As study and work move increasingly to an online environment, it is important to take steps to keep yourself, and those you interact with, safe and secure.
Students and staff at TAFE SA have a right to work and study in an environment free from harassment, discrimination or threatening behaviour, whether working face to face or online. TAFE SA has a range of policies to describe your rights and responsibilities in detail - you can view them at https://www.tafesa.edu.au/apply-enrol/before-starting/student-policies.
Cyber safety
The Internet has become one of our central environments for work, study and entertainment, but it does have its risks – you may have heard about cyber bullying, viruses, phishing, identity theft, catfishing etc. Fortunately, there are some basic steps you can take to try and avoid these:
- Use passwords that are not obvious or easily guessed (e.g. not your name or your pet's name, password or 1234)
- Change your passwords periodically
- Try and create different passwords for different sites rather than using the same one for everything.
- One way of keeping your passwords secure is to use a password manager, which is a tool that can manage your logins and generate fresh ones that are harder for hackers to penetrate. There are many available, the two most common systems are LastPass for a cloud solution, and KeePass for an offline solution. Lastpass offers premium trial version for 30 days which continues as a free basic service even ifyou don't purchase a premium subscription. KeePass is always free with no cost.
- Never allow others to use your personal account
- Log off at the end of each session to ensure that nobody else can use your account
- Promptly inform your lecturer, library staff or other TAFE SA staff member if you suspect you have received a message that is inappropriate, or you suspect you have a computer virus
- Promptly exit an inappropriate website should you accidentally access such a site
Netiquette
As well as keeping yourself safe online, you're expected to respect the safety and comfort of other students. The term netiquette was coined some years ago to describe principles of civil behaviour online - here are some useful points of netiquette for you to follow in your interactions with other students and with the wider Internet community:
- Avoid writing email or messages in all capitals. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING! It's also difficult to read.
- Keep your written communications succinct and focused. Few people like reading lengthy text on a computer screen. Many people now receive email on mobile phones and other portable devices, and small screens can make reading long messages challenging.
- Remember that comments you post to a forum or chat session via Skype etc. are publicly available to ALL students and teachers in that session. If you want to make side comments to individuals during the session, make sure you address it to them only before posting.
- Stick to the topic when posting a message. Don't indiscriminately post unrelated comments. This practice, known as spamming, can quickly lead to another unpleasant Internet practice, flaming.
- What is flaming? Sometimes you might offend someone unintentionally. This can generate some angry, or even rude, responses in a public discussion such as on Facebook. This is called being flamed. If you retaliate, you may spark a flame war. To contain the heat, the best response usually is no response at all - or a heartfelt apology.
- When sending email, make sure that the subject line accurately describes what the message is about. If the topic changes during a string of messages, alter the subject line. This also makes it easier if you want to refer back to an important email message again later.
- Think twice before you send email. Consider all your electronic communications to be public and act accordingly. Electronic communications may seem temporary, but when you hit the Delete key, they don't go away. Email is usually stored on a mail server and can be retrieved. The same is true for online forums. What you post can't be retracted and there will be a record of it somewhere, so be aware of that before you post anything in haste.
- Never send emails or other messages containing:
- a message that was sent to you in confidence, without the approval of the person who originally sent the message
- a virus or attachment that is capable of damaging another person’s computer
- chain letters and hoax emails
- a message that has been altered without the knowledge of the original author
- Never post:
- unacceptable or unlawful material or remarks, including offensive, abusive or discriminatory comments
- material that is threatening, bullying or harassing to another person, or makes excessive or unreasonable demands upon another person
- sexually explicit or suggestive content
- false or defamatory information about a person or organisation
If you feel uncomfortable with a message you have received whilst studying at TAFE, speak with your lecturer or another TAFE SA staff member about it. If you would prefer to make your complaint in writing, use the Feedback form on this TAFE SA Feedback or Complaint page.
Essentially, netiquette is about treating people online the same way you'd like to be treated. This will help make your usage of the Web a positive experience.
For further information
ESafety Commissioner (Australian Government) - provides lots of useful information on cyber safety
Australian Cyber Security Centre - discusses current threats such as common spam and phishing emails, impersonation scams etc., and provides up-to-date information about how to protect yourself.
