Timed just before the e-commerce rush of the holidays, October has been designated National Cyber Security Awareness Month by the National Cyber Security Alliance and its members.
The outreach program is intended to make users of the Web aware of online risks and how to navigate safely around them. Now in its fifth year, National Cyber Security Awareness Month has attracted the support of The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Microsoft, Cisco, McAfee and Symantec.
Last year, according to DHS, the campaign hit new heights of awareness, reaching 133 million Americans, a healthy 43 million increase from 2006. 2007 also marked the year that Canada joined the program.
Yet not everyone appears to be getting the message. For instance, is word reaching the corporate set?
In a study this summer, Sophos discovered that 81 percent of the 580 business computers that were subjected to an online scan were missing a vital piece of PC security.
Clearly, more outreach is required. And this year, the agency has a few more common-sense tips on keeping data safe and avoiding phishing scams and malware infections.
Install anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti spyware support canada software to your computer, and update as necessary.
Create strong passwords on your electronic devices and change them often. Never record your password or provide it to someone else.
Back up important files.
Ignore suspicious e-mail and never click on links asking for personal information.
Only open attachments if you’re expecting them and know what they contain.
Administrators and IT managers, however, are encouraged to bookmark US CERT and its partner site, the National Vulnerability Database. The latter offers a frequently updated database of software and device vulnerabilities and a deeper level of technical analysis on the potential threat to computers and networks.
OpenDNS, which billed itself as a safe haven from the recent DNS exploit scare, is appealing to security-conscious Web users to switch to its service to avoid identity theft. The DNS provider also runs PhishTank, which has helped automatically block more than 250,000 phishing scams for OpenDNS users to date.
source:enterpriseitplanet.com