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Home / About this site / Online security

About this site

  • Access keys
  • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright information
  • Online security
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Online security

It's important to keep yourself safe and secure online so people can't access your information. We take steps to keep your information secure but there are some things you can do too.

Keeping you safe online

We make sure that we keep your information safe and secure.

  • We'll never contact you to ask for your username or password.
  • We give you an option to set up a pin number to secure your online account.
  • You'll be automatically logged out of our online services if you don't do anything for five minutes. You'll need to log back in to continue.
  • We store your information securely.

Online surveys

You may receive an email asking you to complete an online survey for feedback on our services. If you get an email, it will come from noreply@surveys.msd.govt.nz.

You'll never be asked to provide any personal details, eg passwords or bank account numbers, as part of this survey.

Keep yourself safe online

Important information

If you notice anything out of the ordinary with your MyStudyLink, change your password or pin and contact us

Tips to help you keep your passwords and pins secure.

  • Make your password at least eight characters long and have a mix of:
    • capital letters
    • lowercase letters
    • numbers
    • symbols.
  • Create a password or pin that's hard for others to guess.
  • Never share your password or pin with anyone.
How to create secure passwords

It's important that you keep your computer's operating system and the software that runs on it secure and up-to-date.

Protect yourself online

If you use a public computer, always:

  • Select the 'I'm using a public or shared computer' option when logging into MyStudyLink.
  • Log out of your account when you're finished.
  • Select the 'Forget my details' button when logging out of MyStudyLink.
  • Log out of anything else you're using like Facebook, email accounts or internet banking.
  • Close the web browser.

For more information on how to keep yourself safe when using a public computer, go to

Protect yourself online help from the Privacy Commission

Keep yourself safe while using your mobile device and:

  • Set up a password or pin and/or complex swipe on your device to restrict access to it in case it's lost or stolen.
  • Remember to always log out of your account and any other web browsers such as email accounts, internet banking, etc.
Keep yourself safe when using your mobile device advice from Netsafe

There are lots of different online scams. It's good to be aware of what's out there and know what you can do to keep yourself safe from these.

One of the most common scams is called a phishing attack. This is where you could receive an email that looks like it has come from an organisation you trust (like a bank), asking you to reveal personal information online, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Some important things to remember are:

  • Don't open emails or click on links in emails from people you don't know.
  • Don't be tricked into giving out login and password details, real companies don't ask for these.
About Internet scams, spam and fraud advice from New Zealand Police

There are many ways that people could access your information if you don't keep yourself safe online.

Examples of what could happen:

  • Sam used a computer at the library to declare her wages using MyStudyLink. She left the library without logging out and the next person was able to access all her details in MyStudyLink.
  • Lenny received an email from his bank recommending that he upgrade to their maximum security features and providing a link for him to sign up. Lenny clicked on the link and entered his username and password. Someone then used his details to log into his internet banking account and withdrew all his money.
  • John lost his mobile phone and he hadn't set up a password or pin. Someone found his phone and was able to access his applications like Facebook and email and find out a lot of personal information about John.

linksRelated

Netsafe
Report online incidents at the Orb (Netsafe)

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