National Cyber Security Awareness Month – October 2013
For the tenth straight year, we are celebrating October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. At some point, you or someone you know has probably had their computer invaded by a virus. Hopefully, the virus was something that didn’t totally disable your operating system.
Robert Mueller, the FBI director, recently said that, “cyber security may well become our highest priority in the years to come.”
If you use digital technologies at home or in the office, you must play a part in cyber security. If you open a virus-laden e-mail attachment at work, you could infect your entire company’s computer network. Get educated on cyber safety so that you don’t become the cause of your own software or the software of others becoming infected with a virus.
The FBI Cyber Crime Page offers the following basic steps you can take to be more secure:
- Set strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone.
- Keep a clean machine – your operating system, browser and other critical software are optimized by installing regular updates.
- Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends and community about internet safety.
- Limit the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
- Be cautious about what you receive or read online – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.