Staying cyber safe and secure

<p>October marks the 15th Annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month.Experts say don't click, don't overshare and keep private information private. This may seem like paranoia but to combat the ever rising cyber security breaches, you practically have to be.</p> <p>With the introduction of bitcoin, payments and transfers to/from cyber criminals is untraceable.</p> <p>Lifestyle apps are the main target. They leak phone numbers and location is accessible. Facebook accounts were hacked, putting the personal information of 30 million users at risk.</p> <p>"Make sure that you have a security product on your computer. Make sure that it covers the amount of devices you have in your home and I would read the fine print," said Stephanie Frana, Windstream Communications.</p> <p>Doing something as simple as changning your password every six months can go a long way.</p> <p>"Make sure they are long, 8 characters or more. Do a mix of capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters," continued Frana.</p> <p>Shopping sprees, cars and houses have been bought with stolen identities. Be mindful when logging onto public WI-fi networks as hackers set up false networks.</p> <p>"I would avoid the free-online anti-virus products that are out there. There is no guarantee that they will work or that they are backed by a legitimate company. With our shield product, it comes with McAfee security suite, it is automatically upgraded all the time.</p> <p>When you purchase a security software package, make sure it has theft protection and data backup. To stay safe, only pay your bills and shop at your home on a wi-fi that you know is safe.</p> <p>It is estimated that by the year 2021 cyber crime will cost $6 trillion dollars annually.</p> <p>VPN Geeks, recommend vpn's as an option</p> <p>If you get a suspicious email, don't open it. Also, look at the return address, that is usually a good indicator if it is from a legitimate company or person.</p>