Blog posts about Education, CyberSecurity, Digital Citizenship, Privacy, InternetSafety, curation, PKM, PLN, blogging, Global Collaboration, Coaching, Collaboration, eSkills, eLeadership, Coding, MakerED, MakerSpace, Social Media, How to learn, learning to learn
Social Media is about sharing, right!? That’s WHAT it is mostly, BUT there are the HIDDEN commercial intents which MOST people don’t see (OUR Privacy is sold and OUR friends one too…) and there is ALSO OUR responsibility about it WHEN WE share, WE will discuss in detail here…
First of ALL, there isn’t ANYTHING for FREE in this world, even the death costs the life and a lot of money for the funerals 😉
SO… Let us analyse WHY WE get Social Media and other services on the internet for “FREE“. BTW: there isn’t anything for FREE, WE pay with OUR information which the companies are gathering!
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WE Are The Product
It is important to know how tech companies generally track your data and what you’re agreeing to in those terms of service agreements. Check the infographic below, please to understand.
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Click the above infographic to access the article, please.
How can WE get protected about an overuse of OUR Privacy!?
First of all, please read the article below.
Click the image above, please, to access the article.
SO, by knowing now a bit more YOU certainly ask if there are some Apps and/or software who help us to protect OUR PRIVACY, here WE go (non-exhaustive list…):
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Click the image above, please, to access the article.
AVIRA SocialShield
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Click the image above, please, to access the article.
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BitdefenderSafego
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Click the above images to access the articles, please.
You’d be surprised how many things an app can learn about you and what you do. Without you ever knowing it.
Clueful is the only way to really understand iOS apps, how they use your private data and treat your privacy. This one-of-a-kind product identifies intrusive applications and shows you what they do behind your back.
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Facebook Apps AND Privacy
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WHAT YOU probably don’t know, check links below, please:
Keywords necessary for me to create this blog post: Apps and privacy, Bitdefender, Avast secure.me, AVG Privacyfix, Avira Socialshield, ESET Social Media Scanner, Bitdefender Safego, F-Secure Safe Profile, Privacy, CyberSecurity,
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L’auteur Gust MEES est Formateur andragogique / pédagogique TIC, membre du “Comité Conseil” de “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), appelé maintenant BEESECURE, partenaire officiel (consultant) du Ministère de l’éducation au Luxembourg du projet ”MySecureIT“, partenaire officiel du Ministère du Commerce au Luxembourg du projet ”CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness andSecurityEnhancementStructure).
The author Gust MEES is ICT Course Instructor, ”Member of the Advisory Board” from “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), BEESECURE, Official Partner (Consultant) from the Ministry of Education in Luxembourg, project “MySecureIT“, Official Partner from the Ministry of Commerce in Luxembourg, project “CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness and Security Enhancement Structure).
WHY CyberSecurity STARTS At Home AND Is Concerning ALL Of Us
WE can’t say any more that CyberSecurity is ONLY for IT-Experts as the internet is a shared ecosphere where every body has responsibility! Actions of some people can easily affect everyone else, thus meaning: WHEN NOT having installed protection software (updated antivirus) YOUR computer and/or smartphone(s) could get infected by malware and YOU will infect ALSO OTHERS who are in contact with YOU; it will become epidemic!
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
How To Take OUR Responsibility!? Let’s make CyberHygiene!
Well, that’s actually NOT that difficult,it’s ONLY the first steps who could be unusual and WE need to get used to it. BUT that’s the same with any other first time, isn’t it 😉
French (Français): Danger connu est danger vaincu ! Mieux vaut prévoir que valoir ! Un enfant averti en vaut deux. English: Forewarned is Forearmed! Deutsch (German): Gefahr erkannt is Gefahr gebannt! Vorsicht heisst die Mutter der Porzellankiste!
« Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. »Aristotle
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SO, let’s go for it, check below please:
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
Global Impact Of CyberSecurity
Let us have a look ALSO about WHAT the EU and the US are saying about CyberSecurity, so that YOU know about the IMPORTANCE, check below, please.
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
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THE HowTo For BEST Protection
Please find below the BEST possible protection as well as tips for individuals (for companies there would be much more…) explained step by step with a minimum use of technical language so that YOU might be able to understand it and to use it comfortable:
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1.What are the biggest security threats to kids?
Learn more about: 1.What are the biggest security threats to kids?
You’d be surprised how many things an app can learn about you and what you do. Without you ever knowing it.
