Grade 10 Unit 7, Reading II Cyber Security: Basic Internet Safety Tips Exercises

Reading II

Answer these questions.

a. What do the following pictures show?

 

b. What precautions should we take while using the internet?

 

Cyber Security: Basic Internet Safety Tips

When you want to make your home secure, you lock the door. When you want to prevent your bike from being stolen, you use a bike lock. When you want to protect your valuable possessions, you keep them in a safe. But what do you do to protect your identity online?

 

Modern life is fundamentally intertwined with the internet. Nearly every daily task now has the opportunity for online integration, and almost everyone owns multiple devices, including laptops, phones, tablets, smartwatches, smart TVs and many more. The more accounts and devices you have online, the greater the potential is for criminals to access your personal information and take advantage of you.

 

Online safety is important no matter your age or life stage, but

there are particular concerns for certain vulnerable groups like

children, teenagers and senior citizens.

 

When it comes to internet safety, it's best to start with the basics. Here are some tips to guide you as you evaluate your online habits and make small changes to ensure your privacy and security on the internet.

A. Protect your Personal Information with Strong Passwords

While creating a new password, pay attention to strong password requirements. Use different user IDs or password combinations for different accounts. Make the password more complicated by combining letters, numbers, and special characters and create hard-to-guess passwords and keep them private. Change your passwords quite often. Don't share your passwords with other people. Make sure passwords and password hints are stored securely. Record passwords in an encrypted file on your computer, or select another secure password storage method. Avoid writing them down. Prevent "auto-login", uncheck "Keep me signed in" and "Remember my password" options.

 

B. Keep Personal Information Private

It's important to protect your personal information offline too because once sensitive information is stolen, it can be proliferated online. Remember tips like shielding the personal identification number (PIN) pad when you make purchases and learning how to spot a credit card skimmer at gas pumps. Using a chip debit card is another way to protect your financial information. The more sophisticated chip technology is just one reason why the chip card is more secure than the traditional magnetic strip debit card. When you sign up for something online, always read the terms and conditions. Never enter your financial information on a website that is not secure.

 

C. Make Sure Your Devices are Secure

Utilize passwords and other security options like fingerprint readers and face scanning technology. One report stated that 30% of smartphone users did not use passwords, screen locks or other security features to lock their phones. Secure all devices, including computers, phones, tablets and devices like smartwatches and smart TVs.

 

D. Pay Attention to Software Updates

Promptly install software updates, especially when they include important security upgrades. Set up automatic updates on your devices so you never miss one!

 

E. Be Careful About WIFI

Do not trust public wifi security. Avoid connecting to unsecured public wifi networks. Surf only through secure websites. Logout immediately after you have completed your online transaction. Read privacy and policy statements before any transaction. Check your account statement to ensure that authorised transaction has taken place. Make sure your own wifi networks are protected with strong passwords. Change your wifi password frequently with hard-to-guess characters.

 

F. Setup Two Factor Authentication

Enable two-factor authentication in order to prevent hackers from accessing your personal accounts and information. Add the extra layer of security to keep your accounts safe even if someone knows your password.

 

G. Keep Your Persoanl Data Safe

Do not reveal details about your online account. Be careful while communicating with people you have met online recently. Accept people's friend requests in social media only if you know them in person. Delete inappropriate messages from your profile. Do not post information about your friends as you put them at risk. Remember that what you post online is not necessarily private; it can be seen by everyone.

 

H. Back up Your Personal Data

Back up important personal information on external hard drives. Create new back-ups regularly.

By educating yourself about cyber security, you will put yourself one step ahead of the cyber criminals.

 

Glossary:

intertwined /ˌɪntəˈtwaɪnd/  to be or become very closely connected with something/somebody else

integration /ˌɪntɪˈɡreɪʃn/ the act or process of combining two or more things so that they work together

potential /pəˈtenʃl/ that can develop into something or be developed in the future

vulnerable /ˈvʌlnərəbl/ weak and easily hurt physically or emotionally

privacy /ˈprɪvəsi/ the state of being alone and not watched or interrupted by other people

complicated /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd/ made of many different things or parts that are connected; difficult to understand 

encrypted /ɪnˈkrɪpt/ to put information into a special code, especially in order to prevent people from looking at it without authority

