For many students, back-to-school is a time of preparation – an annual rite that includes stocking up on new notebooks, laptops and, likely, clothes.
But because back-to-school time is also back-to-work time for online criminals and miscreants, now is also an ideal time to bone up on cybersecurity. After all, keeping your data safe is an integral part of being ready for the new school year.
In that vein, here are five quick and easy tips to ensure that your digital information and identity remain yours and yours alone, courtesy of your friends at TekSavvy.
Sure, regular notifications from your phone or computer to download and install updates can be annoying, but they’re important.
Like a game of cat-and-mouse, hackers are constantly looking for vulnerabilities in operating systems and apps while developers are conversely plugging any holes that are found.
Those holes get patched through regular updates, so if you’re not installing them you’re leaving openings for the bad guys to get into your devices. Once in, they can install malware to hijack or even lock your device, leaving you vulnerable to identity or data theft, or ransom demands.
If you’re not using automatic updates on your devices, at least try to remember to manually install them on a regular basis.
While malware can be an invisible enemy, phishing is often a much more noticeable and interactive effort to steal your information. It often takes the form of a message, whether a text or email, that tries to trick the recipient into taking an action such as responding or clicking a link.
This can be followed by the silent installation of malware, or requests to provide further information including credit card numbers, home address and so on.
Phishing is becoming increasingly sneaky and sophisticated, so it can be hard to detect. Some general rules of thumb to keep in mind when receiving messages are:
With a zillion accounts to keep track of it can be tempting to use the same password for many or all of them. But that’s a bad idea, given that passwords are routinely hacked and traded on online black markets.
Unique passwords for each account are a must so that if one is compromised, the others remain safe. And strong passwords are a necessity – avoid simple phrases or numerical sequences and combine the two, along with special characters, to make them harder to guess.
You can also consider using a password manager such as Canadian-made 1Password. These services generate randomized strong passwords, adding an extra layer of security while also making it easy to log into numerous accounts.
One of the best ways to keep your devices and accounts safe is to enable dual-factor or multi-factor authentication. These are tools that request a second or multiple verifications whenever there’s a new sign-in to a device or account.
The most common of these involves a text message sent to your phone with a code, which you then input into your device or account to verify that it’s indeed you signing in. It adds an extra step to the process, but it prevents anyone but you from gaining access.
A number of companies offer such authenticators, including Google, Microsoft and independent app Authy.
Lost or stolen devices can be replaced, but the data on them – homework assignments, notes and the like – can’t be if copies do not exist. That’s why it’s a great idea to regularly backup all your data, either onto the cloud or another device.
Google, Microsoft, Apple, Dropbox are among the many cloud providers that offer free online storage, with paid options for more storage capacity. It’s wise to either automatically copy your files into these online storage accounts or to periodically do so manually.
Otherwise, files can also be copied onto an external hard drive. Such devices are relatively inexpensive and easily plug into phones, computers and tablets, allowing for a quick, physical backup of important information.