Clueful is the only way to really understand iOS apps, how they use your private data and treat your privacy. This one-of-a-kind product identifies intrusive applications and shows you what they do behind your back.
Keywords necessary for me to create this blog post:#FSCD promoted by EDU as Homework, ideas, Social Media, twitter, Facebook, CyberHygiene, reflexes, digital citizenship, digcit, eSkills,
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L’auteur Gust MEES est Formateur andragogique / pédagogique TIC, membre du “Comité Conseil” de “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), appelé maintenant BEESECURE, partenaire officiel (consultant) du Ministère de l’éducation au Luxembourg du projet ”MySecureIT“, partenaire officiel du Ministère du Commerce au Luxembourg du projet ”CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness andSecurityEnhancementStructure).
The author Gust MEES is ICT Course Instructor, ”Member of the Advisory Board” from “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), BEESECURE, Official Partner (Consultant) from the Ministry of Education in Luxembourg, project “MySecureIT“, Official Partner from the Ministry of Commerce in Luxembourg, project “CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness and Security Enhancement Structure).
The first steps before the kids go online are to protect the computer and Smartphone(s) at its BEST as possible to make sure that a BAD click will NOT become a catastrophe!Second step is to talk to the kids about the dangers of the internet and related with the use of the computer and the tablets, Smartphones and about the dangers of Social Media.
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French (Français): Danger connu est danger vaincu ! Mieux vaut prévoir que valoir ! Un enfant averti en vaut deux. English: Forewarned is Forearmed! Deutsch (German): Gefahr erkannt is Gefahr gebannt! Vorsicht heisst die Mutter der Porzellankiste!
« Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. »Aristotle
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How To Protect The Home Network AND The Computers In This Network!?
YES, YOU have read it correctly, I mentioned “Network”. WHY!? Because just letting everybody owning ONLY his (her) own device at home wouldn’t make sense, BETTER is to connect ALL the devices (Smartphones, tablets…) together in a Network where YOU could share even together your files, photos, videos… AND this through a secured Network. Everybody will get his OWN “User Account” where one “User Account” will be the “Administrator Account“, the parents account, who will have 100% access on the main computer. ALL the others will have an “User Account” with restricted access. Check out below on the How-To create “User Accounts”.
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Click the above image to view the video on the How-To, please.
Click the above image to access the articles, please.
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YOU may ALSO change the Wi-Fi Password 2-3 times a week on YOUR router so that YOUR kids get ONLY access after THEY made certain tasks which YOU told THEM to achieve 😉 Thus meaning, YOU handle over the NEW Password ONLY when those tasks were achieved!
Change your Router’s Pass Word!
Cybercriminals may also use your Router (without that you know it…) when you haven’t changed the original settings! Text from Internet / Network Security:
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===> The first step in securing your wireless network is the same as the first step for just about everything else in computers and computer networking — always change the defaults. Any attacker can find out what the default username and password is for a given program or device in just a few minutes. <===
SO, NOW YOU got a protected Network and the family members are in a technical secured home environment, what else to do!?
For whatever device (computer, tablet, Smartphone…) and/or OS (Operating System/Mac, Linux, Windows) YOUR family members own, YOU MUST install an antivirus on them. I recommend to use an “Internet Security Suite” which combines antivirus, firewall, antispyware and… Read more below what else to do…
Learn in one week how to get Best protection-The Practice
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I will divide the tasks through a whole week, so it will be very easy for you to find the necessary time to achieve them, those who have the necessary time can, of course, achieve more tasks…
Installing WOT + McAfee SiteAdvisor for knowing which websites are trustful and which ones are malicious! “WOT” ALONE isn’t enough! My experience over years 😉
Use BitDefender QuickScan and scan your computer! Find out if your computer is clean. It only takes a few seconds.Install Secunia Personal Software Inspector, which is checking and automating updates of Third Party Programs.
.Sunday: Use the Sunday for a relax check if everything is OK! It takes ONLY 5 minutes. Use the “Security Score” Software to check if everything is OK! 5 minutes ONLY!
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As you can see in the table “Necessary Time”, most actions need ONLY 5-10 minutes! Eaaaaaaaasy to follow and to use, what are you waiting for!? 😉
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For those who have the necessary time: I suggest to you to install first the FREE program “Security Score” (for WINDOWS ONLY) and start to check after your Tuesday-Task and after any days task to see the evolution of your security score! This will probably make you more confident and you certainly will try to reach a better “Security Score”, this for your motivation… Try it out:
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Let Us ALSO Protect OUR Privacy
Are YOU aware of the dangers of WiFi on public places? YOU should!
