Study guide · 2.2
Cultivate, manage, and protect your digital reputation
Your digital reputation is the impression others form from what they find about you online. Because online actions can last and spread, this guide covers the permanence of what you post and the legal and ethical rules for using technology.
A study feature written by ExamDragon, not part of the real exam. Each heading is one of Certiport's skills for this objective.
2.2.1Recognize the permanence of actions in the digital world
- Your digital footprint is the trail of data you leave online: posts, comments, likes, photos, searches and shopping.
- Content can be copied, screenshotted, shared or archived, so deleting it does not guarantee it is gone.
- Messages that disappear after viewing can still be captured by the recipient.
- Employers, universities and others may search for you online before making decisions.
- Search your own name now and then to see what others can find.
- Think before posting: would you be comfortable if a teacher, employer or family member saw it in five years?
Example: A student deletes an angry post an hour later, but a classmate has already taken a screenshot and shared it in a group chat.
2.2.2Recognize legal and ethical behavior when using technology
- Respect copyright: do not copy, share or sell others' work (music, films, software, images) without permission or a licence that allows it.
- Using pirated software or media is illegal in many countries and often carries malware.
- Do not access accounts, devices or networks without permission, even if you know the password.
- Do not share other people's private photos or details without consent.
- Plagiarism, passing off someone else's work as your own, is an ethical breach and against school and workplace rules.
- Follow the acceptable use policy of your school or workplace for devices and networks.
Example: Your friend leaves their email open on a shared computer; the ethical and lawful choice is to sign them out, not to read their messages.
Key terms
- Digital footprint
- The record of your activity and content online.
- Digital reputation
- How others see you based on what is online about you.
- Copyright
- The legal right of creators to control copying and use of their work.
- Plagiarism
- Presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own.
- Piracy
- Copying or sharing software or media without permission.
Easy to confuse
- Believing deleted or disappearing content is gone for good.
- Thinking something is free to reuse because it is easy to find online.
- Assuming a private account means nobody else will ever see a post.
- Treating legal and ethical as the same; some actions may be legal yet still unkind or unfair.
After this guide: You should be able to explain why online actions are hard to undo and recognize legal and ethical choices when using technology.