Best Practices
Online Safety
Common Threats
100

The practice of using different and complex combinations for online accounts

What is strong password management?

100

 A hardware or software system that acts as a barrier between a private network and the outside world.

What is a firewall?

100

This type of malicious software replicates itself and spreads to other computer systems.

What is a virus?

200

Downloading apps only from these official sources can help protect your device.

What are app stores?

200

Laws enacted to criminalize activities like hacking, data theft, and online fraud.

What are cybercrime laws?

200

This type of attack involves impersonating a legitimate entity to steal sensitive information.

What is phishing?

300

Regularly creating these allows you to restore your system after a cyberattack.

What are backups?

300

This  computer setting, often ignored on social media platforms, controls who can see your posts and personal info — adjusting it can greatly reduce your risk of stalking or identity theft.

What are privacy settings?

300

The unauthorized access and disclosure of sensitive or confidential information.

What is a data breach?

400

It's recommended to update these regularly, not just when something breaks — doing so patches security vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

What are software and app updates?

400

When logging into your student portal, enabling this security feature, which requires a second form of verification beyond just your password, can prevent unauthorized access — even if your password is stolen.

What is two-factor authentication (2FA)?

400

The act of intentionally damaging or disrupting computer systems or networks.

What is cyber sabotage?

500

Instead of clicking “Login with Google” or “Login with Facebook” on third-party sites, creating a unique account helps reduce this risk, where a single compromised account can affect many others.

What is account linking or single point of failure?

500

You should always log out of your accounts when using one of these shared machines on campus.

What is a public or shared computer?

500

This type of malware records a user's keystrokes without their knowledge.

What is a keylogger?