How to Protect Your PC, Mac, Smartphone and Tablet Simultaneously

The numbers behind the explosive growth of cybercrime are astounding. In a little over two decades, we’ve gone from less than 500 pieces of malware to over 100 million malware samples, just announced in the McAfee Threats Report: Third Quarter 2012 . Cybercrime has evolved from nothing to a multibillion-dollar industry.

PCs are still the biggest target of cybercriminals. But as more people navigate to mobiles and Macs, so do the criminal hackers.

The Android platform for smartphones and tablets remains the largest target for both mobile malware and spyware. In fact, we see very few mobile threats that are not directed at Android phones. After a slight decline earlier in the year, Android malware has rebounded and almost doubled this quarter compared with the second quarter

Mac malware, which compromises Apple’s platform, shows strong, continued growth. This surprises many people because this threat inspires far less discussion than PC and mobile malware, but the numbers do not lie with over 350 new samples in Q3 of 2012.

That’s why today, more than ever, it’s critical to protect all your devices. Most of us have much more personal information than we realize on them—from financial documents to priceless photos and lots of personally identifiable information. All of which, if not protected, could expose us to financial fraud, identity theft and privacy invasion.

But the challenge is how do you do this? Protecting all your stuff and devices with a hodge podge of software is a hassle and often ineffective. And in today’s world, security means much more than just antivirus.

With our reliance on so many Internet-connected devices a part of our everyday lives, cross-device protection is essential.

Today McAfee announced the latest enhancements to McAfee All Access which provides cross-device protection for consumers. McAfee All Access safeguards all facets of your digital life and enables you to enjoy a safe online experience regardless of device or location.

Robert Siciliano is an Online Security Expert to McAfee. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile was Hacked!  (Disclosures)

Read more: How to Protect Your PC, Mac, Smartphone and Tablet Simultaneously