October is Security Awareness Month. The goal is to remind everyone that each one of us is responsible for taking appropriate actions in protecting our computer systems and data. Let’s develop good security habits for home, work and play.

1. Lock your computer when you are away from it – even if it is for a few minutes.
   
   
2. Shut down your computer when it is not in use.
   
   
3. Secure your cell phone and PDA the same way you secure your computer.
   
   
4. Install and routinely update your anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software.
   
   
5. Backup important files stored on your computer onto a removable disc and store them in a secure place in a different location than your computer.
   
   
6. Clear your browser cache (temporary internet files, cookies, history, saved passwords) on a routine basis and do not save passwords in your browser program.
   
   
7. Use different passwords for different sites and routinely change your passwords. Never provide your password to anyone (relative, coworker, etc).
   
   
8. Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email. If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly.
   
   
9. Limit the amount of personal information you post on and check the privacy policy of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.
   
   
10. Consider opening an additional email account. If you frequently submit your email address for online shopping or signing up for services, you may want to have a secondary email account to protect your primary email account from any spam that could be generated.

For additional security tips, check out the following sites:

Security Awareness Tips from SANS - http://www.sans.org/

Cyber Security Tips by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team - http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/

Cyber Security Practices at StaySafeOnline.org - http://www.staysafeonline.org/practices/

For more information about security at ECU, visit http://www.ecu.edu/itsecurity/.