SECTION 1: DIGITAL SAFETY: COMPUTER THREATS

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SECTION 2: DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP – PART I REVIEW

Message to Parents and Teacher

Parents: Digital Citizenship – Part I has been designed to teach your child how to stay safe using digital devices and how to protect herself/himself on the Internet. For example in Unit 5, your child discovered the rules and expectations for responsible online behavior. In Unit 6 your child studied how to safely surf the Internet. In Unit 7 your child became aware of safe usernames, screen names, and passwords; how to guard his/her online identity, and ways to protect private information. In Unit 8 your child learned about safe and unsafe Internet content and how to deal with cyberbullies. In section 1 of this unit your child will be introduced to computer threats and the dangers associated with them. Section 2 will be a review of the terminology and content from Units 1-8.

You are encouraged to have a conversation with your child about potential online risks and the protection of digital devices. If you would like to check tips on keeping your child safe on the Internet, go to the following website, https://www.safekids.com/child-safety-on-the-information-highway/, or watch the videos at http://us.norton.com/family-resources/. Finally, you may want to consider an online safety contract with your child found at https://www.safekids.com/contract.htm .

If you have questions about computer threats or the previous content from Units 1-8, please consult the teacher.

Unit Overview

Although the Internet has many benefits as you have learned in Units 5-8, it also has possible dangers. Another part of digital safety is keeping your computer safe when using the Internet and knowing how these dangers may affect you or your family. In Unit 5 you discovered the rules and expectations for responsible online behavior. In Unit 6 you studied how to safely surf the Internet. In Unit 7 you became aware of safe usernames, screen names, and passwords; how to guard your online identity; and ways to protect your private information. In Unit 8 you learned about safe and unsafe Internet websites and how to deal with cyberbullies. In this unit you will be introduced to computer threats and their dangers to you and your computer.

When you have completed this unit, you will:

understand computer threats (viruses, spyware, worms, Trojan horses, and pop-up ads);
learn the signs that your computer may be infected by these threats;
understand how to avoid these threats;
realize how to use anti-virus and spyware blocker software to protect your digital devices; and
review Digital Citizenship terms and content from Units 1-8.

Activity: To understand the information in this unit, you should know the following words. Click on the play button to hear the word and then hit the stop button. Give your definition and then listen to the definition. After listening to the definitions, talk to your parents or teacher about what each word means.

SECTION 1: DIGITAL SAFETY: COMPUTER THREATS

Computer Viruses

Have you ever been sick? If you have had the flu or a virus, you realize that germs may spread to you from another person with a handshake or sneeze. Computer viruses are no different. Instead of germs though, the computer viruses are computer programs that infect computers. These programs or viruses can be hidden in a normal-looking email or on websites with funny pictures, attractive graphics, or interesting videos. When a bad person designs a website or sends you an affected email, your computer may get a virus as soon as you click on it. At that moment the damage is done, and the virus now spreads on your computer and causes damage. These viruses may also be worms or Trojan horses. A worm harms your computer by copying itself and spreading throughout your computer. A Trojan horse is harmful software that is disguised as safe content, but it causes damage to your computer.

The following are some signs that your computer is infected by a virus, worm, or Trojan horse.

Your computer is running much slower than usual.
Computer programs are not working properly.
You have unusual messages popping up on your computer.

Since it is sometimes hard to tell when your computer has a virus, the best defense is to install anti-virus software on your computer. This anti-virus software prevents viruses from getting on your computer and removes them if they are found on your computer. One way to keep your computer from being infected is to never open suspicious emails unless you know and trust whoever sent you the message. Last, you should never go on unfamiliar websites.

Now answer questions 1-4.

Other Computer Threats

Spyware and pop-up ads are other possible threats to your computer. Spyware are software programs that secretly steal your private information when you are online. Spyware programs keep changing your home page in the browser to a particular website. Once you discover spyware on your computer, it can be removed. Spyware blocker software can detect spyware on your computer and remove it.

Another threat to your computer is an unwanted pop-up ad. These advertisements automatically open a new window on your computer screen when certain websites are visited. Pop-up ads from unfamiliar websites can have spyware or viruses attached to them too. You should ignore pop-up ads by closing them immediately when they appear on your computer. Be especially careful about pop-up ads that claim your computer is infected or needs to be scanned for errors. If you click on it, there is a good chance you will get a virus, worm, spyware, or Trojan horse.

Here are some signs that your computer is infected by spyware or unwanted pop-up ads.

Your browser tells you pages cannot be loaded although your Internet connection is fine.
A toolbar shows up without warning.
You are re-directed to another website other than the one you wanted.
You are bombarded with pop- up ads or warnings that your computer may be infected from a program you did not install.

Now answer questions 5-6.

Wrap-up and Review

Although the Internet is safe most times, a computer virus, worm, or Trojan horse may infect your computer. At times, a bad person may try to steal your private information when you click on a pop-up ad. These pop-up ads encourage you to click on them. Be especially careful with pop-up ads that claim your computer is infected or needs to be scanned for errors. Last, do not open an email from someone you do not know.

Now answer questions 7-8.

Activity (Optional): Click on the image. Register for free anti-virus software by completing the Activity.

SECTION 2: DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP – PART I REVIEW

Click here to view the presentation to complete this section.

Go back to Unit 3: Keyboarding! You should practice your keyboarding skills on the next lesson after the one you stopped on the last time. Keep track of your work. Click here to download and fill out the chart. Show it to your parents and teacher, so they can see your keyboarding skill progress.

Below are additional educational resources and activities for this unit.

Unit 9 Letters

Unit 9 Wordsearch