October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, a time to focus on the threats posed by online scammers and the importance of taking proactive safety steps both at home and in the workplace. Electric cooperatives are urging members to take simple steps to protect themselves and others and stay cyber safe year round.

• Be a password pro. Create strong passwords that use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, and change them regularly. Don’t use the same password for all your accounts and don’t share your passwords with anyone.
• Stay up to date. Keep the operating system, browser and security software on all your Internet-connected devices updated to protect against known vulnerabilities.
• Click with caution. Hold your cursor over links in an email to view their full address before clicking, even if the email was sent by someone you know. If the link looks suspicious, contact the sender to verify the link before clicking. When in doubt, play it safe and delete it.
• Share with care. Be careful how much personal information you share online, and enable privacy settings on social media networks to limit who can see what you share. Be aware that your posts can last a lifetime, and that you may inadvertently be sharing personal details about yourself or others when posting photos or videos online.

More information about Internet safety and privacy is available through the National Cyber Security Alliance at staysafeonline.org. This month’s Carolina Country also includes tips on Staying Cyber Safe in Public Areas.