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Lesson Note

The digital data trail we leave online unintentionally is called
passive digital footprints. This includes the data generated when
we visit a website, use a mobile App, browse Internet, etc.
Trail of digital footprint grows with more usages. In browser it can stored as history, cookies,
passwords, auto fills etc. Besides browser, most of our digital footprints are stored in servers
where the applications are hosted. We may not have access to remove or erase that data;
neither do we have any control on how that data will be used.
Therefore, we need to be more cautious while being online! All our online activities leave a
data trace on the Internet as well as on the computing device that we use.

APPROPRIATE USAGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS
Social media is everywhere these days. From personal to professional front, we encounter
social media in multiple ways – directly or indirectly. Whatever we do online remains as digital
footprint for years.
Mostly the social media that we use is for personal reasons and most of the conversations here
harmless, but still, once posted these become part of public domain and hence are visible to
anyone who looks for it.
No harm, but sometimes may cause problem while – taking admission in higher education or
looking for a job or even when looking for a life partner. This is because, these days, many
universities look for digital footprint of applicant students before giving them admission.
Similarly employers also may look for digital footprint of candidates and so on.
Thus appropriate usage of social networks is very important and you must be aware that it may
pose problems later if not used appropriately.

Appropriate usage of Social Media
For appropriate usage of Social media we should know some things and also we should avoid
certain things.
What You Should Know ?
• While using social networking sites, you should know about
• What are the right online behaviors
• What is considered a cybercrime
• Must not indulge in cyber crime activities
• Current and updated dangers and possible traps
• Privacy setting

Privacy Settings
When you start using social media, you should not go with default privacy settings. Rather it is
always a good idea to set-up privacy settings yourself by using Account settings. Through
privacy settings, you can control:
• Who all can see what you have posted,
• Who all can send requests to you
• What all information about you is visible to others, even to your contacts etc.
In short, you should always set-up privacy settings for all types of social media yourself.

What You should do – Usage Rules