With a new school year starting and the use of technology being more prevalent, it is important to keep in mind ways to stay safe online each semester and even in the summer.
Use a Strong Password
The first way to keep safe from cybercriminals is to have a strong password. Three simple words to keep in mind when creating your password are unique, long and complex.
Unique: Make sure you and your student are using a different password for each account, and never reuse the same password. By doing this, if one of your passwords gets stolen, your other accounts cannot be hacked using the stolen password.
Long: It is recommended that your passwords should be at least 12 characters long.
Complex: Each of your unique passwords should include a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters (like #,$,?,!).
You do not want a password that is easy to guess, and it should not include recognizable words.
Stay Safe While Learning Online
While online learning remains in the school systems, the use of computers, home networks and accounts can leave schools vulnerable. Below are a list of things to do to stay safe while learning online:
- Keep your device and software up to date, and activate automatic updates.
- Avoid potential phishing attacks with links and attachments – be cautious before clicking on suspicious links.
- Create strong passwords for all of your devices and accounts.
- Change the password for your home internet router, and do not use the default password given.
- Do not share personal information or passwords with others.
- Frequently back up your files.
If you feel you have been victimized by a fraud attempt, contact our Customer Care Center immediately at (888) 372-9788 or visit one of our branches.
