Launched in 2001, National Cyber Security Awareness Month is a public awareness effort to encourage internet users in both the public and private sectors to protect their computers and the country's cyber infrastructure. It is supported by the National Cyber Security Alliance and several other organizations, both government and private.

Of course cyber security should be practiced year round, but October can be a good month to take a number of measures that you may have been putting off in the last few months. Because of constantly-updated technology and a daily influx of new viruses and other security threats, it's easy to let the precautions that we take for granted (at least until they save us from harm) lapse and become outdated.

This year, the theme of NCSAM is "Our Shared Responsibility."

Ultimately, our cyber infrastructure is only as strong as the weakest link. No individual, business, or government entity is solely responsible for cyber security. Everyone has a role and everyone needs to share the responsibility to secure their part of cyber space and the networks they use. The steps we take may differ based on what we do online and our responsibilities. However, everyone needs to understand how their individual actions have a collective impact on cyber security.

The Department of Homeland Security, an endorser of NCSAM, has a list of steps you can take during the month of October to ensure greater cyber security. They include changing your passwords, making sure that your anti-virus software and firewalls are up-to-date, holding an event at your local school or college campus designed to increase student and staff cybersecurity education and awareness, talking to people that you know - your children, co-workers, friends - about good online safety and security habits, and backing up your key files.

Microsoft, a Safe Internet Alliance member and participant of NCSAM, has a number of its own tips for the month, including:

*Use a firewall.
* Turn on automatic updating.
* Use updated antivirus software.
* Use updated antispyware software.

What can you do to get involved? If you're a private business, you can publish cyber security tips for employees in company newsletters, corporate intranet sites, or through posters and handouts in break rooms and high traffic areas. If you're an educator, you can incorporate cyber security into your computer curriculum and use the USA Today cyber security lesson plans and engage parents by discussing cyber security during open houses, PTA meetings, and parent teacher conferences.

You can also add your support by becoming an endorser. Visit here to download the endorsement form. You can find a full list of endorsers over here