Survey Information

You are being asked to participate in a research study of computer security dialog boxes (messages boxes). You will be shown a series of proposed and existing dialog box designs and then answer several questions about each design. You must be at least 18 years old to participate in this research.

Participation in this research project is completely voluntary. You have the right to say no. You may change your mind at any time and withdraw. You may choose not to answer specific questions or to stop participating at any time.

You will not be compensated for this research.

If you have concerns or questions about this study, such as scientific issues, how to do any part of it, or to report an injury, please contact the researcher (Dr. Alex Liu, alexliu@cse.msu.edu, (517) 353-5152, 2132 Engineering Building, MSU Campus).

If you have questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participant, would like to obtain information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study, you may contact, anonymously if you wish, the Michigan State University’s Human Research Protection Program at 5173552180, Fax 5174324503, or email irb@msu.edu or regular mail at 207 Olds Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824

You indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by completing this survey.

Participant Information

Which of the following best describes you:

In the past, I have installed an operating system on a computer. I am comfortable configuring computers.
I have never installed an operating system on a computer or I do not know what this means. I do not have large amounts of experience configuring computer systems.

Question 1

Suppose you are attempting to install Adobe Reader on your PC and the following dialog is displayed:

Figure 1

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click the “Yes” button
Click the “No” button
Close the dialog box

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Question 2

Suppose you are attempting to install Adobe Reader on your PC and the following dialog is displayed:

Figure 2

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click option 1
Click option 2
Click option 3
Click option 4
Close the dialog box

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Comparing the options in Figure 1 and Figure 2, which set of options do you prefer?

Figure 1
Figure 2

Question 3

Suppose you are attempting to play an online game on an Internet website. Your receive the following dialog:

Figure 3

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click "Install"
Click the "X" in the upper right hand corner of the dialog.
Close webpage

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Question 4

Suppose you are attempting to play an online game on an Internet website. Your receive the following dialog:

Figure 4

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click option 1
Click option 2
Click option 3
Click the “X” in the upper right hand corner of the dialog.
Close the webpage.

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Comparing the options in Figure 3 and Figure 4, which set of options do you prefer?

Figure 3
Figure 4

Question 5

Suppose you are attempting to access your MSU E-mail via the Internet. You navigate to http://mail.msu.edu and receive the following warning:

Figure 5

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click “Click here to close this webpage.”
Click “Continue to this website (not recommended).”
Close the webpage

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Question 6

Suppose you are attempting to access your MSU E-mail via the Internet. You navigate to http://mail.msu.edu and receive the following warning:

Figure 6

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click option 1
Click option 2
Click option 3
Click option 4
Close the webpage.

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Comparing the options in Figure 5 and Figure 6, which set of options do you prefer?

Figure 5
Figure 6

Question 7

Suppose you are attempting to install a Facebook application named @Smiles. This application claims to “brighten up” your friends day by sending them cute pictures. Your receive the following dialog:

Figure 7

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click the “Allow” button
Click the “Leave App” button
Close the webpage.

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Question 8

Figure 8

Upon viewing this dialog, which of the following actions would you take?

Click option 1
Click option 2
Click option 3
Click option 4
Close the webpage.

How confident are you with your choice?

Highly confident
Fairly confident
Not confident

Comparing the options in Figure 7 and Figure 8, which set of options do you prefer?

Figure 7
Figure 8