Unit 2: Online Safety and Ethics

Lesson 1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber

World
Contents

Engage 1

Introduction 1

Objectives 2

Explore 3

Explain and Elaborate 5

The Cyber World 5

Dangers and Threats on the Internet 7

Online Safety and Security 11

Extend 13

Activity 1 13

Activity 2 14

Wrap Up 16

Photo Credits 16

Bibliography 17
Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

Engage

Introduction

Fig. 1. Different threats on the internet

Technology and the internet have become a part of our lifestyle. Everything can be done
online such as shopping, banking, learning, communicating, and many more. Gadgets
have become more portable and powerful for us to be able to do different tasks
anytime and anywhere. Sending money from one bank to another here and abroad can

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Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

be done through different banking platforms and applications in a snap without the
inconvenience of going to a bank. Groceries can be done online and be sent to you right
at your doorstep. Creating, saving, and accessing important documents has never been
this easy through the help of cloud computing, where you can upload your files on
platforms such as Google Drive and access it when you need it.

Technology and the internet have indeed improved over time and are still improving to
serve us better. But due to these advancements, more and more threats are coming
into our way as we become more reliant and dependent on the internet for doing our
usual tasks for us. It is our responsibility to become aware of these threats to avoid
problems in the future.

What are the apps or platforms that you have used before to perform a specific task?
How would you describe the features of that app or platform that help protect its users
from internet dangers and threats? What are the possible ways that you can think of to
protect yourself from different online threats?

Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Define the cyber world and its features.
● Identify and examine different online threats and dangers.
● Practice various ways to be safe in the cyber world.

DepEd Competency
Apply online safety, security, ethics, and etiquette standards and practice in the use of ICTs
as it would relate to their specific academic tracks. (CS_ICT11/12-ICTPT-Ia-b-2)

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Explore

10 minutes

Creating accounts on different websites whether for social media, entertainment, or work is
easy. You just need to go to the website and provide the necessary information like when
you are creating a Gmail account. Accounts like these, whether for casual usage or work
related purposes, should be secured to avoid data loss or identity theft online. One way of
protecting our account is to create strong passwords.

A strong password usually contains at least 8 characters. It is a mixture of both uppercase

and lowercase letters, should contain numbers, and at least 1 (one) special character
such as !, @, #, ?, etc. It is also better to avoid using passwords that are easy to guess such
as your name, birthdate, common words, or consecutive numbers and letters. Combining all
of the aspects above, your password will be hard to guess and your account will be more
secured.

Study the passwords provided below. Classify each password whether it is a strong
password or weak password. Write your answers on the box provided. After identifying
each password, create 2 weak passwords and 3 strong passwords. Include your passwords
in the box.

Strong Password Weak Password

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Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

vince15 alp@c@Pet2020 password_1 _paramore_for3ver_

StrongPassword 12345678ABC juandelacruz1994 Hola_amigo!
Beautiful G!v3_m3_Sunsh!n3 helloWorld123 Els@+AnN@_uWu
09_09_2001 erica_sanchez 67a12b90c_me l!v3_l@ugh_l0v3
moonlover22 18_funnygirl_18 alwaysSmile 9876_ABCDEFG

Guide Questions
1. With all the passwords included in the activity, which password(s) was the hardest to
classify? Which was the easiest?

2. What additional suggestions can you give to protect online accounts aside from creating a
strong password?

3. What would be the biggest effect of not having a strong security and password for your
online accounts?

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Explain and Elaborate

The Cyber World

The cyber world, also known as cyberspace, is composed of complex interconnected
networks that provides a virtual environment for different users to interact with each other.
It is virtual in nature and unbounded unlike our physical environment. Through the help of
the internet, people can do various interactions with each other that can influence or affect
their lives. Digital media such as online games, learning websites, videos, and other rich
media are used for these interactions. We can consume, share, and create media through
the help of platforms such as social networking sites and apps.

How often do you go online ? How many hours a

day do you spend online ? What are your usual
activities?

