Whether you’re banking, connecting with friends, working, or just passing the time, when you’re online you are never alone. Just as you’d watch your back, your family, and your belongings in a busy public place, you need to be equally cautious online.

Protecting yourself can be easy when you make cyber safety a priority and become aware of the most common threats and risks to your online security.

Enable Firewall Security

• Check to see that it is turned “on”, and ensure that it’s updated regularly. Your operating system’s (OS) help menu or online help should be able to guide you.
• If your OS doesn’t include a firewall, install your own firewall software. Look online for programs from credible companies.

Browser and OS Security

• Use the drop down menus on your browser to set your options. Always set your own options for optimum security.
• Clear your cache and your browsing history at the end of your session, so that you don’t leave a record of sensitive data.
• Keep your browser and OS updated with the newest version.
• OS manufacturers release regular updates called ‘patches‘ or ‘fixes’ to improve security. Enable automatic updates so your device will download and install these fixes as soon as they’re available.

With so many of us using social media today, sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn make perfect targets for scams.

Here are our top 10 tips聽to stay safe on social media:

1. Use a strong password. 聽The longer it is, the more secure it will be.
2. Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
3. Set up your security answers. 聽This two factor authentication is available for most social media sites.
4. If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect聽your device.
5. Be selective with friend requests. If you don鈥檛 know the person, don鈥檛 accept their request. 聽It could be a fake account.
6. Click links with caution. 聽Social media accounts are regularly hacked. 聽Look out for language or content that does not sound like something your friend would post.
7. Be careful about what you share. Don鈥檛 reveal sensitive personal information ie: home address, financial information, phone number. 聽The more you post the easier it is to have your identity stolen.
8. Become familiar with the privacy policies of the social media channels you use and customize your privacy settings to control who sees what.
9. Protect your computer by installing antivirus software to safeguard. 聽Also ensure that your browser, operating system, and software are kept up to date.
10. Remember to log off when you鈥檙e done.

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats. 聽To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the聽and the聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别蝉.

If you have used your 杏吧原创 credentials on sites outside of 杏吧原创, your account information is at risk of being compromised. (You can check using聽).

ITS recommends that if you must use your 杏吧原创 email address as the login on an external website, that you do not use your 杏吧原创 password. It is also good practice to change your passwords often (ITS recommends every 120 days).

Keep your 杏吧原创 credentials safe by only using them with 杏吧原创 or 杏吧原创 affiliated systems.

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats. 聽To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the聽 and the聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别蝉.

You are responsible for the safety of your own accounts. Here are some tips to help you keep your password safe and secure:

1. Never respond to email requests for your password, even if the email appears to come from 杏吧原创. These are phishing attempts in order to steal your information.
2. Never share your password with others.
3. When creating your password, use a minimum eight characters in length and include upper case, lower case, numbers and special characters.
4. Use different passwords for your accounts. For example, do not use your Facebook password for your My杏吧原创One account.
5. Change your password at least every 4 to 6 months.

Remember: ITS will NEVER ask you for your password via email.

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats. 聽To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the聽聽and the聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别蝉.

Portable storage devices 鈥� USBs, memory cards, removable or external hard drives and CDs/DVDs, Smartphones, tablets, iPods 鈥� connect to a computer and provide file storage and should be used with caution.

Here are some things to keep in mind when using portable storage devices:

• They can be easily lost or stolen.
• Confidential information should never be stored on portable media unless it is protected from unauthorized access.
• All confidential information should be stored on an encrypted secure storage media devices.
• 鈥淓ncrypted USB thumb drives鈥� are available from ITS Hardware Services at ext. 4063.
• Network drives should be used to store confidential student data, financial data, health records and research data.
• If sensitive or personal information is stored on a portable storage device and it鈥檚 lost or stolen, this could lead to significant security and privacy concerns.

If you believe that there has been a breach of confidential information on聽portable media, please contact the ITS Service Desk at ext. 3700 immediately.

If you use a portable storage device:

• Do not use portable storage media for university information that is not otherwise publicly available.
• Do not leave storage devices unattended and lock them in a secure area.
• Remove confidential data from mobile devices once it is no longer needed for valid business purposes.
• Please ensure that university-provided portable device(s) are returned to ITS for disposal when they are no longer required.

This week we鈥檙e talking about protecting your computers and mobile devices.

Risks to mobile phones, especially smartphones and Bluetooth-enabled phones, are becoming increasingly common. Aside from the actual physical loss of your mobile phone, which could put personal information in the wrong hands, there are several ways your mobile phone can be compromised.

What are the risks?

