Home Computers Can Put Your Business at Risk 

You invest time and money to keep your network and business data safe and your computers well-tuned.  You have a great firewall and your anti-virus and anti-spam defenses are up-to-date; you make sure security holes are patched in your operating systems and support programs.   You  know these actions are best practices that help you avoid problems.

 

But you also allow team members to logon to your network from home or from the road using personal computers.  Should their computers be trusted? Are they safe and secure?  Are team members following best practices? 

 

Regardless of how a team member connects, whether through a virtual private network, remote web workplace, Dropbox, emailing documents to a personal address, carrying business documents back and forth on a thumb drive, or another means, any computer that's unmanaged is a major security risk.  

 

The best practice is to provide a company laptop or PC for working from home or the road and then adding it to your managed service plan.  But this isn't always possible. 

 

If you allow remote access to work systems, the following tips will increase security and reduce exposure: 

• Limit who has access and for what purpose;
• Permit just one or two connection methods;
• Educate team members on security issues - awareness is essential;
• Provide a short written policy that states home computers must have the latest security patches and anti-virus/anti-spyware software; and
• Require employees to report viruses or other security problems.

More advanced technology solutions that strengthen security and reduce risk are also available - contact us for more information.

  

A Bit of Humor...