16
Feb

Staying safe online during COVID-19

Working from home during the pandemic?

For most of us in the UK the answer would be yes. As government guidelines suggest you may only leave your home for work if you cannot reasonably work from home, to help reduce the spread of the virus.

With this, more people are relying on online technology to stay connected to their workplace. This could be using new communication methods such as Zoom or Teams to stay in touch with colleagues for meetings or general communication in the workplace.

It’s important to keep safe online just as much as it is in the workplace so here are some tips on online safety.

 

Security & Privacy Settings:

Privacy online is important especially when working from home as we are not protected behind a big server like we are at work.

Reviewing your privacy settings on the application or website that you are using will help you control the personal data that you are sharing ensuring you are secure. This could also be helped with changing passwords to devices or applications to something strong to prevent your work being compromised.

Setting up two factor authentication is a free security feature to stop unwanted people getting into your accounts. You’ll receive a text or code within a security app such as Google Administrator or Authy when you log in to check you are who you say you are.

Ensure that you are also using up-to-date software on your computer as improvements to security can roll out with these updates.

 

 

Blocking unsuitable content:

Understanding the website or application you are using and how their terms and conditions are set out to protect their user’s safety will benefit your experience online. If you see any harmful activity posted anywhere you can report it to the site.

You can also prevent unwanted content from appearing by setting filters on your home broadband and mobile networks.

 

Take a break:

Understanding the website or application you are using and how their terms and conditions are set out to protect their user’s safety will benefit your experience online. If you see any harmful activity posted anywhere you can report it to the site.

It’s easy to get overloaded with information during these times. 24-hour news updates and constant social media updates can make you worried. It’s important to take a step back and think about how you’re affected. Keeping track of your screen time during the day will benefit your health both mentally and physically as eye strain can occur if looking at a screen for too long.

Taking brief breaks whilst working using the 20-20-20 rule could benefit your health in the long run. Try looking away from your monitor at something every 20 minutes that is 20 feet away from you for at least 20 seconds.

 

Stay protected and take care of yourself.

 

 

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