Tips to practice good online safety habits

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Improve your online experience and increase your security by practicing good online safety habits with these tips and advice.

Personal information is like money; value it and protect it - Pay attention to what information is collected about you through apps and websites. Adjust your privacy and security settings to match your comfort level. Also, check your credit report regularly for unauthorized activity. 

Connect with Care - Protect all devices and accounts that connect to the internet with strong passphrases, multifactor authentication, and/or biometric tools. Replace shorter passwords with passphrases that are at least 20 characters in length. Limit the use of Wi-Fi hotspots that may not be secure and adjust your security settings for automatic connection features. Use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) if you will be connecting to university resources to keep your communication secure.

Keep a Clean Machine - Making sure you have the latest updates to your software and operating system can be the best protection against online threats. Setting your devices and applications to automatically check for updates is a great way to keep yourself protected.  

For more tips and advice, check out StopThinkConnect.org. Also, feel free to save and share the Online Security Basics tip sheet below!