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Cyber Hygiene For Students: 6 Interesting Methods You Can Follow

With advancements in technology, there is a rapid transition from offline to online. Almost all of our daily activities are dependent on the cyber world now. This growth is excellent in terms of advancement, but due to increasing users and activities worldwide, security online is a concern for all. 

Protecting yourself and your data is a challenge for all individuals from all age groups, but students are the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The reason behind this is simply a need for more knowledge and experience. Students are more susceptible to getting deceived as they are gullible. But here are a few ways all students can ensure their safety online without compromising their fun. Read ahead to know more.

What Is Cyber Hygiene?

Cyber Hygiene is just like our personal hygiene but on a cyber level. It is the practice used to protect devices, data, and individuals from malicious users or software. It is a daily routine that individuals practice to safeguard their system and identity online. 

We look after our bodies by practicing hygiene to fight germs and prevent illnesses. Similarly, cyber hygiene is a set of rules that an individual must practice daily to keep oneself safe and away from cyber-attacks and stay happy and healthy online. 

How To Stay Cyber Hygienic?

Practicing cyber hygiene might sound like a lot to do with our already packed schedules, but it is easy if you understand it well and practice it consistently. Here are a few simple methods you can practice to stay cyber-hygienic:

Unique is the new safe: Keep unique passwords for different social media platforms. Keeping the same password for all the platforms might put you at risk of getting all your accounts hacked, as on receiving the credentials for one, the hacker might end up getting access to all other accounts you own.

Complicate it: Simpler your password is, the easier it becomes for a hacker to guess your password. So, make it a point to complicate your passwords. To prevent malicious users from guessing it. 

Limit it: We never know what intentions a particular user has online. Limiting your friends or connections helps to prevent getting in contact with harmful people. So, make it a point to have only genuine friends online. 

Set up your walls: Over-sharing your personal and sensitive information online can make you more likely to cyber-attacks. Sharing filtered and limited content online is the key to staying safe.

Sharing is not caring: Sharing your passwords with anyone is unsafe. Share your passwords only with the people you trust i.e. family or friends. 

Back it up: Storing all of your data on one source is not a good idea. Having other platforms to store data is important as it protects your data if it gets breached on one source. 

Conclusion

Cyber hygiene is a set of rules and practices done to safeguard individuals online. The cyber world is full of strangers whose intentions are unknown. It is essential to follow a proper cyber hygiene regime to save ourselves from people with malicious intentions. Including simple measures in our routine like setting different passwords, keeping the passwords difficult to guess, not sharing too much personal information online, having only genuine friends online, and backing up our data can help prevent cyber-attacks and ensure our safety online.