Now you’re at university it’s time to protect yourself. No, this is not that cringeworthy conversation you had with your parents about where babies come from but some notes on data security.
First up your laptop. That network in the halls of residence? It’s going to contain at least one budding hacker, so make sure you run anti-virus software (that includes you Mac users, there’s malware out there specifically targeting Macs), use a firewall (either the one built into your OS or a third party one) and keep your anti-virus and operating system up to date (that includes you Mac users – Apple are notorious for not releasing security patches in a timely manner, so wipe that smug grin off your face and for heavens sake find some jeans that fit properly and use less product in your hair). Oh and back-up, a laptop crash will not be an accepted excuse for not submitting your papers.
Your laptop should be password protected. The account you get on a university system will also be password protected. Then there’s your facebook account, your twitter account, your email account, your internet banking, all password protected. This presents a problem for the absent minded, or those whose brains are addled by fresher’s week and the abundance of cheap beer – it’s all too tempting to use a common password for everything. Passwords are like condoms, they shouldn’t be re-used. A couple of months back a Christian dating web site was hacked and their user database stolen, which included email addresses and passwords. The mischief makers then tried the passwords for the dating site against the email accounts from that database. A lot of them worked. Then they tried logging into FaceBook using the stolen login details. That worked too, and chaos ensued as the poor innocents from the Christian dating site started publishing updates that they were pregnant, or coming out of the closet or had turned Atheist or to Satanism. Of course their friends didn’t realise their accounts were hacked and took these status updates seriously and hilarity or damage was caused, depending on your point of view (click on the image up there to take a look at one example – yes it’s probably amusing, until it happens to you). If you don’t think you can remember multiple passwords then your browser probably has the facility to remember passwords for you, or third party applications such as lastpass exist to help you. If you use Firefox you should protect your saved passwords by creating a master password by following these simple steps:
- Go to Tools > Options > Privacy
- Click on the + sign next to the words "Saved Passwords" or, in newer versions of Firefox, click on the "Passwords" tab.
- Click on the "Set Master Password" button.
- Key in a new "master" password.
- Click on OK.
For heaven’s sake make your passwords strong passwords. No pet’s names, no dictionary words, instead choose a password with numbers in it, and mixed case letters. lastpass helps you generate strong passwords for web sites so you don’t have to,
The same applies to your phone. Given that you’re all probably using the latest iProduct, loaded up with everything you can find (because there’s an app for that) your phone has more computing power and connectivity that I had for the first 10 years I used computers (you young people today, you have it easy, etc.). Your phone likely has email, twitter and of course your mum’s phone number in the address book. Lock your phone, keep it locked, don’t put it down unlocked when drinking with your friends otherwise you mean find “you’ve” tweeted about your love for Ashley Simpson tunes and text messaged your mother telling her you’ve quit university to join a band, or worse, the Socialist Workers party.
Then there’s the updates you actually make yourself. A facebook status explaining the joyful time you had last night with a member of the opposite (or same) sex you met three hours before may be a cause of some regret. Even if you delete it once you realise what you shared in a drunken haze you can never be sure it’s gone, it may be downloaded to your friend’s computers or worse, been indexed by google – and when that happens it’s never going away. Employers these days are searching social networking sites when looking at potential employees - a potential Cisco applicant tweeted:
Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.
Tim Levad at Cisco saw the Tweet, and tweeted back:
Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.
And those photos of you being sick in the street, or wearing a bra on your head? You don’t want to use those as your facebook profile pic either, just in case people save them or your profile is publically viewable. Facebook provides ways for you to limit photos, profiles and status updates to particular people – use it! (And hope your friends will never save and republish those pictures on the web).
Remember that the information you put on facebook is viewable to your friends – so don’t put your telephone number, email or address up there unless you fancy getting stalked when you reject someone at the bar who does a little too far.
Yes you’re going to have fun. Yes you’re going to embarrass yourself. Yes you’re going to sing along to Abba songs. But by protecting your computer and your accounts you can minimise the damage to feeling queasy the next morning when you wake up and remember what you did the night before and discover the traffic cone in your bed.