These days, many companies provide employees with a variety of computer devices to work with, whether from home or in the office. Your company’s IT support usually sets them up with your login information, a selection of important apps, VPN access, and all the software that allows you to successfully do your job. This is where you should stop!
Somewhere down the line, when you start getting comfortable, you start to update the device with your own preferences like changing the screen saver, logging into social media accounts and making posts, listening to YouTube, checking your personal G-mail accounts, and many other personal affairs.
IT professionals say that interweaving your personal and professional lives together via a work device is dangerous — for you and the company.
HERE ARE 6 REASONS
1. DON'T: Store Passwords
Like a lot of us are working from home these days, saving passwords to your work device's web browser, and programs are very convenient, but it is a security risk. Whether it is a password you are saving personally or a company password, JUST DON'T DO IT! Someone could sit at your computer, in the office, or at home, and gain access to those sites, posing a huge security breach for your company. These sites could be work-related and have private information about clients or other information not meant to be seen by others.
2. DON'T: Store Personal Files
Work computers are for work and owned by the employer. Personal pictures, documents, and synced e-mail accounts take up limited storage space and could even potentially spread viruses from your personal files. Your personal data does not belong on your work PC. Plus, if you were to leave or get let go from the company, you will lose all your pictures, files, and whatever else you had stored on the device. Keep in mind, the data residing on that device does not belong to you if it is on a company-owned device.
3. DON'T: Browse The Internet
Going to Google and typing in the search bar can bring up many risky sites. Don't go willy-nilly and start clicking on every site that came up in the search, you don't know if that site has been hacked or has a potential virus waiting for you. Your IT support team will know what you were doing when you have to call and say you got a virus pop-up on your computer screen! Always go directly to the URL of the site you wish to go to. Save your personal shopping and other Internet-related searches for your personal PC.
4. DON'T: Use Unsecured Free Public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi is not always safe. Connecting to it poses a huge security threat. More Here On That
5. DON'T: Visit Unsecure Websites
Unsecured websites are popular spots for hidden security threats like viruses, malware, and spyware. If the website doesn't have an "s" after "HTTP" it's not secure. Hint: The "s" stands for secure! It should always look like this: HTTPS://
6. DON'T: Do Anything You Would Not Want Your Employer To See
It is your employer's computer, activities may be monitored. Everything you do on your work device can be legally recorded by your employer. What you are doing may seem harmless, but can be the straw that breaks the camels back in a discussion with your employer or an issue with HR. Save your personal email checking, social media, shopping, web browsing, and other personal activities when you are not on company time, and do it on your personal PC.
Even More, Reason To Follow The Rules
Software technology company Check Point conducted a survey of over 700 IT professionals which revealed that nearly two-thirds of IT pros believed that recent high-profile breaches were caused by employee carelessness.
“The greatest threat resides in your organization,” said Check Point.
Don't be that guy! Keeping your work and personal computer use separate is the key to keeping your company's cyber risk low!
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