Top tips for home working: Part 1

So, things have changed a lot recently! We are working from home, and, at least for now, there is no end in sight. Let’s face it, who wants to run the risk of going to work. Until they come up with a vaccine or a treatment, we need to access the solutions we have at home so we can be as effective as we are at work. To this end, I have detailed Top tips for home working that will make working from home a vastly improved experience.

Mouse and keyboard

Being sent home with a laptop is great, mobility around the house is fantastic if you need to change rooms to get some peace and quiet, but does this come at a cost? if you are anything like me spending all day on a laptop keyboard and trackpad, day in day out does not suit, I can already feel RSI coming on. So, the first bit of advice, invest in a decent wireless keyboard and mouse, very easy to set up and will make working on your laptop a far more enjoyable experience, and one that you won’t regret writing that 4000-word report on!

Windows 10

If you are not on Windows 10 already then you should be. Windows 7 has gone end of life and is a major cyber security risk. I know some people have been sent home to work in a rush and been provided old laptops to work from, the Windows 7 upgrade through the windows update centre and is pretty straight forward, do this before it’s too late, or better still get a new laptop with Windows 10 pre-installed. With Windows 10 plugging into any device, streaming your screen and connecting to your home printers will be a far easier task!

Secure connectivity and Wi-Fi

Now working from home is becoming a more permanent fixture we need to seriously consider the setup of our networks and Wi-Fi. Most home networks are provided with a BT, Virgin or other ISP router which provides the Wi-Fi to the house, and generally does a good job. What these devices don’t do is give you much protection. Most businesses will have invested heavily in the Wi-Fi and internet gateway within the office, and with good reason. Now you are working from home the level of cyber security has dropped dramatically but the data being used is the same. The reality is home breaches are becoming more regular and a much easier target for cybercriminals, investing in the right equipment for the home is as important as for the office. If you want to read more about home vulnerability, please click here.

Internet

Let’s face it, now you are working from home, your dependence on the internet has gone from 40-60% to 100%, and I bet very few have any redundancy in place, but how many of you know that you could have redundancy for no extra cost? Your mobile phone can be used as a hotspot, most mobile contracts come with huge amounts of data and along with as you have decent 4g or 5g connection at home using this when you have issues with your ADSL or Superfast Fibre will be an easy and quick solution and made easier with Windows 10.

Support tree has been managing IT for businesses in London and beyond for 17 years, working on the IT strategy and helping to mitigate risk by implementing the right security measure to align with there risk posture, our pedigree as a cyber security expert puts us in a great position, but now we are going further and will be announcing home IT support product soon to ensure our clients are safe when out of the safe confines of the office.

Get in touch today to get home IT support as good as you would get when in the office.

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