Your Community profile is your identity within The Human Connection, helping you form authentic connections with other cybersecurity professionals. This guide covers how to customize your profile, set preferences, and manage follows and notifications to get the most out of your Community membership.
Accessing your settings
All Community settings are accessed from the same location. To access your Community settings:
- Make sure that you’re signed into your Community account
- In the top-right corner, click your avatar image
- From the drop-down menu that appears, click My Settings
Your settings are organized into several tabs:
- Personal: Profile information and avatar
- Preferences: Timezone, date format, and display options
- Follows and notifications: Content you follow and notification settings
Updating your Community profile
After registering your account with the Community, we recommend that you update your profile to include an avatar image, share some information about yourself, and invite peers to get to know you. The information that you provide is shown to others when you interact in the Community and when members click your profile, helping you form authentic connections within the cybersecurity industry.
Profile information
To update your profile information:
- Access your settings (avatar > My Settings)
- Ensure you're on the Personal tab
- In the Personal Information group, specify your personal information
Recommended fields to complete:
- Location: Help others understand your geographic context and timezone
-
Bio: Share your background, expertise, and interests
- Consider including your role, areas of cybersecurity expertise, and what you hope to get from the Community
- Keep it professional but personable
- Professional details: Job title, company (if comfortable sharing), and years of experience
- Areas of interest: Topics you're passionate about or want to learn more about
Why complete your profile?
- Build credibility when asking or answering questions
- Help others understand your perspective and experience level
- Make meaningful connections with peers in similar roles or locations
- Increase the likelihood of receiving helpful responses to your questions
Changing your avatar image
Your avatar is part of your community identity and helps other members see who they’re communicating with. A recognizable avatar makes your contributions more memorable and helps build your reputation.
To change your avatar image:
- Access your settings (avatar > My Settings)
- At the top of the Personal tab, click the pencil button next to your profile photo
- On the Edit Avatar dialog box that appears, you can:
- Select from preset avatars: Choose from the collection of available avatars
- Upload your own photo: Click the pencil button > Upload Image to use a personal photo or custom image
- Click Save to save your avatar changes
- Click Save again on the main settings page to save all profile changes
Avatar tips:
- Use a professional headshot or recognizable image
- Ensure the image is clear and appropriate for a professional community
- Avoid logos unless you're representing your organization officially
- Update your avatar occasionally to keep your profile fresh
Setting your Community preferences
Since The Human Connection is a global community, you can easily specify your time zone and local preferences (such as date display format and date display style) to enhance your Community experience and ensure you see information in a format that makes sense for your location.
Updating your preferences
To update your Community preferences:
- Access your settings (avatar > My Settings)
- Select the Preferences tab
- Configure your preferences as described below
- Click Save when finished
Date format settings
In the Date Format group, you can update the following information:
-
Time zone: Select your local timezone
- This ensures event times, post timestamps, and notifications display in your local time
- Particularly important if you're participating in live events or scheduled discussions
-
Date display format: Choose your preferred format:
- MM/DD/YYYY (US format)
- DD/MM/YYYY (European format)
- YYYY-MM-DD (ISO format)
-
Date display style: Choose between:
- Relative: Shows dates as "2 hours ago," "Yesterday," "3 days ago" (easier to quickly understand recency)
- Absolute: Shows exact dates like "June 19, 2026" (provides precise timestamps)
Replies and comments settings
In the Replies and Comments group, you can customize how discussions appear:
-
Display format: How replies are shown in discussion threads:
- Nested or threaded view
- Flat or linear view
-
Default sort order: How replies are ordered:
- Newest first
- Oldest first
- Most popular
Tip: Experiment with different settings to find what works best for how you read and participate in discussions.
Following content and managing follows
You can choose to "follow" areas of the Community to help you:
- Stay up-to-date with activity that interests you, including new content, replies to posts, and solutions
- Get the most out of your Community membership by focusing on relevant topics
- Build expertise in specific areas by consistently engaging with related content
How to follow content
In each area of the Community, the Follow button appears in the top right of the screen:
Click this button to follow the community board (for example, blog or forum) that you are currently browsing.
When you click the button, the + icon changes to a check mark, indicating you're now following that content:
What you can follow
- Forums: Follow entire forums to see all new posts and discussions
- Topics or tags: Follow specific topics to see content related to your interests
- Specific discussions: Follow individual threads to receive updates on that conversation
- Users: Follow community members whose contributions you find valuable
- Blogs: Follow blog categories to see new articles as they're published
Managing your follows
To view and manage content that you follow:
- Access your settings (avatar > My Settings)
- Select the Follows & Notifications tab
- The Follows group provides a list of all the content and places you currently follow
- Review your follows and choose to:
- Keep following: Leave as-is to continue receiving activity notifications
- Unfollow content: To the right of a content activity listing, click ... > Unfollow
Best practices for following:
- Start by following three to five areas of high interest rather than following everything
- Periodically review your follows and unfollow content that's no longer relevant
- Follow tags related to your role, technologies you use, or skills you're developing
- Follow active community members whose expertise aligns with your interests
Managing notifications
Configure how and when you're notified about Community activity to stay informed without being overwhelmed.
Email notification settings
To manage your email notifications:
- Access your settings (avatar > My Settings)
- Select the Follows & Notifications tab
- Find the Email Notifications group
- Toggle the Get Email Notifications setting on or off
When the Get Email Notifications setting is toggled on, the Receive email notifications when... group appears.
Notification frequency options
You can customize each notification type based on your preferences. For each type of activity, choose between:
- Immediately: Receive an email as soon as the activity occurs (best for time-sensitive discussions)
- Daily digest: Receive one email per day summarizing activity (reduces email volume)
- Weekly digest: Receive one email per week summarizing activity (minimal email frequency)
- Never: Don't receive email notifications for this type of activity
Types of notifications
You can configure notifications for various activities, including:
- New posts in forums you follow
- Replies to your posts
- Mentions of your username (@mentions)
- Solutions marked on your questions
- New content from users you follow
- New events
- Product updates and announcements
In-platform notifications
To view your in-platform notifications:
- Make sure that you are signed into your Community account
- In the top-right corner, click the bell icon
A list of notifications that you've received since you last checked your notifications appears.
Notification best practices
- Start conservative: Begin with daily or weekly digests rather than immediate notifications
- Prioritize @mentions: Set immediate notifications for direct mentions so you don't miss when someone needs your input
- Adjust based on activity level: If you're very active in the Community, consider less frequent emails
- Use in-platform notifications: Check the bell icon regularly instead of relying solely on email
- Review quarterly: Revisit your notification settings every few months to ensure they still meet your needs
Summary: Optimizing your Community experience
To get the most out of the Human Connection Community:
- Complete your profile with an avatar, bio, and location
- Set your timezone to see event times and timestamps correctly
- Follow three to five areas of interest to stay updated without being overwhelmed
- Configure notifications to balance staying informed with managing email volume
- Review settings periodically as your interests and engagement level change