NYS DCP offers online safety tips to begin new school year

The New York State Division of Consumer Protection (DCP) has advised parents, guardians and caregivers to review their online settings during this new school year.

This was disclosed in a press statement released on Thursday September 17, 2020.

“Back to school this year may not be what we expected, but it is an opportunity for all of us to reevaluate our home networks as many students continue to learn at home,” said New York State Secretary of State Rossana Rosado.

“If you opted for remote or blended learning for your family or if you are working from home, take the start of the new school year to make sure your systems are protecting you and not aiding nefarious actors,” Rosado added.

With children online more, parents must be vigilant to protect their child’s sensitive information and help prevent identity theft and fraud victimization.

Children are 35 times more likely to become victims of identity theft. Children’s identities are especially attractive to thieves because the theft of the child’s identity often remains undetected for years.

The press release highlighted some precautions which should be taken to help prevent children’s information from falling into the wrong hands.

“Secure your router;If your wi-fi router has the same password that it came with, you should change the password to something only you and your family know,” it states.

It adds that parents should protect their passwords while noting that the key to safe passwords is to update them regularly and make them unique.

Teach your child to use a passphrase instead of a password and include special characters and numbers. If it becomes difficult to remember so many passwords, try a password manager with two-factor authentication,” it adds.

According to the release, other precautions include, checking social media logins, being cautious about the information shared on social media, turning on two-factor authentication and restraining from watching pirated contents.

In the event of video conferencin, the press release stated that protecting privacy settings on devices, using the most recent software versions, knowing and meeting the organizer.

Others include being wary of copycat domains,logging in on a secured network and making meetings “private.”