Work from home basics: 4 tips to help you get started
The dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases has prompted many businesses to transition to remote work. In 2018, a quarter of Americans worked from home at least some of the time. Now, at-home workers may be the norm for the foreseeable future.
To make this possible, businesses rely on technology. But not every business knows what it needs to stay afloat. And some encounter unexpected hiccups when working remotely. Tap or click to see how the Komando editorial staff fared with teleconferencing.
So what happens to the millions of workers who are now required to bunker down and shelter-in-place? How many really know their way around tech? To help newly remote workers adjust to life indoors, here’s our simple four-point working from home guide.
1. Is your connection secure?
Under quarantine, your internet connection is the only doorway out of your home. Without it, you can’t bring any money in, which is why securing it is so important.
First, you’ll want to verify your modem is plugged in and working. Check that all wires are tightly connected and your router isn’t in a dangerous spot where it can fall or become unplugged. Nobody wants to lose hours of work thanks to a mishap.
It’s also worth mentioning that hackers are a bigger threat now than ever. With so many new at-home workers, you can bet the worst people on the web will be after the fresh meat. Tap or click here to see how to hacker-proof your router.
2. Get your login information and keep it safe
Your employer will probably have you use a workplace productivity tool like G Suite or Office 365 for your daily tasks. These systems are highly flexible and give you a range of features that make it easy to create and share documents.
Both of these companies (and several others) are now offering premium features free during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Tap or click here to find out more about free software upgrades for remote workers.
But with work-from-home software comes passwords, and with more hackers lurking about, protecting them is paramount. You’ll want an encrypted password manager to keep you and your coworkers safe.
You need something that not only saves the passwords you have, but generates new ones that can’t be easily cracked. And don’t even think about saving your passwords to your browser. These are even easier to compromise than an encrypted password list.