Raleigh Ranked Fifth Riskiest Cyber City in the Country
Hot on the tails of being named America’s “Most Wired City” by Forbes Magazine, Raleigh has grabbed a top spot on another, less desirable list: Norton’s list of the “Top 10 Riskiest Online Cities,” a compilation of cities most vulnerable to cybercrime. The list is based on a research study conducted by Symantec, which analyzed the number of attacks and potential infections in each city, as well as statistics on internet access and use, number of wireless hotspots, level of broadband connectivity and volume of online purchases.
Seattle topped the list as the riskiest online city in the country. Not surprisingly, all of the top six “riskiest cities” featured on Norton’s list – Seattle, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Raleigh and Atlanta, also ranked high on the Forbes “List of Most Wired Cities.” Forbes based their rankings on similar statistics regarding broadband activity, wireless hotspots and internet access and use.
According to a report by Consumer Reports, one in five online consumers have been victims of cybercrime, most commonly occurring in the forms of phishing, Spyware, or online identity theft. Consumer Reports believes the rise in internet fraud will continue to grow, an increase closely linked to rising unemployment and foreclosures. The growing popularity of social networking websites also creates more opportunities for identity thieves.
Norton has offered several tips for internet users to protect themselves while surfing the Web:
Top 3 Safety Tips from Norton
No matter where your city ranks on the list, people everywhere can benefit from online safety tips to help prevent becoming a victim of a cybercrime:
- Use legitimate security software that offers comprehensive protection against known and unknown online threats – There are a lot of security solutions to choose from, but comprehensive security solutions like Norton Internet Security and Norton 360 will help ensure you’re fully protected against malware, spyware, hackers, zero-day threats, and identity theft. Parents should also protect their kids too from online threats and inappropriate content by using OnlineFamily.Norton, a free family safety solution.
- Always keep your computer’s operating system and the software you run on it patched – Don’t ignore prompts to update your OS or applications with critical security fixes. Cybercriminals can get in through “holes” in unpatched computers.
- Stay educated – Visit the Norton site www.everyclickmatters.com and download the Norton Family Online Safety Guide to learn more about the realities of cybercrime and how to stay protected.”
Source: Norton
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Aaron Huslage
03/24 09:52 AM
This story was commissioned work to sensationalize “cyber security” issues and sell more software. The idea of a “most vulnerable” city on the Internet is meaningless at best. I am sad that New Raleigh chose to run a piece based on flawed “science” and blatant marketing.
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the Indigenous Hipster
03/25 03:09 AM
here’s another tip. use a mac.
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Phillo
03/26 08:31 PM
Apple does tend to patch exploits relatively quickly, but that doesn’t mean you are 100% safe all of the time - those patches do have to be rolled out. As well, there is no reason not to run a good AV when using a Mac. There are also a variety of things you can do on a Mac that result in a change in the initial ‘locked down’ state that Macs ship in.
Just because Mac viruses don’t deliver the same bang for the buck (because of Mac market penetration) that Windows viruses do, doesn’t mean you should be complacent. If the same number of people that ran Windows used Macs, the black hats would be targeting Macs.
And what Aaron Huslage said. -
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03/27 01:29 AM
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