Due to the Corona-virus many people are working from home these days but not everyone is aware of the huge security aspect and responsibility related to your home office.
While working from home hopefully can slow down the spread of the corona-virus, it brings new challenges to almost every family. Not only do you have to organize the homework of your kids, you also have to set up your new home office, maybe for the first time.
Working from home for the first time can feel liberating and exciting, which it is. However, there are a few things you should consider when working from home.
– You have to pay attention to online scams, phishing e-mails and especially suspicious links online. Especially at this time IT scammers are trying to get you to click on infected links to get access to your private documents and bank details, says IT security expert Janus R. Nielsen from the it-company AnyTech365, and adds:
– Therefore, it is so important to keep your system and anti-virus up to date.
To ensure the most secure home office, IT security expert Janus R. Nielsen and AnyTech365 here provide a number of tips how to protect your devices and work-related information.
- Activate your Security knowledge
Make sure you have a basic understanding about security knowledge and IT security in general.
Be aware of online scams, phishing e-mails, suspicious phone calls and text messages.
Also do not connect to public Wi-Fi. Instead you should ensure that your home router is sufficiently secured and use your work devices for work related activity only.
Unfortunately, there are always IT scammers ready to take advantage of a crisis, therefore, it is important to be prepared and careful.
- Setup a VPN
VPN protects your Internet connection. It connects via an encrypted server and prevents unauthorized users to see what you are doing online. You can say that it somehow is the same as when you lock the front door of your house.
The benefits of using a VPN is that your IP address is hidden, your data is encrypted and at the same time it also hides your location.
If you do not already have a VPN service set up, you might talk to your workplace about a common solution. Neither you nor your workplace are interested in IT scammers getting access to work-related data.
- Install an up-to-date anti-virus program
Make sure all your work devices are protected with a good functioning anti-virus program. For example, one that checks for viruses and makes sure that the firewall is enabled.
- Update your passwords
It is a good idea to update your passwords on a regular basis and use complex passwords. Existing out of a mix of capital letters, low case letters, numbers and symbols. Use a minimum of 12 characters. For example, you can make a sentence that only you can remember, “The_house_burned_down_in_1990” or “The_dog_gave_birth_to_5_puppies”.
- Keep your system up-to-date
Make sure your system is always up-to-date to avoid having a vulnerable system due to missing updates. - Wi-Fi Security
It is always better to be safe than sorry, so just like your regular passwords, change the password of your Wi-Fi from time to time as well.
As said before, don’t connect to public Wi-Fi to prevent a possible data breach. - Daily back-up
Make a back-up of your files and data on a daily basis, in order to avoid work or data loss. Maybe your work has a CRM system setup which includes a drive. Get yourself in the habit of uploading your work there. If you do not have access to this, use an encrypted external drive to back up your files.
- Boost the team spirit
Stay in touch with your colleagues virtually and in group chats. Now that you do not have the opportunity to small-talk at the coffee machine at the workplace, instead you can have a virtual meeting with your colleagues, where each of you are drinking a cup of coffee and talking about work as well as private things, just like you normally do when you are at work. Take 10 minutes in the morning before starting work or later in the day when a break is needed.
Don’t only do it for your own sake, but also for others who are sitting home alone. It will boost the team spirit if you continue to communicate with your colleagues on a daily basis.
Coronavirus and Home Office IT Hotline 24 hours a day
– Already now we have seen an increase in calls from our existing customers, but also from frustrated people who are not our customers. For a long time, we have provided free advice and guidance on IT security, where we offer people a free PC health check, says Janus R. Nielsen.
People are nervous and looking for help and guidance on how to relate online. Many people have a lot more time to sit in front of their computer now that the coronavirus is a serious threat, and at the same time, many are trying to shop online for the very first time these days. This can be a challenge that you would like someone to help you with.
– For free we help people who call us and we also offer them a general Home Office health check. 24 hours a day we are picking up the phone and try our best to help and guide people. We are taking a look at your advice in relation to IT security. We also provide a number of basic and general tips and tricks, says Janus R. Nielsen.
Based on the Corona situation, AnyTech365 has created a special Home Office hotline that anyone can call for free and get advice and general guidance about IT security about working safe and
comfortably from your home-office, secure online shopping and much more.
– As one of Europe’s largest companies in our industry, we believe it is our duty to help in this time of confusion, fear and uncertainty about the future, concludes Janus R Nielsen.
The hotline number for our IT experts at www.AnyTech365.com is: +44 (0)203 603 5879. The number for the Spanish IT experts is: 951 390 913.
