The NCSA makes a good point each October when they urge people to become more aware of online safety concerns. It’s a month when we all see the message somewhere – at the workplace, our kids’ schools and on the Internet. It’s a great wake-up call, and we at NQ Mobile fully support the idea of waking up to smarter online practices.
It’s important to remember that developing awareness of online safety may involve changing some ingrained habits. Habits aren’t always easy to break and they often don’t change overnight, just because we intend them to.
What are your bad habits?
It’s even harder to break bad habits if we’re not even aware we have them. Explore these “bad” smartphone habits and see if a change is in order in your mobile life.
- I leave my phone unlocked all the time so I don’t have to log in every time I want to use it.
- I feel free to share all kinds of information about my family online – we have nothing to hide.
- I love to post photos and check in from cool locations when I’m on vacation or traveling.
- I snap and post photos of my friends – they should be flattered.
- I never update my system – it’s a hassle and the prompts are a nuisance.
- I use the easiest password I can think of so I don’t forget it and I use the same password for everything online — it’s easier to get things done.
- Sometimes I do a little texting while I’m driving. I’m a really safe driver.
- I leave the geo-location features on my phone turned on in case I want to use them.
- I never notice the URL when I’m visiting a website.
- I love free stuff and I take advantage of pop-up ads whenever I want.
- If someone I don’t know texts me, I respond or click on links in the message.
- I never read permissions screens on apps – they’re boring and confusing.
Shared responsibility
NCSAM’s theme this year is individual shared responsibility for safety. If we don’t pay attention to habits that could spread malware and jeopardize our safety, we’re contributing to the problem, not the solution. In addition, as parents and adults, it’s simply our duty to teach kids good smartphone habits.
The Internet is a valuable resource we need to honor. Let’s all make an effort to keep the cyber crooks and criminals at bay, and to keep ourselves, our loved ones, our finances and our privacy safe and secure.
If you see yourself in this list of not-so-great habits, make an effort to change the way you do things with your smartphone. We all have a few extra seconds to log in again, and a little discretion is worth a lot when it comes to protecting our privacy and resources. Let’s all get on board with NCSA and practice safe, healthy habits, and teach our kids to do the same.
Talk to us about your thoughts and opinions when it comes to smartphone safety. We’d love to hear your comments on Facebook and Twitter!