Online activities create an impact on everyone. The simple act of going online like chatting,
sharing photos, liking a page of your favorite artists, or even simply browsing the web
creates a trail. These are called digital footprints, permanent marks of your identity, and
activities on the internet that could lead and be traced back to you. This information is not
simply the photos or videos that you are sharing or liking on Facebook; these also include
passive information when you are browsing for an item in an online store, reading a news
article, or watching travel vlogs. Have you ever wondered how the ads showing on your
Facebook or YouTube seems to match what you like? It is because of these digital footprints.
Social networking sites and various websites use cookies to keep track of your activities.
These cookies are small files stored in your computer by the websites you visit. Advertisers
use this information to create ads that target your needs and wants.

The cyber world is indeed complex with different features that are divided into three
categories: virtual world, interaction, and information source.

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Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

Virtual World
The cyber world provides us with a “second life space” where we can make a digital
representation of ourselves. It is powerful enough to allow each individual to create several
digital personalities depending on the need. We can create various accounts for social
networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for casual activities and LinkedIn
for professional work.

Fig. 2. Social networking sites (SNS) are commonly used to create a digital personality.

Interaction

The cyber world provides us with an environment where social interactions such as chatting,
sharing ideas on an online community, teaming up with players on an online game, or
finding people with similar interests. The cyber world is public and open to anyone who
wants to use it. There is no limit to the actions that we can do online.

Information Source

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Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

The cyber world contains a lot of information whether it may be factual or not. These data
are readily available to anyone as long as they can connect to the internet which is not a
hard task nowadays due to the abundance of WiFi internet and cellular data connections.
Anyone can contribute to this pool of data by simply sharing photos, blogs, videos, articles,
and other kinds of media. Since information on the web is public, anyone can search and
use the data you have shared online.

Can you give at least one bene t of the different

features of the cyber world to your daily life?

Being active in the cyber world has really become the norm because of the flexibility and
availability of the internet and its features. We are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution where
technology is advancing really fast but with these advancements comes greater
responsibility for us using these technologies. In the cyber world, security threats are
everywhere so we need to be cautious.

Dangers and Threats on the Internet

Due to the large amount of data freely available on the internet and the openness of various
interactions, we are an easy target for hackers and the like. Knowing the different dangers
online can help everyone protect their important information, identity, and even physical
safety.

Exposure to Unsuitable Contents

Photo and video contents are uploaded everywhere. Some are inappropriate or not suitable
to be viewed by children and teenagers. The exposure of children and teenagers to these
contents can have a great impact on the emotional and psychological state of the viewer.
Some examples are pornography that contains images or videos of naked people, graphic
violence often shown on online games and videos, verbal obscenity such as curses and
rude words.

Crime-Related Dangers

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Criminals are not just found on the streets robbing bags or cell phones; they are also lurking
online. The most common criminals found on the internet are hackers, identity thieves,
internet predators, and cyberbullies.

Hackers
Hackers, specifically black hat hackers, are one of the main security risks online. These
criminals will try to access private information, accounts, websites, or servers in order to
steal, manipulate, destroy, sell or use the information gathered for their own benefit.

Identity Thieves
Identity theft is common in the real world as well as in the cyber world. These criminals
steal important and personal information from their target in order to fake an identity. They
use this information to assume an identity to access another person's bank account or to
hide from authorities, making them untraceable. The most common way of doing this is
through phishing where the criminal sends you a personalized message accompanied by a
shortened link asking you to provide personal information or bank account details.

Internet Predators
Internet predators are individuals who lure children or teenagers into engaging to sexual
acts or relationship online. Usually, they pose as a good person and shower their victims
with affection and gifts until they gain their trust. Then the predator will start asking for lewd
photos, or worse, will ask for a meet-up to commit fraud or crime.

Cyberbullies
Cyberbullying is an online form of bullying with the aid of the internet and other
technology-based communication. Cyberbullying is commonly seen on social networking
sites through hate speech, racism, and curse words directed at their target individual. Such
activities include humiliating comments, using threats, and even showing degrading photos
of a person. This kind of bullying can cause psychological trauma that can lead to more
serious problems.

