Recently, we have had some concerns regarding misuse of students’ accounts in ClassLinks. Fort Braden, Leon County Schools Safety and Security office and Technology and Information Services office as well as Local authorities are currently monitoring usage of students accounts and individual IP addresses and online activity while logged into ClassLinks. STUDENTS, I ask you to be safe, be polite to teachers and others, and use ClassLinks for assigned schoolwork only. PARENTS, Please monitor your students’ usage and activities online. We have discovered students sharing personal ClassLinks information with each other. This should NEVER be an activity that we allow our students to do. Some of these activities are occurring in the early hours of the morning and children really have no business having unsupervised online access during those times.

I have some quick advice on students’ distance learning and secure online behaviors:

1. Take Passwords Seriously

Take creating a password seriously and always use strong passwords. Hackers can do more damage if you use the same username and password everywhere. Be creative: think of a special phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password. Combine numbers, letters and symbols, upper and lower case. PARENTS, if you have any concerns or suspicious emails or texts, have your student change their password and give it to you immediately.

2. Keep Your School Email Account Secure

Though it may seem that linking all of your accounts to one email address is a way to make your life simpler, linking your Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and instagram accounts to your school email opens the address to threats. Your social accounts draw attention from hackers, who can then follow them to your school account.

3. Use Secure Networks

ClassLinks is secure and protected by private usernames and passwords. Hackers are aware and many often link to these networks and may even set up spyware to catch private, personal, or financial information. Avoid using public computers to log into secure accounts. Cybercriminals will sometimes set up free public Wi-Fi stations and use a popular scam known as phishing to collect your login information. Just use trusted Wi-Fi networks and avoid login screens that don’t look familiar.

4. Be Aware of Fraudulent Security Experts

Cyber criminals are constantly changing tactics. One recent cyber trap may have involved hackers fraudulently posing as other students and tricking them into giving out their password information. While surfing the web or researching topics, you may stumble upon a page that prompts you to download free or cheap security software. The prompt may even say the software has already found a virus on your computer. These are more than often scams created by cybercriminals looking to steal your information.

5. Avoid Downloading Illegal Content

Don’t download free media. Torrents, direct download websites, and streaming hosts open your computer up to a wide range of malware and viruses. Trojan viruses can install software-like keyloggers, which can record everything you type on a computer, such as usernames and passwords, and send this information to online “bad guys”. You will be less likely to download malicious software if you avoid illegal content and piracy websites. Use good antivirus software and site safety tools, such as Norton Antivirus or McAfee’s SiteAdviser.