Bach Seat

Norton, the anti-virus arm of Symantec (SYMC) teamed up with research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces to rank US cities based on a number of cybercrime risks and they found Detroit the safest online city for 2012. I wrote about Detroit’s 2011 ranking here.

Bert Sperling, lead researcher for the analysis said, “By looking at data from consumer lifestyle habits as well as cybercrime data provided by Symantec, … we’re able to provide a holistic view of the various factors that put a person at potential risk.”

The Huff Post reports that the study looked at the prevalence of Internet use in addition to the types of risks users face online. Consumer statistics include the number of PCs, use of smartphones, the use of social networks, e-commerce, and accessing potentially unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots. BestPlaces also looked at the following cybercrime data: bot-infected computers located within a specific city, attempted malware infections, spamming IP addresses found within a specific city, and web attacks originating within a specific city.

Symantec says Detroit had low scores in the number of Wi-Fi hotspots, potentially risky online consumer behavior, and PC expenditures. Other low-ranked cities include Tulsa and El Paso.

Users are at most risk for cybercrime in the following cities:

1. Washington
2. Seattle
3. San Francisco
4. Atlanta
5. Boston

“With the explosion of smartphones, tablets, and laptops in recent years, and the rise of apps and social networking sites, our online and offline lives are blending together in ways that we’ve never before experienced,” said Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate. “…this analysis highlights the potentially risky factors we face each time we go online. By taking a few simple precautions now, people can make sure they stay protected against online threats.”

Greg Donewar, manager of the National White Collar Crime Center told Huff Post, “… over the past year, we’ve seen a considerable increase in cybercrime attacks, and whether a person lives in the riskiest online city or the safest, consumers everywhere need to be aware of the inherent dangers of online activity.”

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Forbes says that cyber-crime is a $37 billion crime that affects 1 in 25 Americans. Take these steps to protect yourself online:

Create better passwords. Avoid passwords like password, 123456, qwerty, abc123, or monkey, these are the top most common passwords (I have been writing about weak passwords for since 2010). Forbes says your first line of protection against cybercrime is to make sure all of your passwords follow these rules of thumb:

• At least eight characters
• A mix of these four types of characters: upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters
• Not a name, slang word, or any word in the dictionary
• Don’t keep the same password; change it every six months
• Have uniquely different passwords (not just slight variations of the same password) for every account and site

Monitor your financial accounts. If you shop online, use online banking, or have any personal or financial information available online, you are at risk of finance-related crimes like identity theft and fraud which Huff Post says costs the average victim $631 in out-of-pocket costs. Forbes says that one of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to monitor your credit to detect any red flags early. They recommend users set up spending limit alerts on credit cards and checking accounts to keep tabs on your balances. Automatically monitoring for suspicious activity and fraudulent accounts helps catch costly identity theft and fraud immediately.

Lockdown your smartphone. If you use your smartphone to shop, spend, socialize, and surf, your phone’s sensitive information essentially becomes a one-stop shop for cybercriminals. Forbes says if stolen or exposed to thieves, your smartphone can compromise your personal and financial information anytime and anywhere. Here’s a quick five-minute checklist from Forbes on how to properly secure your mobile phone:

• Password-protect your phone with a complex and unique password, and set your phone so it auto-locks and never saves any passwords.
• Enable a service with remote tracking. You can also set your phone to automatically wipe your data if your phone password is inputted incorrectly several times.
• Turn Bluetooth off if you’re not using it. Thieves can pair their Bluetooth device with yours and hack personal information.
• Be careful on public Wi-Fi networks where thieves can remotely access your data undetected. Only connect your phone to secure networks.
• Before downloading any apps to your phone, always do a quick search to make sure it comes from a legitimate site or publisher. Check user reviews on sites like appWatchdog for complaints.

Related articles

• Why you should password-protect your smartphone (ctv.ca)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.