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What's New |
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The Internet and the 2008 Election
According to a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a record-breaking 46% of Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others. Three online activities have become especially prominent: First, 35% of Americans say they have watched online political videos--nearly triple the figure from the 2004 race. Second, 10% say they have used social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace to gather information or become involved. Third, 6% of Americans have made political contributions online, compared with 2% during the entire 2004 campaign. Download a PDF of the report.
Malware: The Great Equalizer
WebWatch Director Beau Brendler recently contributed an essay on malware to the Berkman Center's Publius Project, a collection of essays and conversations about constitutional moments on the Internet collected by the Harvard research program. Read the malware essay.
WebWatch Releases Landmark Study on Childrens' Web Sites
Publishers of major children’s Web sites should do a better job disclosing sales and advertising information to parents, says a recent WebWatch report. For the study, parents used video cameras to keep journals, providing insights into the way children use sites such as Club Penguin, Webkinz, Nick Jr. and others. Footage from those journals can be viewed here. The study, "Like Taking Candy from a Baby: How Young Children Interact with Online Environments," focused on young children, ages 2½ to 8. Download a PDF of the study.
Fighting Cybercrime in New York State
Consumer Reports WebWatch kicked off its "Look Before You Click" campaign in New York State, supported by a grant from the New York State Attorney General's Office, with this list of 10 Tips for Home Computer Safety. We followed up with Six Tips to Help Keep You from Getting Phished. We'll be releasing more fact sheets to help keep you safe online, investigate online auctions and offer some interactive surprises. In the meantime, make sure to read our latest fact sheet, Five Tips to Help Avoid Auction Fraud.
Consumer Reports WebWatch in the News
WebWatch director Beau Brendler recently appeared on CNN to discuss work-at-home scams, explaining how consumers can recognize them and what steps they should take. Download a PDF of his presentation. A transcript of the interview is available here. Read other articles about WebWatch here.
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Research
Reports |
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Families and Children  Like Taking Candy From a Baby: How Young Children Interact with Online Environments...view |
Financial 'Security Risk' Blocks U.S. Military Overseas from Free Credit Report Site: No Free Online Access for Millions of U.S. Citizens...view |
Health HealthRatings.org Rates the Web's Most Popular Pharmacy Sites: Sites a Valuable Health Tool, But Shouldn't Be Sole Health Info Resource...view |
Financial 'Free' Credit Report Sites: Worth the Real Costs? Review of 24 Sites Shows Potential for Consumer Confusion, Unnecessary Services...view |
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FrontGroups.org |
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The Clean and Safe Energy Coaltion must be opposed to nuclear energy, right? Just ask co-chair Christine Todd Whitman.
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Phishers are using the economic stimulus refunds as bait to steal your identity.
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StopBadware.org |
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StopBadware proudly celebrates its two-year anniversay of helping keep consumers safe. See how they can help you. . . .
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Guidelines Compliant Sites |
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We add 20 sites to our list of publishers and businesses that agree to uphold our guidelines. This latest group includes Forbes.com; Quixtar.com, part of Amway; Experian; and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America....view
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Corrections
We will post corrections to any editorial material that
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"A small group of thoughtful people could change the
world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead
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