Safer Internet Day: 9000 Belgian youngsters trained and Computing Safety Index published

http://blog.microsoft.be/2013/02/05/safer-internet-day-9000-belgian-youngsters-trained-and-computing-safety-index-published/

Typically when leave our homes, we lock our doors. We take this simple and, perhaps, habitual step to help protect our families and our belongings.  Yet, when we go online, we don’t always take the same precautions with our personal information.

Today, on Safer Internet Day (SID), we want to remind consumers the world over to promote responsible use of the Internet and mobile technology.  Organized by Brussels-based Insafe and co-founded by the European Union, this year marks the tenth celebration of SID and, once again, Microsoft is playing an active role.

In Belgium 9000 youngsters between 9 and 12 have been trained by volunteers of Microsoft and Belgacom with the support of Child Focus on this day to go on the internet is a safe way. They give a general course on the theme: how to make safe passwords, protect their online identity, recongise trusted websites, and avoid cyberbullying. Afterwards teachers get additional course material so they can further go in depth on good online practices.

Microsoft has also released results of the second annual Microsoft Computing Safety Index (MCSI), a survey of consumer online safety behaviors in 20 countries.  This year,   a mobile component has been added to the study, enabling comparisons between people’s PC and mobile practices.The MCSI average across all countries found that more than half (55 percent) of respondents are experiencing multiple online risks, yet only 16 percent say they are taking multiple steps to proactively protect themselves and their data.  As for mobile, just over one-quarter (28 percent) said they run regular updates on their mobile devices, compared to 42 percent who said they regularly update their PC software. Inattention to basic device health and maintenance has the ability to further compound an individual’s online risk.

All of Microsoft’s advice and guidance about staying safer online starts with four basic steps:

• Turning the firewall “on” and leaving it “on;” (know that there is no legitimate reason to ever turn the firewall “off”),
• Installing and keeping current antivirus software,
• Installing and maintaining antispyware software, and
• Turning “on” and always using automatic updates.

If you want to protect your own digital life, you’d better make these habits your own too.

Under the banner of this year’s SID theme, “Connect with Respect,” Microsoft is asking everyone to take stock of their online habits to ensure they are as protected as possible when going online.   Consumers can see where they rank in an abbreviated version of the Microsoft Computing Safety Index Survey and parents can encourage teens to take our “Safer Online Teen Challenge.”

The New Year and Safer Internet Day are the perfect time of year to get smarter about online safety.  So, join the movement.  (See, http://www.microsoft.com/security for all of our advice and guidance, and follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/Safer_Online and Facebook www.facebook.com/SaferOnline.)