Technology

Creating Secure Passwords

1. Do not use Personnel Information	It is very for someone to guess things like your last name, pet's name, child's birth date
	and other similar details.

2. Do not use real words	There are tools available to help attackers guess your password, including very quickly
	trying every word in the dictionary.

3. Mix different characters	Use some uppercase letters along with lowercase letters, numbers and even special
	characters such as '&' or '%'.

4. Use a passphrase	Think up a sentence or a line from a song or poem that you like and create a password
	using the first letter from each word.

Example of existing threat:	"This worm can spread on computers and network shares protected by weak
W32.Spybot.Worm	password." - Symantec Antivirus

Internet Gateway	All computers connected to the Grapeland ISD network share a common internet gateway.
	In other words, GISD has one and only one source for our Internet.
	What is done on one network computer affects all network computers.

Bandwidth	Your electric company will provide you will all the electricity you need and charge you for
	what you use. Internet providers sell you a set amount of "bandwidth" and if demand is
	greater that than set amount, every computer and network service slows down to a
	crawl.
	It is important that our bandwidth be used efficiently and for it designated purpose.

Resource Hogs	Programs which continuously interact with a website and download pretty wallpaper
	images or screen savers "steal" bandwidth and computer power.

	Programs that either cause the most malfunctions with computers or use the most
	bandwidth needlessly (Complied by Creighton University):

	AOL	Gnutella	Offer Companion	Surf Safari
	Autogalaxy	Imesh	Radio (any Internet Radio)	WeatherBug
	Bearshare	KaZaA	Real Center	WebShots
	Bonzi Buddy	LimeWire	Save Now	Winmx
	Gator	MusicMatch Jukebox	Spinner	Third Party Screen Savers


	Technology Coordinator: John Norman	Network Administrator: Kirk Sprueill