For millions of Americans, working remotely is becoming the new norm. In a recent Gallup poll, U.S. workers report that they work remotely an average of 2 days per month. With this increase in remote work, companies must take into consideration data security and protection more than ever. Review Techlocity’s top tips on working safely and remotely below to insure that your company’s data remains safe.
- Establish a VPN –A virtual private network is integral to the privacy of your company’s data while working remotely. A VPN allows your employees to access the private network securely, without risking exposing your company’s confidential information through public or private Wi-Fi.
To begin with, a firewall for your company is a great way to establish a secure VPN. For the most part, we recommend SonicWALL and Cisco ASAs for business-class security. Both options also include the option to add VPN licenses for your remote workers; these VPN licenses are affordable and provide VPN security - Use Virus Protection – Protecting your workstations from spyware, malware and viruses is another important factor in keeping your company data safe. While there are a variety of antivirus options out there, from TrendMicro to McAfee to Symantec, it is most important to keep your virus protection up to date. With all Techlocity managed services customers, we provide an added value of Symantec cloud anti-virus, which can be installed and managed remotely. Your employees’ devices will stay secure, at a minimum expense.
- Change Your Passwords – This age-old rule may also be the most ignored. Changing your passwords every 2 months, from your computer to email and vendor website logins, will reduce the chance of your information being compromised. (After all, one of the biggest celebrity hackers of all reported that trial and error allowed him to hack into email accounts of more than 50 celebrities.) Many times, generic, company-specific passwords are used to set-up new users; make sure that your passwords are varied and dissimilar to those of your co-workers. At Techlocity, we have custom reports that can reveal potential vulnerabilities in your network, including default settings that prevent password reset prompts from being displayed.
- Beware of Public Wi-fi – Public Wi-fi is an easy way for hackers to gain access to your personal information. Avoid paying bills, checking bank statements and other personal online tasks in hotels and airports while using public Wi-fi. To further secure your devices, shut off your Wi-fi capabilities on your phone, tablet and computers in public areas so that your devices do not automatically connect to the default wireless network.
These easy tips can help prevent a data disaster. For more information on protecting your remote workers, give us a call at 317.288.5474.
