Believing that Internet Explorer is safer from malicious websites than Google Chrome won’t decrease your computer’s infection rate.
I don’t think that this is a good counterexample. If people who want to avoid malicious websites tend to believe that IE is safer from them and thus choose IE, then IE should get better results (ceteris paribus) since people who care about malicious websites are also more likely to take care to type paypal.com directly into the address bar, etc.
In other words, one’s attitude to safety from malicious websites has as much effect on infection rates as one’s attitude to safety from car crashes has effect on crash rates. (Or more, I would guess offhand.)
Or they believe using IE makes them safer and don’t bother doing anything else. Or even take more risks otherwise because they feel safer because of IE. Feeling safer can make you less safe. Or have other unintended effects. And “beliefs” are usually based on emotion rather than thought.
Good point! A nitpick:
I don’t think that this is a good counterexample. If people who want to avoid malicious websites tend to believe that IE is safer from them and thus choose IE, then IE should get better results (ceteris paribus) since people who care about malicious websites are also more likely to take care to type
paypal.comdirectly into the address bar, etc.In other words, one’s attitude to safety from malicious websites has as much effect on infection rates as one’s attitude to safety from car crashes has effect on crash rates. (Or more, I would guess offhand.)
Am I missing something?
Or they believe using IE makes them safer and don’t bother doing anything else. Or even take more risks otherwise because they feel safer because of IE. Feeling safer can make you less safe. Or have other unintended effects. And “beliefs” are usually based on emotion rather than thought.
Certainly, it can go either way. (Same with the Volvos.)
No; you’re right. Oops. But it’s too late for me to fix it tonight.
I would expect the exact opposite effect. They might go to Paypal in Chrome, then switch to IE to go to whitehouse.com, just to be on the safe side.