Author: Hope Reese / Source: TechRepublic
Does where you live have anything to do with how likely you are to experience a malware attack? A new look at more than 1.5 million malware infections in the US compares rates of infection for the first six months of 2017—and found significant differences across the 50 states.
Computer users in New Hampshire are most at risk—its rate of malware infections was 201% higher than the national average—according to the report, released by Enigma Software Group (ESG), who, it should be noted, make anti-malware programs.
It’s not yet clear what kind of insight the geography sheds on malware rates, as the highest and lowest states, in terms of malware infection, include a mix of East coast, West coast, higher and lower-income areas, and densely and sparsely populated regions.
Here are the 10 US states with the highest malware rates, and the % higher than the national average:
- New Hampshire (201%)
- Colorado (143%)
- Virginia (80%)
- New Jersey (64%)
- Oregon (25%)
- New York (24%)
- Montana (24%)
- Missouri (23%)
- Arizona (18%)
- Maine (17%)
The report looks at several forms of malware, including adware, rogue, anti-spyware, ransomware—which, although highly damaging, only accounted for 1% of malicious programs in 2016, according…
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