proliferated /prəˈlɪfəreɪt/ to increase rapidly in number or amount

skimmer /skɪmmər/ a device used to unlawfully collect credit card information, typically installed on ATMs or payment terminals

sophisticated /səˈfɪstɪkeɪtɪd/ clever and complicated in the way that it works or is presented

terms and conditions /ˌtɜːmz ən kənˈdɪʃnz/ rules that you must agree to when you make a contract or an official agreement

transaction /trænˈzækʃn/ a piece of business that is done between people, especially an act of buying or selling

authorised /ˈɔːθəraɪzd/ having official permission or approval

authentication /ɔːˌθentɪˈkeɪʃn/ the act of proving that something is real, true or what somebody claims it is

hackers /ˈhækə(r)/ a person who uses computers to get access to data in somebody else's computer or phone system without permission

reveal /rɪˈviːl/ to make something known to somebody

 

A. Match the words given below with their meanings.

Answer:

a. possession - v. something that you own or have with you; belongingness

b. intertwined - viii. closely connected with somebody or something

c. integration - vii. the act of combining two or more things together

d. avoid - i. to prevent something bad from happening

e. sensitive - ii. quick to detect or respond to slight changes or signals

f. proliferated - ix. increased rapidly in number or amount

g. shielding - iv. protecting something from danger or harm

h. promptly - x. without any delay

i. authentication - vi. the act of proving that something is real or true

j. transaction - iii. an act of buying or selling; deal

 

B. State whether the following statements are true or false.

a. It is a good idea to use the same password in different accounts for safety purpose. False

b. The teenagers are more vulnerable than any other age groups regarding the internet safety. False

c.   It is not safe to let the computer remember our passwords. True

d. A cheap debit card is safer than the expensive one. False

e.  It is not safe to enable auto update of software in our devices. False

f.   We should never enter our financial details on websites. False

 

C. Read the following paragraph headings and write the correct paragraph name (A-H) against them.

Answer:

A. Protect your Personal Information with Strong Passwords

B. Keep Personal Information Private

C. Make Sure your Devices are Secure

D. Pay Attention to Software Updates

E. Be Careful about WiFi

F. Set up Two-factor Authentication

G. Keep your Personal Data Safe

H. Back up your Personal Data

 

D. Answer these questions.

a. How do we try to protect our physical property?

To protect our physical property, we lock doors, and store valuable possessions in secure locations such as safes.

 

b. What should we do to keep our passwords secret?

To keep our passwords secret we can adopt the following security methods:

i. create separate unique and complicaed passwords separately for different IDs,

ii. Change password time to time,

iii. Record our passwords in an encrypted file on computer instead of writing them down,

iv. Prevent "auto-login", uncheck "Keep me signed in" and "Remember my password" options.

 

c. Mention any two safety measures for shopping with debit cards.

Two safety measures for shopping with debit cards are:

i. Use a chip-enabled debit card instead of a traditional magnetic strip card,

ii. Never entering our financial information on a website that is not secure.

 

d. How can we secure our accounts even when someone finds our password?

We can secure our accounts even when someone finds our password by enabling two-factor authentication because it adds an extra layer of security.

 

e. Why do you think we should make online friends only to familiar people?

Making online friends only with familiar people is important to ensure safety of our personal information and to reduce the risk being a victim of any cyber attack.

 

g. What can we do to keep our online data safe?

To keep our online data safe, we can take several measures such as using strong and unique passwords, regularly updating software and devices, being cautious when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, avoiding sharing sensitive information online, using secure websites for transactions, and backing up important data on external hard drives.

 

E. Have you ever lost your personal data and information while using the internet? Share your experiences in the class.

Losing personal data and information while using the internet can happen through various means. As an avid internet user, once I had been victim of loss of my personal data and information of my YouTube channel Dreams Learning Zone. In the initial stage of my YouTube, my channel had been hacked without my knowledge. I made a huge effort to bring my channel back after a month. My channel had been recently monetized. I was very sad at that time. The hacker had accessed in my channel after I clicked on a comment that was in a hyperlink on one of my video. The hacker had uploaded prevented content in my channel as a result You Tube team had suspended my channel. I chatted with team YouTube on twitter and with the help of them I became able to bring my channel back. After that incident I have been handling my YouTube channel very seriously adopting all the safety measures of YouTube.