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Participate in National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Discover how you can protect your computer and your online information. Take part in National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which focuses on raising awareness of cyber security nationwide - empowering home, business and education users to improve their cyber security preparedness.

Find out how you can protect yourself and your information online

Top Ten Cyber Security Tips

1. Use "anti-virus software" and keep it up to date.
2. Don't open e-mails or attachments from unknown sources. Be suspicious of any unexpected e-mail attachments even if they appear to come from someone you know.
3. Protect your computer from Internet intruders - use "firewalls."
4. Regularly download security updates and "patches" for operating systems and other software.
5. Use hard-to-guess passwords. Mix upper case, lower case, numbers, or other characters not easy to find in the dictionary. Make sure your password is at least eight characters long.
6. Back-up your computer data on disks or CDs regularly.
7. Don't share access to your computer with strangers. Learn about file sharing risks.
8. Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.
9. Check your security on a regular basis. When you change your clocks for daylight-savings time, reevaluate your computer security.
10. Make sure your family members and/or your employees know what to do if your computer becomes infected.

Protect IT! (Information technology security awareness video, Copyright 2003)
Congress introduces a resolution declaring October National Cyber Security Month (Word document)
State of Washington Cyber Security Awareness Month proclamation (PDF)

Related resources
National Cyber Security Alliance
Department of Homeland Security
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team
Multi-State Information Sharing Analysis Center
Cyber Security Industry Alliance
SearchSecurity.com
Computer Security Resource Center
On Guard Online
Washington State Office of the Attorney General