Technology Resources
Student
Here are 5 easy steps to take to keep yourself and your friends safe while online
- Protect Personal Information
- Why it's important
- Sharing personal information online can lead to identity theft, cyberbullying, or unwanted contact from strangers.
- How to do it
- Kids should avoid posting their full name, address, phone number, school name, or any other identifying details. They should also be cautious about sharing photos that might reveal personal information.
- Why it's important
- Use Strong Passwords
- Why it's important
- Strong passwords help protect accounts from being hacked.
- How to do it
- A strong password should be at least 12 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Kids should avoid using easily guessable information like their name or birthdate. It's also a good idea to use different passwords for different accounts and to change them regularly.
- Why it's important
- Be Cautious with Friend Requests
- Why it's important
- Accepting friend requests from strangers can expose kids to potential dangers, including cyberbullying and online predators.
- How to do it
- Kids should only accept friend requests from people they know and trust in real life. They should be taught to be skeptical of requests from strangers and to report any suspicious activity to a trusted adult.
- Why it's important
- Think Before Posting
- Why it's important
- Once something is posted online, it can be difficult to remove and can have long-term consequences.
- How to do it
- Encourage kids to think about the potential impact of their posts before sharing. They should avoid posting anything that could be embarrassing, hurtful, or damaging to themselves or others. Remind them that even if they delete a post, it might still be saved or shared by others.
- Why it's important
- Report and Block Inappropriate Content
- Why it's important
- Reporting and blocking inappropriate content helps create a safer online environment and protects kids from harmful interactions.
- How to do it
- Teach kids how to use the reporting and blocking features on the social media platforms they use. They should feel comfortable reporting any content or behavior that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Encourage them to talk to a trusted adult if they encounter anything disturbing online.
- Why it's important
Family
In the vast ocean of the internet where tides of information ebb and flow endlessly, our children stand on the shorelines, curious and eager to dive into its boundless possibilities. But just as the sea conceals treasure and peril, the digital world offers knowledge and opportunity alongside risks and dangers. From Both Sides: A Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Child's Online Activity is crafted to help parents and guardians understand these risks, specifically the hazards of harmful online behaviors and scams targeting children. It also provides the essential tools to guide young surfers safely.
From Both Sides: A Parental Guide to Protecting Your Child's Online Activity
Establish rules and expectations.
Have you thought about the rules you want to establish with your child for setting up accounts and the privacy settings you expect your child to use? What are your expectations and how will you monitor your child’s online activities? Not sure where to start? Check out Common Sense Media.
Help your child monitor and manage their screen time.
It’s easy for our students to spend hours on a device. Use these guidelines and strategies to help your children learn to monitor and manage their screen time.
Discuss privacy settings and accounts.
Teach your child to protect their personal information and model the use of privacy settings. Discuss why these settings are important and teach them how to make privacy setting choices for every app and service they use. This resource can help you get started with privacy and parental settings for devices, apps, websites, and games.
Give your child action steps.
Discuss potential situations that may arise before they happen and give your child action steps. Do they know what they can do if cyberbullied, harassed, or if someone sends them something they don’t want to see? Every difficult situation is an opportunity to help prepare them for life beyond your home. These short parent advice videos, which can be filtered by topic and age, can help you identify action steps you can share with your child.
Teach your child to assess risks and make good choices.
Online communication is public and permanent. Talk with your children regularly and remind them that what they do online can impact future opportunities. Their online reputation can also affect their relationships in the face to face world.
Community
Protecting your Data:
The most sensitive information to protect includes your bank account numbers, social security number, pin numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords.
Don't reuse Passwords:
Use a password manager
Using a password manager (free or paid) allows you to store hundreds or thousands of passwords securely without reusing them.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of protection—think of it like securing your front door with both a deadbolt and a keypad lock. MFA is a simple, effective way to keep hackers out, even if they manage to get your password. Learn more at Microsoft.com
If you believe an account has been compromised, take the following steps:
- Notify all of your contacts that they may receive spam messages appearing to come from your account. Tell your contacts they shouldn’t open messages or click on any links from your account and warn them about the potential for malware.
- If you believe your computer is infected, be sure your security software is up to date, and scan your system for malware. You can also use other scanners and removal tools.
- Change passwords to all accounts that have been compromised and other key accounts as soon as possible.
- If you cannot access your account because a passphrase has been changed, contact the service provider immediately and follow any steps the provider offers for recovering an account.
Additional resources can be found at Stay Safe Online