Top tips for working at home
The are some helpful tips to help you stay safe when working from home:
- Is it a scam? Beware of scammers and fraudsters claiming to offer “working from home” kits and treat offers of Government aid or bank-related support with extreme caution
- Is your home WI-FI secure? Ensure your device does not share data with other devices connected. Consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to provide anonymity by hiding the user and making it hard for anyone to track your information as it goes through the internet. Where possible use multi-factor authentication for any logins (usually a PIN code sent to a registered mobile phone or official Authentication app)
- Are your devices up to date? Ensure that all updates are applied and refrain from using out-of-support software – patching can repair potential flaws in the software which may be exploited by attackers
- Are you revealing sensitive information? Ensure that other household members don’t have access to sensitive information about your customers, your staff, or your business. If you must share a device, consider setting up a separate profile or user account for work purposes
- The National Cyber Security Centre has top tips for staying safe online and home working. If you are a small business with under 5 members of staff you can contact the Channel Island Information Security Forum by email to arrange some quick advice
Getting the most from your broadband connection
It’s important that we can get the most from our broadband connections. While Jersey is the most connected island in the world, with full-fibre gigabit connections to every home and business offering some of the fastest average internet speeds on the planet there may be individual examples of where people feel things aren’t working as well as they should. In most cases problems can usually be resolved within a household by making some easy changes.
Here are some things people can do to improve the broadband connections in their homes:
- Connecting lots of devices at the same time can eat into your WiFi bandwidth and affect the quality of your connection, so turn these off if you’re not using them as devices like tablets and smartphones often work in the background
- Always password protect your WiFi to prevent unauthorised users from connecting to your network and slowing down your service
- Download or stream videos and TV shows in standard rather than high definition format and avoid large updates for online games until off-peak hours
- If you are struggling to get WiFi coverage throughout your home you may benefit from a WiFi extender or Mesh WiFi System. Speak to your broadband provider about this
- Keep your router away from halogen lamps, dimmer switches, stereo or computer speakers, fairy lights, TVs and monitors, as well as devices which operate wirelessly such as cordless phones and baby monitors
- Place your router on a table or shelf rather than on the floor and keep it switched on
If you have an older router, or you have regular disconnections on your line, an upgrade might help. Speak to your provider about this
Try going wired instead of wireless when home working. Use an ethernet cable to connect your computer directly to your router rather than using wifi. This should give you a faster, more reliable connection
If these changes don’t work and problems persist contact your broadband provider who will be happy to help.
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