The Celebration Continues! - Your Evolving Digital Life

   We continue our celebration of US Cyber Security Awareness month!  This partnership between Homeland Security, NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance) and the MS-ISAC (Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center) is an opportunity to recognize the importance of information security.  It started in 2003 as a way to build awareness for online security and privacy and to encourage individuals, business and government.

   This is another of my weekly posts connected with the weekly themes put together by DHS.  This week the theme is Your Evolving Digital Life.

   You practically need to be online to survive and thrive in today's world.  Whether we're talking about digital natives or newbies, we all need to handle some aspects of our lives online.  And all ages are involved!  Senior Citizens are the fastest growing online demographic group.  Not to be outdone, over 33% of babies born in the US already have some kind of online presence!  And people aren't the only online residents... our refrigerators, cars, scales, light bulbs, power grids and medical devices have joined us.

   Keeping ourselves and our devices safe still comes down to some basic things.

   Here are a few tips for DHS and StaySafeOnline:

• Keep a Clean Machine - use anti-malware tools and system updates - and make these automatic
• Protect Your Personal Information - use strong passwords, a password vault and watch the privacy and security settings for your online accounts
• Connect with Care - be careful with links and attachments, and try to use known wifi access points
• Be Web Wise - Think before you click!
• Be a Good Online Citizen - remember the golden rule... post about other as you would like them to post about you!

   Here a pdf version of the staysafeonline.org Stop. Think. Connect. tips.  And here's a pdf of the DHS Internet of Things tip card.

   Let's be careful out there!