Salmon River Joint School District # 243

"From Small Beginnings Come Great Things"

District Office of Information Technology

District Technology Director:

Conrad Banez

Email: banezc@jsd243.org

Phone: 208-630-6027, Ext. 5119

Salmon River Joint School District Technology Safe Work Practices:

CYBERSECURITY

Passwords are an important aspect of computer security. They are the front line of protection for user accounts and private data. A poorly chosen password may result in the compromise of Salmon River Joint School District’s entire network and its members. As such, all students and employees (including contractors and vendors with access to Salmon River Joint School District systems) are responsible for taking the appropriate steps, as outlined below, to select and secure their passwords.

  • All user-level passwords (e.g., e-mail, web, desktop computer, etc.) should be changed at least every sixty days. The recommended change interval is each semester.
  • Each successive password must be unique. Re-use of the same password will not be allowed.
  • Passwords must be a minimum of eight (8) characters long.
  • User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships or programs must have a unique password from all other accounts held by that user.
  • Passwords must not be inserted into e-mail messages or other forms of electronic communication.
  • Passwords should never be written down or stored online.
  • Do not use the same password for Salmon River School District accounts as for other non-Salmon River School District Account access (e.g., personal ISP account, option trading, benefits, gaming platforms, etc.). Where possible, don’t use the same password for the various school access needs. For example, select one password for the e-mail systems and a separate password for network systems.
  • Do not share agency passwords with anyone, including administrative assistants or secretaries. All passwords are to be treated as sensitive, confidential Salmon River Joint School District information.
  • If someone demands a password, refer them to your teacher, school administrators or Salmon River Joint School District Department of Information Technology.
  • Do not use the “Remember Password” feature of applications (e.g., Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Outlook, Safari or Google Chrome).
  • If an account or password is suspected to have been compromised, report the incident to the school administrators and change all passwords both with the school network and personal accounts. Notify all administrators of that your access and personal information has been compromised so that each institution may take the necessary precautions to protect you.
  • These guidelines should be addressed to students by their teachers and parents frequently to create a natural habit of effective password etiquette.

PHYSHING, DOXING, MALWARE, SPOOFING, RANSOMWARE, ETC. CISA Information

COMMONSENSE RULES TO ONLINE/INTERNET USE: These rules may help protect you from being a victim of cyberbullying or predators. Report any acts of cyberbullying or online stalking to your teacher and parent immediately so they may implement protective measures.

  • “Stranger Danger!”: Do not communicate with strangers online and never agree to meet in person. Tell a parent, teacher, or an adult you trust if a stranger contacts you in a chat room, through email, or via text messaging.
  • “Look Both Ways!”: Only join contests, clubs or share personal information for any reason when your parent or guardian authorizes you. Why? By the time you will be of age to open your first bank account, apply for your first credit card, or buy your first car; you may already have terrible credit and debt beyond belief because your personal information was stolen when you were still playing Minecraft. If in doubt of the content in which you are viewing online, get out, delete the email or forward to your District IT Director for validation.
    • What to look out for:
      • Terribly designed webpages (missing hyperlinks, misspelled and poor grammar construction)
      • Missing or poorly constructed signature in emails
  • “Too Good To Be True!” If it is too good to be true, then it probably, most likely is. Emails offering free stuff (Concert Tickets, iPhone, MacBook’s, Maserati, etc.), these are tricks designed to get you to give up your personal information or automatically install malware, spyware, ransomware or any other ware out there.

 

BEFORE YOU CALL THE IT DOCTOR:

Please use the resources available to resolve the issue yourself:

  • Check cables – network, sound, power, etc.
  • Reboot
  • Practice Prevention – Don’t open anything you are not expecting!
  • Don’t use the network to pass along personal correspondence, jokes, or anecdotes.
  • Delete Cookies and Temporary Files
    Open Browser>Tools>Internet Options>General Tab>Delete temporary files
  • Perform routine maintenance routinely!
    Disk Cleanup and Disk Defrag are found in Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>
    Windows, Java, and Adobe updates should be kept current on teacher and student machines.

When you ask for assistance, please note the following:

  • Symptoms – what is (or is not) happening?
  • When did you first notice the problem?
  • What steps have you taken to correct the issue?
  • Is the problem consistent or intermittent?
  • What is the exact error message? Screen shots of the error message are ideal (Alt+PrtScn then paste into the help ticket), otherwise write down the exact wording.

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