Data Doctors: Cybersecurity tips for first-time college students
Q: What security tips do you have for a first-time college student who will be living on campus?
A: The transition from being a high school student to living on a college campus will expose your child to many new cybersecurity risks.
The overriding issue is that they will be fully responsible for managing their devices independently, so preparing them for the most common dangers is important.
Lost or stolen devices
Your child will be entering a high-risk environment that thieves target because all it takes is a device being left unattended for it to go missing.
Every device should have a lock code activated to prevent anyone else from gaining full access to it should it go missing.
If a thief gains access to an unlocked device, they can quickly take over all the associated online accounts, which will exponentially complicate recovery efforts.
Each device should also have some form of tracking activated (Find My, etc.), which is built-in to all the major operating systems.
It’s also vital that you and your child test the tracking system before they leave for school so you know it’s working, and your child will know what to do if it goes missing.
Laptops stolen out of dorm rooms is another common problem, so purchasing a laptop security lock is also recommended.
Basic cybersecurity steps
These basic steps aren’t just for college students as everyone should use them as a minimum baseline of protection.
Make sure you’re using long, unique passwords for each account, which means you’ll want to set up a password management tool of some sort.
Using long, but easy-to-remember passphrases instead of complicated passwords is a great way to create harder-to-crack devices.
Enable two-factor authentication on all online accounts, because it’s their last line of defense if someone steals a password.
A regular backup routine should be established (I prefer automatic online backup systems) so that critical schoolwork isn’t saved in one place.
Setting up a virtual private network (VPN) is another crucial step as they’ll be using many shared Wi-Fi connections both on and off campus and should get in the habit of always having it turned on.
Start clean
All devices need to be maintained to function at their best, so if you haven’t performed a thorough cleanup recently, do so soon.
This will ensure that everything is up to date, unnecessary items have been removed and there is adequate storage space for the entire school year.
If the computer is taking a long time to start or seems intermittently sluggish, these could be indications of software corruption or malware, and should be addressed before they head to campus.
Phishing tests
Everyone should be routinely testing themselves as a clever phishing scam is the most likely way to be compromised these days.
There are lots of free online quizzes from Google, the Federal Trade Commission, SonicWall, PhishingBox and OpenDNS.
Rigged charging cables and flash drives
Cyberthieves drop rigged charging cables and flash drives in high-traffic areas like college campuses, so make sure your student knows to never plug either into their devices if they find them lying on the ground or left on a desk.
Ken Colburn is founder and CEO of Data Doctors Computer Services. Ask any tech question on Facebook or X.