How have I been approaching my own digital security?
With caution.
I’m careful about what I do, what I download, what I share, and what I click on.
I was born in 1990. The internet hasn’t always been an integral part of my daily life. My first hands-on experience came in an elementary school classroom. When Mavis Beacon wasn’t teaching us how to type, we were given lessons in internet safety. The prevailing theme of these lessons was not to trust anything. While I think giving a bunch of children the impression that everyone online is trying to kidnap you was a bit much, the need to be skeptical has stuck with me.
Here are a few examples of how that skepticism has shaped my approach to digital security:
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- If a link in an email or on a website seems suspicious, to avoid malware or phishing scams, I take a moment to further inspect it.
- Before adding an app to my phone or an extension to my browser, I do some research to find out if it’s safe or if it’s not to be trusted.
- While I don’t share my financial information with just anybody, there are reasons to doubt that even large, legitimate companies will be able to keep it safe and secure. Should my information end up in the wrong hands, I signed up to get text messages from my bank whenever purchases are made (including my own). That way, I’ll know something is wrong and will be able to cancel my card as soon as possible. This hasn’t happened yet, but it seems inevitable in today’s world.
Additionally, I was glad to learn that keeping our software and devices updated is an important security measure because that’s something I’m already doing. It’s good to know that my desire to prevent those obnoxious pop-ups from constantly reminding me that updates are available is also keeping me safe.
After finishing this week’s readings and lectures, I am strongly considering giving a password manager a try. I’ve had questions about how secure these things truly are since hearing that LastPass was hacked in 2015, but I can see why they’ve become such highly recommended security tools. Plus, I’ve just about reached my breaking point when it comes to creating and remembering secure passwords. It would be nice to have that taken care of for me. I’ve done some light Googling for recommendations and 1Password has come up often. I like that it offers a free trial. With Spring Break about to start, I’ll have plenty of time to test it out.
