This week is cyber security awareness week! In this day and age, cyber safety should be on the top of everyone’s list. You can never be too careful with what you do on the internet – and seeing as you’re currently online reading this, we thought this information would be particularly useful to you. Here are 10 top tips to keep you and your family cyber safe.
- Install and update your security software and set it to scan regularly.
- Turn on automatic updates on all your software, particularly your operating system and applications.
- Use strong passwords and different passwords for different uses – maybe use your favourite saying and mix it up with both letter, numbers, and symbols to make it extra strong – something that won’t be easy to work out.
- Stop and think before you click on links and attachments – particularly emails that seem to come from bank websites, paypal, or airlines – if it’s a fake, it will still look very authentic. Don’t click on anything – your bank would never email you asking you to confirm your password for example. If you think the email might be genuine, don’t click on anything in the email, but instead visit the website directly via your web browser and investigate from there.
- Take care when buying online – research the supplier and use a safe payment method.
- Only download “apps” from reputable publishers and read all permission requests.
- Regularly check your privacy settings on social networking sites – these sites, such as Facebook, change their set up and add new features all the time – so make sure you check your settings regularly in case the new update has changed something, or there is a new security measure you can put in place – you never know who might be looking at your profile if you don’t cover all your security bases.
- Stop and think before you post any photos or financial information online – post holiday photos once you are back – don’t tell the world that you are away and that your house is empty.
- Talk with your child about staying safe online, including on their smart phone or mobile device – this is one of the most important things to teach your kids, because when they are online, you can’t always be sure who they’re talking to, and you may not always be there to help them – give them the skills to be safe online if you aren’t there.
- Report or talk to someone if you feel uncomfortable or threatened online – visit the Stay Smart Online website for all information you need.