Cyber Safety Tips For National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific is participating in the 15th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign to educated the public on the steps needed to stay safe online.

The BBB will be releasing cyber-security articles and tips throughout the month to help consumers and small businesses stay vigilant. Also, each Thursday in October the BBB will be hosting weekly Twitter discussions at noon PDT. On top of these efforts the BBB will also be releasing weekly Facebook live videos discussing different themes, educational information, and cyber-security tips.

According to the BBB, personal cyber-security begins with owning your online presence.

"We're all living in an online world. The best way you can do that is look at your privacy and security settings on websites and make sure that you're at the comfort level you want to be at for your information sharing." says Tyler Russell, Market Place Manager at the BBB Northwest + Pacific, "It's OK to limit how and who you share your information with, as we do share it with so many different websites, social media sites, and banking online."

The BBB also suggests using a two-step verification process whenever possible. Typically this involves a code sent to you after accessing your password protected electronic device, but can also be a fingerprint or facial recognition system.

According to Russell, keeping a clean machine is extremely important as well.

"Technology companies like Apple and Microsoft are constantly making safety updates. It's important to keep all your software on internet-connected devices, including your PCs, your smartphones, or your tablets, up to date to reduce the risk of infection from malware."

Other steps users can take to be more secure online include keeping a lid on personal information, including information on your history or location, and thinking before you post. When posting about yourself or others online, consider who might see it and how the post could be perceived now and in the future.

Anyone who feels they may be a victim of a cyber-crime should report it to local law enforcement and BBB Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker.