It is possible to have security, but not privacy, so although you believe your data may be secure, your privacy can be being invaded. You wouldn't know by who, so the best thing to do for now until privacy is better regulated is to be mindful of what you are doing on the internet.
College students should be on the lookout for breaches in their social media accounts. In this digital age, College kids put most of their information on their social media accounts and should take the necessary precautions to create secure passwords.
"Over the past four years, Google has admitted 'scanning and indexing' student email messages and data mining student users for commercial gain." What to take away? Data mining is present everywhere and better encryption is becoming more and more relevant in the digital life of a college student in 2018.
1. Don't download free media.
2. Don't overshare personal information on social media accounts.
3. Change passwords regularly.
4. Be cautious on public networks and computers.
If you are a college student or anyone else and you play online video games (fortnite, clash of clans, etc), you should be on the lookout for scams. They usually target people who aren't willing to pay for in-game currency, and none of them ever give what they promise.
Even when college students use computer or electronic devices that belong to the school, any websites they visit, links they download, and videos they watch can offer behavioral information and data that is directly tied to that student's profile, and thus them too. It's important to be aware of this fact, and realize that whatever privacy you think that Mac in the back of the library offers you is in reality nonexistent. That Mac is uploading your data to the Cloud every minute you use it, and it's important to track and understand that your online information is being sent, without your consent, to other entities. So, be careful with what you search up next time.
To any future college students: Be careful of what you type on the internet or reveal about yourself in an online forum. Despite the shocking revelations of the size and scope of the government's surveillance programs revealed by Edward Snowden, the majority of Americans don't understand the kind of information the government has on them, have taken few steps to protect their online data, and believe that such programs don't go far enough in tackling terrorism. Ironically, these same Americans also overwhelmingly believe that consumers have lost protection of their data to companies who have used their clients' privacy as a commodity. I would advise you to be careful of what you post online, and follow a few steps, such as passwords, encryption, and clearing your cookies, to help protect at least some of your data online and allow you to remain private. These programs continue to this day, and it's important that you protect what little privacy remains.