Nowadays, more and more businesses want their employees to work from home. For those businesses and individuals who aren’t used to remote work, this new way of working can bring up a few new security problems. These pointers below should help you work from home more safely.
Set Up a Secure Connection
Virtual private networks (VPNs) can allow you to transmit and receive information across public or shared networks like you were directly connected to the private network. VPNs extend a private network across the public internet in a secure fashion. You must ensure that any remote working solutions you implement pass security and speed tests for them to be effective. For the speed portion of your requirements, look out for some of the best fiber deals from ISPs like Phoenix Arizona internet providers. Use a VPN with a “no logs” policy to prevent the sale of your company’s data to outside parties. Also, make sure it has a kill switch so that your company data won’t be exposed if your connection fails.
Beef Up Security in Your Home and on Network Devices
While working remotely, security measures around your home shouldn’t be neglected. Keep your workspace as safe as your regular office by locking it up when you are done for the day, just as one would at the office. You can take precautions to safeguard your network connection from criminal elements that seek access to your equipment by changing your router’s password to something long and complex. Drive encryption is another feature that you should enable since it helps to lower the security risk associated with stolen or lost devices by preventing unauthorized users from accessing their data without login details, a PIN code, or fingerprints. Lastly, check to see if a reputable antivirus is installed and up to date on all your devices.
Keep Software and Operating Systems Up to Date
Always use the most recent version of a supported operating system because outdated and unsupported software no longer receives security updates, placing your machine and sensitive data in jeopardy. Most zero-day vulnerabilities pose a serious risk even though you may be using a compatible operating system because there can be delays between the discovery of a problem and its remedy. Make sure all your systems immediately install security fixes, ideally through automatic updates to reduce this risk. Most modern machines will automatically install these updates, but you might need to enable this feature and restart your device to finish the updating procedure. It’s crucial to keep any installed applications and programs up to date for the same reasons.
Will these precautions discourage an industrious hacker? No, but they may slow them down enough for someone to be able to disrupt or scare them. These measures won’t stop you from inadvertently downloading malware either; for that, you need IT security training. These steps will make it more difficult for criminals to locate and sabotage your signal, and each tip will only enhance one facet of home IT security, so it’s best to implement a multi-layered approach to protect valuable data.