Page 134 - digitalliteracy

Summary & Resources

Summary & Resources

Module Summary

Computer technology and the Internet offer tremendous benefits in your personal and pro-
fessional lives. With only a few keystrokes, you can shop online, pay your bills, make restau-
rant reservations, or chat with friends. You can work from home, earn a degree without ever
setting foot on a college campus, and have entire libraries of information at your fingertips.
But these benefits also come with some risks. Fortunately, by understanding how online tech-
nology works and taking some simple precautions, you can enjoy the benefits without worry-
ing about your personal safety or the safety of the information you create and store on your
digital devices.

One of the best ways you can protect yourself is to remember that the data and information
you create could be permanent, and it may be retrieved from your digital devices years after it
was created. Whenever you go online, you leave an electronic trail of where you have been—
a digital footprint that enables others to retrace the steps you took and learn a great deal of
information about you. This trail is created by the unique IP address of your computer, the IP
addresses of websites you visit, and small text files called browser cookies that record addi-
tional personal information about you.

It pays to be cautious when you receive messages, via e-mail or social media websites, from
people you do not know. You should avoid responding to these messages or clicking on attach-
ments or links in the messages unless you know they are safe. Dating websites, classified
advertising sites, media-sharing sites, gaming sites, and pornographic sites require extra cau-
tion to make sure you protect your personal identity and privacy.

You must also make sure to protect your digital equipment from unwanted intrusions and
threats such as malware/spyware, computer viruses, computer worms, and phishing schemes
by installing security software and updating it regularly. With these few cautions in mind and
these few protections in place, you can rest easily and feel free to explore the vast resources
available to you in this exciting digital age.

Critical-Thinking Questions

1. What are the most important benefits electronic technology has provided in your
life?
2. What do you like most about online tracking, and what is the most annoying or both-
ersome aspect of this type of tracking?
3. Have you used any classified advertising websites to buy or sell merchandise? What
do you think of such websites, and how well did they work for you?

118
© 2016 Bridgepoint Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Not for resale or redistribution.

sol82612_06_m06_097-120.indd 118 6/29/16 5:14 PM