Staying protected while always connected Published Oct. 13, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Chad Lewis 436th Communications Squadron DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- How do we stay connected? Do you text your best friend on your cellphone, update your Facebook status conveniently, use your laptop to buy gifts online or video message your family in Washington State over Skype? Our society has developed the means of communication wirelessly with ease and grace. But does our society know that by using the vastly growing technology to stay connected, we have brought our personal information to an expediential vulnerability point. With the rapid development and adoption of new web-connected smart devices, the cyber threat landscape has risen to its highest point, businesses and consumers must now face it each day. As technology becomes predominantly wireless, users can now shop online, leaving credit card numbers, addresses and full names in its wake. As users, we feel that a unique password and username will suffice as a protective measure for our very vulnerable personal information. To ensure that this statement is correct, the best practices are longer character passwords containing at least 16 to 24 letters. The password should have a mixture of upper case and lower cases letters as well as numbers. Special characters within a dictionary word would also make your password less likely to be cracked by the person wanting to steal your information. An example would be 'Pa$$w0rd.' Remember as a user, you never want a computer to "remember your password", or write it down where someone else can see. Online shopping and passwords are not the only threat within our new cyber world. Social Networking sites are one of the best and most notorious communication styles that our society uses on a daily basis. Social networking websites are an excellent way to get to know someone a little too well. Facebook is one of the most popular social networks to date. With over one billion users, Facebook has become the playground for information thieves. Be careful of what you post about your personal life. Refrain from posting birthdates, maiden names and home addresses on networking sites. Most users of social networking sites remain unaware of the constant threat of phishing scams and viruses. Phishing attempts and dormant viruses are caused by people trying to imitate appealing websites to users through advertisements or html links throughout the social network site. The deceiver copies websites, with little to no flaws, and ensnares unsuspecting users to exploit their information on their own accord. To avoid phishing scams and viruses, do not click on advertisements or html links within the website itself. Another way to avoid unnecessary attacks is to only open websites that you trust. Phishing websites will look similar to the real website, but the address within the address bar will be slightly off. Usually phishing websites will misspell words or have additional numbers contained within the address. If you find yourself on a website you suspect is a phishing website, do not enter any personal information into the website and immediately close the browser. While staying connected, always remember to protect yourself and your personal information. As new communication technology emerges, threats will evolve. Utilizing these tips will help secure you and your network. You never know who is attempting to steal it or how they will try.