DON'T Play with Internet Safety

[soc_puppet]

Social Problems final was today, and this was my project: A short, chutes-and-ladders-style game about information security online.



Phew! I hope that's easy enough to read, but if not, you can click on it for a bigger version. A huge version, in fact. The version I took to be printed. Bad ideas include things like "Didn't blur an underage relative's face in a photo you shared", while good ideas include stuff like "Used separate email accounts for work and social life".

I was also able to take the time to discuss how some of the people behind KOSA are planning to weaponize the bill against queer people if it ever passes (may the sun never rise on such a day), and some of the stuff that's come up in dw_news comments, about how training kids to hand over photos of themselves to authority figures is maybe not the best idea, nor is deliberate marking of accounts held by underage individuals.

During the questions period after my presentation, one of my classmates brought up that a lot of this shit is very sex-negative and "Think of the Children!"-ish, which I fully agreed with; another classmate asked me for recommendations for organizations that were fighting the good fight, so of course I took the opportunity to plug Netchoice and Dreamwidth 😉 I also plugged Proton mail/VPN and Bitwarden for other privacy stuff, so hopefully my classmates (and teacher!) will be better armed to protect their privacy in the future 👍

Only one final paper left, and it's not due until early Friday afternoon. I think I'll probably try and get it written tomorrow, when I'm not working on laundry 😂

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Yes!

Tho I'd score "same password for everything" as "go back to start."

[soc_puppet]

😂 My mom said the same thing, but I'd already printed it at that point and wasn't going to shell out another $18. Still, I suppose I can still fix the digital version...

[nondenomifan]

My parents used to use their dog's name as their wifi password, and very obvious passwords for their accounts. When the bank made them change its password, they'd just add one of the same character. I tried to tell them they were asking to be hacked; I, of course, knew nothing. *rolls eyes* The guy who used to sell and repair computers for them would tell me in front of them that I worried too much about malware, etc. He was a big help.

Why couldn't they just be like Giles and resist computers like the plague? LOL

[nondenomifan]

What's wrong with using biometrics? I thought they were more secure. All my banks and the government sites have me use them to sign in as an extra security feature. My phone does, too.

Oh, and, we LGBTQIA+, as long as we lead with love, we shall overcome and be rewarded in the long run.

[soc_puppet]

In terms of privacy and security: Here in the US, while the police can't force you to tell them your passwords, they can hold your designated finger on the fingerprint scanner or hold the scanner up to your face and allow your devices to be unlocked that way. So it's more secure in some ways, but not if you don't want the police digging through your phone (etc). I'm not sure if it's the same overseas, or even in Canada/Mexico, but even if it isn't, I'm not inclined to change how my devices are set up if I go traveling.

From a more practical standpoint, I personally worry about injuries and the like. What happens if I injure my finger badly enough that I have to keep it wrapped up for a long period of time? What if my fingerprint gets a scar that cuts clean through it? Hell, on a much less painful level, what if I get a wart in exactly the wrong place that the scanner can no longer read my fingerprint? Though it hasn't happened to me in years, I've gotten warts on the edges of my thumbprint before, and I can't swear it won't happen again. And that's not getting into if anything bad happens to your face. Imagine you break your nose; if you have to wear bandages on it, will the scanner still recognize your face? I, for one, don't need the added stress of not being able to access my devices while I'm in pain!

The police one is why it's on the board, but the practicality one is also a concern I keep in mind.