As summer begins to come to a close, we will soon begin the hustle and bustle of back to school season. Or maybe it has already begun for you? A lot of times we focus on staying safe and following cyber security safety in the workplace, however, you can also practice (and teach) cyber security tips in the classroom at school too. Since kids today are already very tech savvy, it would be to their benefit to learn helpful IT security tips. Teaching kids early on about proper IT safety will help keep their devices secure and their sensitive information kept afar from hackers and cyber attacks. As an IT support company, we see the significance of sharing tips to help kids form good habits that will keep them safe when it comes to cyber security.
Here are some basic IT security tips for kids to follow to help protect their personal information as they head back to school:
1) Don’t share passwords. This is of course a hot topic among adults, nonetheless, we definitely want to spread the word to any child that is using a device such as a laptop or tablet to not share their password. In the classroom, kids also use programs such as Google Classroom to store their projects or classwork. It’s important to share with your kids to not share their password with anyone so their classwork is kept safe throughout the school year. This will help kids understand the importance of not sharing a password for an email account or a video game. And that it is another way to keep sensitive data safe and secure.
2) Remember to properly log out of programs. Sometimes kids are rushing when the bell rings, maybe they are trying to head out to lunch as quickly as possible or it’s time to go home. Make sure to remind your kids to take the time to properly log out of the program they were using in the classroom. That they need to find the “Log Out” link and make sure to click it so they are completely logged out. If a child doesn’t properly log out, the next child who uses that computer could end up in that account. All progress could be lost of the child who was previously on that computer and what a bummer for them the next time they go to log into their account and see someone else has been using it.
3) Be cautious of using public Wi-Fi. For older kids such as middle schoolers, high school or college students who are studying in public places such as libraries, coffee shops, etc. make sure to use a secure wireless network. As a managed IT service provider we suggest using a VPN connection method which will provide an extra layer of security when accessing Wi-Fi.
4) Educate kids to be cautious with opening email attachments. The only email attachments they should be opening is from a trusted source such as family or friends.
5) Keep software up-to-date. Letting kids know earlier on to notify a teacher if something needs to be updated will help them learn to make updates on their own devices. A lot of time kids will take what they learn at school and apply it at home. Updates are so important – children should be aware of why they need to keep devices up-to-date, and how it will keep their data safe and help reduce cyber threats.
6) Watch for scams. As adults we get emails that are scams weekly, possibly even daily, yet we know what to do if something looks fishy – don’t click on it! The same thing needs to be shared with kids. They need to know to be careful about what they click. Stay away from links they don’t recognize. And stay away from pop-up ads altogether. Be safe and cautious with email and be mindful when they are surfing the web. Kids need to know not to click on everything and what type of signs to look for if an email or link does not look safe.
We hope everyone has a great start to the new school year and practices cyber security safety in the classroom.