Digital Literacy – Staying safe online

Hi there - great news!

I've just received

an email and it turns out I'm a millionaire!!!

According to this email,

I've won the lottery:

I'm rich, rich beyond my wildest dreams!

All I have to do

is send them my bank details

and they will put the money

in my account.

Now, what shall

I spend my millions on?

The funny thing is,

I don't even play the lottery!

Oh, wait a minute…

Did you see the mistake

I made there?

I nearly gave my bank details

to a stranger online.

I could have lost

all my money!

It just shows how important it is

to be careful online

both in your personal life

and as a distance learner.

So that's what we are going

to look at today:

safety & security.

As a distance learner,

you will be using

digital resources and platforms

as part of your studies.

That means you need

to be safe and secure.

So what does it mean

to be safe and secure digitally?

Well, it can include:

Making sure your digital accounts

are secured with strong passwords.

Keeping your personal details secret

so people online

don't know everything about you.

And being aware

of hoaxes, scams and tricks

so you don't fall

for the same kind of trick

that I nearly did.

There are many reasons

why we need to be safe

and secure when

we are in the digital world.

As a distance learner,

you need to be careful

not to reveal personal information about yourself

or anyone else online.

You don't want

the whole world

to have your phone number, right?

Remember, your university's digital platforms

are often more public

than private so data

protection rules apply.

Data protection means:

'the laws that relate to control over, access

to, and use of data stored in computers'.

And it's not just

on your university's platforms

that you need to be secure.

Just imagine if

dishonest people got access to your emails,

bank account or credit card details!

You could lose

a lot of money like that.

Or if someone found out

your personal details,

they could pretend to be you

and cause a lot of loss

or damage to you.

And nobody likes

to feel like a fool if they get tricked…

I feel properly silly

for believing

that fake lottery email –

what an idiot!

The good news is

there are lots of practical steps

to take to be safe online.

Think about

all your digital accounts

- email, social media,

banking, work, study.

Now ask yourself,

"How strong is my password?"

Be honest.

Is it your name, your birthday,

your pet's name?

Hmm: they could be quite weak.

You might want

to think about changing

them to something stronger.

Mixing numbers,

upper and lower-case characters,

and special symbols

is a good idea.

If you want to be really secure,

use random numbers and letters.

Now nobody would

give their cat a name like that!

You could even use a short sentence,

like this.

Personal details:

only put your personal details

into websites that you trust

and that are secure.

Secure websites will begin

with h-t-t-p-s.

And some sites

may provide a padlock in the

address bar.

Always check the website address

is spelt correctly:

many fake websites change

the address slightly,

so you don't notice

it's not the real website.

Be aware of scams and phishing.

These are often emails

from people you have never

heard of or websites

that ask you for

personal or financial details.

They may seem to offer

something fantastic

that you can claim for free.

If something sounds too good to be true

- then it probably is.

And don't forget about

the risks of ransomware.

Ransomware means

software the takes control of your computer

and you have to pay criminals to get back

control.

And who would trust

a criminal hacker to keep their word!

The good news is there are lots of tools

to help keep you safe.

Up to date anti-virus software

is a must,

and so is keeping

your operating system updated.

You can use password

manager programs to generate

strong passwords

and remember them for you.

But most importantly,

use your own common sense:

always remember that

you need to stay safe digitally.

Hey, look at that! I've won

a brand new laptop

worth thousands of pounds!!

Wa- wait a minute!