Houston, Your Computers Have Problems: City Tops Nation in Malware Infection Study

Houston is the tops when it comes to malware on computers and smartphones, according to research conducted by tech security firm Webroot. (Sorry, Dallas, you have to settle for 6th place.)

That means that Houstonians could be falling behind when it comes to cyber security.

“Our most infected cities list shows that cybercriminals have no geographical bias,” said David Dufour, senior director of engineering at Webroot. “Whether you live in a big city or small town, from east coast to west coast and everywhere in between, you are susceptible to being a victim of malware. It is in everyone’s best interest to run a security solution on their personal device, and to make sure that all security software subscriptions are current.”

The top 10 cities list is based on 2016 data collected, tracked and analyzed by the Webroot Threat Intelligence Platform, the BrightCloud Real-Time Anti-Phishing Service, and other Webroot capabilities.

Here are the study's top 10 cities and the number of infected devices:

1. Houston – 60,801
2. Chicago – 49,147
3. Phoenix – 42,983
4. Denver – 39,711
5. San Antonio 39,646
6. Dallas – 37,630
7. Los Angeles – 34,050
8. Las Vegas – 31,836
9. Minneapolis – 28,517
10. Charlotte, NC – 27,092

Webroot offered these suggestions to help consumers protect themselves from hackers:

• Purchase and deploy a top-rated security solution. Look for cybersecurity solutions that continuously protect personal information without taking up disk space or otherwise affecting user experience by making devices unavailable during scans.
• Keep your security software up-to-date. Make sure that all security software subscriptions are current.
• Avoid free public Wi-Fi. Cybercriminals are known to create ad-hoc networks that look like free internet, but actually launch a “man in the middle” attack. It’s best to stick to secure networks when on-the-go.
• Use a password. Lock mobile devices to ensure data remains secure.
• Use good judgement. Be extra vigilant about the websites visited, the URLs followed and the applications and mobile apps used.
• Store sensitive data in the cloud. Generally, encrypting ransomware only has the means to encrypt files stored locally on a user’s system. Because of that, data stored in the cloud can often be more secure than storing on a home network.

— Image courtesy Flickr/bluecoat.com