3 things at-home workers need to know about Coronavirus Covid-19

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3 things at-home workers need to know about Coronavirus Covid-19
Hi guys. According to Cloudflare, the company that monitors a sizeable portion of the traffic on the internet, March has seen an average of a 10% increase of online traffic coming from residential homes across the globe, with the exception of Italy which has seen a 30% increase for obvious reasons. What does this mean?

 

1) Be Aware of COVID-19 Phishing Scams:

The Department of Homeland Security CISA (cyber and infrastructure) warns individuals to remain vigilant for scams related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). CISA encourages individuals to remain vigilant and take the following precautions.

▪ Avoid clicking on links in unsolicited emails and be wary of email attachments. See Using Caution with Email Attachments and Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Scams for more information.
▪ Use trusted sources—such as legitimate, government websites for up-to-date, fact-based information about COVID-19.
▪ Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information.
▪ Verify a charity’s authenticity before making donations. Review the Federal Trade Commission’s page on Charity Scams for more information.
▪ Review CISA Insights on Risk Management for COVID-19 for more information.

▪ Avoid clicking on links in unsolicited emails and be wary of email attachments. See Using Caution with Email Attachments and Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Scams for more information.

 

▪ Use trusted sources—such as legitimate, government websites for up-to-date, fact-based information about COVID-19.

 

▪ Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information.

 

▪ Verify a charity’s authenticity before making donations. Review the Federal Trade Commission’s page on Charity Scams for more information.

 

▪ Review CISA Insights on Risk Management for COVID-19 for more information.

 

2) Your home computer may not be as well protected as your work computer

▪ There is a good chance that restrictions, protection and other measures have been put into place on your work systems. This is to protect company data, prevent ransomware and data breaches.
▪ If you are unsure of your protection status and are going to continue working from home even temporarily, be sure to reach out so that we can add protection to your home system. We can do it all remotely.
▪ Now is a good time to review your company’s security awareness training program. The scammers know that the general public is scared and they will try to fool you. Now is the time for a quick review. Don’t have your security awareness training set up? Reach out so that we can help get that going.

▪ There is a good chance that restrictions, protection and other measures have been put into place on your work systems. This is to protect company data, prevent ransomware and data breaches.

 

▪ If you are unsure of your protection status and are going to continue working from home even temporarily, be sure to reach out so that we can add protection to your home system. We can do it all remotely.

 

▪ Now is a good time to review your company’s security awareness training program. The scammers know that the general public is scared and they will try to fool you. Now is the time for a quick review. Don’t have your security awareness training set up? Reach out so that we can help get that going.

 

3) You may have to make do with what you have

▪ Many manufacturing and supply chains are shut down or otherwise disrupted so it may become difficult to procure new computers and other IT equipment in the coming weeks and months. If you have any new hires on the horizon or other IT purchases in mind that we’re not aware of, please let us know so we can have plenty of lead time to order the equipment.
▪ If you are experiencing internet connectivity problems, please restart your internet equipment (modem, router, wi-fi access points). This will resolve most issues.
▪ If internet seems slow, sometimes this can be caused by a browser with many tabs opened or a computer that hasn’t been recently rebooted. It’s always a good idea to close and reopen your browser if web browsing seems sluggish or, even better, restart your computer.

▪ Many manufacturing and supply chains are shut down or otherwise disrupted so it may become difficult to procure new computers and other IT equipment in the coming weeks and months. If you have any new hires on the horizon or other IT purchases in mind that we’re not aware of, please let us know so we can have plenty of lead time to order the equipment.

 

▪ If you are experiencing internet connectivity problems, please restart your internet equipment (modem, router, wi-fi access points). This will resolve most issues.

 

▪ If internet seems slow, sometimes this can be caused by a browser with many tabs opened or a computer that hasn’t been recently rebooted. It’s always a good idea to close and reopen your browser if web browsing seems sluggish or, even better, restart your computer.

Also, working from home is different than working from the office. It’s easy to get distracted and you may be interested in getting better organized. Here are some articles and resources that may help:

https://www.pcmag.com/news/get-organized-20-tips-for-working-from-home

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic

https://time.com/5801725/work-from-home-remote-tips/

As always, stay safe and stay healthy out there.