Staying safe and legal while on the Internet is an important responsibility for all internet users. We offer some tips and tricks for keeping yourself safe and your identity protected while on the Internet, as well as steps for recovering from a compromised account or online identity. For an easily printable .PDF version, please see the bottom of the post.
Email Communication & Your Bryn Mawr College Account
Bryn Mawr College provides students with an email account which will be used by professors and College offices for communica-tion. In order to make sure you receive important emails:
- Check and respond to your email regularly.
- If you prefer to use another account, you are responsible for forwarding your email and configuring your outside account to accommodate your Bryn Mawr College email. If you choose to use an outside email account, Bryn Mawr cannot guarantee delivery of emails.
- Communicate with/respond to faculty and College offices by the method they request. If no specific method of communica-tion is requested, respond the way they contacted you. Email is not always the appropriate choice.
- Once an email is sent, it cannot be recalled, and it can be forwarded to others. Think before you send.
- Keep your password to yourself, and be suspicious of emails, outside sites, or people who ask for it.
Many different people around campus prefer to communicate electronically. However, all electronic communications are not the same. Be courteous in communications with faculty, staff, research partners, etc. Avoid use of Internet speak. Follow the guide-lines found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/01/.
Protecting Your Privacy and Identity
The Internet is full of great tools and endless entertainment. There are also a lot of pitfalls, including scam emails, sites that can steal your personal information, viruses, malware, etc. It is even possible to put your physical safety at risk by putting too much of your personal information on the internet. To keep yourself safe, here are some resources for protecting your identity with smart computing:
- http://techdocs.blogs.brynmawr.edu/335—Password Safety
- http://techdocs.blogs.brynmawr.edu/2499—Email Spam & Phishing
- http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/antivirusantispyware —Virus, Spyware, Hacking, Scams, and Identity Theft
- http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/feature-0014-identity-theft—Identity Theft
- http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/avoid-scams—Avoiding Scams Online
- https://www.stopthinkconnect.org/—Tips and Advice for Good Online Safety Habits
Remember that once something is posted publically, sent in an email, or entered on a web site or web service, it may be cached or stored by others. Deleting something from a web site does not mean the data is deleted.
Staying Legal – Copyright, File Sharing, and the DMCA
Different countries have vastly different laws about Internet use and copyright infringement. It is common for students to believe that some behaviors are legal, and are later surprised to find they aren’t. Here are some resources about staying legal and steer-ing clear of violations:
- http://www.brynmawr.edu/computing/policies/DMCAPolicy.htm—Bryn Mawr College DMCA Policy
- http://www.brynmawr.edu/computing/policies/AcceptableUse.htm—Bryn Mawr College Acceptable Use Policy
- http://it-training.missouri.edu/ITJungle/Quiz/Quiz.html—Finding Your Way Through the IT Jungle Quiz
- http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/downloadingfiles—File Sharing and P2P