ASA Tech Tips and News for May 6, 2022

 Marco Verch, Flickr.com

With the uptick in online threats, I thought it would be a good idea to focus on some security basics and reminders. Please take a minute to review the info. As educators, I'm sure you well know how helpful it is to review important information often, so it stays fresh in your mind. It pays to always be somewhat suspicous of anything online, but knowledge will empower you and keep you from panicking. In the first article, see how many best practices you follow. In addition, after spending some quality time with a brand new, but excruciatingly slow laptop last week, I thought it woul be a good idea to provide information on how to tell if your device is slow due to a virus, or something else. Fortunately in this case, it was due to something else that was harmless but irritating, but it's always good to know how to find out. Not all malware locks up your device for ransom, sometimes it's spyware, and other times it could be to mine cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. Both of those will slow down a computer. Continue to be ever vigilant!

• Basic Computer Security:  How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Hackers, and Thieves
• Does Your Computer Have a Virus?  Here's How to Check
• Has Your Password Been Compromised?
• Your Phone is Filthy and You Should be Cleaning It
• Google Workspace Updates
• Google Docs:  Enhanced Menus Makes it Easier to Find Key Features
• Google Docs:  New Table Templates and Dropdown Chips for Highly Collaborative Documents
• Google Docs:  Sheets, Slides:  Warning Banners for Suspicious Files
• Google Tasks:  Recurring task end options
• Updated REMC Website and Easy to Find Free Resources
• New Chrome Web Store Badges Might Help You Pick Better Extensions
• 5 More Google Tips for Teachers

Basic Computer Security:  How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Hackers, and Thieves

Basic Computer Security:  How to Protect Yourself from Viruses, Hackers, and Thieves, from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman

A good refresher for some simple practices. How many are you already doing?

Does Your Computer Have a Virus?  Here's How to Check

Does Your Computer Have a Virus?  Here's How to Check, from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman

Find out what you should look for.

Has Your Password Been Compromised?

How can you tell if you've been the victim of a data breach? Not all companies are good at notifying users when data has been stolen. You can check each of your online accounts at Have I Been Pwned. KISD does a good job of describing what the tech term "pwned" means:  "Pwned is nerd speak for the word Owned - It's typically used to imply that someone has been controlled or compromised."

Your Phone is Filthy and You Should be Cleaning It

Your Phone is Filthy and You Should be Cleaning It, from How-To Geek by Joe Fedewa

How many times do you wash your hands each day? Your phone is exposed to many of those same things, so how many times a day do you wash it? What's the best way to clean it? I can honestly say I've never submerged my phone to clean it, and I'm not quite sure I'm brave enough to try. By the way, your remotes are filthy too, but don't try to submerge them in water to clean, since they don't have screens, cleaning wipes that kill germs will suffice.

Google Workspace Updates

Google Docs:  Enhanced Menus Makes it Easier to Find Key Features

For docs on the desktop, menus have been shortened  to make it easier to find the most commonly used features. Icons have also been added for easy recognition, and features have been placed in more intuitive locations. The hope is that features that have been moved will be easier to find. We are already seeing this update. Here are all the details. 

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides:  Warning Banners for Suspicious Files

Previously warning banners were announced in Drive, but now they have been added at the file level for Docs, Sheets and Slides files. You'll now see a warning when opening the file if it is considered potentially malicious or dangerous. You should be seeing this feature any day now. Find complete details here.

Google Docs:  New Table Templates and Dropdown Chips for Highly Collaborative Documents

Table templates have been added to assist with common workflows, such as for tracking project assets, review process, a product roadmap, and to launch a content tracker. These are ready-made tables that you can customize. In addition to table templates, you can also now insert drop down menu chips for project status and review status, or you make your own custom drop down menu. These features are already available. Click here for full details and to find out how to use these new features.

Google Tasks:  Recurring task end options

Previously you could only assign an end option for recurring tasks (such as never, on a certain date, or after x occurences) from Tasks within Calendar. When this update arrives within the next two weeks, you'll be able to assign an end to your recurring tasks within Google Tasks. Find out how to use repeating tasks here. It's a handy option for maintaning a To Do list. 

Updated REMC Website and Easy to Find Free Resources

If you haven't checked out the REMC website recently, or if you didn't even know about REMC, you may want to give it a fresh look. The remc.org website has been updated, as have the Classroom Resources and Professional Learning pages. Sue Schwartz, REMC Executive Director describes the services as:  "We have classroom activities, toolkits, grade and content-level curriculum all at your fingertips. Everything we have has been created for you to use and alter to fit your classroom needs - and it's FREE. We also have complimenting professional learning that offers free SCECHs and convenient or at-home training schedules. Did I mention everything is FREE?"

New Chrome Web Store Badges Might Help You Pick Better Extensions

New Chrome Web Store Badges Might Help You Pick Better Extensions, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne

Finally! A way to tell which Chrome extensions are more trustworthy than others. 

5 More Google Tips for Teachers