October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, focusing on our shared responsibility to keep the online community safe for everyone.

Take these simple steps now—and all year long—to improve your online safety and security:

Help minimize the likelihood of a breach. Ransomware has been in the news for the past several years and escalating worldwide in recent months. Be sure to back up your data and update your software and apps often. Learn more about ransomware, plus review security practices when working from home and tools for working remotely.

Think before you click. Beware of phishing attempts. Use these tips to spot email scams. Links in email and online posts are often how cybercriminals trick you into being compromised. If a link or attachment looks suspicious, even if you know the source, confirm before clicking!

Protect your personal information, connected devices, and university data. Cornell VPN provides secure remote access to campus IT resources from anywhere when needed. Certified Desktop is available to protect computers with anti-malware, encryption, and backups.

Make your passwords long and strong. This part is easier when you use passphrases. A strong passphrase is a sentence that's 16 characters long. Set a unique password or passphrase for each account. 

Keep your devices and apps up to date. Manufacturers and software developers often patch security holes in their products, but they only work if you apply them. Stay current with notifications on your computer and mobile devices informing you of updates waiting to install, and act as soon as they're available. Take time to configure the privacy and security settings of your apps and devices. Most devices default to the least secure settings.

Share with care. Use social media safely. Before you share online, think about how you'd feel if that information were to end up somewhere you didn’t intend. When you visit new websites, do some research and make sure they're reputable.