How Students Can Protect Themselves from Cybersecurity Dangers？

College life is always exciting! You will make new friends, shop for supplies, decorate your dorm room… But what if your laptop is suddenly hacked and your social media accounts are full of spam? Unfortunately, not all students realize that cybersecurity is also a vital part of college life.

Below, we will unpack the most common cybersecurity dangers students face and how you can avoid being attacked.

Unsecured Public Wi-Fi

Students are always on the move. You have to attend various classes, stick to extracurriculars, prepare papers, and write essays. Public hotspots on campus and in the library can be a great way to connect with classmates and work on projects. Sadly, they also attract hackers. A bad actor can intercept your connection, dive right into your files, and steal your sensitive information.

Using a Virtual Private Network, or a VPN, can be an actionable step towards cybersecurity. This software encrypts your connection and keeps hackers away. Even if they acquire access, everything you send and receive will appear as a jumble of code to them and nothing more.

Phishing

Once you enter college life, you will form a lot of new connections. This includes friends, classmates, teachers, and organizations. Naturally, some of them will ask you for your personal information. Be careful what you share with others, as phishing is very common in colleges and universities.

Even if a real organization contacts you asking for your name, address, phone number, Social Security number, birthdate, and account numbers, always check their legitimacy. Don’t be embarrassed to ask why they need your details. A lot of scammers will pose as banks and subscription services via emails and calls to lure you into revealing sensitive data.

To keep yourself safe, try to get software with anti-phishing features. For example, some VPNs employ this functionality, helping you prevent phishing attacks.

Weak Passwords

Student life can also be exhausting. And when you spend all your free time getting ready for tests, no one wants to come up with long, complex passwords for each account they create. That’s a fatal error, though. In case a hacker uncovers a password to one of your accounts, they can then log into all accounts you own. That can result in monetary and identity theft.

Always create long passwords that include:

• uppercase letters;
• lowercase letters;
• special characters;
• numbers.

When writing out each password, make sure it doesn’t make much sense if it includes full words. Do not include personal information, such as your last name, birthday, or the town you live in. Whenever possible, turn on two-factor authentication. In addition to your password, a criminal will need access to your phone or email to log in — a great way to deter any hacker.

Social Media Vulnerabilities

Social media platforms are a great way to connect to others and share what you think, but it is important not to overshare. Photos indicating your immediate location, address, and personal information should always be kept from social media. Otherwise, scammers might use it for their own gain.

Some of them even pose as real people and pretend to be your friend for a while before initiating the fraud. If they text you with an urgent request for money, do not send them anything unless you know that person in real life and trust them.

Sadly, bullying is also common on the internet. Anonymous accounts might reach out and share hate on social media, harass, and threaten you. This takes a huge mental toll on the victim. If you ever experience bullying, do not respond to the attacker. Instead, document the messages and report them to the local campus police. Block them on social media to prevent them from messaging you again. If the situation gets out of hand and you feel in danger, delete your account and take a break from social media.

Staying Cybersecure is Crucial for Students

As a student, you should always pay attention to your security online. Make sure you are using software like a VPN to protect your Wi-Fi connection, verify organizations before sharing your data with them, create complex passwords, and report social media vulnerabilities to your campus police. Remember that your college or university is there to help. Stay in contact with the IT department to help with hackers and free security software.