We Don’t Mean to ‘Bug’ You, But It’s Time to Change Those Passwords

“I have the same password for all my accounts.”

“Geez, why do I have to use a number, a capital, and at least eight characters? I won’t remember that!”

“I hate that my bank makes me change my password every 30 days.”

“No one will figure it out if I enter my birthdate in backwards.”

“It’s such an inconvenience!”

Well, suck it up, Buttercup, you need to go in and change them now.

We’re sure many of you have seen the news of the Heartbleed bug and how it has affected many popular websites and services.  Websites are quickly creating patches to prevent the further compromise of their sites, but you need to do your part, and change those passwords. Below is an article from Mashable about which sites are affected. This list includes Facebook, Pinterest, and Google.

Heartbleed Hit List

Even if some of your services are not listed here, it would probably be a good idea to change any passwords on accounts where you have used the same user name/email and password combination.

Okay, we can hear you grumbling all the way up here. 🙂 How are you supposed to remember all those new passwords? Well, we have an answer for that! Check out Keeper Security. It’s an app (or there is a web-based version) that allows you to securely store your account/password information.

If you’re like us, you’ve probably used the same password on accounts/apps you no longer access (and may have forgotten about).  One way to check to find subscriptions is to search by your email address.  One great resource is Spokeo.  There is $3.95 subscription fee (good for six months).  We’re sure there are other sites like it, but this one comes with good recommendations.

We’re keeping it short this week, so you don’t get ‘antsy’.  🙂

Happy password changing!

 

 

Wanted: Risk Takers

Our past posts has been about creating, monitoring, and maintaining a positive digital image. The digital world is like the Wild West. Rules and order need to be established.  We all need to do our part in modeling positive actions as well as teaching our children and students how to behave online.

Wild Bill Hickok was an American frontiersman, army scout, and lawman who helped bring order to the frontier West.

Let’s channel some inner Wild Bill and together be the catalyst in creating order to Wild West of the web.

 

Our future posts will share tips on topics that relate to our younger generations. Get ready to learn more about

• Creative Commons and Copyright
• Plagiarism and Giving Credit
• How to engage student learning through good digital citizenship skills

 

How Would Mr. Rogers Make Friends in the 21st Century?

Okay, admit it, you sang along. 🙂

But, seriously, what Mr. Rogers is telling us about making friends still rings true.

I think we would all agree we need to have some guidelines, but it’s no longer realistic to expect people to meet face-to-face before connecting online.

Let’s face it, our neighborhood is no longer just the community we live in, so how do we take his advice about being neighborly and apply it to the digital neighborhood? Click on the link below to see how making friends has changed.

Making Friends: Then and Now

Hmm, maybe how we make friends hasn’t changed at all, just the venue has. We have to remember that safety comes first, but we need to also not be afraid to step outside our comfort zone.