No system is 100% secure, and threats are constantly evolving. This checklist should be considered as a good start to the process of securing your computer, but you shouldn’t stop there. The checklist items below have links to respective pages of the How-To Library. To learn more, review the How-To Library's content listing, and explore the "Additional Resources" entries in the navigation bar to the right.

This checklist is presented in question format. These questions imply security practices that you should consider implementing. 

• Do you use a strong password for all of your accounts, including system and email accounts?  Learn how to create strong passwords.
   
• Do you keep your passwords private and secure? (i.e., in your head, not written down or shared with others).  Click here for some password tips.
   
• Do you change your passwords at least once a quarter, including your Oak password?
   
• Do you use your Oak password only for your Oak account? In other words, do you use different passwords for other business-related online services as well as for non-business-related services such as personal email, online subscriptions, and online shopping?
    
• Have you enabled spam and virus filtering for your Oak email account? Click here to learn how. 
       
• Is your email client configured to open emails in text-only mode (rather than web-like HTML)?  Click here for instructions.
   
• Do you only open email attachments (including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files) if you are absolutely sure they come from a trusted source?
    
• If you make purchases online, do you only use secure web sites to do so?  (i.e., you type in the web site address yourself instead of clicking a link, and you only use sites that have a padlock symbol in the bottom right of the browser window and an address that begins with ‘https://’ ). Read more about determining site security.
    
• Do you know how to avoid downloading malware (malicious software such as viruses, Trojans, worms, and spyware) from web sites?  Click here for web browsing tips.  
    
• Do you know how to avoid becoming a victim of common forms of email and Internet fraud? (e.g. phishing, pharming, spoofing, advanced fee fraud) Click here for tips for avoiding fraud.