This document provides 10 tips for protecting your computer from online threats: 1) Take responsibility for your own cybersecurity and heed warnings from protection software. 2) Keep anti-virus software up to date to protect against evolving cybercrimes. 3) Always update operating systems and browsers, which help fight malware. 4) Be wary of emails appealing to emotions or asking for sensitive information, as cybercriminals use these techniques in phishing schemes.

1. 10 tips to protect your computer

2. 1. You are your own best security. Having a Internet security software, anti-
virus protection, spam guards, firewalls, and other protections won’t do a bit of
good if a computer user ignores warnings from the protection software.

3. 2. Stay up-to-date with the latest anti-virus protection.
We make it our full-time job to make the Internet a safer
place. Having the latest security programs can protect
against varying degrees of cyber threats. Because cyber
criminals constantly improve their methods, it doesn’t help to
have a product from 3 years prior.

4. 3. Keep all operating system and Internet
browsers updated. The makers of these programs
are also joining the fight against malware. Having the
most up-to-date programs will help keep the latest
threats away.

5. 4. Don’t believe everything written in an e-mail. Cyber
criminals create infected e-mails meant to tug at heart-
strings, inflame passions about politics, and appeal to
people’s religions knowing that they will be passed on
and on. Joke e-mails are some of the worst offenders for
carrying malware.

6. 5. Look before you leap. Phishing Web sites and spam
e-mails can fool even seasoned computer users into
giving up personal information. Any reputable company
will never ask for a password or a Social Security
number.

7. 6. Use strong passwords. Microsoft offers a free test
to see if passwords will confound common cyber
criminals.

8. 7. Keep your information private on Facebook. Even if
someone is not your friend, a cyber criminal has a way of
seeing what you’ve posted on social networking sites. A
good rule of thumb: Never say anything on a social site
you would never say out loud in public.

9. 8. Teach children about cyber dangers. From an
early age, children should be taught about scams,
predators, and ways to be safe. It doesn’t have to be
a graphic conversation.

10. 9. Don’t use a preview window. Preview windows
automatically open e-mails and subject a computer to
a virus before it can be stopped.

11. 10. If it seems fishy, it probably is. Don’t worry
about being paranoid with suspicious e-mails and
Web sites. Ignore the site or the e-mail to stay safe.