Over the first six months of 2017, an anti-malware programme company called Enigma Software Group (ESG) carried out a report comparing malware infection rates throughout 50 states in the US.

The report found that computer users in New Hampshire are most vulnerable, with its malware infection rates being 201% higher than the national average.

It appeared that high and low malware rates are from densely and sparsely populated regions, with both high and low incomes, including the East coast and West coast.

Here are the highest malware rates within the US states, and the % higher than the national average, according to Tech Republic:

1. New Hampshire (201%)
2. Colorado (143%)
3. Virginia (80%)
4. New Jersey (64%)
5. Oregon (25%)
6. New York (24%)
7. Montana (24%)
8. Missouri (23%)
9. Arizona (18%)
10. Maine (17%)

Different forms of malware were studied, including ransomware, adware, rogue and anti-spyware.

The report found that every month, malware infections dropped since the begging of year; with last month dropping by 31% since January.

Testing providing company, ESG, concluded that the drop could be because of more secure Windows updates being downloaded.

ESG spokesperson, Ryan Gerding, noted that “Regardless of where you live, it’s always important to stay vigilant for infections all the time.”

Written by Leah Alger