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Technology & Tools
Published on: October 24th, 2013
It’s official! Computer Troubleshooters is now a Champion for National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Our locations are focused on cyber security and its impact on residents and business owners 365 days a year. For the next 30 days, we will be sharing cyber security information through newsletters, social media posts, blog posts, and available promotions as part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
About National Cyber Security Awareness Month
STOP.THINK.CONNECT. This is a simple message that we believe everyone should adopt. We all need to take security and safety precautions and understand the consequences of our actions and behaviors online.
The National Cyber Security Alliance focuses on these essential safety issues:
- Awareness –Ensuring that the public understands and is aware of the cybercrimes that are taking place across the Internet.
- Education – Informing the public about how to stay safe online and who to contact if they are a victim of a cybercrime or think they may be a victim of a cybercrime. Also, helping business owners educate their employees about safety measures and informing parents about how to keep their children online. Parents need to teach their children about what to look for and stay away from while online.
- Culprits – Many cybercrimes begin with Malware – short for “malicious software.” Malware includes viruses and software that is installed on your computer or mobile device without your knowledge or consent. These programs can cause your computer to crash and can also be used to monitor and control your online activity.
- Prevention – The easiest line of defense is to avoid Malware, so you should always keep a “clean machine.” Install the latest security software, complete automatic updates and protect all devices that connect to the Internet.
Cyber Security Month Quiz
Because it is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, we have put together this short quiz so that you can test your own online awareness. We encourage you to put your Cyber Security knowledge to the test (the answers are at the bottom:)).
- Hector unlocks his smartphone and notices he has 12 apps that need to be updated. What should he do?
- Ignore the prompt to update.
- Update the apps.
- When you are connected to the Internet, you are responsible for your actions. (True or False)
- Stealing other people’s work online – from sites like Wikipedia and Google – is a crime. (True or False)
- You are playing a game on a smartphone and the app asks for your current location. It’s okay to enable location services because all of your friends play the game and if they do it, it must be okay. (True or False)
- Malware is a type of software designed to cause viruses. (True or False)
Answers
- B. Update the apps. It’s important to Keep a Clean Machine. Keeping a Clean Machine means having the latest operating system, software, web browser, anti-virus protection and apps on your computer and mobile devices. You should also only have apps on your phone that you actually use.
- TRUE. Remember to STOP. THINK. CONNECT. Make sure you have taken security precautions, understand the consequences of your actions and behaviors and enjoy the Internet. Remember, the Internet is a shared resource. When you are safer online, you make the Internet more secure for everyone!
- TRUE. Stealing other people’s work is considered theft. If you cut and paste content into your homework without citing the source, it is cheating and plagiarism.
- FALSE. Think before you app. Many apps do not need geo-location services enabled in order to provide the service. Make sure you decline or opt-out of the location service feature on your phone. If you don’t know how to do this, ask your parents. Protect your personal information by reading the privacy policy of an app before you download it to understand what information the app accesses and how it uses your information.
- TRUE. Malware, short for malicious software, is designed to cause damage or disruption to a computer system or to use a computer to send spam, distribute malware or launch an attack on other computers. You can avoid malware by Keeping a Clean Machine and having the latest operating system, software, web browser, anti-virus protection and apps on your computer and mobile devices. Remember, all devices that connect to the Internet need protection.
If you have questions about National Cyber Security Awareness Month or would like to get involved you can go to the National Cyber Security Awareness Website.
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