to increase convenience.

        • Can you guarantee that the password manager and the OS it runs on are both secure? Otherwise, it's putting all your eggs in one basket.

          Moot point. If you can't be at the very least reasonably certain that the OS is secure it doesn't matter how the password is input. You could have a keylogger running in the insecure OS that not only grabs usernames and passwords, but may even be able to correlate them to specific sites... E.G. foo and bar were typed immediately after typing mybank.com.

          Never mind the (not completely uncommon) problem of losing access to your password manager. Then you're faced with having lost all your passwords.

          This is actually a good point. But that is exactly why passwords can be reset if you forget them. It may be a pain in the ass to reset all of your password

          • by arth1 ( 260657 )

            Moot point. If you can't be at the very least reasonably certain that the OS is secure it doesn't matter how the password is input. You could have a keylogger running in the insecure OS

            The difference is that a keylogger will only capture the password(s) you type in while the keylogger is active, and not all your passwords in one fell swoop.
            If I were a blackhat able to breech your OS, I would much prefer it if you ran a password manager.

    • > Enable two-factor authentication on any site that supports it. Even just this alone is a HUGE improvement. Plus, sites like Facebook have login attempt notifications.

      Those are good things. 2FA is a bit of a hassle, so not worth it to log in to Slashdot, but certainly makes sense for a bank.

      > Complex as fuck shit to remember. Upper, lower, number, specials

      For 15 years, I developed password-based security full time. I had an alias or two on the cracker boards. I analyzed thousands and thousands

  • by raymorris ( 2726007 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:26AM (#53353513) Journal

    After 20 years working in internet security, the headline struck me as bullshit. Just yesterday when I told a guy that making his DVR accessible via the internet would mean hackers would likely get into it, his response was "I don't care". That's about typical. So why would this survey come up with that result? The bottom section of the article begins with:
    __
    Dashlane makes identity and checkouts simple with its password manager and secure digital wallet app. Dashlane allows its users to securely manage passwords
    __

    And according to a survey conducted by McDonald's, their burgers are wonderful.

    • by phayes ( 202222 )

      I've been working in computer security from way back when Checkpoint was a startup.

      Use of a password manager does not solve ALL computer security problems, but it does help to solve two major problems we have today:
      Poor passwords
      Password reuse

      Coming up with different secure passwords for every site & then remembering them all and which goes where is beyond the reach of everyone without eidetic memory, thus the Dashlane advertisement is indeed useful. If Dashlane advertising their own manager irritates y

      • by amiga3D ( 567632 )

        I've got a black book (literally) that I keep login/passwords in. If someone breaks in my house and steals that book I'm fucked but otherwise it's pretty secure.

      • Coming up with different secure passwords for every site & then remembering them all and which goes where is beyond the reach of everyone without eidetic memory, thus the Dashlane advertisement is indeed useful.

        No it isn't. I have two password for everything. One for regular stuff, one for important stuff. Regular people don't need a password manager, it's just adds another layer for compromise (A password in my head is more secure than one written into a closed source app that may or may not be sharing that info around intentionally or unintentionally). Password managers are useful for IT depts when sharing many privileged passwords with different users and groups, but these people already know what a password ma

    • by amiga3D ( 567632 )

      I'm trying to think why I give a shit if someone hacks my DVR. Seriously. I have nothing sensitive at all on any always connected devices. I have a netbook with Peppermint Linux OS on it that I only use to do banking and ordering online crap. I connect, do business and log off. I use a simple password for the always connected devices just so they're not completely open but I'm not going to worry if someone knows I'm recording the Waltons on DirecTV.

      • To a bad guy, your DVR isn't a DVR, it's a presence in your private network. Your router typically blocks almost all traffic from the internet, but ALLOWS all traffic from within your network. Once they are are in any device on the internal network, they are allowed to reach any other device on your internal network. You may have noticed also that Windows default security settings are different for the local network vs the internet.

        Perhaps most importantly, from your DVR they can access 192.168.1.1, the a

        • by amiga3D ( 567632 )

          I see your point. I will say that I don't allow remote admin connection to my router. The only way to log into the admin account there is via wired ethernet cable connection. I've got a decent password but really I've never worried about it because I don't store anything I'm worried about on a computer connected to a network. I never really worried about becoming a part of a botnet though I have always had the router sitting on my desk where I can watch network traffic indicators. Ages ago I did get ba

          • > The only way to log into the admin account there is via wired ethernet cable connection.

