Students can protect themselves and their technology by learning how to install virus protection software, executing firewalls and making backups. (Ribble and Bailey, 2007) Students also need to learn to protect user names and passwords either by memorizing them or writing them in a safe place that no one has access to. Teachers and parents need to make students aware of the importance of protecting personal information, such as date of birth, social security number, user names, passwords, etc. It is never okay to give out their user name and password. If they suspect their information has been compromised they need to change it immediately. Stolen user names and passwords can be used to access a person's account to send threatening emails without risk of getting caught. According to Ribble and Bailey, "protecting our identity and personal information using anti-virus software is the same thing as using locks to protect our families and possessions." (2007)
Some effects of compromised information could be: identity theft, loss of saved information/files, access to personal email, etc. Students also need to be made aware of meeting unsavory characters on the Internet, not everyone is who they say they are. There are predators out there who use the Internet to prey on innocent and naive victims.
Some other guidelines for students to follow would be to use care when reading emails with attachments, use strong passwords and be careful when downloading and installing programs. (Referenced from http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/)
All in all, "digital security goes beyond protecting equipment. It includes protecting ourselves and others from outside influences that might cause harm." (Ribble and Bailey, 2007)
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