Tips for Working safely from home during COVID-19 in 2020

Securing your privacy while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a difficult task. As the devastating consequences of the coronavirus outbreak continue, companies are adopting work from home strategy throughout the world.  

On the other hand, cybersecurity issues are increasing at an alarming rate as cybercriminals take full advantage of this prevailing situation to accomplish their unethical and illegal objectives. 

We will let you know in this post how you can safeguard your digital footprints if you are working from home. 

8 Tips for working safely from home during COVID-19 outbreak      

Here the 8 most important tips you can follow to protect your online whereabouts at the time of working from home or from anywhere:

Use a reliable and premium VPN service

When you have to spoof your online locations from unwanted people like hackers, snoopers, ISPs, and government surveillance agencies, use a VPN period. It masks your actual IP address through another IP address of your preferred countries like the US, UK, Canada, and others. 

Similarly, if you want to accomplish your media streaming cravings, use a totally free VPN for Firestick that allows you to watch your favorite region-blocked content from anywhere.  

Moreover, you can perform all your desired official tasks in complete anonymity without exposing your original IP address. If you avail a NordVPN free trial feature, you would realize that it does not leak your actual IP address, DNS or WebRTC information online.

However, selecting a leak-free and a no-log VPN service is not an easy job. You will need to consider different factors like server spread, privacy and security features, jurisdiction, logging policy, compatibility, customer support, pricing, and so on before making the right decision about your privacy. 

Update your operating systems and software

You should update your operating systems installed on your professional devices regularly. Similarly, you must allow automatic updates on your systems, such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. These updates often include security perks that protect both your devices and data to a certain extent. 

Use strong passwords

Passwords act just like the first line of defense; therefore, you should enable strong passwords on your portable devices, including desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. After installing password manager software, you can keep notorious elements like hackers at bay successfully.   

Protect your devices when you do not use them

You should not leave your devices open and lock them as soon as possible when they are not in use. Moreover, you should not give your computer systems to your loved ones as they can share or delete your sensitive official information to others online. 

Likewise, they can install malware on your devices by clicking any suspicious link unintentionally. 

Always connect to a secure Wi-Fi network

You should not connect to public Wi-Fi networks as it can put your valuable information in danger. These Wi-Fi networks are honeypots for hackers as they can access your crucial browsing data in the shape of account passwords, online banking details, etc. You should connect to your home Wi-Fi connection to make your official devices secure.

Consider relying on a trusted source of information 

Cybercriminals spread misinformation or scam people with the help of trending topics like COVID-19 and others. Hence, you should avoid visiting scams or malicious websites as much as possible. If you want to get awareness about any latest news or happening, always visit trusted websites or sources. You can browse the internet securely by visiting governments’ websites.  

Do not use personal devices for official activities

There is no need to use personal devices to perform your work-related tasks. This is because we do not update our personal operating systems regularly. There is a strong likelihood that viruses or malware may corrupt your official data if you continue using your home based systems without updating them. 

Beware of phishing emails

Attackers are sending phishing emails to employees to use their COVID-19 fears for their own good. Considering the massive rise in phishing attempts, you should not click unknown email links. As a result, you can defeat the malicious intentions of cyber goons a great deal.   

Wrapping Up

We hope you will follow these tips as mentioned above to secure your remote working. Once you have followed these suggestions appropriately, the chances are that you can protect your official devices be it desktops, laptops, and mobile phones effectively. Thus, you can improve your productivity while working from your home to new heights.

Author Bio:

A business school grad specializing in marketing, Usman found his love for writing during studies. Usman now pursues a career as a digital privacy & security advocate. Usman loves reading about sci-fi & technology while cricket is his game of choice. When the world cries ‘online freedom’ Usman stands resolutely raising his voice for the rights of netizens everywhere.