Today’s goals:

• Finish up with browsers: explore developer tools in Firefox and Chrome
• Learn internet and computer security basics: how to keep your devices and accounts safe

 Today’s featured website:

• https://www.signs.com/branded-in-memory/– How well can you draw a popular brand logo from memory?

 Browser Developer Tools

• Check out some of the useful web developer tools available in Firefox by doing the following activities
  1. Open Firefox. You should see your web developer tools in the tool bar at the top of the browser. If not, right click in the tool bar and then make sure “web developer” has a check in front of it.
  2. Go to a website you like
  3. Go to the CSS tab, click on it, and select “Disable all styles” so you can see the difference CSS makes to a webpage.
  4. Click on the Images tab and go to View Image Information in the menu.
  5. Click on the Information tab and then go to Display Element Information. Now point your mouse to different things on the page to see the code.
  6. Go back to the Information tab and choose View Color Information; this will show you all of the colors a website uses.
  7. Go to the Miscellaneous tab and choose Edit HTML. Change some of the HTML on the page and see what happens.
  8. Go to the Outline tab and choose Outline Block level elements. What do you notice about them?
  9. Go to the Resize tab and choose View Responsive Layouts to see how the page looks on different screen sizes. Also, go to the top right of the browser, click on the “hamburger” (3 horizontal lines in the tool bar), choose Developer, then Responsive Design mode. Drag the edge around to see how the page shifts depending on the screen size (if the page is responsive; make note of whether it is).
  10. Last thing: Let’s look at Chrome

 Internet & Computer Security Basics

• October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
• Do now: “Can you outsmart a hacker?” and Internet Safety Quiz
• Discuss: What’s a virus? What’s malware? What’s spam? Have you ever experienced any of those things?
• Watch: Let’s also check out this short video
• Read: Quick and to the point: a security expert’s 3 rules for online security
• Protecting your devices
  1. Questions: How do you keep software, browsers, and mobile apps up to date? Do you need an anti-virus program on your phone or tablet? How can you tell if something you want to download is legitimate?
  2. Install software and hardware updates. A major cyber attack last spring was successful because it exploited security issues in outdated Microsoft software.
  3. Keep browsers and apps up to date.
  4. Never download anything you don’t recognize or that doesn’t look legitimate!
  5. Always use anti-virus programs on your computers, even Macs. AVG and Avast make good free anti-virus programs.
  6. Use a passcode on your phone and a password on your computer account.
  7. Never connect to a Wi-Fi network you don’t recognize. When using public Wi-Fi, like at Starbucks or the library or wherever, stick to browsing the web or using music apps. Be careful with using apps or sites that contain personal information, such as banking apps and email. Finally, make sure your home Wi-Fi is secure and password protected.
  8. Back up your important files regularly!
• Protecting your accounts
  1. Questions: What makes a good password? Why shouldn’t you use the same password for multiple accounts? What is 2-factor authentication?
  2. Create long, secure passwords that have a combination of numbers, symbols, and upper/lowercase letters.
  3. Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts.
  4. Consider using a secure password manager to manage all of your passwords.
  5. Never email your password.
  6. Consider enabling 2 factor authentication. For example, you must get a text with a secure code before logging into your Gmail account on an unknown computer.
• Avoiding malware
  1. What is malware?
  2. How can you tell if a website is legitimate? Or something you want to download? Or an app?
  3. Should you click on pop-up ads on websites and in games? Why or why not?
  4. Should you click on links or download things in emails from a person or address you don’t recognize? Why or why not?
  5. Should you always click on a link with an outrageous headline about a celebrity?
  6. How can you tell if an email is legitimate? For example, if Apple emails you about your Apple ID?
  7. Still not sure if a site is legit? This Google scanner can help.
• Protecting your website
  1. Questions: What are some ways web hosts protect websites from becoming infected with malware? Why is WordPress vulnerable to hacking? What are some steps you can take to keep your website secure?
  2. Make sure you web host has protections in place to prevent malware from infecting your site.
  3. If you use WordPress, keep it up to date along with all plug-ins and themes. Use a different username than admin and make sure you have a long, secure password.
  4. Use a site scanner if you suspect your site has been compromised.
• Bad things that can happen
  1. Question: What can you do if your computer, phone, or website has been infected with malware or if you’re a victim of hacking?
  2. Computer or device destroyed; files lost; money stolen; identity stolen
• More security
  1. Free stuff to protect your computer
  2. Security tips from the National Cyber Security Alliance