Studying abroad is an incredible opportunity. You get to travel, make friends, create unique memories, familiarize yourself with another culture, and even learn a new language. Even though becoming an international student is exciting, it comes with its own challenges. While you might first think of cultural differences or language barriers, it’s essential not to overlook the challenge of securing your online privacy.
No matter what country you choose to study in, you should know how to protect yourself online. Let’s unpack the common threats online and how you can approach them to protect your online security.
Common Online Threats for International Students
Since students studying abroad mostly rely on internet access and social media for communication and directions, they become easily targeted by bad actors online. There are many ways cybercriminals attack international students, with some of the most common ones listed below.
Phishing
As a student, you will conduct most of your professional communication through emails. Criminals are very well aware of that, so they tend to leverage this communication channel for most of their scams.
When you use your email, you can receive all kinds of phishing mail, such as fake scholarship opportunities, assignments, and messages posing as trusted sources. Fake phishing links can lead to fraudulent university websites that request personal information like usernames, passwords, or financial details.
Malware and ransomware
Students can also receive malware through communication channels, email attachments, or fake web pages. Malware is usually lightweight and comes as attachments, so downloading it takes only a few seconds. After downloading, malware might steal important data and interrupt device functionality.
Another kind of malware is ransomware, in which case hackers lock your files and data until you pay them a certain fee. This sort of intrusion may be disastrous for students who don’t back up their files and keep their research and assignments on the hijacked PC.
Public Wi-Fi attacks
When you’re away from home, public Wi-Fi at coffee shops, on campus, or in libraries may be the quickest method of going online. But while public Wi-Fi may appear innocent, it might compromise your online security.
Most public networks are insecure because cybercriminals can easily hack into them and monitor everything you do when you’re connected to a compromised network. They may intercept the data you enter while logging into university internal systems or social media accounts, then steal it to impersonate you and deceive others.
Protect Yourself From Online Threats
Safeguarding your information from potential thieves is essential when you are traveling abroad to study. Besides, you wouldn’t want to lose your data or threaten your university in any way. So, here’s what you can do to protect yourself when you are studying abroad.
Utilize complex passwords
If you want to protect your online security, first, you should make sure that all your accounts have unique and complex passwords. Each should be long and include both lowercase and uppercase letters, special characters, and numbers.
Strong passwords are the cornerstone of online protection, but if you don’t want to deal with creating them yourself, opt for password managers that can be downloaded as browser extensions. Regardless of whether you need an Opera or Firefox password manager, the market offers a variety of them for you to choose from. These tools can generate strong and secure passwords and store all your login credentials for all your accounts conveniently in one place.
Secure your devices when online
All the devices you are using to study and leisure should be secured. That includes having an up-to-date antivirus, firewall, web browser, and other software.
Check that you have done all regular system updates, as these provide your devices with the most robust cybersecurity patches. Use a VPN when accessing the internet, particularly when you want to visit sites like Torrent. The best VPN for torrenting will encrypt all the traffic going to and from your device, so no one will be able to track what you’re doing online.
Stay aware of online scams and report them
International students should be aware of popular scams, such as phishing emails and messages, infected malware attachments, and others. So, whenever you receive suspicious or unusual emails, always make sure the sender is authentic before responding or clicking on the provided links.
If you suspect anything odd, contact your university right away. By letting the authorities know about suspicious activity online, you will protect yourself and others.
Avoiding Stress While Studying Abroad
Studying abroad shouldn’t be stressful. Just stay vigilant for potential threats and use tried-and-true cybersecurity measures whenever you encounter something suspicious. By adopting tactics to safeguard yourself online, you’ll be able to enjoy your time in another country to the fullest.
