A Short Guide to Digital Privacy for College Students

If you’re a college student then you’ve probably started the Spring semester by now or will be starting soon. The first week is always hectic and incredibly stressful – having to navigate upcoming assignments, scheduling demands from different professors, reading (and re-reading syllabi), and figuring out which browser is compatible with your university’s learning management system (LMS). Not the most exciting stuff, but hey, that’s student life.

Many learning management systems are compatible with Chrome, making it a challenge to maintain your digital privacy while getting your homework done. If you try to use Safari, Firefox, or (insert your preferred browser here), the system might not work properly. This isn’t a big deal if you’re just studying or taking notes, but during exams and other important tasks, any browser malfunctions can be a HUGE deal. Some exams will even lock you out if your browser malfunctions – resulting in you receiving a failing grade which was not your fault.

But why should you care about which browser you use?Your browser knows a lot about you. If you’re browsing in standard mode, your browser tracks you as you move across the web. This is mostly done to improve your browsing experience, but some browsers may be monetizing your data or (even worse) selling it to third parties. For example, here are some examples of the data that your browser saves as you surf the web:

• Cookies - tiny pieces of data about you and what you’ve been doing.
• A log of the visit in your history.
• A history of any files you’ve downloaded.
• Saved passwords.
• Your search history.
• Cache, which is pieces of the sites you visit so that loading time is faster in the future.
• Any form data that can be autocompleted later.

With private browsing, none of this invasive tracking happens. Your history, logs, and clicks are kept private. While private browsing does have its limitations – e.g. private browsers alone won’t protect you from network monitoring or spyware – it will keep your browsing data private and out of third-party hands. For a truly private experience, we recommend pairing a private browser with a good and ideally built-in VPN, so your activity is hidden from nosy entities that want to keep an eye on what you’re doing.

The good news is that you don’t have to sacrifice your privacy to get your degree. Avast Secure Browser is a privacy-first browser that blocks online tracking and unwanted ads, masks your digital identity, and is EASY to use.

Because Avast Secure Browser is based on Chromium (the same codebase as Google Chrome) it works great with most learning management systems, such as Canvas, Blackboard, D2L, and Google Classroom. And, unlike Chrome, it won’t compromise your digital privacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hxakdM67vo

Avast Secure Browser comes equipped with tons of features that help make student life less stressful, like its built-in VPN, and it’s available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. With cross-platform sync, you can sync your history and bookmarks between your desktop and mobile devices, and it’s all fully encrypted. Having your data available on every device saves tons of time when it matters – like during finals week. So while we won’t do your homework for you, we can help make it easier to stay organized, focused, and safe online.

Try Avast Secure Browser with your LMS and let us know how you like it!