Get Safe Online week 2009

Filed Under: Data loss, Malware, Spam

Get Safe Online
Get Safe Online is one of the first websites I direct computer users to if they want to learn more about internet safety.

It's a particularly good resource for consumer and small businesses as it explains the sometimes complex subject of computer security in simple, easy-to-understand language.

The biggest shame about the Get Safe Online website is that it's not very well known. Indeed, the only people - in my experience - who know about it are journalists working in the security arena and computer security professionals themselves.

That's not ideal - after all, what we really need is my Aunty Hilda to know all about how to protect her computer from malware, how to shop more safely online, and how to avoid those charming business opportunities which arrive from Nigeria.

To help raise awareness of the site, and spread advice about internet security, this week has been declared Get Safe Online week here in the UK.

Some other sites are helping support the campaign - for instance, Tesco Finance currently have a prominent link to Get Safe Online on their home page:

Tesco Finance

I hope the awareness week is successful in raising the profile of the site and safe computing practices amongst the general public. I think it would be great if the government put much more effort into educating the masses into how to surf safely online.

, ,

About the author

Graham Cluley has worked in the computer security industry for more than 20 years, developing anti-virus software and doing quite a lot of talking about internet threats. He's won awards for his blogging, but is proudest of the text adventure games he wrote when he was still wearing short trousers. You can learn more about those (the games, not the trousers) at grahamcluley.com. Send Graham an email, subscribe to his updates on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and App.net, and circle him on Google Plus for regular updates.