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Protect yourself on public WiFi: ALL your data could get seen when not taken the right precautions on a public WiFi Access (HotSpot)…
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First of all, check out to know more about how easy it is to get information about your online communications (passwords and private information…) as also on how easy it is to hijack your accounts while using a public WiFi!!!
And NOT TO FORGET the Apps: Do YOU know WHICH permissions YOU gave YOUR #Apps? Do YOU know HOW MUCH #Privacy YOU share without knowing? Check below, please and WONDER:
By knowing NOW about the dangers and PRIVACY I suggest that YOU install a “VPN” (Virtual Private Network) application on each browser (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, IE…) that YOU use, here below my selection (non-exhaustive list).
WHAT’s The Appropriate Age For Kids To Start With It AND How-To?
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« Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. »Aristotle
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WHAT’S THE appropriate age for kids to start learning about InternetSafety and CyberSecurity? A question I get asked very often. Well, let us say it this way: when kids understand what is BAD and GOOD, that will be the perfect timing to start to teach them about the dangers of the internetand how to get the right reflexes. YES, reflexes they can learn them easily, NO Technic of course as they wouldn’t understand it! Experts say that the right age would be 5 years old, check the link below, please:
Personally I started to teach my wife’s niece 12 years ago when she was 4 1/2 year old and that worked perfectly. I will tell YOU how I did and YOU can try it out as well, success guaranteed.
First of all ask the kid if it knows about the BAD and the GOOD in our real world and tell it that on the internet (virtual world) it is the same. Tell them that the BAD guys will infect the computer, explain them that it is similar to an infection in real world (flu, as example…). For that reason they need a protection on the computer which will get updated, that’s the vaccine. When they know about vaccine in real world, they will understand that it is a MUST!
Parents should have taught them this about vaccines! WE will remember them each day (or at any time they go online) when getting online with the computer to check if the antivirus is switched on, they will get ===> THE reflex <=== later to check about THAT action. It is actually very easy, I will explain below.
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As YOU can see on left-hand side the antivirus, in our case “Norton Internet Security Suite” is visible (see red circle). WE see as well that there is a green checkmark. This checkmark shows us that the antivirus is switched on and updated. Tell the kids up from early age to check this every time they use the computer, they will remember it.
Install ALSO WOT and McAfee SiteAdvisor on any devices as both show what websites to trust by indicating it with three different colours (green,orange, red). The kids will recognize the colours and understand.
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With the above mentioned advice your kids will learn the necessary basic reflexes to stay safe on the internet. BUT DON’T FORGET: a security by 100% doesn’t exist and the weakest link in the security chain is the human!
Learning Responsibility: Family Pledge And Passwords
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Use a psychological trick to remember your family members about the MUST to take care about their weeklyCyberHygiene, the reflex to learn, and play the song “The Reflex-Duran Duran”. They will get used to it, and every time they hear the song they would know that there is something special to do, such as NEW “Updates“! Easy to use, isn’t it 😉
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Organize a Family Weekly-Security-Day
My suggestion: to make sure that anybody’s computer is secure at home I suggest that you introduce a “Family Weekly-Security-Day“, where any week one member of your family will get chosen as the “responsible” for the week and that “responsible” will remind you to respect the weekly task and controls also that the task was achieved! I will provide you with a sheet from Google Docs which you can use for it…
===> Play as a team in the family to make sure that everybody respects the weeklySecurity-Day! Any week someone else is responsible to remember the whole team (family) for the Weekly-Security-Day-Task! <===
You can even imagine some penalties such as e.g. making the dish-wash for 2 days, or similar, LOL 😉
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===> Motivation: don’t let us forget the positive side and motivate members of family to do that unusual task by giving them some special bonus points when well done that task! Those bonus points could result in: <===
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Penalties could get reset for a certain time (up to you to make the rules…)
Bonus points will get collected and by reaching a certain score will result by paying out some money (up to you to say how much…)
Your own ideas for motivating the team to do the tasks…
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Create a family pledge where the members have to agree to to respect the family community responsibility. You may ALSO make one member of the family the responsible person for one week who takes care of the others and who will supervise that each member of the family respects the weekly security tasks. A spreadsheet may help, here below an example.
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Click the above image to access the document.
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This blog post was featured on “Cyberwise” in March 06, 2015.
