My name’s Angela and I have some confessions to make. I rely on the MX to know what’s happening in the world – it’s my guilty addiction.

Another thing I’m guilty of is not changing my online passwords as often as I should and not always keeping my software up-to-date.

This is important because I love the freedom banking online gives me, I like using my digital camera (probably a little too much), I enjoy sending personal emails, I book holidays online, I download music, I live vicariously through my Facebook friends, I rely on Google to answer more questions than I’ll admit to and I’d never get anywhere if it wasn’t for Whereis and my sat nav system playing nicely together.

While this isn’t everything I do online, it does highlight that each day more and more of our lives are lived in the digital world. Technology is a major part of everyday life and it is how most people connect to each other now regardless of their age – it’s too convenient not to really.

As Telstra’s cyber-safety coordinator, it would be naive of me to say there aren’t risks online. There are, but what we know is that the advantages of the online world are maximised by the simple behavioural changes people can do themselves to help eliminate risks and have a more confident online experience.

Some of these tips were published last week as part of National Cybersecurity Awareness Week from 30 May – 3 June*

Cybersecurity Awareness Week is one of four government cyber-safety campaigns that Telstra supports and it saw our own Darren Kane MC the launch last Monday alongside Senator Stephen Conroy and Attorney General Robert McClelland. Our various cybersafety and cybersecurity experts were also present at several government events throughout the Week, spreading the message about the things people can do to stay safe online.

On Thursday, Telstra hosted the ‘Cyber-safety for Seniors’ event for more than 100 ‘Silver Surfers’ in Melbourne. Participants heard guest speakers: Peter Blasina (‘The Gadget Guy’), Martin Cocker (Executive Director of NetSafe NZ and Hugh Anderson (Trading Post) offer useful information about the basics of logging online and how best to remove the ‘fear factor’ associated with using the internet and new technology.

For National Cybersecurity Awareness Week, the Australian Government also posted new information and tips on how to stay safe and secure online to the Stay Smart Online website

Although the Week was just five days long, it provided an opportunity to help educate Australians about an important topic. At Telstra, we think cyber-safety is a shared responsibility and focus on helping the community stay safe 24/7 x 365 days a year with handy tips and information available on the Internet and Cyber-safety site

From a personal perspective, my main take out of the Week is that it reinforced the need to be more disciplined at doing the simple things that will help reduce my online risks. I should also look at the online shoe website recommended to me by one of the stylish silver surfers!

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* The Week is an Australian Government initiative held annually in partnership with industry, community and consumer groups to help Australians better understand cyersecurity risks and the steps they can take to better protect themselves.