Gone are the days of traditional pickpockets and thieves who stole your money and wristwatches right from your body. Today's deviants are turning to a safer, simpler alternative to access your assets: the Internet. Rational choice theory as defined by Frank Schmalleger in his text Criminology is "a perspective that considers crime to be the result of conscious choice and predicts that individuals choose to commit crime when the benefits outweigh the costs of disobedience to the law” (2014, p. 26). The Internet reduces these costs and increases the convenience of committing a crime for anyone interested, compared to traditional in-person crimes. Anyone who knows how to use a computer is equipped to become a cybercriminal. Information is one of the most valuable assets today. Whether it's personal information, bank routing numbers, private purchasing preferences, or trade secrets, information is the thing everyone is trying to obtain or protect. The current possibility of free access to information on a multitude of subjects partly explains why the choice to commit cybercrime is so “profitable”. A search on Google.com for “how to hack” yields 289,000,000 results in 0.26 seconds! A quick search on the Internet is enough for someone who previously would have had to find the courage to "run into" someone and the skill to silently pinch their wallet on a crowded street. With just a few clicks, they can easily extract private information from someone's computer, usually without them knowing about the theft or having to meet your victim. "When it comes to the root causes of crime, the Internet has provided extraordinary opportunities for financial crimes, misdeeds and infrastructure destruction"...... middle of paper ...... should protect your smartphone and your tablet data. 72% of Internet users have at least basic antivirus software on their computer, compared to only 33% of smartphone users, leaving 77% of smartphone users alone, vulnerable to hackers (Symantec, 2013, p.6 ). Protecting your information requires a few simple, easy-to-implement changes. First, it's important to use different passwords for each connection, as well as create passwords with a varied case structure and include special characters and numbers. Second, log out of all visited pages, rather than closing the window. Third, perform regular scans of your system with antivirus software to help detect any intrusions before they can cause too much damage. Modern antivirus software is constantly updating to be on the lookout for the latest viruses and malware, as reported to the industry..