Today is Safer Internet Day. This is a European-led initiative, with activities taking place in 60 countries. Julie Inman Grant, Microsoft Director of Privacy and Internet Safety Outreach, blogs about the event on Microsoft on the Issues. You can also find a wealth of policy-related info on computer privacy, Internet safety, and security at this link.

Safer Internet Day is primarily focused on consumers, and this year's theme -- "Think B4U Post" -- seems especially aimed at a younger, heavily texting, social networking tech user. For Microsoft partners and technology professionals in general, Safer Internet Day, also provides a good occasion to reach out to customers to discuss Internet security. IT personnel generally understand that system security requires ongoing activities, such as updating and patching software, monitoring systems, and so on. Unfortunately, rank-and-file, non-tech-oriented employees may not get this message, might ignore security policies, and could be surfing to a compromised website right now.

One simple step is to confirm that customers have upgraded PCs to Internet Explorer 8 (IE8). For consumers, Microsoft made the upgrade to IE8 part of its update cycle, but some businesses have not implemented the change. Remember that IE6 is now nearly 10 years old: it predates social networking, RSS, heavy media downloading, and so on. For the enterprise, IE8 is highly manageable and configurable. It also provides robust anti-malware and anti-phishing technologies, eclipsing Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari, according to recent studies conducted by NSS Labs (Malware Report, Phishing Report).

No single action or technology can ensure online security and safety. In the end, building and maintaining a safe Internet requires the combination of innovative technologies, user education, and a positive public policy framework.