Atlanta Residents Not Using Available Wi-Fi, Says Survey

Residents of the Atlanta metropolitan region are not using Wi-Fi hotspots, even though the city is the fourth highest metropolitan area for Wi-Fi availability and the highest rated "wired" city in the nation, according to a survey from Trend Micro Inc.

The study, which surveyed over 500 Atlanta residents on their Internet usage habits and attitudes toward cyber-surfing safety, found that very few of them are taking advantage of available Wi-Fi within the Atlanta region. While all survey participants responded that they use the Internet on a regular basis, less than 20 percent take advantage of the city's ubiquitous Wi-Fi networks.

The study also found that 52 percent of Atlantans surveyed think viruses are a major threat to their computers. Those participating in what would normally be considered risky online activities (such as browsing Web sites, making online purchases, visiting social networking sites and banking online) are more concerned with viruses even though they are more easily preventable than Web threats.

With a comprehensive Internet security product, most online activities can be relatively safe. Trend Micro offers the following tips in looking for the right consumer security product:

• Make sure the security product offers a strong protection against Web threats such as bots, Trojans, Web downloaders and keyloggers, any of which can lead to identity and data theft.
• Look for an anti-spyware feature that is designed to remove adware and spyware that marketing and advertising companies dump on computers to covertly spy on surfing habits and collect market data. These programs can also slow down computer performance.
• A security product should also have firewall capabilities -- a cyber-barrier that keeps destructive elements and intrusions away from the network. It inspects all network traffic passing through the system, guarding it from viruses, hackers, spam and other Internet threats.
• Viruses can still do damage so a product should also have an antivirus feature that's consistently updated. Viruses are constantly mutating and the only way to protect a computer is with an up-to-date antivirus software program.

"Atlanta residents have a great opportunity to safely use the Internet from a variety of public locations and can take more advantage of it," said Carol Carpenter, vice-president of consumer marketing at Trend Micro. "The proper security protection against viruses and Web threats will help everyone, including Atlantans, confidently utilize their city's Wi-Fi offerings."