A study of users’ experiences and beliefs about software update messages

Fagan, Michael J.; Khan, Mohammad Maifi Hasan; Buck, Ross

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.075

Cited by 46 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In a survey of 155 users, Fagan et al [9] explored software update notifications and found design features that led to annoying and confusing messages. Mathur et al [18] interviewed 30 users and found they felt annoyed with notifications that interrupted their tasks, including having to restart their machines.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Users' Beliefs about Software Updates

Mathur¹,

Malkin²,

Harbach³

et al. 2018

Proceedings 2018 Workshop on Usable Security

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Abstract-Software updates are critical to the performance, compatibility, and security of software systems. However, users do not always install updates, leaving their machines vulnerable to attackers' exploits. While recent studies have highlighted numerous reasons why users ignore updates, little is known about how prevalent each of these beliefs is. Gaining a better understanding of the prevalence of each belief may help software designers better target their efforts in understanding what specific user concerns to address when developing and deploying software updates. In our study, we performed a survey to quantify the prevalence of users' reasons for not updating uncovered by previous studies. We used this data to derive three factors underlying these beliefs: update costs, update necessity, and update risks. Based on our results, we provide recommendations for how software developers can better improve users' software updating experiences, thereby increasing compliance and, with it, security.

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Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Users' Beliefs about Software Updates

Mathur¹,

Malkin²,

Harbach³

et al. 2018

Proceedings 2018 Workshop on Usable Security

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Das et al showed that social influences were key in users' consideration of security decisions and impactful towards security outcomes [20]. Several studies have identified the importance of individual considerations in the decision of users to apply a software update [21][22][23][24]. In particular, past experiences were identified to be an important factor in users' decisions, particularly if past experiences were negative [22,23].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

An investigation into users’ considerations towards using password managers

Fagan

Albayram

Khan

et al. 2017

Hum. Cent. Comput. Inf. Sci.

Self Cite

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Password managers, though commonly recommended by security experts, are still not used by many users. Understanding why some choose to use password managers while others do not is important towards generally understanding why some users do what they do and, by extension, designing motivational tools such as video tutorials to help motivate more to use password managers. To investigate differences between those who do and do not use a password manager, for this paper, we distributed an online survey to a total of 137 users and 111 non-users of the tool that asked about their opinions/experiences with password managers. Furthermore, since emotion has been identified by work in psychology and communications as influential in other risk-laden decision-making (e.g., safe-sex behavior such as condom use), we asked participants who use a password manager to rate how they feel for 45 different emotions, or, as the case for those who do not use a password manager, to rate how they imagine they would feel the 45 emotions if they did use the tool. Our results show that “users” of password managers noted convenience and usefulness as the main reasons behind using the tool, rather than security gains, underscoring the fact that even a large portion of users of the tool are not considering security as the primary benefit while making the decision. On the other hand, “non-users” noted security concerns as the main reason for not using a password manager, highlighting the prevalence of suspicion arising from lack of understanding of the technology itself. Finally, analysis of the differences in emotions between “users” and “non-users” reveals that participants who never use a password manager are more likely to feel suspicious compared to “users,” which could be due to misunderstandings about the tool.

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“…Generally, software patches also invoke this type of power dynamic. Various empirical studies show that non-expert software users are reluctant to install patches themselves and that they are generally annoyed by update warnings (Fagan et al, 2015;Vaniea et al, 2014). The fact alone of needing to update and thus to abandon established user habits in order to keep using a game or a service can create unrest.…”

Section: Power Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resisting the perpetual update: Struggles against protocological power in video games

Švelch

2019

New Media & Society

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This article explores the evolution of video game updates and patches from a mechanism of customer support to a tool of control over the way games are played in the ecosystem of digital gaming platforms. It charts a historical trajectory across various cultural industries, including literary publishing, screen industries, and music, to show a shift from multiplicity of editions to one perpetually updated contingent commodity. Focusing on the issues of power and control enabled by the always-online platforms, the analysis shows that previously updating was often voluntary. However, now players must actively resist patches if they wish to play the game on their own terms. As illustrated by three case studies of update resistance, developers, publishers, and platform holders wield protocological power, which can be successfully opposed -although the outcome often remains localized and tends to alter a specific iteration of protocol and not the underlying infrastructure.

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A study of users’ experiences and beliefs about software update messages

Cited by 46 publications

References 7 publications

Quantifying Users' Beliefs about Software Updates

Quantifying Users' Beliefs about Software Updates

An investigation into users’ considerations towards using password managers

Resisting the perpetual update: Struggles against protocological power in video games

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