Category Archives: Security

These days’ people are on the move whilst they work, in fact almost 60 percent of us conduct work-related activities outside of the office without taking network security into consideration. Be it checking emails at a public café, adding the finishing touches to a presentation on the train or partaking in a video conference call from your living room sofa, we’re all guilty of taking work home with us!

Whilst there’s nothing wrong with being proactive out of office hours, what are the implications and risks for your computer and your data?

Well, it can be trickier to maintain the same high level of security for your personal computer when you’re working on-the-go. On top of ever-evolving business threats, workers’ own browsing habits, app and device preferences and travel schedules are making their mobile offices more vulnerable.

Let’s take a look at 4 tips for making sure your “office-on-the-move” is as secure as it can be:

Browse With Confidence

Public networks can be risky regardless of location; be it in the airport lounge or your local coffee shop. It can be a necessity for those that love to work on the move, but browsing the web regardless of your knowledge can result in a malware infection on your computer.

It’s not just an individual problem – it’s a widespread threat. Ransomware is projected to attack a business every 14 seconds by the end of 2019, up from every 40 seconds in 2017.

Global head of premium product management and security at HP, Gagan Singh, is quoted as saying “you are never more than three clicks away” from a site that could potentially infect your computer. It’s often referred to as “oops-click”, where someone accidentally triggers an unwanted advert or redirect by trying to dismiss a pop-up for example. It’s important to have solid security software in place that covers both your local files and any browsing activities.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

It’s often overlooked that the use of passwords alone isn’t the most secure of authentication methods. Bypassing or guessing passwords can be all too easy; they remain very vulnerable to security breaches, no matter the combination of characters. This is why multi-factor authentication is a far more reliable and secure method. This can include a fingerprint, facial recognition or even two-factor authentication with your mobile phone. According to research, adding a level of biometric data to your authentication is 1 million times more secure than with a single password alone.

Manage Your Camera’s Capabilities

A simple but effective way of controlling when your camera is on, and what it can see, is a privacy shutter. This simple, manually-operated shutter across your laptop camera gives you peace of mind that you know exactly when your camera is active and watching your activities.

Keep Prying Eyes at Bay and Uninterested

If you use your laptop on public transport, you’ve probably had that feeling that you’re being watched – or rather, whatever you have on your screen is of interest to the strangers around you. By using technology such as HP Sure View, you can use your work computer with confidence, knowing that from certain angles, the contents of your screen can’t be seen by onlookers.

At Spectrum Web, we take the security of your hardware seriously, no matter where you take it. As part of our Managed IT Services, you can be confident that your personal data is secure when you’re on the go.