Lesson 4.5: Privacy & Passwords



On this page, you will learn more digital privacy and how you can protect your privacy with strong passwords.

 

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Your digital privacy

Personal information is information about you. It can be your name, address, phone number. It can also be the place you go to school, the things you buy when you're shopping, the web sites you visit, or the songs you download.

Every day, you give out personal information ? whether you use a debit card to buy something, send an e-mail, participate in an online chat or use a key-card to enter a gym. But have you ever thought about who you are giving your personal information to and what they will use it for?

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Youth Privacy, 2012

Do you use Twitter?

Twitter is a lot of fun, and a great tool for connecting and learning. However, it's important to think about what you're putting out there in terms of your reputation and your privacy.

Socialbakers tells us tenthings we should never do on twitter. What do you think they are? Read and find out.

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Maintaining your privacy online


CBC Marketplace provides some interesting tips and insights on how to protect your privacy on your mobile smart phone.







Key video messages

What were some of the key messages from the video?


  • Check your social networks to make sure your personal information, especially your contact information, is not available to everyone.
  • Beware of letting strangers know about your location through Facebook and Twitter.
  • Only provide personal information for shopping, etc. on secure https websites with a green lock.
  • If you're new to a website that's asking for money, research the site to find out if it's a scam.
  • To find out more information and links to software that can verify websites for you, visit Trend Micro's blog.

Passwords

Do you know what some of the most popular (and most hacked) passwords are? Do a quick brainstorm and then open the tab below to compare.

Top 10 passwords from the 2012 Yahoo hack

  1. 123456
  2. password
  3. welcome
  4. ninja
  5. abc123
  6. 123456789
  7. 12345678
  8. sunshine
  9. qwerty

Top 10 hacked LinkedIn passwords in 2012

  1. link
  2. 1234
  3. god
  4. job
  5. 12345
  6. angel
  7. the
  8. ilove
  9. sex

Strong Passwords

Do you know what makes a strong password? Consider what you think should be a list of requirements and then open the tab below to read what others have to say.
  • Use letters and numbers.
  • Use a minimum of eight characters.
  • Don't contain any personal information.
  • Use characters like brackets, &, or %.
  • Use a mixture of capitals and lower case letters.
  • Use a sentence or a line from a song instead of just one word.
  • Use only the first letters of that sentence.
  • Use different languages.
  • Make sure you can remember it.
  • For a laugh and some more good advice, read IT Security Consultant Mark Burnett's 6 New Password Rules.

Perfect Passwords, Digizen.org, 2012

Your turn


  1. Take a few minutes to ensure that all of your passwords are robust.
  2. Add security features where necessary. For example, make sure that your phone, laptop and other devices are password protected.
  3. Go to the Youtube regularly and check for new information on protecting yourself in the online world.