Preparing your devices for the new school year

Back to school is a great opportunity to refresh your wardrobe, grab some new supplies and make sure you’re all set for a successful learning experience during the semester. If your trusty laptop or tablet will be joining you for this upcoming school year, Get Cyber Safe has some tips and tricks to keep it in tip-top studying condition.

a person with a laptop and a background of books

Update your device

There are many reasons to update your device’s system and software! Not only will it help protect your device from the latest security issues, and cyber threats, but it will help your device run at its best. An updated and fast device is extremely helpful, especially when you’re trying to write your essay. It can be easy to forget, but it is worth taking the time to run any outstanding updates and turn on automatic updates. This way, you’ll never need to remember to run them again!

Do a digital clean-up

Our device’s storage gets packed with all sorts of old digital files and apps over time. Before the school year starts, do a digital clean-up of your devices. Go through your files and delete those you no longer need. You should also review your apps and delete any that you no longer use. While you’re at it, check the permissions for all the apps you plan to keep. If any of them have access to things they don’t need (other apps or sharing personal information), turn those permissions off.

For extra cyber security, run an anti-virus scan. The scan should catch any malware you might have on your device and can help remove it.

Make sure your device is properly secured

Your can determine if your passwords need changing by using a password manager. Choose a password manager that offers features to test how weak or strong your password is and whether a website you use has been compromised. Make sure you change the password for any accounts that have been breached. When creating new passwords, we recommend creating strong and unique passphrases made up of four or more random words and at least 15 characters or longer.

You should also ensure that multi-factor authentication (MFA) is turned on whenever it is available. Places to check for MFA are email and social media accounts, and any accounts that have your payment information (for example, online shopping websites). MFA offers an extra layer of protection to your accounts so even if someone steals your password, they won’t be able to access your account without your extra authentication factor.

Conclusion

Your device will get you through a bunch of lectures, late night study sessions and video calls this semester. Help it do that securely by using these tips to prep your device for the new school year! Do a digital clean-up of your files and apps and make sure your device is properly secured and performing at its best!

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