By Maureena, 2015 Sprint Cyber Safe Futures Ambassador (Boys & Girls Clubs of Truckee Meadows, NV)
The Importance of Online Privacy- Maureena’s View
Hello, this is Maureena, Cyber Safe Futures Ambassador from the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows
I would like to discuss the importance of online privacy, and how being careless with information shared online can be dangerous. It is important to know that there are people in your community, state, country and beyond that pretend to be someone they’re not when online. They mock and copy existing profiles of real people to trick their friends and followers into thinking their profile is real when it’s actually fake. Online privacy settings on social media websites are useful for keeping your information private when you don’t want others to see what you post.
As a rule of thumb, I tell teens that regardless of privacy settings, once you post information, generally, it’s out there for the world to see. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest allow you to control who views your profile and you have the option to make your profile completely private, open to the public, or visible only to friends. Teens can protect their privacy by not accepting strangers’ requests to their profiles. Unfortunately, there are many online predators, scammers and those out to steal personal information on the internet, so please be aware and always proceed with caution!
The Club
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Dave Crusoe
Hi there,
There are three other online safety & privacy practices everyone might consider.
First, use a password manager, like LastPass. That will ensure that (a) you generate truly strong passwords and (b) truly unique passwords for the websites you visit.
Second, whenever possible, use two-factor authentication. I know, this sounds crazy, but it isn’t in the realm of the spy story. Two-factor means that when you log into a website using a device that you haven’t yet used to log in, the system will send you a text message with a short code. Using two-factor ensures that even if someone else knows your password, they still can’t get at your information.
Finally, always install *all* of the updates for your apps and programs. I know, sometimes the updates stink, but oftentimes they contain security fixes that don’t look cool but do save you from the latest “0-day” hacks — hacks you won’t recognize until it’s too late.
So, in addition to using the privacy tools that Maureena mentioned above, keep these practices in mind! Do so & you’ll be a network ninja.
Cheers,
-Dave