Last updated on November 19, 2020
Welcome to Civics Online, I want to introduce you to basic resources for protecting yourself online. We will discuss the crossover in protecting your digital identity and information and recognizing good sources and factual information.
The basics of digital security:
- Choose a quality (long) password or passphrase and do not reuse passwords
- Use a Password Manager to help you keep unique passwords
- Use multifactor authentication (MFA, 2FA) with your accounts – you should need a code or text message to verify your identity and log in
- Keep your machine up to date, turn on automatic updating when you first buy a phone, tablet or computer
- Do not rush. If an email or website conveys a sense of urgency, stop and THINK before you click.
Helpful Resources:
- Infodemic.blog has a great, quick method for fact checking: https://infodemic.blog/
- CRAAP Test from Benedictine University: https://researchguides.ben.edu/source-evaluation
- Snopes.com for fact and source checking: https://www.snopes.com
- Political fact checking: https://www.politifact.com/
- The Annenberg Public Policy Center Fact checking: https://www.factcheck.org/
- Recognizing Online Scams and Phishing from FTC: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
- Latest Scams and Threats:
- Adfontes Media Media Bias Chart: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart-2/
- AllSides Media Bias Chart: https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart
- Resources for teaching students news literacy: https://get.checkology.org/
I hope you find this information helpful. Reach out if you have any questions, or would like to see us address a specific topic.
