Most threats that the Web reader faces are not new, but the Web makes them potentially more hazardous. Anyone with a telephone is exposed to telemarketing scams, but a virtual Web storefront with fancy graphics somehow seems more trustworthy than a stranger's voice over the telephone. Many companies collect and sell customer purchase information, but one wouldn't expect the act of reading an online brochure to add one's email address to a telemarketing database. Threats Web threats stem from shortcuts in the software development process, shortcomings in popular operating systems, deficiencies in the Internet protocols, and the problems inherent in managing the Internet. 20 Buggy software is endemic to the software development process.
Developers continually add new features to differentiate their products and increase market share.
Users usually prefer to use the latest and greatest version of any new Web client or server. Web browsers are especially hazardous because they can allow access to untrustworthy systems on the Internet and they often invoke other applications as a side effect of their use. Each new feature increases the risk of a dangerous bug. Impersonation of an individual or organization is difficult to prevent on the Internet. Computer user identification is usually meaningful only within an organization and depends on the policies within that organization and how well they are enforced.