Whether you are accessing Murray State resources from your home computer or from an MSU laptop, there are many ways you can protect yourself and the data you access. Take a look at these tips on working securely from home.
You Are the Best Defense
First and foremost, technology alone cannot fully protect you – you are the best defense. Attackers have learned that the easiest way to get what they want is to target you, rather than your computer or other devices. If they want your password, work data or control of your computer, they’ll attempt to trick you into giving it to them, often by creating a sense of urgency. For example, they can call you pretending to be Microsoft technical support and claim that your computer is infected. Or perhaps they send you an email warning that a package could not be delivered, fooling you into clicking on a malicious link. The most common indicators of a social engineering attack include:
- Someone creating a tremendous sense of urgency, often through fear, intimidation, a crisis, or an important deadline - many times impersonating your boss or someone else higher up than you.
- Pressure to bypass or ignore security policies or procedures, or an offer too good to be true (no, you did not win the lottery!).
- A message from a friend or co-worker in which the signature, tone of voice or wording does not sound like them.
Secure Your Home Network
Almost every home network starts with a wireless (often called Wi-Fi) network. This is what enables all of your devices to connect to the Internet. Most home wireless networks are controlled by your Internet router or a separate, dedicated wireless access point. Both work in the same way: by broadcasting wireless signals to which home devices connect. This means securing your wireless network is a key part of protecting your home. We recommend the following steps to secure it:
- Change the default administrator password: The administrator account is what allows you to configure the settings for your wireless network. An attacker can easily discover the default password that the manufacturer has provided.
- Allow only people that you trust: Do this by enabling strong security so that only people you trust can connect to your wireless network. Strong security will require a password for anyone to connect to your wireless network. It will encrypt their activity once they are connected.
- Make passwords strong: The passwords people use to connect to your wireless network must be strong and different from the administrator password. Remember, you only need to enter the password once for each of your devices, as they store and remember the password.
Run the Latest Version!
Make sure each of computers, mobile devices, programs, and apps are running the latest version of their software. Cyberattackers are constantly looking for new vulnerabilities in the software your devices use. When they discover vulnerabilities, they use special programs to exploit them and hack into the devices you are using. Meanwhile, the companies that created the software for these devices are hard at work fixing them by releasing updates. By ensuring your computers and mobile devices install these updates promptly, you make it much harder for someone to hack you. To stay current, simply enable automatic updating whenever possible. This rule applies to almost any technology connected to a network, including not only your work devices but Internet-connected TV’s, baby monitors, security cameras, home routers, gaming consoles or even your car.
Kids and Guests
Make sure family and friends understand they cannot use your work devices. They can accidentally erase or modify information, or, perhaps even worse, accidentally infect the device.