Privacy-Related Dangers

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Privacy is important online because when you share your personal information, anybody
can use that information to harm you. Privacy-related danger occurs due to carelessness of
the user or caused by unauthorized access of a person’s private information. The criminal’s
goal is to cause psychological and mental harm to an individual by destroying the reputation
of their target. Some examples are circulating a person’s private photos on social media,
accessing someone’s private conversation, and unauthorized tracking of an individual’s
location or activities.

What are the advantages if you are aware of the

different kinds of malicious software?

Malicious Software–Related Dangers

Different websites offering free services such as converting music, videos, and files are
available online. There are also free software and resources that criminals use to their
advantage to spread malware. A malware or malicious software, is created to invade and
destroy the computer system. There are seven main types of malware: virus, worms, trojan,
spyware, adware, ransomware, and fileless malware.

Virus
Virus is a software that inserts its code into files and programs infecting other softwares
inside the computer system. When these files and programs are executed, the virus will also
run replicating itself on the system disrupting its operation. This can cause major data loss
and system malfunction.

Worms
Worms are software that can rapidly spread from one computer to another by replicating
itself through the computer network even without human interaction. This kind of malware
infects the computer through a downloaded file. Once it has entered the system, it will
exponentially multiply causing the same outcome as a virus.

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Trojan
Trojan, also known as trojan horse, is disguised as a legitimate and helpful software but
once it has been installed, it will gain access to private and sensitive information stored in
your computer. This kind of virus can affect the performance of the system causing the
computer to slow down. This is also often used by hackers to gain access to your
information.

Spyware
Spyware secretly invades your computer and targets sensitive information. This kind of
malware is used by hackers and identity thieves to steal personal information by having
access to the target’s computer. While using a spyware, the criminal can gain remote access
to the system and control it from a different location.

Adware
Adware is used to gather data from your computer while providing you with
advertisements. Although this kind of malware is not always dangerous, it can redirect you
to untrusted websites that might contain viruses or worms. One type of adware called
keylogger tracks and saves the keystrokes as you type, revealing your password.

Ransomware
Ransomware is often part of a phishing scam. When you click an untrusted link, it will
download a file and encrypts the sensitive information, denying access to your device. The
criminals behind the malware will then ask for money before they unlock your files or
system.

Fileless Malware
Fileless malware is different from the other traditional malware attacks because it does not
leave any trace on your computer making it hard to detect. It does not need to install any
software on your system in order to work, instead it uses the current vulnerabilities of your
computer system. The DNSMessenger is one of the examples of this kind of malware
presented by CISCO in 2017.

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Which among these internet dangers have you

encountered? How did you handle the situation?

It seems scary to go online especially with all those risks and dangers discussed above, but
knowing all those things can help you to be safe online.

Online Safety and Security

Staying safe online can be hard nowadays. Even if websites, applications, and softwares are
making their platforms safer for us, there are still threats that could pass through those
security features due to human error or intended attacks. In this portion, we will discuss
some tips on how to be safe online and how to detect an online threat.

Tips to Stay Safe Online

1. Think before you click. This is to avoid leaking information that you do not want to
be used against you. Whether it is an embarrassing photo that you would not want
your teachers to see or a rude comment about your classmate, you should think first
before sharing anything online. You should think of the impact of your action on
yourself and others first.
2. Do not share personal information. Keep your personal details private such as
your address, age, birthday, full name, and contact number. These details can be
used to track you or assume your identity. Avoid posting your identification card,
such as school ID, online because it contains sensitive information.
3. Beware of phishing and scam. Never click links coming from unknown contacts
because these might contain malwares. Make sure to double check the email
address of the sender especially for finance related messages because phishing
scammers can mimic an email from a reputable company that will redirect you to
their website stealing your account information without your knowledge.
4. Keep your device secure. Make sure that the software installed on your gadgets are
up-to-date. This will strengthen the security of your device from external attacks such
as hacking.

