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Cyber hygiene tips for remote workers

It can be disorienting to suddenly find yourself working from home, and bad guys out there might choose to use that to their advantage. Here are some simple tips to help you stay smart and several steps ahead of the bad guys!
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor

The coronavirus outbreak has seen unprecedented numbers of people being sent away from their places of work and told to work from home. For some this will be a weird and disorienting experience, and bad guys out there might choose to use that to their advantage.

To help you stay a few steps ahead of the bad guys, Mark Gilroy, CEO of advanced encryption key management company Fornetix has a bunch of simple cybersecurity and cyber hygiene tips to help keep you safe.

  • Be suspicious of any emails asking people to check or renew their passwords and login credentials
  • Suspicious of emails from people you don't know 
  • Ensure your Wi-Fi connection is secure
  • Ensure anti-virus is in place and fully updated
  • Lock your screen if you work in a shared space
  • Check if you have encryption tools installed

I'd add to this a simple statement:

  • If in doubt, DON'T!

I suggest printing these tips out and sticking them to your screen. If you work on mobile device, put them in a note, take a screenshot it and use it as your wallpaper -- that's a good reminder for you to keep your cyber hygiene on high.

Stay safe out there!

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