Keep Your Digital Workspace Safe
In the past few decades, how we work, play, and communicate has changed with the introduction and evolution of technology. Computers, fax machines, and email took over our days, and now our free time is filled with likes, snaps, and tweets on social media. We have become connected to our smart devices. Because of the recent pandemic, we have started weaving our everyday lives around online meetings, cloud based offices, virtual classrooms, online video chats with loved ones, and games with players worldwide.
Essential documents, banking information, and private conversations all live in the digital world, making safety a top priority. Here are three areas to start you down the path towards digital security.
STRENGTHEN YOUR PASSWORDS:
It is relatively common knowledge, but we want to remind you not to use commonly used information in your passwords. These include birthdates, a pet’s name, or your address. Also, be sure to change your passwords as often as you can. You have probably noticed an uncharacteristic request for money or a suspicious link sent to you from a friend’s social media or email account over the years. By making it hard to get into the account, you will have fewer chances of being hacked. If it becomes too hard to manage all your passwords, there are services out there that can help you, but make sure to do your research before investing your money.
HIDE YOURSELF:
This one seems silly to many people, but with more kids using laptops for schooling and smart speakers placed around your homes, you do not want to let hackers into your private conversations, homes, or personal lives for that matter. When you do not utilize your built-in video or photo devices, put a cover or a piece of tape over the lense. Also, place any smart speakers in areas away from your bedroom or unplug them when not in use. It may seem like we are going too far, but it is easier than you might think to get into your camera, turn off the notification light, and watch.
THINK BEFORE YOU POST:
Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up always having internet and technology as part of their lives. It is a part of life, and getting your first email and social media account is as much of an age-related right of passage as becoming old enough to get a license or the first time we were able to use a cell phone. As exciting as it may be to be online and share our lives with all of our followers, we need to remember that what we post could have consequences. You may only be 14 years old and share some video you think is funny at the time, but remember that you might want to go for an award, job, scholarship, apply for a prestigious school, and what you posted years prior could come back to haunt you. More employers and people, in general, are looking to the digital sphere to see if you have a snapshot into your life that they can use to help them make their decision. And even though you may have posted something five years prior and thought you took it down, it may exist as a screenshot. You can never be too careful, so always think before you post.
Nobody is entirely safe, and even though you take many precautions, you are still at risk when you spend time online and working with technology. Toledo Public Schools had their online streaming platform hacked into on the first day of classes, and businesses as big as Adobe with people trained in technology have had data breaches. We are not telling you this information to scare you away from technology, but heighten your awareness so that you can continue to work, attend school, play games, and safely live your life online and in the digital world.
