Computer Security Day is a holiday that falls near the end of November on November 30th. This is a day when everyone is encouraged to take the time to consider whether their computers and online data are as secure as they could be.

This is extremely important because people’s computers now contain a wealth of information that they wouldn’t want to fall into the wrong hands—data that includes banking and medical information, personal photos, email addresses, and social media accounts. Needless to say, this information needs to be protected.

The History of Computer Security Day

Computer security is a concept that goes back over 33 years—although many people might not be aware of that fact. It was started in November of 1988 when researchers at Cornell University discovered an unknown virus in their computer systems.

It was only a few hours after they discovered this virus—a virus known as the Morris Worm—that it had spread through other computer systems at the university and even made its way into ARPANET, the first wide-area packet-switching network with distributed control. ARPANET was an earlier and limited version of the internet that was established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.

Almost a week after the discovery of the Morris Worm, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recommended that a National Computer Infection Action Team be established to deal with future virus attacks. They then recommended establishing a day to raise awareness about computer security. It has been observed ever since.

Keeping Your Computer Secure

We want all of our readers to be safe, and we want all of our readers’ computer systems to be safe as well. That’s why we’ve listed some of the following recommendations for keeping your computer secure. Although Computer Security Day is a day that occurs once a year, we recommend that everyone conduct a security checkup regularly throughout the year to ensure the security of their systems.

• Make sure to use strong passwords.
• Do not share your passwords with anyone else.
• Do not use the same password for different sites.
• Make sure your home WiFi network is secured with a strong password.
• Make sure you have an internet firewall.
• Keep Windows updated.
• Update software regularly.
• Install and regularly run antivirus software.
• Use a trusted password manager to manage passwords.
• Remove any unused computer programs.
• Remove temporary internet files and empty your computer’s trash regularly.

Observing Computer Security Day

Everyone with a computer should celebrate Computer Security Day to ensure the computers in their home are as secure as they can be. For your convenience, we’ve listed some of the things that you can do to protect your computer in the section above. After you have secured your computer on this day, don’t forget to use the hashtag #ComputerSecurityDay to encourage other people to keep their computers secure.