Since I have been in this course I have paid a lot more attention to keeping my personal information secure while using the internet. Unfortunately, I am not computer savvy whatsoever, so my “computer security” methods are mainly based on advice from friends, the university, or general security practices. I use the anti-virus software which I downloaded from the ITU website here at the university. I can say that the software is installed on my computer, but I don’t actually know how or if it is working.
To be honest, I am fairly old school compared to my peers: I like talking on the phone rather than texting and I would much rather go for a walk than check out the pictures recently updated by a friend on Face book. So, when it comes to trusting my computer with my personal information I try to avoid it as much as possible. The passwords I use to access my email accounts and online shopping cites are complicated and I constant change them. When I get e-mails from people that I don’t recognize I delete them immediately. I don’t download media from websites because I am terrified that a virus from the download will destroy my computer. I know a lot of people that use online banking to keep track of their finances; I don’t, I would much rather drive to the bank and check on my account there. My method of computer security is based more on keeping my information as personal as possible rather than securing my information. This may not be the smartest way to keep my computer and my information secure, but I don’t think my computer skills will drastically improve in the near future, so I guess I will just have to make a friend that is computer savvy, and have them teach how me to make my computer a secure system.
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