A Free Educational Resource Created by Carnegie Mellon University to Empower You to Secure Your Part of Cyberspace

Cybersecurity Awareness

It is easy to take the Internet for granted until something goes wrong, be it a virus, identity theft or cyberbullying. This October, remember: it's up to everyone to keep cyberspace safe.

Posting a comment. Texting. Getting directions online from here to there. Cyberspace has become an common tool that helps people in numerous ways--to communicate, to stay organize, to learn and to entertain. Unfortunately, cyber criminals, scammers and bullies launch attacks constantly.

The Department of Homeland Security  made October the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2001 to raise awareness of cybersecurity issues. MySecureCyberspace and Carnegie Cadets  offer the knowledge and tools to help. Start with the following important cybersecurity tips:

  • Do some computer maintenance: Update the operating system on the home computer by installing patches regularly. It is a good practice to set the operating system to install "automatic" updates.
  • Create a first line of defense: Use protective software on the home computer, including anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and a firewall, and install updates to this software whenever they are available. Parents may want to consider parental monitoring tools.
  • Guard data: Back up the data on the home computer. Be prepared for cyber attacks and technology failures by simply making a copy of files to an external hard drive or online back-up service.
  • Mind privacy: Keep personal information private to avoid identity theft and to maintain a pristine online reputation. Think twice before posting anything personal on the Web! Use secure passwords, and keep them private.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is the perfect time to catch up with the lives of those fearless crusaders, the Carnegie Cadets  and the Cyber Defenders at the Carnegie Cyber Academy. Read up on topics such as Cyberspace Communications , Computer and Device Defense , Cyber Crimes and Criminals , Green Computing  and others.

It's the perfect time to follow along with MySecureCyberspace on YouTube , Facebook , Twitter . All month long, Twitter followers can follow hashtag #NCSAM  for educational resources and updates from "cyber aware" citizens and organizations around the globe. Once informed, readers can help their friends and family to protect their corner of cyberspace.

Find more cybersecurity tips from US-CERT .

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