Digital Security

First of all, students need knowledge to protect themselves in a digital society.  Knowledge indeed wields power in the Age of Information, and acting upon that knowledge proactively can often save heartache and trouble in the future.  In order to protect their identity and their technology, students need to be fluent in the lingo of digital security; they need to be familiar with what (computer) viruses are, how they may be transmitted and prevented, and the definitions of such key terms as “firewall,” “phishing,” and “spyware.” 
    Students need to understand the importance of not divulging personal information (financial information, identification numbers, passwords) online or to solicitors.  Parents and educators should emphasize the avoidance of clicking on pop-up boxes, unexpected attachments to e-mails, or forwarding spam.  Keeping up with security updates and patches can help maintain the integrity of an operating system.  Using alphanumeric passwords (rather than common words or terms) and refraining from recording passwords in a centralized location can also inhibit the ease with which unscrupulous characters could access personal information.  To be sure, even these precautions are not foolproof, but these basic steps can certainly help reduce the risk of identity theft or virus infection for both personal technology devices and the communities and networks with which they connect.
    The You Tube video “Think Before You Post” drives home the importance of considering the ramifications of any posting.  As the parent of a 12-year-old boy, I am discovering daily that young people and, amazingly, their parents, can be remarkably obtuse about the premature use of such social networking sites as Facebook.  My son remarks frequently that he is one of the few in his grade without a Facebook account, just as the Heartland AEA Digital Citizenship page describes.