Top Tips to Stay Safe Online While Working Remotely
When you work in an office, you typically have an IT team on call to help you with any issues, and the company would have all the relevant and up-to-date security measures in place to keep the business, and its employees safe. When you go out on your own and decide to work remotely, the responsibility falls on you to keep yourself, your devices, and your business safe. Without taking the right precautions, you can end up with timely and costly consequences.
It can seem quite intimidating in the beginning, not knowing where to start or which companies you can trust. Here are some top tips to help you get started and stay safe while working remotely.
Invest in antivirus software
One of the first things you should do is invest in antivirus software. This is one of the best precautionary measures that you can take, even to protect you from browsing in your spare time, as well as at work. Antivirus software should be sourced from a professional, reputable, and trusted company. You should research to see what companies are offering packages that suit your business needs and budget. Antivirus software essentially acts as a barrier to dangerous viruses that try to infiltrate your business, by detecting and removing malicious software. Malicious software can infect your computer by using a code to steal your data, encrypt it and lock you out, or delete it all completely. Malware is typically downloaded onto a computer by clicking links or opening attachments or dodgy websites from untrustworthy sources (who tend to look trustworthy at first).
Keep your hardware and software updated
Keep your workstation computer and any software that you use to complete your work up-to-date. This will keep it running efficiently, iron out any security issues and vulnerabilities, enhance the features and capabilities of the hardware and software, improve compatibility with new technology and devices, and much more. The update pop-ups may be frustrating at first, but they are there for a reason. Take a moment to schedule them in at an appropriate time, to minimize disruptions to your work, and keep your business safe.
Use trusted WiFi connections
Regardless of whether you deem your work as sensitive and confidential or not, using a trusted WiFi connection is vital to staying safe and secure online. This is going to be easier if you work from home because you have full control over the security measures you can implement. It is important to add security to your WiFi network and ensure it is password protected. If it is not, then you risk anyone nearby to use your network, and potentially being able to access the files on your device, add or spread a virus, monitor your online movements, access your emails and other private accounts, slow down your connection, use your internet for inappropriate things that put your security at risk, and much more.
You should also think about your internet speed while we’re on the subject of WiFi. You want to make sure that you are able to remain productive when working from home, and this means that you should know how to test your internet speed. If you’re currently wondering how do I test my internet speed, there are plenty of sites out there that allow you to do this. This is almost as important as being secure through your WiFi, so make sure that you’re taking precautions with both of these things.
If you like to work remotely from your local coffee shop or travel while you work, then this may be more difficult, but doesn’t make it any less important. Avoid connecting to public WiFi networks and instead hotspot from your phone, or invest in a wireless adaptor.
Working remotely is great, but it also means taking on more responsibility, such as keeping yourself safe and secure online.
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