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5. Never give out your password. Your password should be kept somewhere safe
because it allows you to access your accounts. Never tell anyone or give your
password to strangers online.
6. Never agree to meet anyone you just met on online chat rooms. Many predators
are looking for their victims on online chat rooms and forums. They will try to get
your attention by presenting themselves as good individuals and may ask you to
meet them in person. Never agree to meet strangers.
7. Tell your guardian if something is making you uncomfortable online. Whether it
is cyberbullying or sexual advancement of predators, always tell an adult if you think
something is not right while you are online. They can help you be safe by confronting
the cyberbully or predator.
8. Cover your webcam. Spywares are used to gain access on someone’s computer
without their knowledge and your webcam can also be controlled from a remote
server so it is better to cover your camera when not in use. This will prevent the
invader from getting your image and using it to harm you.
9. Use a strong password. Follow the guidelines for creating a strong password. It is
also advisable to turn on the two-factor authentication for your accounts to better
safeguard your information even if someone gets a hold of your password
accidentally or intentionally.
10. Make sure you log out when using a public device. There are public computers
available in the library or computer shops but these devices are not fully safe
because a lot of people are using it. Make sure that all your accounts are logged out
before you leave. Unauthorized access to your account can lead to serious problems
such as identity theft.

When you feel that you are at risk online, what steps
should you do to take care of your safety?

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Extend

Activity 1
Listed below are different dangers and threats on the internet. Classify the following items
as either unsuitable contents, crime-related, privacy-related, or malicious software-related.

● gender ● computer ● phishing ● unauthorized

discrimination virus ● distribution location
● hate speech ● pornography of private tracking
● trojan horse ● violence on photos ● pedophiles
● DNSMessenger video games ● spyware ● hackers
● computer worm ● adware ● identity theft ● adware
● unauthorized ● ransomware ● racism
access to
private files

Unsuitable Crime-Related Privacy-Related Malicious

Contents Software-Related

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Guide
Remember that unsuitable contents are photos or videos that are usually
inappropriate for children and teenagers.

Crime-related dangers are associated with attackers that want to gather

information about you in order for them to benefit through stealing money or
engaging vulnerable victims into doing inappropriate things.

Privacy-related dangers are usually caused by carelessness of the user or intended

access of an external attacker to harm your reputation.

Malicious software-related dangers are caused by software that are installed or

passed on to your computer through networks or opening unsafe links.

Activity 2
Study the situations below. Choose two situations and describe what you will do in order to
be safe. Write your answers on the space provided below.
● A stranger added you on Facebook. He is claiming that you are schoolmates. Upon
checking his profile, you saw that you know that person and he is a year older than
you. He then asks to meet you and that you should wear a pretty short dress when
the two of you meet.
● Your bank emailed you to reset your password as soon as possible because there
was a breach on their system. The email seems legitimate, but the link was
shortened and the email address is not the name of your bank.
● You got blocked from your bank account. As you talked to the customer support to
unblock your account, the person on the other line asked for your name, account
number, and pin to be able to unblock you on their system.
● One of your classmates is spreading a rumor that you have a bad attitude and that
you called her a liar in front of her friends. She even edited your awkward photo to
become funny and shared it on Facebook. People are calling you funny names in

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school and online since she posted the photo.

● An advertisement just popped up your browser saying you won a flat screen TV and
you just need to confirm your identity on the link provided to claim the prize.

Situation Your Response

Guide
You may refer to the table below for a sample answer.

Situation Your Response

Your Facebook account has been Change my password to a stronger one

hacked because your password is your and make sure to change it frequently
name and your birthday. There are now to avoid hacking in the future.
weird posts on your timeline.

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Unit 2.1: Making Oneself Safe in the Cyber World

Wrap Up
___________________________________________________________________________________________

● The cyber world allows us to navigate through a virtual world, interact with other
people through the use of the internet, and retrieve data from the vast information
available online.
● The internet is very powerful but even with these advancements, we can still
encounter risks such as exposure to unsuitable contents, crime-related dangers
such as hackers, identity thieves, internet predators, and cyberbullies, privacy-
related dangers, and malicious software-related threats like virus, worms, trojan,
spyware, adware, ransomware and fileless malware.
● Being a generation of technology-dependent human beings, we need to be more
careful on the internet to avoid risks. We can protect ourselves by simply creating
strong passwords and avoiding sharing personal information to others
especially to strangers.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit

This file, Hacker icons flat set Free Vector, by macrovector is licensed under Freepik License
via Freepik.

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