Whether it's summer vacation or the winter holiday season, the chances you'll need to work remotely are high. With many employees traveling and working remotely over various holidays throughout the year, maintaining IT security and accessibility outside the office can be a real challenge. It's crucial for you and your employees to have your IT set up correctly and follow best practices while in transit and working from home.
What risks and frustrations could you encounter without the right IT setup?
Holiday travel can leave you susceptible to all kinds of risks. Traveling can be a hectic experience, leading many people to seek ways to make work or other tasks less stressful. Successful cyberattacks are opportunistic, meaning they often prey on people who relax or take cybersecurity shortcuts with efforts that range from simple snooping to more complex methods.
"If you're using public Wi-Fi and your laptop isn't properly secured, people could be screen sniping you, or you could fall victim to keylogging," explains Jason Monroe, Solution Consultant at Bit-Wizards. "Key logging occurs when someone is able to load a little program onto your device because it's not secured the way it should be, and they're able to see everything that's happening on your screen and every single key that you push. You should also be aware of your environment because someone could be screen-sniping you by looking over your shoulder to watch everything you do, including gathering your usernames and passwords."
Monroe says you're also susceptible to ransomware attacks and other common cyberattack methods that can lurk in public Wi-Fi networks. While it's often perceived as a safe and convenient resource for on-the-go remote workers, public Wi-Fi provides a space for bad actors to wreak havoc on your devices.
"Without IT protections in place, these risks loom when using any public Wi-Fi, even if it's for a short time while you're not traveling," he says. "This goes for the airport, train station, Starbucks, your hotel; you name it."
In addition to these risks, you might also have to deal with technology-related frustrations while traveling and working remotely over the holidays. Between reaching out to an unresponsive in-house IT team and dealing with potentially outdated hardware and software, you may be left to deal with lost productivity and additional stress.
"If your IT isn't set up correctly, you might not be able to work," says Monroe. "It could be something as simple but annoying as not being able to connect back to your business's network and resources correctly. Let's say you need to connect to your office's on-premises server, SharePoint, or some other type of cloud drive, and you're back home for the holidays. What will you do if you're on vacation and suddenly realize your machine can't connect to the resources you need to get work done? And what happens when you can't get ahold of your IT department to get the help you need?"
How can you avoid IT risks and frustrations during holiday travel and remote work?
The last thing any business owner or employee wants to deal with while traveling and working remotely for the holidays is IT trouble. Here are 5 tips and best practices to help prepare you for remote work and give you peace of mind at holiday time:
- Make sure your devices and programs are up to date with the latest patches.
- Test connectivity on all your devices to your server, cloud services, and other resources.
- Use a virtual private network (VPN) and test the connection before traveling.
- Be aware of your surroundings when working in public places.
- Connect with your IT provider before traveling or working remotely.
"If you have a managed IT provider, you're automatically way ahead of the game," says Monroe. "For example, our Managed IT Services (MITS) at Bit-Wizards is powered by a team of experts that will ensure that you have the right software installed, your devices are up to date, you can access what you need, and proactive monitoring is in place. All this is taken care of for you, so you don't have to worry about risks like ransomware or viruses while traveling, and when you do get home, you can start working right away."
Even with managed IT, tech headaches are bound to happen when you least expect them. When you're a MITS client, Monroe says our Wizards are ready as a responsive support system when IT issues occur, whether you're on vacation or working from home.
"We're always here," he says. "Even over the holidays while you're on vacation, you can count on us to help you. Let's say you have a VPN issue, or you forget your password or something like that. No matter what issue you're experiencing, you can call us or submit a ticket, and we'll take care of it for you."
Why count on Bit-Wizards to give you peace of mind at holiday time?
Monroe says one of the most significant advantages for Bit-Wizards clients is our commitment to always being one step ahead.
"Before any major or long-running holidays, we're having meetings and making sure information is provided to our clients," he explains. "What sets us apart from our competitors is that we're proactive. We're not waiting for something to go wrong to address an issue. We're anticipating our clients' needs and proactively getting things ready for them so that hopefully an issue doesn't even arise."
Even if a Bit-Wizards Managed IT client encounters an issue while traveling or working remotely over the holidays, Monroe says this proactive approach makes solving the problem much more seamless.
"Practicing proactive IT allows us to react fast," he says. "You're not going to have to sit there for days and days waiting for us to figure out what's going on and fix it before you can work again. We'll do what it takes to make sure you can get back online as soon as possible."
Monroe says you can rely on Bit-Wizards to help make working remotely during your holiday stress-free.
"Whether it's a magical season or time for some fun in the sun, our Wizards enjoy these holidays as much as our clients do," he jokes. "But seriously, we're always here to help and our clients know that. We're focused on maintaining efficient IT and making their lives easier so they can focus on quality time with their families and having a peaceful holiday season."
Ready to get started with managed IT before you have to travel and work remotely over the holidays? Contact us today.