For the past several months, I’ve been doing one-on-one Tech Time sessions with library patrons. One theme that keeps coming up is how to keep yourself safe online.

Since 2004, the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) have promoted the month of October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month.  This was created as a collaboration between government and industry to ensure that Americans have resources to be secure when using the Internet.

This year’s theme is “The Core 4,” a set of actions that people often don’t take, but that would make a significant difference in their level of online security. The Core 4 are:

            1. Use strong passwords and a password manager.

            2. Use multifactor authentication where available.

            3. Update your software.

            4. Recognize and report scams.

Let’s get into the details.

Password manager

Taking the time and effort to start working with a password manager will get you out of bad habits such as re-using passwords or using weak passwords so that you’ll remember them. The password manager you choose will give you stronger passwords that will be much harder to crack. All passwords should be at least 16 characters long and not use any information that is easy to guess. Some password managers can even alert you if your email address or password has been found in data breaches.

Multifactor authentication

You’ve probably come across multi-factor authentication before, but maybe you didn’t have the name to put to it. When you receive a temporary code through text or email, that is multifactor authentication. So is setting up a fingerprint or Face ID on your mobile device. These setups ensure that even if someone were to get your password, they would also have to have access to your device. You may have also gotten alerts about login attempts; if it wasn’t you that was trying to log in, it’s time to change your password and check that multifactor authentication is switched on.

Software updates

Take care of your software updates as soon as they come up. Often these updates are to correct bugs or patch holes that could affect your security. The bad guys pay attention to where these problems are; they will try to take advantage of them as soon as they find out about them. By delaying an update, you may be putting a target on your back.

Recognize scams

It’s vital that you understand how scams work and what you can do to protect yourself, as well as how to report them. Take some spare moments beforehand to get familiar with where the options for reporting spam or phishing are in the programs you use. Also use a reliable tech news source such as Tech Life Unity to keep up with the latest scams.

Please make use of library resources to keep yourself safe online. For my list of books available from the library about cybersecurity, visit https://gcld.marmot.org/MyAccount/MyList/85238. Also check Udemy for courses. Finally, the library calendar will tell you where and when I am available for one-on-one Tech Time help.

Core 4 webinars:

John Marte is a digital resources associate with Grand County Library District. Contact him at jmarte@gcld.org.