6 Tips To Help Provide Your IT Clients With Safe Remote Computing

By Michael Papetti, Technical Lead, Synametrics Technologies

As a provider of IT services for a variety of businesses, I have witnessed a myriad of Internet vulnerability issues, especially as more and more work is performed on the road. My company, Synametrics, provides software solutions that help companies share their valuable, often crucially private information both securely and efficiently. But these tools must be combined with user vigilance.

We put the best security capabilities we can into our products, but we can't do it all. You should be aware of other products and — more importantly — safe practices that thwart the common attacks that victimize innocent users.

In one or our recent blog entries, we talked about password security and password managers. Here are some of other important security measures you can — and should — take:

1. Use A VPN (Virtual Private Network)

I am writing this in a Starbucks using the “Google Starbucks” Wi-Fi network. Even though I had to open a Web browser and click a button to connect to the Internet, the connection is completely open and unencrypted. Anyone else in the café could intercept my communications.

But I’m not concerned and I’m not vulnerable. I’m running a VPN client. I pay for a service that has points of presence all over the world. Once I’m connected to the Internet my VPN client connects to one of those points of presence. From that point until I disconnect, the VPN connection acts as a network proxy, encrypting all Internet communications, sending them to the point of presence where they are decrypted and redirected on to their destination. Incoming communications work the same, going through the VPN before getting to me.

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