Cybersecurity Guidelines

• Be very careful about clicking on any links or downloading any files from any messages unless you know the sender and are expecting the message.

• Technology Services will never ask you to "verify" your username or password. Your account is not going to expire; your email is not going to get shut down. Never include your password in an email or help ticket to Technology Services. Never enter your username or password unless you are certain you are on the correct website.

• Your principal will never email you and ask you to buy iTunes (or other) gift cards for them. Neither will the Superintendent or any Board members. If you get a message like that, it is a scam.

• You can check the actual sender of an email by using the instructions on this page.[NEEDS TO BE REPLACED] Scammers will often impersonate your principal or someone else in the district in the "Sender" field of an email message.

• If you receive a suspicious email, please forward it directly to help@wsdk8.us. If it is legitimate, someone will let you know. If it is dangerous, Technology Services will work to block it.

If you have ANY doubts about an email you received, please delete it immediately. 

• Internet Surfing
• Phishing
• Ransomware
• Social Engineering

• Your WSD password should be something that you do not use for any other site.

• Your password needs to be at least 16 characters long and a maximum of 65 characters.

• Do not include any names of family members or pets, your street name, school or church, or anything about you that someone might guess. "MustangsRoom24" is a terrible password.

• A good way to create a secure password is to think of a random phrase that you will be able to remember. For example, your phrase might be "The horses ate all of my raspberries".

• Here is a good site for you to check the strength of your password. It will estimate how long it would take a computer to "crack" that password.

• Never give your WSD password to anyone, including colleagues, substitutes, instructional technology assistants, administrators, technology specialists, or students. None of those people ever have a need for your password.

• Always lock your classroom computer whenever you step away from it, even for a few seconds. Use Win-L or Ctrl-apple-Q to quickly lock your computer.

• Never allow a student to use your computer for any reason. Students have their own computers; they can and should use those.

• Be careful if you are projecting your computer screen to the class. Sometimes when entering a password, the typed character is briefly visible before being masked. You could be displaying your password one character at a time to the entire class.

• If you are off-campus at a café, hotel or restaurant, be very careful about what public Wi-Fi networks you connect to. If you are in doubt which is the correct network, ask at the counter for the official network name. If you guess and you are incorrect, you may be exposing your computer to infection or ransomware.