Related Resources • Virus Encyclopedia • Glossary of terms

Security is never passive. Even with solid protection in place, achieving optimum security requires constant vigilance and attention to detail. Each day, new threats are discovered – underscoring the need to approach security as a dynamic process.

Patch your holes
Just like crumbling mortar around bricks, operating systems gradually become less and less secure as bugs are uncovered and exploits engineered. Patching the holes when fixes become available is essential for proper security. If you use Windows, keep close tabs on the Windows Update site or – at a minimum – check for updates once a month.

Keep informed, but be a skeptic
Unfortunately, many seem far too willing to believe Bill Gates is spending his fortune paying users to forward email. This is not the case. Nor is AOL paying for forwarded emails on behalf of sick and dying children. Exercise common sense, treat every email with too good to be true promises with a healthy does of skepticism, and never, ever, feel obligated to forward something on to everyone you know. Just the more presence of that admonition almost guarantees its status as a hoax. Subscribe to security newsletters and become a member of a security forum. Become actively involved in learning about your computer and how to keep it secure. By doing so, you will not only be protecting yourself, you will be making all of cyberspace a better neighborhood.

Just as those of us who had placed all of our eggs in the single basket of an inept power company suffered the hardest through the long cold days after the storm, those who neglect to diversify their security measures and who do not adopt a wide range of solutions to better defend their systems stand the greatest chance of being long term victims of cyberattack. Unlike the poor choice of an all electric home that impacts only the dweller, the actions of just a few lackadaisical computer users can impact the entire cyber community. Thus, the biggest threat to cyberspace is not the cracker or the virus. Rather, it is the user who chooses to recklessly engage in online activities with little or no protection, putting all of us at greater risk.