INTRODUCTION

To begin with, the internet is a very wide space and if one is not careful you can loose more than you gain. One needs to be internet savvy to ensure safety while using it. These skills I have just learnt thanks to ADA PROJECT. On the 8th of September, we were taught by Ihuoma Agbaru Favour how to be safe while using the internet. It was a very interesting session and I learnt a lot!

OVERVIEW

1---

The main purpose of being safe on the internet is to avoid the damage of our digital gadgets and protect ourselves from malicious online activities. For example, most people use the same passwords throughout believing they wouldn't forget. If anyone gets a hold of it, that means they automatically have access to all the accounts that have that same password. This is not smart at all as it's like you are intentionally digging your own grave. Now I know how to make authentic passwords by adding alphanumeric and other symbols; this makes the password stronger and harder to breach. Of course it will have to be something I can easily remember and I could just keep alternating the numbers and symbols in my other accounts. Also after making passwords, one should enable Two-Factor Authentication so as to avoid just anybody from being able to change your passwords and all.

2---

Another step one should take to ensure safety is to be very careful when clicking links. Not all links are authentic, one should be very careful and verify before clicking because just one small mistake could cause a lot of damage. I learnt that some links have just HTTP and not HTTPS. For links that don't have the S (SECURE SOCKET LAYERS) it means they don't have that extra layer security so one should be aware that information could get loose or be stolen easily. In the end, it all comes down to not clicking any link that looks suspicious except it is verified.

3---

There are some general skills one should also possess while surfing the internet. One is being able to identify online scams; very important as people have lost a lot of money due to this. Some scams are very unrealistic so it should be easy to identify but some scammers are also unfortunately good in what they do so one needs to make their own personal research as well before sending out information. Another skill is to be able to identify PHISHING attacks. Phishing is the fraudulent activity of sending mails pretending to be from reputable companies in order to trick individuals to reveal personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers. To avoid being a victim, one should not just open any email except they are aware of who the sender is as it may have embedded Trojan attachment i.e Virus or ad which will enable the hacker to collect sensitive data. So we have to ensure we only open trusted emails and also have ad blockers which will at least minimize the exposure of one's device to danger.

4---

Furthermore, to make our systems safe from malware we should make sure it is updated regularly, we should also have an antivirus software and a pop-up blocker. To avoid loosing important data I have learnt these simple measures should be taken, we shouldn't even take the slightest detail for granted.

CONCLUSION

As a final point, one should never share passwords. Once there is an open source, there will be several! So password sharing should not be entertained and passwords should be changed regularly as it should not be something permanent. This will ensure maximum safety on emails and other accounts. I have learnt a lot and I am more internet conscious. I now know the right decisions to make and how to protect both myself and my gadget from malicious activities. Thank You once again ADA PROJECT, I am really happy and honored to be a part of the program. I am learning a lot! THE #ADAPROJECT TAKING ME TO GREAT HEIGHTS . REGISTER TODAY! YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOOZE!