Use Encryption
Do you remember using Pig Latin to try and fool the adults in the room about what you were saying? (If you never played this word game, go to the Wikipedia page on Pig Latin to find out more.) In Pig Latin, the word computers became omputerscay. This is like a form of encryption. Pig Latin was a way to change what you were saying with a code. The only way you could understand what someone was saying was to know the code. Unfortunately, an awful lot of people know Pig Latin - so it isn't a very secure code.
Computers use codes to take information and to mix it up so that it cannot be plainly read by anyone who happens to be sitting in Panera Bread (or anywhere else that provides WiFi for free that is unencrypted). Please listen to this story about encryption and email from NPR.
It is important to understand what encryption is and to make sure that you use it when you shop online, send sensitive information in email, or if you use a laptop computer. If your laptop is stolen, you can be confident that thieves cannot retrieve your personal information if your laptop is encrypted. Also, see the additional information in this module about setting up your home wireless network in a secure way using encryption.
You should make sure that websites are using encryption whenever you are providing a username and password or if you are conducting any monetary transaction. Watch the video below from GetNetWise.org on how to recognize the signs that a website is using encryption. Press the start button to begin.
