If it’s on your screen, others can see it. In this video, you’ll learn about shoulder surfing and what you can do to protect yourself against prying eyes.
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At some point during your day, the information that’s on your computer screen is probably going to be pretty important. Might be financial information. There might be medical information on the screen. It may be company proprietary details that you’re dealing with.
And many people would love to have access to that. Whether it’s somebody who’s simply curious or someone who is a competitor who’s trying to get that information to use it.
Shoulder surfing is very easy. It’s probably the lowest tech hack you can think of. You’re simply looking at the screen.
If you walk around an airport, you’ll see people on their emails. They’ll be connected to their companies. Maybe someone who has a monitor that’s facing the hallway, they have no idea that you’re looking at their screen. And, of course, in coffee shops, it’s very easy to see what people are doing on their computer.
You can also shoulder surf by using a telescope or binoculars. You can shoulder surf between buildings to see what someone is doing. You can also shoulder surf with a webcam. Turn on a webcam that’s in a room and now you can see exactly what’s on someone’s screen.
Thankfully, shoulder surfing is a very easy thing to control because you’re in control of what people can see. You need to know exactly what’s on your screen. And you need to be aware of your surroundings and who might be watching what you’re doing.
Another thing you can do is to use a privacy filter. If you have a privacy filter– here’s one that’s on this laptop here– for us, it looks like the screen is completely blank, but if you’re standing directly in front of the laptop, you can see everything that’s on the screen. This is perfect if you’re on a plane. And the only people that can see what’s happening in that laptop is you. The people to the left and right of you simply see a black screen.
Might also want to keep your monitor out of sight. Keep it away from windows. Look for reflections where people could see what you’re doing by simply looking into a reflection that’s behind you.
And another thing you can do is to be very careful when you’re a flight. Everyone who’s behind you can see everything that’s on your laptop. You want to be very careful of the people that are around you. And very careful of what you have on your screen, and you’ll be able to avoid any instances of shoulder surfing.