Best Internet Safety Practices for Online High School and College Students

Cybersecurity gets a lot of buzz in the news, particularly when there’s been a major breach. It’s often presented in the context of big businesses, adults, or even entire nations.

We don’t always think about what it means for kids.

In this article, we look at some of the biggest cybersecurity threats for teenagers, and what they can do to avoid them.

Keep Your Software Up to Date

This is a simple suggestion, but also one that is easy to fall behind on, particularly for high school and college students who maybe aren’t extremely eager to fork over a hundred dollars to renew their cybersecurity software.

While there is no denying that it can be pricey, cybersecurity software is your first and strongest line of defense against a data breach.

In terms of cost mitigation, there are several things to consider. For one thing, there are free programs available that will perform at least basic cybersecurity functions.

Often, these programs aren’t as impactful as their expensive cousins, but they are better than nothing.

It’s also a good idea to speak with your school. Some high schools and college will provide their students with free or low-cost cybersecurity software.

Otherwise, some software companies may also offer reduced-cost subscriptions for people who can prove that they are students.

No matter what the situation, some security is better than none, so find a cyber-security software that suits your needs. And do it quickly. Honestly, you’re lucky we aren’t hacking you right now.

Scrutinize Every Website

Even with a good cyber security network behind you, it’s still important to scrutinize every website carefully before you get too deep.

Some programs, like Norton, will take care of this for you, scanning every page on the search engine to analyze its relative danger to your computer.

That helps a lot, but even then, you’ll need to make some judgment calls. If you get onto a website that seems shady, hop off right away.

Once you’re in the clear, consider firing up your cybersecurity software to do a quick scan. Like so many issues, data breaches are easiest to fix when you catch them early.

When it Doubt, Clear it Out

Everyone wants to laugh off this piece of advice, but it’s important: you need to be careful about what emails you open.

You mean I shouldn’t wire that Ugandan prince my life’s savings? Well, thank you for the advice.

Right. See, that’s the problem. There have been so many obvious phishing scams that the subtle ones slip through the cracks pretty easily.

A clever hacker can create email templates that look almost exactly like the ones that come from companies you get emails from every day.

They won’t feature ridiculous headings about contests you’ve won despite the handicap of never having entered them. They won’t tell you about the hot date waiting for you just on the other side of town.

They’ll probably have a strong call to action. “Missed Payment.” “Package Delivered.” “Instructions to Reactivate your Account.”

Headings that seem important and urgent.

You think: "Package? What package? I don’t remember ordering a package."

And you’ve clicked on the email three seconds before you realize you probably shouldn’t have.

Remember when Marriott had that breach that resulted in something like half a billion users losing their personal information? How about last year's healthcare data breach in Ireland? That incident was even worse.

The entire Irish healthcare system was held hostage by Russian hackers for weeks. Millions of dollars in damages followed, and hundreds of people had their personal health information leaked online.

What do these incidents have in common? They both started with someone opening the wrong email. When it comes to data security, even very small mistakes can have a pretty big impact.

If you find yourself in doubt of an email’s credibility, don’t click it. Instead, contact the company directly and ask if they have reached out.

It’s tedious, but it can make an enormous impact on your overall data security.

Practice Good Password Hygiene

Bad habits can quickly add up when it comes to cybersecurity. Maybe you use auto-sign for everything. Great for right now. But what if you lose your phone? Then there’s a problem, right?

Because now Joe Schmoe, whose favorite hobbies are chewing gum and draining bank accounts, has all your information right at his fingertips. And guess what? He’s all out of gum.

It’s simple stuff. Corners you cut because they make life a little easier. Maybe you keep your passwords written on a sticky note that is then pasted onto your laptop.

Maybe you just routinely forget to sign out of things. Whatever the habit, work on tightening it up. Many breaches can be avoided through a pretty basic attention to detail.

Be Choosey About Your Wifi Hotspots

Finally, WIFI hotspots. You’re at your favorite coffee shop. You want to check your email to see if your classmate got back to you about that group project the two of you are working on.

How wholesome! So you go to the WIFI settings on your phone and, low and behold:

JAVALOVER is open for business with four beautiful bars waiting for you.

What should you do? Well, if you answered, “definitely don’t just sign in,” you’ve earned yourself two gold stars.

But it said JAVALOVER! That’s got to be the coffee shop’s WIFI network, right?

Sure. And if you believe that, there’s a bridge we’d love to sell you when this article is all through. Here’s the deal: anyone can name a WIFI network anything they want.

JAVALOVER could be the coffee shop, or it could be some shady person two tables over who wants you to think they are the
coffee shop.

Solution? Walk up to the counter and ask. If they say it checks out, great. Hop right on. If not, chances are you’ve narrowly avoided a scam.