Stock your ‘Digital Survival Kit’ at upcoming seminar in Mills Library
The free Digital Survival Kit event will take place Tuesday, March 31 in Mills Memorial Library. Registration is not required, but is recommended. All members of the McMaster community are welcome to attend.
Do I really need to enter my phone number on this website? Why am I receiving emails from this strange company? Can I trust this person with my credit card information?
If these questions sound familiar, it may be time for a crash-course in basic Internet safety and responsible browsing.
Thankfully, graduate students in assistant professor Christine Quail’s Media and Social Issues seminar have organized a free workshop on the importance of privacy and what you can do to stay safe online.
Billed as a Digital Survival Kit, the event will focus on two key topics — learning about online privacy and how to protect yourself from threats and vulnerabilities; as well as the pitfalls of engaging online “trolls” and how to combat cyberbullying.
The event will take place March 31 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Mills Memorial Library (Room L107, Wong e-classroom). Registration is not mandatory, but is recommended.
Maria Trivino, a graduate student in Quail’s seminar, has offered five key tips on how to be a responsible Internet user:
Be respectful:
If you witness malicious attacks or a breach of someone’s privacy, report it. By sharing offensive content online, you are contributing to cyber harassment.
Don’t be afraid to participate:
Getting involved in an online environment can be an enjoyable experience, and healthy participation can benefit the community as a whole. You have the ability to foster accessible online communities.
Don’t be a bystander:
Lurking online can contribute to cyber harassment. Many users choose to observe offensive content rather than intervening. Lurkers actually have a significant amount of power to intervene during instances of cyberbullying.
Protect your information:
Incognito browsing is a helpful way to ensure that your information won’t be shared with advertisers. Other ways maintain privacy online is by using encryption, proxies and virtual private networks (VPNs).
Take precaution against viruses:
There are numerous strategies to counter online viruses and malware, many of which are free. Be conscious of suspicious content sent to you by hacked accounts disguised as someone you know.
