Hybrid working, working from home, digital nomads; all these phrases describe the new Nirvana for many employees or freelancers. Technology has enabled ‘knowledge workers’ to be able to escape the office and provide their services wherever there might be an internet connection.
Indeed, some digital nomads, without family ties, can travel the world freely. Their only restriction might be the time zone they’re in – if it still allows them to meet the deadlines and requirements of their clients. In effect, it doesn’t matter wherever either party, client or freelancer, might be located.
There are those, of course, who still enjoy the ‘nine-to-five’ and commuting to an office. Some people enjoy the daily company of colleagues and don’t mind the nauseating smell of instant ramen noodles across an open plan workspace. Others are allowed to bring their dogs into work, which can be a pleasant diversion for everyone, and helps prevent those cosseted canines Woofing From Home!
Naturally, there are still hundreds of jobs that can’t be performed remotely – builders, truck drivers, hospital porters etc. Such occupations tend to be of the blue-collar variety, as they involve manual labor and require on-site attendance.
Those who do work from home (WFH) might also be aware that their time dressed in the mode of a Christmas tree may be numbered; (Xmas trees only look smart in the parts that people can see!)
Sitting behind a kitchen table with a smart shirt on your top half and a pair of boxer shorts below might be great on Zoom calls – but WFH’ers might want to bear in mind that jobs which can be performed from or via a computer may well be the first ones to be performed BY a computer. So enjoy it while it lasts.
Online security becomes more important when you WFH.
The WFH revolution has opened up a whole new can of worms for human resources (HR) departments the world over, as employees move around using unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots. Or the person concerned might share their home internet connection with a teenager who spends half their time on the dark web. The chances of an employer-provided laptop being somehow hacked by unknown miscreants has grown exponentially since WFH became commonplace.
But by using a virtual private network (VPN) employers, employees and freelancers can rest a little easier knowing that their online activities are more secure using that security software.
Of course, like every other app, things can always go wrong, and there are times when you’ll need to troubleshoot your VPN if it’s not working as it’s meant to be – but those instances tend to be few and far between.
A VPN works by placing an intermediary server in between the device that’s connected to the internet and the target online service requested. So in the case of a WFH accountant, if they log on to their employer’s intranet from home, a VPN encrypted server will sit between the workplace network and the employee’s residence.
The main advantage of this is the security facility on the VPN server, which can instantly detect any malware or spyware being introduced via the connection. In the example above, where a teenager in the house might be visiting sites they shouldn’t, a VPN ensures that the device the parent is using is effectively ‘insulated’ from any baddies that might hack the domestic network.
Using Wi-Fi hotspots during flexible work hours
Along with the progression of many people working remotely, there’s the introduction by some companies of the ‘four day working week’ experiment. This is meant to ensure that employees work fewer hours than, say, 40 hours over five days. Instead, the idea is that they might work 32 hours over four days. The idea is that they can be more productive on those working days as they get three days to recuperate.
In some cases it’s been successful, and some employers are happy to keep the model after trials. In others, HR departments have had the pain of having to employ more people, but each of them working fewer hours – so it hasn’t saved the management any time. After all, customers still want businesses to be open at least five days per week.
But if you’re one of those flexi-workers who might drop into a shopping mall at lunchtime to check your email – beware of the clever Wi-Fi hotspot scam. Fakes on the internet aren’t just deepfake videos and images on social media – brick and mortar premises can be hotspots for hackers too.
This is where a hacker might sit outside a coffee house in a van or car, with a laptop, using 4G or 5G cellular data to create a Wi-Fi hotspot of their own. They call that hotspot the same name, and use the same password, as the genuine credentials used in the nearby shop. In that case, astute surfers would notice two identically-labeled hot-spots in their system dialogue – but most people aren’t that aware – and simply click on the name of the shop they’re sitting in.
So there’s a 50% chance that you’re going to log in to the nefarious network. In that case, you might put in your email address to confirm your acceptance of the (fictional) terms and conditions.
The next thing you know, you’ve received an email on your laptop, ostensibly from The Corporate Coffee Company, offering you a discount voucher off a Danish at your next visit. You click on to download the document. But in reality, you’re installing Spyware onto your employer’s laptop.
Imagine the trouble you’ll be in a few days hence – when the company’s entire network is hacked via your machine.
But if you had been using a VPN (and companies sometimes provide them) – then the secure browsing facility on the encrypted server would have detected the Spyware download and cut the connection to that hotspot before any harm could be done.
In summary
Whether you’re a digital nomad freelancer, a WFH employee or a retired senior or student – everyone has to stay vigilant when connected to the internet. The worst case of being fired for misusing a company laptop, or simply losing all your files from your own machine, can be prevented by the installation of a VPN.
Most VPN facilities are free for the basics, and, as a bonus, if you pay a little extra for premium facilities, you can even save money when online shopping and access streaming platforms for free.It’s really a no-brainer decision – whether you live in Argentina or Arkansas; a VPN is a must-have for anybody who connects to the internet and needs to keep their online privacy safe.
