Many companies have been forced to either temporarily lay off their employees or decide to enforce the physical distance rule. In most cases meaning Working From Home.
Easier said than done, as it turned out. Doing the odd company emailing from home, we all are familiar with that. Recreating your office desktop inside your home, is a far more complex affair.
The Top-5 checklist
Have a closer look at your home office setup. There are a few ground rules that each workplace should comply with.
1. Your Wi-Fi network
When was the last time you changed your SSID password for your Wi-Fi router. Make sure it is NOT your home phone number. Create a password that is yours and yours only. Too often we've found open Wi-Fi networks at home offices. This allows so-called bad actors to listen-in to your network, capture personal information and even act as a man-in-the-middle.
2. Your PC's password
"Say that again... Password....!?". Yes your computer has the ability to lock itself with a password. This prevents other users from accessing your PC, reading through your local files and information, and even logging onto your favourite banking website. Step 2 is to have your PC password enabled, with a screen lock timer of 5 minutes inactivity.
3. Your connection to office application across the Internet
Once settled in behind your PC, having accessed your secure Wi-Fi network, entered your PC password, the next item on our checklist: how do I know my connection across the network is secure?
Well, you really don't know if it is secure enough, unless you use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) tool. A VPN creates a secure, military-grade encrypted connection between your PC and the Internet. The information is only readable with the right key to decipher the information. If for any reason your connection is intercepted, the data is all gobbledygook. Most PC security program (step 5) have the option to use a VPN.
4. Keep your device(s) and software up to date
All the major software vendors (Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Oracle, etc.) release weekly if not daily 'patches' to fix issues inside their software.
You are not the only one reading these updates, hackers do too. Meaning that these hackers write code to start exploiting these software programs across the Internet. Ensure that your PC and all the software programs installed are updated in-line with these updates. With 70+% of the workforce now working from home, it is paramount to stay up-to-date.
5. Be vigilant for Phishing, SPAM and insecure Websites
When working on your local home PC, accessing the Internet and sending and receiving emails has become such a normal 'thing' to do. Unfortunately we have to question the reliability of the information we receive. Is it even safe to open an email, or click on a link? Welcome to the world of breaches, ransomware and stolen identifies. With the right end point protection software such as Anti-Virus, Malware and Secure Web Surfing software, many of these threats can be detected and eliminated. Make sure you have an AV program installed on your system, and keep these programs up-to-date.
Any questions or comments?
When any or all of these have triggered a question or if you like to know more, feel free to contact us through our contact page on https://www.hexaport.io
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