Digital security is not something that I thought about much until recently. After looking through the articles, I find that it is a much bigger issue than I ever thought before.
It took me seeing my friend’s social media accounts getting hacked to finally realize how unprotected we really are. Getting hacked can be very scary. One second everything is fine, and the next you feel like you’ve lost everything including your sense of security.
I hope I am not jinxing myself, but I personally have never gotten hacked, had anything happen to any of my bank accounts, or even gotten my phone stolen and used by someone else. I can only imagine how scared and helpless people must feel in situations like these. I have experienced people going through this all the time, especially at the bars. People start drinking and completely forget about their belongings and the value that their items hold. It is a scary position to put yourself in especially if you are not protecting yourself properly.
One article that stood out to me the most was discussing cell phone passwords. I felt quite a bit of shame when looking at the list of the most commonly used passwords because sure enough, mine was on the list. Granted, I know that it is definitely not the most secure password, but I chose it because of its easiness. I think that I take my phone and all of the information stored on it for granted. I have this mindset like it is fully protected and nothing bad will ever happen to it. The truth is though; I am very wrong. If anyone got ahold of my phone, they could try the top 10 most used passwords and get right in. This is something that has prompted me to make a change.
The first thing that needs to change is my lock screen password on my phone. It is way too easy and predictable in the event that it gets lost or stolen. I currently have an iPhone, so the options are limited to just a number code ranging from four to six digits. When I had an android phone, I was able to make my password as long as I wanted with digits, or I could choose a pattern and connect the dots. I miss having that option because there are so many different possibilities when choosing a pattern to draw and it also has no real correlation to personal aspects of your life the way a digit code might.
Changing my passwords more frequently is another adjustment that I need to make. I appreciate all of the useful tools presented in this week’s module. Having a place to securely store and manage all of my passwords is a real game changer and offers me the ability to change my passwords more frequently without the fear of forgetting them. I tend to use the same password for nearly everything that I log in to which, after doing some reading, is only setting me up for some bad outcomes.
