It’s easy for the line to get blurred between work and home sometimes. This is especially true with so many people now working from home remotely either part or full time.
When you’re issued a work PC, it can be hard to keep it for work activities only. You might be checking personal email and want to save a file, meaning to move to later. Or for some people, their families are hogging the home PC, so they use their work PC even after working hours for personal things.
In a Malwarebytes survey of employees, only 30% said that they never performed any kind of personal activity on their work computer. That leaves the other 70% with some mixture between work and personal digital life.
When you blur that line and use your work computer for things that aren’t work-related, you put the company’s cybersecurity in danger. But you can also be putting your own digital security at risk at the same time.
It’s best to keep a strict division between personal computing and business and to do all your personal stuff on your own computer. We’ll go through the reasons why.
You Should Not Do These Things On Your Work Computer
Store Your Personal Data
It’s amazing how fast personal data can fill up a work PC. People may only mean to save something until they can move it, but then as time goes by, they just keep storing items in a “personal” folder on their work device.
This can leave you at risk in a few different ways:
- You can lose your files if your work device is taken from you unexpectedly
- Your personal files can be synced with company cloud storage and be accessed by others
- You can end up causing a data breach if you download a file for personal use that’s infected with malware
Save Your Passwords in the Browser
It may not seem like a big deal to use your work PC to log into your online banking when you’re on a break. But if you store any personal passwords in your browser on a work device, it could leave you at risk of identity theft.
If your PC gets upgraded and you forget to sign out of your browser, all your logins could end up in the hands of a complete stranger. Companies sometimes donate older PCs to charitable organizations and don’t always properly wipe them before they do.
Sync with Personal Cloud Storage
Syncing your work PC with personal cloud storage is another “no-no” on your work PC. You can end up accidentally syncing sensitive company files and causing what’s known as data leakage. Having sensitive customer data end up being stored in an unsecured place can mean a data privacy compliance violation for your firm.
You can also end up leaving that connection on when that computer is replaced or you leave to move to another company, meaning all your files could be accessible to someone else.
Visit Sketchy Websites
Visiting unsavory websites while on a work PC is not only something that can cause you to lose your job if found out, but it can also cause a malware infection that spreads throughout your company’s network. Sketchy sites often have dangerous pop ups and redirects embedded in them that can infect a device with ransomware, spyware, or another form of malware.
Do Online Shopping
Online shopping is all too common at work. A majority of employees admit to shopping online while at the office. But this is another risky undertaking on a work computer and it can cause you to put your credit or debit card number at risk.
Many browsers will prompt you to save your payment card details, and you might click to save without even realizing it. If you haven’t removed this information, anyone accessing your PC could end up having your details auto-filled for them on a shopping site.
Share With Friends/Family
If you work from home and have a work PC issued to you, one thing you’ll need to navigate is potential requests from family or friends to use it for something. Usually, business PCs have better specifications and a higher performance level than the typical home PC. It may be tempting for a teen to want to use your PC for their newest game that’s running slow on their own computer.
This is a big problem when it comes to the security of your business data. Most companies also frown on employees allowing others to use their work computers.
Need Help With Endpoint Management & Security for a Remote Team?
It can be hard for companies to keep an eye on work PCs that are issued to remote employees. Quantum PC Services can help your Sturgeon Bay business with remote management and endpoint security solutions.
Contact us today to learn more! Call 920-256-1214 or reach us online.
