The internet is part of everyday life for more than 200 million Americans.  With 98% internet access in Cary, it’s a way of life for many of us.  From sending emails to online banking to reminiscing with high school classmates on social networking sites such as Facebook, or microblogging on Twitter – the internet is an amazing tool.  However, most people navigate cyberspace with little, if any, formal training and a lack of awareness of the precautions that need to be taken to ensure that your personal information is protected and computers and networks are safe.

It may seem that the newspapers and radio and television news broadcasts detail online crimes every day. In fact, there are 32,000 suspected cyber attacks every 24 hours. You may not know it, but many viruses and SPAM (unsolicited bulk email) you receive is sent by computers that have ill equipped virus protection.  These can be sent by what we call “zombie networks” or “botnets” – networks of infected personal computers in homes and businesses across the globe.  Reports are that almost 90% of all email today is SPAM. Every computer user plays an important role in using the Internet safely and securely by protecting themselves and the networks they are on.

As more and more of us jump (and stay) online, it’s always a great  time to employ some universal precautions to stay safe and secure online. The National Cyber Security Alliance, a private-public partnership focused on educating and empowering a digital citizenry, wants you to know that you don’t have to have an advanced IT degree to protect yourself online.  A combination of off-the-shelf security tools coupled with some universal behaviors will enable all Americans to protect themselves.

All of us need to:

• Know who you’re dealing with online.
• Keep web browsers and operating systems up-to-date by setting them to automatically update.
• Back up important files. (Yes, you!)
• Protect children online. (Click here for tools to help)
• Use a full suite of updated security tools as a first line of defense.
• Use wireless devices and networks securely.
• Use hard-to-decipher passwords (long with numbers and symbols).
• Learn what to do if something goes wrong.

In addition, we all need to employ the same judgment  we use in the “off-line” world by remembering three letters: WWW.  Whenever you are asked for information online, make sure to ask yourself:

1. Who is asking or going to see this information?
2. What is the value of the information I am being asked to share?
3. Why do they need to see it?

If you are not comfortable with the answers to any of the three questions above, be very cautious and think twice about providing information.More cybersecurity and cybersafety information and tips can be found at www.staysafeonline.org www.onguardonline.gov and
http://www.getnetwise.org/

Lori Bush is a Solutions Development Manager at Cisco Systems, and the Secretary and Board member of the National Cyber Security Alliance (staysafeonline.org) and an involved citizen of Cary. You can follow Lori on Twitter.