Click the above image, please, to access the article
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L’auteur Gust MEES est Formateur andragogique / pédagogique TIC, membre du “Comité Conseil” de “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), appelé maintenant BEESECURE, partenaire officiel (consultant) du Ministère de l’éducation au Luxembourg du projet ”MySecureIT“, partenaire officiel du Ministère du Commerce au Luxembourg du projet ”CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness andSecurityEnhancementStructure).
The author Gust MEES is ICT Course Instructor, ”Member of the Advisory Board” from “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), BEESECURE, Official Partner (Consultant) from the Ministry of Education in Luxembourg, project “MySecureIT“, Official Partner from the Ministry of Commerce in Luxembourg, project “CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness and Security Enhancement Structure).
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Necessary keywords for me to create this blog post: Family pledge: learning responsibility. password ONLY when done some tasks… Password CHANGE ALL 3 months, reflexes, showing the way, remembering the said when growing, asking questions when not comfortable, comfort zone together with parents, workstation NOT in separate room, published articles in the press, responsibility, community feeling, empathy, examples from traffic, the THREE colours (red, green, orange), WOT, McAfee Site Advisor, secure surfing, Antivirus reflex, Wi-Fi password change every day or once a week when tasks are done kids get it 😉 Router configuration for family… Passwords, sending messages over the network (#FSCD), planifying #FSCD over DOODLE, Family Safety, computer in a place who everybody is seeing; NOT in bedroom!, Install VPN on any devices as browser add-on.===> creating different accounts, ONE Administrator the others with restricted…, creating a Home-Network for sharing documents, photos, etc., tutorial from Microsoft about different accounts, links, Privacy settings, WOT, Any Friday #FSCD, family pledge, creating a sense of responsibility, Updates, 3dParty, CyberBullying Avira !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! garage appointment for cars, CyberHygiene, creating sense of responsibility,
A GOOD “Digital Citizen” knows about the tricks that cyber crooks are using and so when leaving the school THEY will be on ===> Awareness <=== when meeting the working force. Thus meaning, THEY will be prepared NOT to fall into the traps from the cybercriminals on their office, reducing so the attack surface for their employer. Thus meaning: Teaching about ===> Digital CitizenShip <=== is a MUST, where Internet Safety, basic knowledge of Cyber Security and Privacy MUST be included!
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« Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. »Aristotle
TEACH the kids, students and learners ALSO about ===> Responsibility, Laws, Prison & Jail for NO respect of the laws!
The above mentioned knowledge AND skills are necessary (a MUST) to have; to give a minimum of attack surface to the cybercriminals! Less infected computers and devices = less cybercrime possibilities!
Keywords: eSkills, Education, Digital CitizenShip, cybercrime, Cyber Security, sharing, community, Social Media, Apps, laws, prison, jail, Awareness, Privacy, dangers, ICT, Naivety, Anonymity, TOR, BYOD, smartphones, Mobile Security, CyberHygiene, Critical Thinking, Proactive Thinking, Updates, Updates of Third Party Applications, Antivirus, Firewall,
Read below please, for more detailed instructions and information, thanks.
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THE Facts
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Good to know, check the image left-hand sided. Check also the articles below for more deeper information, please:
First of ALL ===> WE MUST ACCEPT (its a fact) <=== that ===> Nobody Is Perfect!!! <=== Any OS (Operating System) is vulnerable as well as any device (Smartphones, USB, tablets…). NOR is there a completely ===> anonymity and privacy <=== possible! Check below please:
There is “Over Confidence” as it is exactly that! I don’t make a war of different OS, but one must be aware today that Nobody Is Perfect, attacks and vulnerabilities are showing us that, see here please:
OK, I hear YOU already saying: WHAT do WE have to do with THAT!? Actually a lot! A lot of cybercrime is done by using so called ===> Zombies <===, infected computers and smartphones who are connected together in a so called ===> Botnet <===. But read more below in the proposed articles, please:
Click the image above to access the video, please.
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WHO Are The Countries Who Host The Most Botnets!?
It is IMPORTANT to know who are the countries who host the MOST botnets (Botnet Control Servers), WHY!? Well, it is those countries who have to make BIG efforts to get rid of them and those countries SHOULD make MORE efforts in Educationto teach people aboutCyber Security.
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Click the above image, please, to access the article who explains in detail.
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How A Botnet Is Created
[Start TEXT from F-Secure] Bot programs can be planted on a machine or device in many ways. Machines or devices that have been infected by a bot are sometimes called ‘bots‘ themselves, or ‘zombies‘.
