INTRODUCTION
The internet is a virtual world. Virtually every interaction that can be done in reality can be done over the internet. People interact and share their lives over the internet. Transactions and business deals are done over the internet. People are even employed over the internet. We all know that the world is a dangerous place and we all need to be careful and vigilant. In reality, we are always cautious of our enviroment, avoiding places and people we do not know. We inquire about places and people we are not familiar with before we engage. The same applies to the virtual world. A lot of dubious people online are looking for people who do not know how to protect themselves online and due to their ignorance, they become easy targets to online scammers. Like in reality, we should also be cautious virtually, that is where safe internet practices comes in. Without adhering to safe internet practices, your personal and sensitive information online will be stolen from you and used against you. Therefore, starting a Tech Career, where most of my business will be conducted virtually, I have to equip myself with all the safe internet practices, so i do not fall victim to malicious people online. Following the Office hour we had on the 8th September 2022, were we talked about safe internet practices, which included Email Safe practices and how to protect devices from Malware. I picked up a lot of safe internet practices which i would be sharing in this article.
SAFE INTERNET PRACTICES
Safe internet practices in a nutshell, basically means understanding the internet including the not so popular aspects of the internet such as secure connection, programming and webpage interactions, so that you can protect your devices and your personal data from the malicious side of the virtual world. From the office hour session, I gathered that in order to protect my data online, I have to make safe choices, and these include;
- Verfying someones identity
- Verifying if a link is safe
- Identifying online scams and Phising attacks
- Protecting Privacy
- Identifying Cyberbullying
- Using Anti-virus
- Using ad blockers and pop-up blockers
- Using Virtual personal Networks
1. Verfying someones identity: Growing up, my parents always told me not to talk to strangers, and this was a way of keeping me safe as a child. Growing up, i have become cautious of people i am not familiar with and only share information with them when i get a bit of background about them and i am comfortable enough to share certain information. I believe the same caution should be applied in the online world. Caution should be applied when receiving messages and request from strangers requesting to click a link or visit a website as they could easily be from scammers. Social media and a quick google search can be used to search for the identify of a person or organisation. If no presence is found on a search, then such messages should be ignored.
2. Verifying if a link is safe: I have found that when visiting certain websites especially using Google Chrome, I get a message saying the site is not secure. I learnt that websites that use the http protocol are not secure making a device and data susceptible to hackers. However, websites that use the https protocol are secure because they have encryptions. So, the best choice will be to stay clear from strange sites that use the http protocol so my data can be safe. During the office hour talking about online safety, i learnt that even some https sites can still be insecure. Scammers get domain names that are very similar to popular sites. For example, a scammer trying to imitate "Facebook" can get the domain name "Facenote" and create a website that looks every similar to Facebook. Without proper check, one can log into the fake website and in the process, have their Facebook login details stolen. The devil is in the detail, when online i would on the lookout for the smallest details in a website that may be out of place, such as the website address so i go not fall victim.
3. Identifying online scams and Phising attacks: I have to carefully access messages and alerts i get online, especially if they require me to log into any of my accounts. I have to study such messages to ensure that they are indeed sent from the authentic person or company. The speaker Ihuoma Agbaru during the office hour talked about how a friend of hers sent her a fake credit alert which looked identical to her bank's credit alert, which had a message stating that she should click a link to confirm payment. She stated that she could not tell the difference. This is a prime example of a fishing attack. The other speaker Max-Oti Favour pointed out something of interest to me, he stated that if you hover on the link, you will see the website address. So I can tell if the website is authentic without clicking on the link and risking getting hacked.
4. Protecting Privacy: Two factor authentication should also be enabled on all platforms just to have that extra layer of security. Passwords should be kept to yourself and should never be shared with anyone. We never really know people's true intentions or their intentions might simply change. You could be close with someone today and then turn bitter enemies tomorrow. No matter how close you are with a person, always keep your password to yourself. It is best practice to use alphanumeric passwords which also contain uppercase, lowercase and a symbol. However, the other speaker Max was of a different opinion. He stated that passwords do not need to be in this format as they could easily be forgotten. He mentioned that writing a password somewhere to recollect, puts your data at risk as there is a possibility that it could be found. He advised that instead we should use passwords we can pronouce, so we can remember them. He further stated that we should not use the same passwords for different accounts because if one of your account is compromised, the other accounts are at risk.
5. Identifying Cyberbullying: Avoid and report Cyberbullying. It is simply cruel and takes a toll on the receivers mental health. You could also be the recipent of cyberbullying one day. So its we should all protect ourselves by reporting and refraining from Cyberbullying
6. Using Anti-virus: Anti-Virus is essential as it protects devices from Malware. Malware is a broad class of virus which include worms, viruses, trojan virus, spyware, ransomware etc. The 2nd speaker mentioned that Anti-virus block malicious website from being opened and scan materials that are to be downloaded to a device, thereby providing protection to a user's device. He advised that anti-viruses should be updated not minding how much data the update might take. Without updating, the anti-virus would not be able to provide adequate protection.
7. - Update device Software: He further stated that device software should also be updated because the old softwares are studied and the defects found which can put a device at risk of getting hacked are rectified by using updates. So, to give your device the best protection from malicious sites, software updates need to be done.
8. Using ad blockers and pop-up blockers: Ads and pop-ups are a menace. They are disruptive and quite irrelevant and can be used as a tool to get sensitive information that can be used to steal your data. So it is best practice to get ad blockers and avoid irrelevant ads. The 2nd speaker Max mentioned that some browsers come with Ad and pop-up blockers and others like Chrome do not. So it would be advisable to check if a browser has an Ad and pop-up blocker and if not, it should be downloaded to the device.
9. Using Virtual Personal Networks: VPN has a secured connection with encryption, so malicious cyber criminal can not get access to personal data when using VPN. VPN also provides anonymousity as the remote server can be changed to another country's server. So VPN provides that extra shell of protection when online.
Discord has been the main platform which the Ada Project team has used to communicate with us the students. I had never heard about discord before i was invited to join by the Ada project team. So, i was grateful when safety practices when using discord were addressed during the office hour. Safety practices for discord include the usual safety practices when online. However, the speaker mentioned a few additional practices we should adhere to when using discord. They include:
Make your privacy settings as personal as possible and always block users that you do not know and even if you know them, only accept them if you have a good rapor with them. If you have to communicate with them, use another platform. Also, join other servers that relate to your track, so you can learn things that can help you when learning your track.
Do not download files from people that you do not know. Only download a file when you are expecting a file.
Never give away your account information. NEVER!!!
Report to the Discord Safety Team any user claiming to be discord support staff asking for your account details.
Conclusion: The Office hour presentation was impactful and i would be adhering to everything that i learnt. Before the presentation, i used to think that some of these practices were a bit unnecessary, especially the two factor authentication. I now realise how important these practices are and really, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Reference
Ihuoma Agbaru and Max-Oti Favour Online Safety Practices 8th September 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVQhdi_C4cc