Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation with 79,000 employees in 102 countries. It develops, manufactures, licenses and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices.

Symantec Corporation, founded in 1982, is an international corporation which sells computer software, particularly in the realms of security and information management. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA, Symantec has operations in more than 40 countries and is part of the NASDAQ 100 and Fortune 1000.

US-CERT Cyber Security Tips describe and offer advice about common security issues for non-technical computer users. Tips are restricted to a single topic, although complex issues may span multiple tips. Each tip builds upon the knowledge, both terminology and content, of those published prior to it.

US-CERT Cyber Security Alerts provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits. Cyber Security Alerts are released in conjunction with Technical Cyber Security Alerts when there is an issue that affects the general public. Cyber Security Alerts outline the steps and actions that non-technical home and corporate computer users can take to protect themselves from attack.