Webroot, the market leader in next-generation endpoint security and threat intelligence, today revealed the top 10 most malware-infected U.S. cities. According to Webroot’s data, Houston is the most infected U.S. city with 60,801 infected devices. Chicago was found to be the second most infected city at 49,147 infected devices, followed by Phoenix at 42,983 infected devices. The research reflects the number of PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones that have been infected with malware. Surprisingly, each infected device has, on average, between 6 and 24 pieces of malware installed.

Webroot’s top 10 most infected cities and number of infected devices include:

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

The 10 most population-dense cities, according to The United States Census Bureau and in order of decreasing population density, are New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Long Beach, Calif., Los Angeles and Seattle. Webroot data, however, revealed very little correlation between population density and the number of infected devices in the city. In fact, only one of the most infected cities, Los Angeles, is among the most population-dense cities.

“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.”

What Can You Do to Stay Secure?

To ensure personal devices and data remain secure, Webroot recommends that consumers adopt the following simple yet effective security strategies:

• 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.

For More Information

• To learn more about the Webroot study, check out:
  • Webroot’s infographic on the most infected U.S. states
  • Blog post from LeVar Battle: “Top 10 Most Infected States”
• Protect all of your personal devices with award-winning cybersecurity, such as the Webroot SecureAnywhere line of products, which are compatible with the latest major PC, Mac and mobile operating systems.

Research Methodology

The figures presented on the most infected U.S. cities are 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.