Malware

Share best practices for identifying, avoiding, and dealing with malware.

About This Module

This curriculum module is based on takeaways from series four of NYC Digital Safety training videos. You may use this module by:

  • Including it in your pre-existing public workshops
  • Combining it with other NYC Digital Safety modules to make a longer data-privacy focused workshop
  • Sharing the handout with library users at various service points

Downloadable presentation slides, a facilitation guide, and a handout can be found below. The handout from this module has been translated into Chinese, Haitian-Creole, Russian, and Spanish.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, learners will be able to:

  • Define malware
  • Describe the ways in which malware can infect a device
  • Identify approaches for preventing and handling malware attacks

Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is also included in the downloadable facilitation guide below. You are welcome to use any and all of this, or adapt it as you see fit.

This module will take approximately 45 to 50 minutes to complete.

Introduction and welcome

Greet learners and review the plan for this module

Defining malware

Provide a brief definition of malware and pause to see if anyone has any questions or anything to add.

Discussion: Your experiences with malware

Break your learners into pairs or small groups and have them discuss their experiences with malware. Have the groups share what they discussed with the entire group

How malware works

Review different types of malware, how malware infects devices, and how to identify malware. Briefly pause after each slide to see if there are any questions or if anyone has something to add

Ways to deal with malware

Review the different strategies listed here and see if anyone has any other strategies to add or if they need something clarified.

Ways to avoid malware

Review the different approaches listed here and see if anyone has anything else to add to the list.

Wrap up, final tips, and final questions

Review the closing thoughts and share the suggested resources. See if anyone has any final questions

Next Steps

Download the materials below for use in your workshop or at service points throughout your library.

If you plan to create a longer privacy-focused workshop using these materials, here is a link to Google slides. Feel free to make a copy if you’d like to add these slides to any other deck.

And please let us know how it went! Use this form to share your feedback on this module. We’d love to hear from you.