Data is the heart of your business. Your client data, product data, manufacturing or process data is all in your hands – and the hands of your employees. If your employees are now working from home, keeping all that data safe is just as essential as if you were in the office.
Before the time of pandemic, there were a lot of reasons that employers didn’t want people working at home. One of the biggest reasons was the security of home office technology. While in the office, the IT team usually has control over a lot of the safety precautions to keep your data safe, it can feel a little anxiety-inducing for them to see that information in many different places without full control over the hardware. In this article, we’re going to discuss some of the basic ways to keep your computer secure at home. We invite you to share this with your team.
Update.
Many people forget this part if it isn’t automatically set up or the IT team doesn’t do the updates for them. Updates are important. Many updates are purely code to make it harder for hackers to get in. When software is released, hackers start looking for any way to break it so the software companies update their software to make it harder or solve gaps they had left open. It’s important to ensure you keep everything updated so maybe set a reminder for yourself if you have to do it manually.
Firewall.
Yes! You still need firewalls – especially at home. Make sure everyone has a firewall software loaded and running so that they don’t pick up any unwanted guests on the internet. It doesn’t matter how smart you are, a firewall is essential. (Read more here.)
Anti-virus and anti-spam software.
Yes, you still need these too – and both. Remember those hackers are getting smarter and smarter. You need software that updates and does the same things or else you’ll be leaving a wide gap for those with bad intentions to access your data. Even if you are the safest internet user and keep up on all the risks, your team may not be. One small piece of software can end up saving your business.
Lock your computer when you aren’t using it.
So you are safe in your home, right? You might think there isn’t a reason to lock that machine. Without co-workers or clients around, surely it will be safe – right? We forget about other things – like pets and children. While they aren’t likely looking for data or ransom for your data, they can definitely do some damage (trust us). It’s a different environment with different danger factors. It’s always just best to get in the habit of locking your machine.
Cloud Technology
Cloud technology can ensure that everyone works in the cloud. When everyone works in the cloud, the data is there, safe behind a password and accessible from anywhere. This means if a pet or child does come and spill liquids over your machine – all your data, information and work is safely in the cloud – not on a frying motherboard.
Encrypt your data.
There are plenty of software tools out there now to encrypt your data. This will help keep your information secure as it bounces from place to place via email or any other computer communication. Data encryption helps lock the door to your data vault.
Use a VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) will help all your employees stay within the company’s server to ensure all the data that leaves your computer is encrypted and also can also keep your ISP from monitoring your activity. A VPN can also help you use higher speeds and browse securely on wifi networks.
Of course there are tons of tools and ways you can set up your virtual team environment, but these are the ones that are simple and keeps you moving at the pace of business.
Need help with these tools or finding the right ones? Contact Grace Computers to learn more.
