Student Cyber Security

When you start college, you’re taking on new responsibilities, making your own decisions, and becoming part of the campus community. You play an important role in UNC’s cyber security efforts that combines these elements of responsibility, decision-making, and community.
When you log on to the campus network (or any network), what you do online could impact not only your computer, but other students and the network as well. By combining up-to-date security tools with good judgment, you and your college community are much less likely to encounter a security violation, loss of data, or system problems.

THESE COMPUTING SAFETY TIPS WILL HELP YOU BE SAFE ONLINE!

• Keep a Clean Machine
  • Keep security software current: Having the latest security software, web browser, and operating system are the best defenses against viruses, malware, and other online threats.  Visit Ursa’s Student tab for free software available to you!
  • Automate software updates: Many software programs will automatically connect and update to defend against known risks. Turn on automatic updates if that’s an available option.
  • Protect all devices that connect to the Internet: Along with computers, smart phones, gaming systems, and other web-enabled devices also need protection from viruses and malware.
  • Plug & scan: “USBs” and other external devices can be infected by viruses and malware. Use your security software to scan them.
• Protect Your Personal Information
  • Secure your accounts: Ask for protection beyond passwords. Many account providers now offer additional ways for you verify who you are before you conduct business on that site.
  • Make passwords long and strong: Combine capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols to create a more secure password.
  • Unique account, unique password: Separate passwords for every account helps to thwart cybercriminals.
  • Own your online presence: When available, set the privacy and security settings on websites to your comfort level for information sharing. It’s ok to limit who you share information with.
• Connect With Care
  • When in doubt, throw it out: Links in email, tweets, posts, and online advertising are often the way cybercriminals compromise your computer. If it looks suspicious, even if you know the source, it’s best to delete or if appropriate, mark as junk email.
  • Get savvy about Wi-Fi hotspots: Limit the type of business you conduct and adjust the security settings on your device to limit who can access your machine.
  • Protect your $$: When banking and shopping, check to be sure the sites is security enabled. Look for web addresses with “https://” or “shttp://”, which means the site takes extra measures to help secure your information. “Http://” is not secure.
• Be Web Wise
  • Stay current. Keep pace with new ways to stay safe online: Visit UNC’s Cyber Security Website and other trusted websites for the latest information, and share with friends, family, and colleagues and encourage them to be web wise.
  • Think before you act: Be wary of communications that implores you to act immediately, offers something that sounds too good to be true, asks for personal information, or offers you a job that seems too good to be true.
  • Back it up: Protect your valuable work, music, photos, and other digital information by making an electronic copy and storing it safely.
• Be a Good Online Citizen
  • Safer for me more secure for all: What you do online has the potential to affect everyone – at home, at work and around the world. Practicing good online habits benefits the global digital community.
  • Post only about others as you would have them post about you.
  • Help the authorities fight cyber crime: Report fraud, identity theft and other cybercrime to the Internet Crime Complaint Center and to your local law enforcement, state attorney general and campus police as appropriate.
• Ask for Help

  UNC’s Technical Support Center is available 24/7/365 at 970-351-HELP (4357) to assist with your technical questions and concerns.