Online Security || Every remote worker knows that they have to protect themselves from all the ills of the internet. After all, the internet is the gateway to their offices, and they have to be sure it is as safe for them as can be.
While the big businesses spend several thousands of dollars to make the internet safe for even their in-office workers, though, that does not have to be you.
Here are some of the tools that you should also have to ensure a safer work-from-home experience:
Secure Browsers
Not all the internet browsers out there are for you. Some can offer you all the speed and aesthetics to attract you, but do they give you the kind of security which you need too?
Your browsers are how you reach all of your sensitive accounts on the internet. They have your cookie data, your cache information, and even those passwords you have saved on them. Looking at that, the browser data is not something you want a hacker to get their hands on.
Left to us, some of the best browsers to use in the current consumer market are the Safari browser, Brave browser, Firefox (you would have to tweak the privacy settings to get the best out of it), and the Tor browser too.
They have been developed to prevent browser fingerprinting, eliminate issues of ad tracking, and improve user privacy as a whole.
Password Manager
You will need to handle a lot of accounts if you are working from home. The most common ones for remote workers are their banking and communication apps. Depending on their kinds of jobs, they will also have to tack on other sorts of apps.
Having to create an account on all of these can be tasking on the brain, especially where passwords are involved.
Fortunately, you don’t have to use the same password for them all to remember it on login. Likewise, you don’t have to save the password in your browser too. Get an independent password manager and secure your passwords there.
The best ones even come with a password generator to help you get the most secure password for each account too.
VPN
Due to your working model, you will find yourself transferring sensitive data to colleagues/ supervisors/ clients over the web. You will also be hosting a lot of conversations and doing a lot more on the internet. All of these activities generate data – data that you don’t want falling into the wrong hands.
That is where a VPN comes in.
They are especially important when you are on a public Wi-Fi network/ other open connection, but they are great for your personal networks too.
A VPN tunnels your internet data so much that no one can see what you are doing on the network anymore. By ‘no one,’ we mean even your internet service provider (ISP). That tells you how impossible it would be for a hacker to unravel sensitive data being sent on the network.
Before you log into work again, make sure to download the best VPN first for a guarantee of improved safety.
Antivirus
Besides sharing a lot of files on the internet, you will also receive a fair share of these. They could be from trusted sources or new clients.
Our first recommendation when it comes to attachments in emails is that you disregard unsolicited documents. Sometimes, though, you have to download the materials. This is where an antivirus software comes in handy.
Scan all documents before downloading/ opening them at all. Flee at first sight of a virus.
Fortunately, some antivirus software will also allow you to scan links before you click on them. Do this when you get links via text/ mail. Since you can never be too careful, always be on the lookout also so that you don’t fall victim to phishing attacks.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Online Security || Jack is an accomplished cybersecurity expert with years of experience under his belt at TechWarn, a trusted digital agency to world-class cybersecurity companies. A passionate digital safety advocate himself, Jack frequently contributes to tech blogs and digital media sharing expert insights on cybersecurity and privacy tools.
