Cameron Call Shares Cybersecurity Tips For Students On Fox 5 Las Vegas
Cyber predators are more active than ever now that students are online all day while studying from home. Network Security Associates’ Cameron Call recently appeared on Fox 5 Las Vegas to provide some expert insight.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced students to stay home and learn online, their “screen-time” has skyrocketed. This has put them at a higher risk of being targeted by or interacting with cyber predators online, which is why cybersecurity best practices are more important than ever.
Student cybersecurity was the topic of a recent feature on Fox 5 Las Vegas and included our very own Cameron Call, who offered key tips to help keep students safe:
Best Practices To Keep Students Safe Online
Whether you have children, grandkids, or nieces and nephews, you’re in the best position to make decisions about what is appropriate for children and to talk to them about online safety. Kids may know the technology better than you do, but you have the wisdom to show them how to make smart choices and to help them use it safely.
- Watch For Red Flags: There are certain types of behavior children and their supervisors should keep an eye out for:
- Be suspicious of users that are overly flattering
- Don’t engage in overly personal conversations with strangers online
- Watch Out For Scam Emails: Share these key tips with your family to make sure they know how to spot a phishing attempt:
- Incorrect Domain: Before even taking a look at the body of the message, check out the domain in the sender’s address. It’s difficult to spoof an actual domain name, and so it’s more common to see domains that are closer, but not 100% correct. If it seems fishy, it probably is.
- Suspicious Links: Always be sure to hover your mouse over a link in an email before clicking it. That allows you to see where it actually leads. While it may look harmless, the actual URL may show otherwise, so always look, and rarely click.
- Spelling and Grammar: Modern cybersecurity awareness comes down to paying attention to the details. When reading a suspicious email, keep an eye out for any typos or glaring errors.
- Specificity: Another point to consider is how vague the email is. Whereas legitimate senders will likely have your information already (such as your first name) and will use it in the salutation, scammers will often employ vaguer terminology, such as “Valued Customer” – this allows them to use the same email for multiple targets in a mass attack.
- Urgent and Threatening: If the subject line makes it sound like an emergency — “Your account has been suspended”, or “You’re being hacked” — that’s another red flag. It’s in the scammer’s interest to make you panic and move quickly, which might lead to you overlooking other indicators that it’s a phishing email. ]
- Attachments: Phishers will often try to get you to open an attachment, so, if you see an attachment in combination with any of the above indicators, it’s only more proof that the email is likely part of a phishing attempt.
- Set Clear And Age-appropriate Rules For Internet Use: Make online safety a family effort, a mix of guidance and monitoring.
- Negotiate clear guidelines for using the web and online games that fit your kid’s maturity and your family’s values. Discuss what sites are appropriate, what information can and can’t be shared, and the boundaries for communicating with others through gaming, IM, mobile phones, and on social sites.
- For the younger ones, keep the gaming consoles and computers (especially those with webcams) in a central location at home and restrict access to websites with offensive content.
- Teach kids to keep personal information private. Help all kids choose email addresses and account names that are not suggestive. Teach them how to create strong passwords and not to share them with anyone but you.
- Teach kids safe and responsible computer use, and to be careful about accepting new friends and not to open attachments or click links with so-called “free offers.”
- Keep Communication Open: Have regular discussions with kids about their online activities—who their friends are, the games they play, and the sites they visit. This is also a great way to stay involved in their lives and learn about their interests.
- If there’s a problem, teach kids to trust their instincts. Ask them to come to you and you’ll do what you can to help solve it. It’s important to make sure kids know that you won’t punish them or take away their privileges or devices if they come to you.
- Use family safety software as appropriate and set specifically for each child to help minimize the safety risks. For example, Microsoft has built family safety controls into all home editions of Windows Vista® and Windows 7.
- Using the Parental Controls panel, you can:
- Create separate accounts for each family member.
- Specify which websites kids can visit and which programs they can use.
- Get detailed activity reports to look for potentially inappropriate sites the child might be visiting.
- Limit access to PC software games based on title, content, or rating.
Investing a little time and effort in best practices for online security now will help you and your loved ones avoid a number of risks and pitfalls in the future. Whether it’s just for yourself, or for your family and friends, staying safe online can save you a lot of stress and trouble.