As a business owner security should be of the utmost importance to you and your business. Adapting to the modern age means implementing different strategies to adapt to employee physical location, travelling employees, or even employees dealing with circumstantial dilemmas such as health problems or family matters. Whilst your business can experiment with different off-site methods, there should always be one constant: security.
You are going to inevitably be in the position where using public Wi-Fi is better than not using any Wi-Fi at all. The issue with this is that public Wi-Fi is considerably more dangerous to use than the secured in-house network of your office. How can you maximize the productivity of your business’ staff while on the go, without sacrificing security by allowing them to use public Wi-Fi to access important data?
We’ll discuss some of the reasons why a public Wi-Fi connection might be putting your data at risk, as well as what you can do about it.
Why Public Wi-Fi is So Dangerous
You’re walking down the street and you need to access something important on your smartphone. However, you don’t want to use your mobile data plan to do so. Instead, you’d prefer to connect to a local wireless network. Tracking down the closest mobile hotspot, you find yourself at a coffee shop where the connection doesn’t have a password. You access the data you need, but you have no way of knowing whether or not everything you do on the network is being monitored.
Hackers frequently like to lurk on busy public wireless connections for this express purpose. Since there is no barrier for entry, they can simply log onto the network and take advantage of its lack of security features. Therefore, your business’ devices need to have some sort of security measures implemented so that public Wi-Fi doesn’t put your sensitive data at risk.
Password Protection is Key
You might remember how your company’s in-house wireless network is secured by a credential. These passwords should always be used when possible, as there is otherwise no way to guarantee that your company’s network isn’t open to just anyone. In fact, we recommend setting up multiple wireless networks--one for your in-house staff and network, and one for any visitors (still protected by a passcode). This way, you can partition your network in such a way that only your staff can access specific information, while you still provide wireless access to those visiting your office.
It’s key that any public wireless network that you access have some sort of encryption protecting it from letting just anyone log in. If you notice that there is a wireless network, but no passcode, try asking someone who works there--or look for a poster with the code on it. You should also ensure that you do this for your own wireless networks.
Try a Virtual Private Network
If your organization wants to ensure anonymity while out of the safety of your own office, consider implementing a virtual private network, or VPN. VPNs implement encryption for any data traveling to and from a network, meaning that any onlookers will be sad to see that they’re only getting a jumbled mess rather than anything worth stealing. A VPN is certainly necessary for a company that has remote employees or likes to take their business on the go.
Does your organization require a VPN? To learn more, call us today at (844) BIZ-EDGE.
Most users are aware that their browsers offer a “secure” browsing experience. Google Chrome has Incognito mode, Microsoft’s Edge browser allows you to surf the Internet “InPrivate,” and Apple’s Safari offers Private Browsing as well. The trouble is, these “secure” browsing options aren’t actually all that secure. For today’s tip, we’ll discuss ways to actually keep your Internet browsing private.
Not-So-Private Browsing
While any of these options will prevent your browser’s history from tracking your online activity, they will not stop your Internet Service Provider, AKA, your ISP. Your ISP is capable of delivering records of all websites that were visited in a certain time frame, including any websites visited while using your browser’s ‘private’ functionality.
Plus, and perhaps for some, most alarmingly, the websites you visit under Incognito mode or with InPrivate activated also know that you visited. It doesn’t even matter if you accessed the website without logging in to any accounts. Your path is still left unprotected, leaving your activity vulnerable to someone who knows where to look.
It’s also worth mentioning that your employer can still see what you are doing. Just because your browser isn’t tracking your activity in Incognito mode, doesn’t mean your company network isn’t tracking you. If you are a business owner and want to ensure better productivity, you can still set up a content filter on your network without it being debunked by this common browser setting.
When it all comes down to it, in order to be truly private during your browsing, you need a specialized solution to help you: a VPN.
Virtual Private Browsing
By using a Virtual Private Network, the connection between your system and your destination online is hidden, allowing you to choose where it appears you are browsing from. This means that, if you wished, you could appear to be browsing from a suburb of New York City, while you could actually be an entire country (or ocean) away.
By hiding your connection under a layer of encryption, a VPN can provide your business with the privacy it needs to ensure its success and safety.
For assistance in implementing a VPN for your business’ browsing needs, reach out to BEI at (844) BIZ-EDGE.