security experts on twitterThe Web is a place of extremes. For every piece of information relayed there is a piece ofmisinformation, for every educational site there is a glut of seedy sites, for every knowledgeable geekthere is a troublesome troll. And in a bigger sense, for every normal user mindlessly clicking around the tubes there is a cyber-criminal, hacker, or malware creator lurking in the dark recesses waiting to pounce.
There are simple steps you can take to protect yourself online. Using a firewall and antivirus software, creating secure passwords, not leaving your devices unattended; these are all absolute musts. Beyond that it comes down to keeping up with the latest news about spam, scams, phishing attempts, hacks, and malware.
This is where the following list of security experts on Twitter comes into play. They’re all dedicated to delivering updates, news, blog posts, and opinion pieces designed to keep you, the average Web user, informed about the latest online security threats.

AVG Free @AVGFree


This is the official Twitter account for AVG Free, a high-ranking piece of antivirus software that is free to download and available for Windows. The feed links to highlighted posts from AVG blogs, which includes regular updates regarding current threats.

Eugene Kaspersky @e_kaspersky


This is the Twitter account of Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and Chairman of the Kaspersky Lab, the developer of various security products, including Kaspersky Internet Security. Eugene is considered an expert in the field, and his Twitter feed is full of links to security news from around the world, sometimes with added commentary.

Avast! Antivirus @avast_antivirus


This is the official Twitter account for Avast!, an award-winning and immensely popular piece of antivirus software that is completely free and available on Windows from XP all the way up to Windows 8. The feed focuses on the latest security news, as well as updates regarding the Avast! software.

Graham Cluley @gcluley


This is the Twitter account of Graham Cluley, the editor of Naked Security at Sophos, a company responsible for a mix of free and paid security software. Naked Security is the newsroom at Sophos, delivering updates and advice on the latest happenings. Cluley also tweets other security-related links.

McAfee Inc. @McAfee


This is the official Twitter account for McAfee Security, a company dedicated to security solutions for computer users, both on a personal level and in the business world. The feed focuses on up-to-date security news, as well as updates directly related to McAfee products.

Mikko Hypponen @mikko


This is the Twitter account of Mikko Hypponen, the Chief Research Officer for F-Secure, a computer security company based in Finland. F-Secure offers a huge range of security products and services, and Hypponen has worked for the firm since 1991. His tweets flit between addressing security issues and personal news.

Symantec @symantec


This is the official Twitter account for Symantec, a company with a full complement of products designed to protect individual users and businesses when they connect to the Internet. The feed keeps followers updated on the latest happenings in the world of online security, as well as news related to Symantec products.

Jeremiah Grossman @jeremiahg


This is the Twitter account of Jeremiah Grossman, who is the Founder & CTO of WhiteHat Security, an Internet security expert, and public speaker on the subject. He tweets links to news updates about security issues, and personal views on the things happening in this space.

SANS ISC @sans_isc


This is the official Twitter account for SANS ISC, which is the Internet Storm Center at the SANS Institute. Their job is to monitor the levels of malicious activity taking place on the InterWebs, and the feed links to the daily updates reporting on these levels as well as other news we should all be aware of.

Schneier Blog @schneierblog


This is the Twitter account of Bruce Schneier, an Internet security guru who has written several bestselling books on the subject. This feed auto-posts all of the blog content written by Schneier, which, as a whole, gives a detailed overview of the security issues the world faces.

Conclusions

My advice to those of you on Twitter — and you really should be using Twitter by now — is to follow these 10 accounts immediately and to start paying attention to what they’re tweeting. The trends, tips, and tricks they report could save you from suffering a security nightmare in the future, or help you recover from one you have already suffered.
Are there any other Twitter users you’d recommend everybody followed in order to keep on top of online security threats? Do you find any of those on this list particularly useful? What do you think of the need to stay secure online overall? Are the threats overplayed or is it a problem that is only going to get worse?
As always we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.