Simple tips to be safer in the digital world 


 

After yet more revelations that your personal data may not be treated with strict confidentiality in the online world, we look at a few simple ways you can inform yourself – and stay safer – on the digital platform.

Learn to spot – and dodge – dynamic pricing

In 2016, Keith Chen, head of economic research at Uber, admitted that customers were more willing to pay "surge pricing" – where Uber increases the cost during the busiest times – if their phones are low on battery power. Likewise, Orbitz – the online travel company – made headlines in 2012 when it was discovered that they were pointing Mac users to higher-priced hotel rooms than PC users. Before making a big purchase, consider checking the price on another device, or using a browser that allows you to go incognito.

Disable your AirDrop in public places

iPhone users beware. In August 2017, the New York Post ran a feature on the unpleasant trend of women being sent unwanted explicit photos via AirDrop when on the subway. Ensure your settings are limited to contacts-only when you're in public.

Take care with 'smart' devices

Internet-enabled appliances – there are thousands available, from televisions to toasters – sound great but may have poorly-implemented security, as an October 2016 hack demonstrated. Major sites like Twitter and PayPal were hit by an attack that had its origin in a botnet, malicious software which had been planted by hackers on household appliances.

Exercise your right to your data

See what Facebook and Google have on you: They both offer you the chance to download the data they hold on your acｃount (you can get the Google data by using the Google Takeout tool). It won't keep you safe but it will give you a wake-up call on exactly how detailed your digital footprint is.

Consider a spare email address

Think of it as an anonymous postbox: If you just can't live without being on dozens of email lists, at least this way you can keep your own name off the databases. And while we're on the subject...

Use a decent password

Even now, in 2018, "12345" and "password" are still, by far, the most popular passwords. A simple rule of thumb: The longer the password the more secure it is. Do yourself a favor and figure out something memorable but untraceable.

Check if you've been compromised

We've lost ｃount of the major data breaches over the past decade. There are sites that will allow you to see if your email address has been compromised in a breach: Simply enter your email address to find out. It's worth checking regularly. If you're not secure, change your password immediately.

Keep the algorithms guessing

Yes, it's tempting to just let the next Youtube video auto play instead of clicking. But is it really so hard to click on something and be a little more unpredictable?

Be more mindful

Remember that, when you're online, someone's always watching. Just being conscious of this is a good habit to get into. Avoid public sharing, allowing apps access to your address book and all the other ways we carelessly let our lives (and our friends') open up to intrusion. The world will only grow more digitally connected, we should all be more aware of our privacy. ​

Secure your old acｃounts

You may have left digital detritus behind you – an old email acｃount here, a social network acｃount there. But even if you don't use them any more, they're still active and may contain plenty of data about you. Consider deleting them or, if you can't bear to do that, ｕpdate your password and turn on two-step verification.

Article Source: http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/technology/simple-tips-to-be-safer-in-the-digital-world/ss-AAvpJjx?li=BBr8zL5
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VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Dodge (v.) ~ avoid (someone or something) by a sudden quick movement
2. Surge (v.) ~ a sudden powerful forward or upward movement, especially by a crowd or by a natural force such as the waves or tide
3. Malicious (adj.) ~ characterized by malice intending or intended to do harm
4. Explicit (adj.) ~ describing or representing sexual activity in a graphic fashion
5. Compromised (v.) ~ weaken (a reputation or principle) by accepting standards that are lower than is desirable
6. Detritus (n.) ~ waste or debris of any kind

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Do you always use incognito mode when you are online? Why do you think it would be a better option?
2. How do you protect your various online acｃounts?
3. Why is it not good to be predictable online? Discuss your answer.