Before reading through this module’s learning materials, I’d say that my digital security practices were less than thorough. There was a time in my life when I was allowing my web browser to remember all my passwords for me. The majority of my main and frequently used accounts shared the same password. My passwords were always on the weaker side. I didn’t regularly update my laptop’s software. The list goes on.
First and foremost on my list of digital security habits to improve is to start using a password manager. I’m actually surprised I’ve never considered or really ever heard of having a password manager until reading about it in this course. One of my biggest issues has been that I cannot possibly remember all the passwords I need to have while have them being different and unique from each other. My current password situation is as follows. My passwords for a small handful of social media sites I visit frequently are memorized by my web browser. Most other passwords for less frequently visited sites are accessible to me via my MacBook’s Keychain Access. In addition to that I have a password encrypted document on my laptop that contains a list of all the sites I have an active account with along with my username, the associated email address and a hint to myself to clue me in on what the password could be in the event I cannot access it in the aforementioned Keychain.
As far as using the same or similar passwords for a huge majority of my accounts goes, I’ve been working on making stronger and more unique passwords for each site after I recently received a notification in my Google Chrome browser letting me know passwords had been compromised. I’ve been prioritizing accounts that are linked to confidential information of mine and accounts that are linked to money payments in an effort to protect the most important information first.
Finally, one of my main goals is to work on updating my computers software whenever it prompts me to do so. I have this terrible habit of continuously clicking the “remind me later” button to put off the update. I actually just did so while typing up this post. I have what I believe to be a good reason as to why I don’t immediately update software when it’s available. About a year and a half ago I updated my brand new laptop to the new iOS. The problem however was that after the update, I no longer had admin access to my own laptop. I couldn’t figure out what had happened and I was panicking. I had online assignments due. Important documents that I had lost access to. It felt like my new laptop had grown sentient and was attempting to overthrow my reign. I eventually fixed it, but that situation left me scorned. I’m weary of updating right away, especially if it’s a large update for fear something like that will happen again. But ultimately this course has made me realize that I should just update.
What’s funny is that right before I began typing up this post, I came across this Twitter thread from Google’s verified account that echoed some of this module’s key points on internet/digital security. I liked and retweeted it and urged my followers to take their digital security seriously. Overall, I learned a lot from this module and took away a lot of great information that I’ll be sure to implement.
