Protecting your WFH Setup

You don’t need to work in an industry where you have a lot of sensitive information to ensure you are protecting everything. Consider how much you do on your computer and mobile device. You likely share personal information with friends and family in DMs, log into your banking and other finance applications, read and reply to emails, negotiate work, send files or receive files from clients, and so much more. 

Our whole lives are in our devices, meaning your whole life can be stolen quickly if the information gets into the wrong hands. 

So, what can you do to make sure that you are practicing good digital hygiene when you are working from home? 

2FA - Everything

There is nothing worse than the heart-stopping moment when you get an email saying that your password has been changed or blocked because someone is trying to access it. You’ll likely rush to your computer and try to log in or change the information - the problem is this is a lot more common than you think. 

One of the simplest ways to prevent this is to spend some time adding multi-factor authentication, AKA 2-FA, to your accounts. It means that even if the password is cracked, no one can access your account until they have the second step. Usually, it will be a text to your mobile phone or an email code that allows access. 

Back up 

Losing your information or work is never fun, and going by the 3-2-1 rule will mean that you are protecting your work at all times. It might be a blog post, it could be a set of photos, or it might be client work. 

Anything that you work on should have (and needs) to be protected. The 3-2-1 rule makes it really simple - you should make three copies of everything you create in two different formats (think hard copy and digital copy), and at least one should be on a thumb drive or an HDD. 

Hard copies might sound excessive, but for a lot of items, it works well because you can take a photo or scan it, copy the text, and paste it back where it needs to go.

VA

Many people who run home businesses, blog for money, or freelance will often have a VA to help them. One of the best things that you can do is to have either 1Password or Last Pass. It gives you full control over their access, and they can access everything they need to - without using your real passwords. This keeps all of your accounts secure. 

VPN

A VPN is a huge defender against vulnerable, sensitive data. There are many VPNs on the market, like https://clearvpn.com/ - and they have a range of features too. The bonus with using a VPN is that if you work from home or take your work on a trip with you, you’ll get the same level of protection. 

Passwords

Using the same password across all of your accounts is asking for trouble. It means that someone who wants to steal information will try the password they have across all your accounts. Most operating systems will now alert you if your email address appears in any breaches - so you can change anything you need to. 

And if you’re just thinking about working from home or starting something new, there is no finer thing to do than start with a hobby: 6 Productive Hobbies That You Can Start and see if you can turn it into cash.