Security Tips when Working from Home

We’re in unprecedented times and the situation is changing day-by-day. Over the weekend firmer statements were issued regarding social distancing and working from home.

Many employees are working from their home networks and sometimes from their home computers. These systems are more likely to be out of date, unpatched, and unprotected. They are more vulnerable to attack simply because they are less secure.

Secure your wireless network

Change the name of your default home network: If a cybercriminal knows the manufacturer name of your router, they will know what vulnerabilities that model has and then try to exploit them.
Change the default network administrator password: An attacker can easily discover the manufacturer-provided, default password.
Make passwords strong:
- Strong passwords containing upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols.
- The password people use to connect to your wireless network must be strong and they should be different from the administrator password.
Allow only people that you trust: Create a new password and only share it with a trusted few.
Keep your routers software up-to-date: Many wireless routers don’t come with the option to auto-update so you have to do this manually.
Set up a firewall: If your router doesn’t have one, you can install a good firewall on your router in order to protect your system.

Keep your anti-virus up to date

Update the antivirus software: Computers are regularly threatened by new viruses. The anti-virus updates contain the latest files needed to combat new viruses and protect your system.
Configure the software to automatically check for updates daily

Use an up-to-date computer

Set your computer to automatically update as security updates are rolled out frequently.
Make sure your applications are up-to-date: Malicious actors commonly use holes in application software to breach a computer.

Be aware of social engineering

Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages:
- If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, verify his or her identity directly with the company.
Do not reveal personal or financial information
Don't send sensitive information over the internet before checking a website's security:
- Pay attention to the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of a website. Look for URLs that begin with "https"—an indication that sites are secure—rather than "http.”
- Look for a closed padlock icon to the left of the URL—a sign your information will be encrypted.
Learn to spot the most common key indicators of a of phishing email:
- Suspicious sender’s address: The sender's email address is from a public email domain or is misspelled.
- Generic greetings and signature: Both a generic greeting—such as “Dear Valued Customer” or “Sir/Ma’am”—and a lack of contact information in the signature block are strong indicators of a phishing email.
- Spoofed hyperlinks and websites: If you hover your cursor over any links in the body of the email, and the links do not match the text that appears when hovering over them, the link may be spoofed.
- Spelling and layout: Poor grammar and sentence structure, misspellings, and inconsistent formatting are other indicators of a possible phishing attempt.
- Suspicious attachments: An unsolicited email requesting a user download and open an attachment is a common delivery mechanism for malware.

Working from home can be difficult. Follow these tips to keep your, and your company’s information secure. For more information read any of our other articles on security or give us a call. We are happy to help.

Stay Safe,

Stratum Service Team

← Return