            Wireless can't reach the admin interface? Cool.

            > my US Robotics 54K modem lights going hard red and the led on my HD started flashing fast. I reached over and turned the modem off

            I wish more of my clients would disconnect the network when they notice a problem. That's exactly the right move. Shutting down destroys evidence, while rebooting can give give attacker a more covert channel.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    And what is this supposed to actually mean? It's just a clickbait study that doesn't really tell us a damned thing that's actually useful.

    I bet 40% of the people who read this would be willing to punch the author of the study in the face for a chocolate bar, too.

  • by h33t l4x0r ( 4107715 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:32AM (#53353527)
    Deserve neither.
  • Terrible Sample (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DatbeDank ( 4580343 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @05:35AM (#53353541)

    This study means absolutely nothing other than showing us that the people who visit Dashlane's site and use their products most likely either don't care or get any sex and have no problem giving it up for better online security. That's like polling Slashdot about which Mp3 player is better (Zune or iPod).

    I bet if they sampled 2000 people who read the Huffpost or some other more mixed MSM site will get a vastly different answer than what this bunk poll found.

  • Meaningless data (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Thanshin ( 1188877 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @06:00AM (#53353617)

    What's the point in polling a population who believe in angels, has but the slightest knowledge of history and geography and is almost illiterate in science?

    40% of Americans probably couldn't understand what "nearly 40% of Americans" even means.

    We could as well discuss the percentage of toddlers who think their mum should be Queen of America.

    • by dywolf ( 2673597 )

      my thinking was more along the lines of:
      -40% of americans are stupid
      -but then the election of Trump already told us that

  • by LordHighExecutioner ( 4245243 ) on Thursday November 24, 2016 @06:40AM (#53353711)
    ...all of them were ex-subscribers of Ashley Madison dating service, who got neither sex nor privacy!
  • by Anonymous Coward

    I just installed APKs HOSTS file generator. Now I can shag all I want and be secure!

  • Many of today's internet innovations are as a result of porn which has led development of online transactions and streaming (for example). Be careful what you wish for!

    On the flip side, if Americans had better sex, they wouldn't be on the internet watching porn. Catch-22!

  • Give up sex for better online security... so people will stop visiting porn websites?

  • 40% of Americans are morons!
  • I believe even more believe in creationism. Therefore not a surprise, christians don't fuck.
    • I believe even more believe in creationism. Therefore not a surprise, christians don't fuck.

      First of all, if christians don't fuck, then where do new christians come from? Abstinence didn't work out for the Shakers.

      And second, Creationism is by no means a majority position of mainstream christian denominations. Most (along with denominations of other world faiths) accept evolution and cosmology as the correct explanations for our origins.

  • I guess it's those people, where Christmas happens more often than sex.

    I for one, would give up the internet for more sex.

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      I for one, would give up the internet for more sex.

      I thought they were the same thing.

  • But did the survey ask what proportion of the population would give up sex to stop being bothered by pollsters?
  • ... are so accurate and stuff.

  • I guess I need to come up with a new sighful response to silly articles as "Fucking Americans" no longer seems to fit.

  • Let's see. In the 12 years I've been married, I could have provided better online security to ..... well. An entire village.

    You fjnorkers owe me. Big time.
  • Ben Franklin said it best,

    "Those who would give up that essential Sweet Sweet Poontang, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Poontang nor Safety."

    And let me tell you, Franklin was a man who knew good poontang.

  • The other 60% would give up online security for better sex.
  • I would do it if I were young.
    As written, it would mean that in exchange for a year of no sex, I would get decades of not having to worry about not only my own account, but also the integrity of all the places that I have accounts. I have several bank, credit union, and brokerage accounts, and they would all have to be made secure to protect my accounts. There is also the IRS, and the various hospitals who hold my medical records.

    "online security" has to include both endpoints to be safe. It's neither you

  • So says the 40% that are not getting any as it is...

Understanding is always the understanding of a smaller problem in relation to a bigger problem. -- P.D. Ouspensky

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