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Year 7 · Autumn 1 · Digital Citizen

Logging in, file management and strong passwords

PracticalPresent ▶

What this lesson covers

Topic 17 Cybersecurity

KS3 Computing · Cybersecurity protects computers and data. Most attacks trick people or use weak systems, so good defences cover both.

Computer Systems Networks and Digital CommunicationCambridge Lower Secondary Computing 0860

You will learn to

  • Log in to the school network, find your work area and log out safely.
  • Create a folder for each subject and give files clear names.
  • Explain why a long password is harder to guess than a short, messy one.
  • Use the crack-time toy to compare how long different passwords take to guess.

Success criteria

  • I can log in, find my work area and log out.
  • I can make a folder for each subject and save a file with a clear name.
  • I can explain, with numbers, why 12 lower-case letters beat 8 messy characters.

Key words

Say each word, then read what it means. Every one is in the glossary too.

Malware
Malicious software: viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware.
Phishing
Fake messages that trick people into giving details.
Brute force
Trying every possible password until one works.
Encryption
Scrambling data so only someone with the key can read it.
Firewall
Checks network traffic and blocks what isn't allowed.

The explanation

Read it here, or open the study page below to go one step at a time with things to try.

Why password length matters

PasswordCalculationPossibilities
4-digit PIN10⁴10,000
8 lower-case letters26⁸about 209 billion
8 of any keyboard symbol94⁸about 6 quadrillion
12 lower-case letters26¹²about 95 quadrillion
e.g.Example

A long passphrase like purple-violin-tuesday-rain beats a short messy one.

Study it

Open the study page and go one step at a time.

Topic 17 · Year 9

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity protects computers and data. Most attacks trick people or exploit weak systems, so defences cover both.

The steps for this lesson

Try it

Check yourself

One question at a time. The reason shows after each answer.

Saved on this device.