Basic Security for Work From Home

Depending on the level of planning and remote workforce policies of your company, you may or may not be set up with satisfactory levels of security at your home office. Many people are using home computers to access business networks and their desktops at work for the first time. Home networks are generally more susceptible to attack due to less strict protocols and password requirements of home routers, WIFI and outdated or lacking Anti-Virus software. Hackers know this and will be trying to exploit this surge in new targets as quickly as possible. 

Here are 5 security practices to consider for your home PC and to strengthen against attack. 

Anti-Virus: Do you have current and up-to-date Anti-Virus software on your home PC? Update your program or purchase a new product. Check with your company if they have a resource to download or will reimburse you for the purchase.  

Passwords: Change all default passwords. Have you changed your internet and WIFI routers to be a password other than the default they came with? Update your weak or non-existent passwords throughout the house. Do this for all of your network devices. 

User Accounts: Do you have user accounts set up on your shared computer? If not, it’s time to create users for everyone in your home. Each member should have an account and password. Not only is this a good practice for these times, but you can also apply content controls and restrictions to your young users’ accounts. Don’t share your login information with your children or allow them to browse the internet on the profile you use for your work connection. 

Lock Screen: Set your computer to automatically lock after a period if inactivity. Update your settings to lock the screen when not in use at an appropriate time such as 5 minutes. 

Terminal: Think about and use your home PC as a terminal. Most likely your company has many more controls and IT safety measures in place on their network than you do on yours. The safest thing you can do is leverage their security to browse the web, check your email and do all your daily work functions through your “work PC”. Use your home PC to remote into your work PC and business network and do everything through that connection. If you have non-work-related internet browsing that you want to do, do it through your phone which is likely safer than your home PC. 

These are simple, yet important, steps you can take to increase your home network and IT security. And more importantly, these steps can help to prevent a hacker from exploiting you to get into your company’s network and make a big mess.

Learn how The Waker Group's Managed IT Services can help your company.