You can’t imagine how vulnerable most people are to data breaches. Students often fall victim to cybercrimes because they spend most of their time online. If you don’t take preventative measures, you’re making it easy for a hacker to steal information from your device. That’s why we’ve compiled a number of tips you should follow to avoid a data breach.
1. Fortify Your Passwords
Everybody knows this rule and yet neglects it:
- Create hard-to-guess passwords for your online accounts.
- Aim for 8-10 characters with symbols, numbers, and both uppercase and lowercase characters.
- Use two-factor authentication as well.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to make something work.
2. Avoid Public WiFi
Public WiFis are a hacker’s dream. If you connect to WiFi in a cafe, airport, or shopping mall, there’s a huge chance your information will be stolen. Hackers are looking for data that they can use to profit: keyloggers aiming for credit card numbers are a typical case.
So, avoid public WiFi when you can or enable a VPN extension on your device when you do use it.
3. Avoid Oversharing Private Details
Whether you are using educational programs, turning to professionals for help in writing your dissertation, or need to hire a dissertation writer, be mindful of what data you share in the process.
Protect your online privacy and do not disclose details like your home address, date of birth, or social security number. This information can be used by cybercriminals for identity theft and other malicious activities.
4. Delete Suspicious Emails
Don’t click links on emails from an unknown sender, and especially don’t give out personal information like credit card numbers. Most email systems like Gmail have sophisticated algorithms that block suspicious emails or put them in the spam folder, but it’s best to stay cautious either way.
5. Use Encrypted Messengers
To ensure secure communication with instructors and classmates, use encrypted messaging tools like Signal or WhatsApp. Check security settings and modify them to further enhance your data safety while using these messengers.
6. Regularly Monitor Online Accounts
By monitoring your account, you can spot any strange and harmful activities like profile changes, transactions that you didn’t make, and unfamiliar sign-in attempts. Set up alerts to be notified of any unauthorized access or suspicious activity immediately.
7. Create a Backup of Your Data
Always back up your important academic data and store it in a safe location, such as an external hard drive or a cloud storage service. You should be able to access crucial documents even in the event of a data breach or system failure.
8. Keep Up to Date With Cybersecurity
Stay informed about cybersecurity best practices by taking a relevant course or attending webinars and workshops. Knowledge is power. And again, it is easier to prevent a disaster than deal with the aftermath of it.
9. Don’t Forget Your Firewall
To shield your online security, use a firewall that can monitor and filter incoming and outgoing network traffic. This not only curbs unauthorized access to your computer or network but also blocks malicious software from stealing your personal information.
10. Get a Password Manager
Use password manager software so you can store your passwords somewhere without them being exposed to hackers. Also, this way, you won’t have to worry about forgetting an elaborate password. But here’s a pro tip: the best password manager is a traditional notebook. As long as you keep the notebook in a safe place, it’s a viable option.
11. Use Privacy Screens
Privacy screens make it impossible for people to read your screen if they’re not facing it directly. This physical filter obstructs the view of anyone who surrounds you, which is particularly useful when studying in public areas such as libraries or coffee shops where confidentiality is paramount.
12. Take Time to Encrypt Your Data
Take advantage of this strong measure if you want to commit to full security. In case you lose your device, the data on that device will be unintelligible and useless to other people because of encryption.
So, no one will ever know that you used one of the “write my essay” services to get help with your assignments. And no one will see those embarrassing photos revealing how much you like to party.
13. Create a Separate Email Account
To protect your sensitive information, dedicate a separate email account to your online learning activities. This ensures that any personal or work-related emails don’t overlap with your study matters, thus diversifying the risks in case of a data theft attempt.
14. Take Advantage of Remote Wipe & Device Tracking
If your device gets robbed, you can use device tracking to locate it. And a remote wipe feature will allow you to delete the data before the robber accesses it. Of course, this is the last resort, but it’s still better than doing nothing in this case.
Final Thoughts
Solidify your cybersecurity and use our suggestions to your advantage: we hope this will keep your data secure. By exercising caution and following our advice, you’ll feel safer than most people.
