Privacy

You might think that entering and storing personal data for easier access to online sites is convenient, but generally speaking, it's not a great idea. Breach after breach proves as much. Many sites require entering an email address to register or gain access to full features, but it can also be fodder for spam. If you are visiting a site that doesn’t seem credible or trustworthy but requires entering your email, consider creating a disposable email address.

Whether you make it an end of the year or a New Year’s resolution, backing up your data is always a good idea. Ransomware -- malicious software that hackers have used to scramble your data until you pay a ransom -- is a common scourge these days. Stay one step ahead of cybercriminals by regularly backing up your data. Wirecutter has a great guide on cloud back ups and hardware backups here.

Marriott has reported that they will begin alerting the 500 million customers believed to have been affected by a breach of its Starwood hotels database. If you stayed at a Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, Four Points, Aloft, Le Méridien, Tribute, Design Hotels, Elements or Luxury Collection hotel in the last four years, you may have been affected. So how should you be protecting your information online?

• Passwords – Regardless of what company is involved in a breach, it’s always a safe bet to change passwords for sites that contain sensitive information like financial, health or credit card data. Do not use the same password across multiple sites, and do not use your Social Security number as a username or a password. Think about using a password manager. Wirecutter, a New York Times company, provides a helpful explanation of why password managers are so essential. They also maintain an updated guide to what it considers to be the best password managers.
• Don’t Click - Attacks are often spread through malicious email attachments and links — a practice known as phishing. So make a rule of not clicking on anything when you do not know where it will take you, even if it appears to come from someone you know.
• Be Vigilant with Your Credit Card- Never allow a retailer or merchant to store your credit card information unnecessarily. If it is offered, use PayPal or Apple Pay for online transactions. Both are safer than most online payment methods.

Adweek shares that only a quarter of college and university admissions officers visited the social media sites of prospective students this year, down from 40% in 2015, according to a survey from Kaplan Test Prep. More than half of officers told researchers they don't bother to check social media because more students are using sites such as Snapchat where content is posted only for a limited time and therefore make it impossible for admissions officers to search through past posts. Notably though, students agree that social media searches are acceptable: a separate Kaplan survey of over 900 high school students finds that 70 percent consider social media profiles “fair game” for admissions officers evaluating applicants — an increase from 58 percent in 2014.

In 2014, Apple unveiled AirDrop for iPhone and iPad, a feature that lets you quickly share files wirelessly with other iPhone users near you. It wasn’t long after its release that reports began popping up of people using the feature to send strangers crude photos. Lately it has become a frequent issue on the NY Subway system and other places where people are stuck in close quarters. If you are concerned, you can turn AirDrop off or make your phone available only to those on your contacts list. Here’s How to Turn off AirDrop. If your children have their own iPhone or iPad, it is something to consider doing for their device.

According to The Hill, Apple CEO Tim Cook says he believes regulations in the tech industry are inevitable, after previously stating his support for stricter laws in October. "I'm a big believer in the free market, but we have to admit when the free market is not working. And it hasn't worked here," Cook said. In October Apple began allowing customers to download copies of all the data it holds on them.  Want to find out what data Apple is keeping on you and how to delete it or manage it? Try this article on the Cnet site as a guide.

Let’s say your child wants to use a technology tool for a homework project but the program or app is not approved by your school district. Where do you start in helping them get permission? Usually, as long as the technology is being used strictly outside the classroom and your child has their parents permission, there is no issue. But in this day and age of concern about data privacy, if your child suggests a tool that might good for the whole class to use, it is important for you to know about how schools think about these kinds of issues. The Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy on the Connect Safely site can give you the kind of insight on issues and concerns that might come up especially if you encounter a teacher who is less than excited about the use of technology in the classroom.

As reported by Quartz, some schools are tracking, word for word, anything an individual student types on a school computer using safety management platforms (SMPs), such as Gaggle, Securly, and GoGuardian. These platforms use natural language to scan each document looking for words or phrases that might indicate bullying, violent or self-harm behavior, sending flagged documents to a team of humans to review. The practice, however, is raising questions about how to balance school safety and students' privacy. Critics say that this kind of surveillance, even if students understand this kind of scrutiny is in place, normalizes a “Big Brother” state depriving students of the chance to control their own data. How is your school handling this issue?

Response has been mixed to a Florida school district's plan to sell ad space in emails that go to students, parents and teachers. The school board approved the program, aimed at raising funds for student travel, but some teachers were not happy to learn that school emails would be used for solicitation purposes. How would you feel if your district instituted such a policy?

Getting parental input in creating a social media policy will allow schools to support the proper use of social networks and guard against potential privacy violations, writes Common Sense Media's Jeff Knutson in a commentary in T.H.E. Journal. Knutson outlines important things to include when drafting such a policy, such as parent opt-out forms and establishing teacher and student guidelines for protecting and respecting student privacy.