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From the desk of Jason Balderama, CISO, County of Marin
As the school year kicks off, students are logging into devices, accessing online learning platforms, and communicating digitally more than ever. Whether you're a parent, guardian, or student, practicing good cybersecurity habits is essential to staying safe and secure.
Let's review some practical tips to keep your family protected.
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- Use long, complex passwords with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. If you need to remember a password yourself, use a passphrase of four to seven random words.
- Don’t reuse the same password across school, social media, and email accounts.
- Don’t share login info with friends, even best friends.
- Consider using a password manager to keep everything secure and organized.
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on school and email accounts.
- Always lock phones, tablets, and laptops with a passcode or biometrics.
- Make sure all devices have the latest software and security updates.
- Use a trusted antivirus program and turn on automatic updates.
- Back up important schoolwork regularly to cloud storage and/or an external drive.
- Teach kids to be cautious with emails, especially if they ask for login info or personal details.
- Don’t click links or download attachments from unknown senders.
- If something looks “off,” it probably is. Report suspicious emails to the school's IT department.
Be on alert for:
- “Too good to be true” back-to-school deals or giveaways.
- Emails pretending to be from your school, asking for payment, login, or personal info.
- Tech support scams - no IT team should ever ask for passwords or remote access via pop-ups.
- At home, make sure your Wi-Fi is password protected and encrypted.
- Avoid logging into school or personal accounts on public Wi-Fi.
- Students should avoid using shared devices at libraries or cafes for sensitive school work.
- Review your child’s apps and browser extensions regularly.
- Discuss online privacy settings on school platforms and social media.
- Set family rules around screen time and safe online behavior.
- Encourage kids to talk to you if something online feels wrong or uncomfortable.
- Remind them that nothing online is truly private, even in “private messages.”
- Build a habit of checking in weekly about school technology use and digital experiences.
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Copyright © 2025 County of Marin, All rights reserved. |
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Disclaimer
The information provided in the County of Marin Security Newsletter is intended to increase the security awareness of an organization's end users and to help them behave in a more secure manner within their work environment. While some of the tips may relate to maintaining a home computer, the increased awareness is intended to help improve the organization's overall cyber security posture. This is especially critical if employees access their work network from their home computer.
Links in this newsletter are provided because they have information that may be useful. The County of Marin does not warrant the accuracy of any information contained in the links and neither endorses nor intends to promote the advertising of the resources listed herein. The opinions and statements contained in such resources are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the opinions of County of Marin.
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