The new academic year introduces a “new beginning” of sorts. New students. New routines. New goals and ambitions. These first weeks can be hectic, but they are one of the more exciting aspects of our culture in higher education.

New beginnings can also be difficult–even tragic–if your “electronic life” is compromised.

What if someone gains access to your Bmail account–and decides to delete everything (messages, calendar, contacts, etc.)? With that same access, very personal information in myBucknell is also exposed–creating an opportunity for the theft of your identity.

From there, lots of things become vulnerable–your bank accounts, credit cards, retirement funds, and even your personal medical history. Anything on-line about you–even personal social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter–are at risk. In some cases, even the data on your personal hard drive–sitting in your own home or office–could potentially be exploited or lost.

An Apocalyptic prediction? Perhaps, but this type of hacking scenario is becoming alarmingly more common. Please protect yourself! Here are some tips on how to do so:

•  NEVER provide your password to anyone! No legitimate source would EVER ask you for this information. As a reminder, the Bucknell Appropriate Usage Policy states “Do not give your password to anyone or allow anyone else to use your account(s).”

•  Make all of your passwords complex, using at least eight characters and incorporating mixed case, numbers, and symbols.

• Do not use the same username and password for all of your online credentials (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, banking, email, shopping, blogs, etc.). If those credentials fall into the wrong hands, you’ve just given someone the key to your online existence. We recommend NOT using your Bucknell username and password for any non-Bucknell service.

• Finally, back up your data! If it exists in only one place, it is very close to not existing at all.

Tech Support is always happy to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have. Feel free to contact us at techdesk@bucknell.edu or by calling 7-7777.

Happy New “Academic” Year!