1. The Importance of Protecting Yourself
Online and How to Do It!
By Marvin Williams

2.  There are many things you can do online from
entertaining yourself all the way up to
completing business transactions.

3.  While the internet allows many people to do
a lot from one location. We must understand
the importance of protecting our information
online to keep life running as smoothly as
possible.

4.  Privacy is mainly defined as a human value
consisting of 4 rights: solitude, anonymity,
intimacy and reserve (Stamatellos 2007 pg.26)

5.  SSN
 Bank account Numbers
 Credit Card Numbers
 Personal Health Information
These are all examples of personal data worth
protecting!

6.  The biggest issue involved with
not protecting your personal
data is Identity Theft.

7.  This is where unauthorized individuals use
another person’s name to receive credit
cards, driver’s licenses and various other items
in their victim’s name (Buetens 2002 )
 They can also sell this information on the
stolen identity black market to the highest
bidder!

8. “I have personally felt the sting of identity theft. It was a
few years ago. I believe I had done a sales transaction on
an unsecure website. A few days later, I logged into my
bank account to find various charges from various online
stores. I was devastated, and I had to go through a long
stressful process to stop it. I couldn’t use my bank account
for weeks. This was especially rough since all my money
was in one location. Identity theft can be heart wrenching,
and we should do everything we can to prevent it from
happening to ourselves.”

10.  There can be some serious implications to
not protecting your persona data online but
there is no reason to live in fear
 Use the Following steps to protect yourself
online and in the virtual universe:

11.  Make sure your passwords are at least eight
characters in length (Kissell 2009)
 You can actually get the best protection from a
password that is at least 11 characters in length

12.  Mix & Match -People often like to use names,
places, dates and other familiar things
associated with them. This can be too easy to
guess, but you can make your password
stronger by combining 2 into one. For instance,
you can could use your dog’s name and the
date you graduated together for a super strong
password (Kissell 2009)

13.  There are many social websites
(Facebook,Twitter,Pinterest) that allow you to
create public profiles and add personal
information like your date of birth.
 Be fully aware of what you display to the world.
Identity thieves can take little bits of personal
information displayed here to eventually
access greater personal information later.

14.  I often receive many emails telling me that I
have a package or I need to check my bank
account .Then will ask me to click a link in the
email.
 Never do this! It is often best to go directly to
the website by typing in the web address, if
you are familiar with the website such as your
bank and log in there.

15.  Make sure you are in a secure section of the
website
 The “http://” should change to a “https://”
 The extra “s” stands for secure
 In addition, a lock or key should be represented
on the lower corner of the webpage (Buetens
2002)

16. These simple tips will help
protect your personal data
and privacy online.

17. The internet can be wonderful place
for information, growth, and
socialization. You just need to take the
proper steps to protect yourself along
the way.
Happy Surfing!

18.  Was the content relevant and easily
understood?
 Was the presentation appropriate to your level?
 Would you be able or willing to apply the
preventative approach suggested in the
presentation?
 What improvements would you suggest be
made to the presentation?

19. Stamatellos, G. (2007) Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective. United
States: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
Kissell, J. (2009). Top Password Tips. Macworld, 26(9), 64-68.
Buetens, B. (2002). Identity Theft: How It
Can Destroy Your Life and How to Guard Against It. Biography, 6(9),
58.