Computer Security While Working From Home

Many people work from home during the holidays, but too often the protections they have in place with their office’s local area networks aren’t carried over to the laptops they use in a home-office environment.

The perils are particularly acute for those workers – whether they’re in government or the private sector – whose laptops contain sensitive data on customers.

Experts say the best way to safeguard such computers is to encrypt that data. Encryption codes are like a wall built around information; a code is required to unlock the information.

“It's kind of like a pay-per-view channel on cable television,” Erik Semmel, vice president of TAB Computer Systems, told the Record-Journal in Meriden, Conn. “The channel is scrambled until the company enters a code. Only then can you watch the program.”

Other suggestions:

•            Passwords should be complicated, with a mixture of numbers and letters, both upper and lower case. If you want to write it down, don’t leave it in a place where it can be found easily.

•            Bruce White, a professor of information systems management at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., recommends programs that can help authorities trace a stolen laptop.

•            Other programs available through several companies will destroy encrypted data if a laptop is stolen, Semmel said. These systems send out a distress signal via the Internet if authorities are told about a theft. Once the pilfered computer is connected, the program immediately erases all encrypted data. Semmel says these programs are most often used by insurance or medical companies.

Both experts also said basic prevention like keeping a laptop out of view and using a lock while it’s unattended reduce the temptation of thieves.