Passwords and Security

Passwords

Your Saddleport password should be something that you do not use for any other site.
Your password needs to be at least 12 characters long, and must include at least 1 upper-case letter, 1 lower-case letter, 1 number, and 1 special character.
Do not include any names of family members or pets, or your street name, or 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, and then use the first letter or two of each word. For example, your phrase might be "Green horses eat my 493 raspberry daisies". From that, your password could be "GrHoEaMy493RaDa!".
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 Saddleport password to anyone, including colleagues, substitutes, instructional assistants, administrators, technology specialists, or students. None of those people ever have any need for your password.
It is a good idea to change your password at least once per school year, if not more often. You can use the "Change Password" tile in Saddleport to do this.

Messages that come from outside of SVUSD will be marked in your email as "External", and will have a warning at the bottom of the message. Be very careful about clicking on any links or downloading any files from those 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. 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.desk@svusd.org. If it is legitimate, someone will let you know. If it is dangerous, Technology Services will work to block it.

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 cafe or 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.