WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Remote learning. More people are online and the hackers know that, according to David Anefils, the senior solutions engineer at supportclub.com.
"It's a major threat," he said. "It's very important for schools take preventative measures to keep themselves as safe as possible, because people work 9 to 5, and all they do is hack."
Anefils said he's worked with some local schools.
"I would love to see the schools educate parents more on steps to take," he said. "The fact that the bad guy knows everybody is online."
There are some steps you can take to keep your family safe while distance learning.
Anefils said to make sure you provide physical supervision while your child is learning.
Equally important is practicing good computer habits.
"By having good anti-virus to prevent malware from spying on your activity and computer updates on schedule," he said.
Make sure to set up parental controls on devices being used. He also suggested calling your provider to make sure your home router is updated.
"A lot of hackers can take advantage of firmware not being updated and compromise your router," Anefils said.
Make sure to update your computer regularly. Of the utmost importance, perhaps, is installing a virtual private network or VPN.
"It basically masks your router's IP address and allows you to surf the web without being spied on," he said.
Make sure to avoid public WiFi without a VPN, if at all possible. Don't ever click on unknown links in emails. Bottom line, stick to what you know, making sure it is popular and secure.
"I feel safe on zoom ever since they made the latest updates," he said.