• 听辞谤听聽can be spread through anything you download from the Internet via your phone, by text attachments (MMS, which means multimedia messaging service) and by Bluetooth transfers.
• 聽by phone is another way cyber criminals scam you. They’ll send a text or email with a phone number for you to call to verify account information. They may also call you directly and ask you to enter your account number before continuing.
• 聽attached to app downloads can delete your files and record personal information you’ve entered (like a credit card number on an online shopping site). Do not install apps that seem to require an unusual amount of information from you.
• An unsecure wireless network can compromise your information, including your contact list, as well as give someone else use of your data plan. Using your 3G connection is a safer option.
• Mobile phones are small and can easily be stolen, potentially putting your stored usernames and passwords in the wrong hands.
• Prompts from companies you don’t recognize may ask you to update, install or run software that could contain malicious software.
• Text messages sent to basic phones that contain malware can shut down or completely crash your mobile phone.
• Your mobile device could be cloned by clever criminals who copy the serial number to another phone and make fraudulent calls you’re charged for.

What you can do to minimize your risk:

1. Set up your phone with a strong password that you change regularly. This will protect your information not just from hackers, but from someone who finds your phone if you lose it.
2. Only connect by Wi-Fi with trusted, password-protected networks, and turn off settings that automatically search for Wi-Fi networks. Hackers lurk on unprotected networks.
3. When downloading an app, take a good look at the permissions, and don’t just click 鈥渁llow鈥� to everything. What appears to be a fun app may in fact be a ‘Trojan Horse’, which gives a hacker access to your system once you install it.
4. Before you click on something, think seriously about where it came from. Viruses and worms can infect your mobile phone from anything you download, from text attachments and Bluetooth transfers.

Signs your mobile phone has been compromised

• You receive charges to your phone bill you don’t recognize.
• There are emails and text messages in the sent folder that you didn’t send
• The user interface has changed meaning the appearance of your phone or the way you perform functions has been altered.

If you think your mobile device has been infected with malicious software, call your manufacturer or service provider.

The above notice is from the Government of Canada鈥檚 Get Cyber Safe campaign, in support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

If you receive an聽email from an address you don鈥檛 recognize, your first thought should be: is this email legitimate? 聽But know that malicious emails can also come from an address that you do recognize 鈥� perhaps their account got hacked and is now being used to spam people.

How to Recognize a Phishing Email and What To Do If You Get One

It鈥檚 important to be able to recognize a phishing attempt and, most importantly, not be baited.

There鈥檚 a good chance an email is a phishing attempt if:

• It asks you for your password or directs you to a web form asking for your password
• If the link within the body of the message points to a non-杏吧原创 email address
• The subject line is in all caps
• There is a call for immediate action 鈥� 鈥渄ownload this now鈥� or 鈥渃onfirm you email identity now鈥� or 鈥渃lick on the link below鈥�
• There are spelling or grammatical errors in the email

If you receive a phishing email do not respond to it, move it to your junk folder (this will mark it as spam), and forward it to the ITS Service Desk.

We then flag the email聽in our system, which marks it as spam for other users. 聽If the phishing email contains a link to a website, we report that website to Google and the web host (if available).

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats. 聽To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the聽 and the聽听飞别产蝉颈迟别蝉.

In fact, millions of emails are sent every second around the world filled with personal information, providing a rich source of information for cyber criminals.

What are the risks?

Email is one of the easiest ways for cyber criminals to target ordinary citizens. So, as with anything in life, if something seems suspicious, go with your instincts.

A good rule of thumb is to automatically delete anything that looks out of the ordinary. If the email was actually from someone you know, they’ll either try again or find another way to get in touch with you.

Here are a few risks to always be aware of when it comes to your email:

• A weak email account password could leave your personal information vulnerable. A weak password is a cyber criminal’s best friend so it’s essential to聽.
• 聽may be sent as an attachment in an email and allow criminals access to your information.
• 聽can spread through email to your entire contact list without you knowing it.
• 聽can trick you into opening attachments or giving up personal information. They appear to be emails from organizations or companies you trust, but they’re often the gateway to identity theft.
• 聽can get through your filter and inundate you with unsolicited email.
• 驰辞耻谤听聽through email in a number of ways.

Find out how to聽.

The above notice is from the Government of Canada鈥檚 Get Cyber Safe campaign, in support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Our month long campaign is designed to help you better understand the cyber threats you face online and the simple steps you can take to minimize those risks.

Simple things like:

• Knowing how to spot suspicious emails
• Creating secure passwords
• Keeping your computers and mobile devices safe
• Recognizing which websites can be risky

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats.

Just a few simple precautions like these can keep us from becoming a cyber criminal鈥檚 next victim.

To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the and the websites.

Simple things like:

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats.

Just a few simple precautions like these can keep us from becoming a cyber criminal鈥檚 next victim.