Raleigh in Norton's top 10 riskiest cities for cybercrime

Making top 10 lists is nothing new for Raleigh. The North Carolina capital has appeared No. 1 in Businesweek.com's "Best Cities" ranking, and No. 4 in RelocateAmerica's "Top 10 Places to Live for 2011." Raleigh has made another top 10 - one that carries a more unsavory distinction.

Research from Norton and independent research firm Sperling’s BestPlaces produced the list of the nation’s top 10 cities with the highest number of cybercrime risk factors.

This is not the first time the city of oaks has made the list. Raleigh ranks ninth which is a four place drop from its No. 5 position in the 2010 list.

No.  1 Washington, D.C
No.  2 Seattle
No.  3 San Francisco
No.  4 Atlanta
No.  5 Boston
No.  6 Denver
No.  7 Minneapolis
No.  8 Sacramento
No.  9 Raleigh
No.  10 Austin

The study notes that Raleigh is host to "high levels of risky online behavior."

So what does it mean?

Norton says exercise caution when accessing Wi-Fi hotpsots, use strong passwords, and stay educated.

Top 3 Safety Tips from Norton

1. Proceed with caution when using Wi-Fi hotspots

Wi-Fi hotspots are a great resource, but make sure you’re using a secured network if conducting online purchases or banking from a laptop, tablet or smartphone.

2. Use complex and unique passwords for each site

Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers and make your passwords as random as possible. It’s also good practice to change your passwords regularly, but managing all these passwords can be tricky. Norton offers a free, cloud-enabled service that allows consumers to easily and securely store and synchronize logins, passwords, credit cards, and other Web form information across browsers and devices. ID Safe beta is available for free download from IdentitySafe-beta.norton.com

3. Stay educated

For more information and tips on staying safe no matter where you live, visit Norton’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Norton and Norton.com for a complete list of consumer security products.