Halloween '13: What tech frightens us most

Email hacking is Americans’ greatest technology-related fear.

• When asked which technology-related situation they find scariest, Americans cited having their   personal or work email account hacked (22 percent) or losing all of the files or data on their computer (19 percent). 
• They are also afraid of losing or forgetting passwords to important online accounts (15 percent),  permanently losing all contacts in their mobile phone (15 percent), losing personal Internet access   for a month (8 percent), spilling coffee or liquid on their keyboard (6 percent), and sending a text or   email to the wrong person (4 percent).

Americans are most fearful of online banking information being publicized or leaked.

• More than half of Americans (58 percent) would be most afraid of their online banking information    being publicized without their consent, compared to their photos/videos (7 percent), social media   passwords (7 percent), text messages (5 percent), personal emails (5 percent), search or browser   history (3 percent), and apps (1 percent). 

• In fact, 13 percent of those 18-34 are most afraid of having their photos or videos publicized without   their consent, compared to 11 percent of 35-44 year olds, 3 percent of those ages 45-54, less than 1  percent of 55-64 year olds, and 2 percent of those over the age of 65. 

Americans are willing to pay up to protect their mobile phones and associated content.

• Nearly half (47 percent) of Americans are willing to pay to safely recover their personal mobile phone   and all its digital content if it were lost and left accessible to others, with the average amount they are   willing to pay  being  $128.

One-quarter (25 percent) of those respondents are willing to spend more than $50 to recover their personal mobile phone and all of its digital content.

• The willingness to pay more than $50 actually decreases as people age.  Four in 10 (40 percent)   Americans ages 18-34 are willing to pay more than $50, while just 24 percent of those 35-44, 22   percent of those 45-54, 16 percent of those 55-64, and 11 percent of those 65 and older would  say the same.