One common method for a bot program to get on a machine is when a harmful website the user is visiting silently looks for and exploits a vulnerability in the user’s system to install the bot on it. Other popular ways include sending the bot as a file attached to spam emails sent to the user, or as a program dropped from the payload of another malware.
Once the bot program is installed on the device, it will try to contact the website or server where it can retrieve instructions from the botherder. This site or server is known as the command-and-control (C&C) server.
An attacker with access to the C&C servers uses a client program to silently send instructions over the Internet (or another network) to the bot to perform various tasks, such as collecting data, monitoring the user’s actions and so on.
Commands can be issued to a single bot, or to all the bots in botnet. The attacker controlling the botnet is sometimes referred to as the ‘botherder‘, ‘operator’ or ‘controller’. [End TEXT from F-Secure]
As already mentioned above, “Zombies” are infected devices (any OS). Computers, smartphones and any device running an “Operating System (OS)” can have vulnerabilities and MUST get updated regularly! The same for any installed software programs, they MUST get updated regularly also! Any device and any OS MUST get protected by an Antivirus program. Please follow the advice below:
It is IMPORTANT, actually imperative to teach the kids about responsibility, about the existing laws, about WHAT is right and what is forbidden AND illegal!!! Laws were (and STILL are) created to protect the society… Anarchy isn’t reality in the real world and neither on the internet!
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Digital CitizenShip And Cyber Security (Internet Safety And Privacy Included)
The month of October is by tradition since years already the “Cyber Security Month” (#CyberSecMonth) in Europe and ALSO the “National Cyber Security Awareness Month” (#NCSAM) in the USA. WE will use this blog post to participate on it by OUR contributions. Check below, please, the message from the EU and ALSO from the US. YOU will realize the importance ofGOOD knowledge about Cyber Security then…
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
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Click the above image to access the article, please.
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I am getting often asked WHAT are the best ways about learning ===> Internet Safety and Cyber Security <===, well, here below my recommendations and advice. I will start FIRST to introduce YOU to a game before WE are starting to talk about the THEORY 😉Click the image below to access the FREE game.
WHAT Actions Could Get Taken WHO Are Student Centered?
WHAT could be better than put the students in the drivers seat and let them learn responsibility, let them create a community of responsibility such as:
L’auteur Gust MEES est Formateur andragogique / pédagogique TIC, membre du “Comité Conseil” de “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), appelé maintenant BEESECURE, partenaire officiel (consultant) du Ministère de l’éducation au Luxembourg du projet ”MySecureIT“, partenaire officiel du Ministère du Commerce au Luxembourg du projet ”CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness andSecurityEnhancementStructure).
The author Gust MEES is ICT Course Instructor, ”Member of the Advisory Board” from “Luxembourg Safer Internet” (LuSI), BEESECURE, Official Partner (Consultant) from the Ministry of Education in Luxembourg, project “MySecureIT“, Official Partner from the Ministry of Commerce in Luxembourg, project “CASES” (Cyberworld Awareness and Security Enhancement Structure).
Check my #curation to find best articles, blogs and courses about #education #itsecurity #CyberSecurity #EdCollCoach #GlobalEDU #cyberbullying, #AR #RA #augmentedreality #health #science #QR #qrcodes in EN, FR, DE…
Play the FREE Game and Learn about Cyber Security and Coding
App Advisor
App Advisor helps safe-guard your personal data by telling you exactly which apps you should be cautious of, before they become a threat to your privacy.
Click image to use this free service and find out of your installed Apps are “privacy-friendly” or check new Apps before installing them!
I wrote already about “Privacy” on my blog posts Privacy In The Digital World-SHOULDN’T We Talk About It!?, Smartphone pictures pose privacy risks and Often Asked Questions: Are There Cyber-Security Dangers With Apps And What’s About Privacy?, BUT I didn’t get enough into it to show YOU the How-To get protected MORE! That is what I will do here, so let’s GO for it 😉 As YOU know me, I will go for the BETTER solutions! I am online since 1998, got awarded in my country (for CyberSecurity & InternetSafety) and I am a very active person on Social Media twitter and facebook. Follow my experience and advice below, please, thanks.
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Read ALSO these articles to use at home AND in schools:
I will divide the tasks through a whole week, so it will be very easy for you to find the necessary time to achieve them, those who have the necessary time can, of course, achieve more tasks…
