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The last few months have brought about a lot of change for all of us. Due to social distancing, companies across the world saw a huge increase in the number of people working remotely over the last few months. So as countries now start to relax social distancing and organizations consider shifting back to previous in-office work environments, McAfee took a look into how this change affects the number of remote workers. Will people return to work quickly, or will remote working continue on? Let’s take a look at how remote work trends have evolved in the U.S. over the past few months. 

The Evolution of Remote Work   

As lockdown began in March, the US saw a huge increase as people moved to work from home, with a 9% increase in the number of remote connections to our apps compared to the previous month. Now, as parts of the U.S. starts to reopen, we’re tracking these remote connections to see if people are returning to work. So far, it looks like people aren’t rushing back to the office from home, with just a 0.3% decrease in remote connections this week compared to last week. What’s the big deal if more people work from home, anyways? 

One answer: many organizations see employees returning to corporate offices as a necessity, especially from a security standpoint. Nearly half of employees say that their company isn’t currently responsible for securing their devices while they’re at home. This is likely correlated to the increase in the number of online attacks employees have reported over the past three months. In fact, a recent McAfee report shows that threats to enterprises increased by 630% over the same period, with most attacks targeting collaboration services that enable remote work. 

Security Implications Around Remote Work

While many employers are anxious to have their team return to the office, a new study from McAfee revealed that 47% of employees do not want to go back to working how they were previously. Additionally, 21% stated that they intend to remain at home for as long as possible.  

While it’s clear that consumers are doing their best to embrace their current work environment, both the employee and employer must take the various security implications around remote work into account. Companies must ensure that tools are set up so that they can keep all employees’ applications and systems up to date, patched, and monitored for any issues that may arise. By doing more to protect their employees remotely, businesses will be able to reap the benefits of a happier workforce and greater business continuity.  

Although many users may be unsure of whether they will continue to commute to the kitchen table or their corporate office, there are several security tips to keep in mind in the interim to help enable remote work. Check out the following tips to safeguard your work from the home environment: 

Be cautious of correspondence asking you to act

You must stay vigilant if you receive an email or text asking you to take a certain action or download software. Avoid clicking on anything within the message. Instead, go straight to the organization’s website to prevent malicious content from phishing links.  

 Keep infrastructure up to date

With an ongoing trend of vulnerabilities in consumer devices like home routers or smart home products, you should be regularly reminded to update such devices. 

Browse with security protection

Use comprehensive security protection, like McAfee Total Protection, which can help protect devices against malware, phishing attacks, and other threats. It includes McAfee WebAdvisor which can help identify malicious websites.

How much value do you place on your personal privacy? You would never leave your wallet on a public park bench and expect it to be safe and untouched. It is possible that no one would take your valuable belongings, but you’d never intentionally take the risk – so why would you risk your personal data online?

The Power of Privacy

No matter who you are, you need to protect what’s yours. The fact is that your online data can’t be replaced the same way that your tangible possessions can be, and privacy has an intrinsic value that can be easily compromised on the web.

So how can you keep yourself and your sensitive information safe online? To learn more about safety while browsing the web, read on.

What is a Virtual Private Network?

A VPN, or virtual private network, routes your internet usage exclusively through private channels. Doing this effectively blocks your web activity from prying eyes and subsequently protects your sensitive data. When using public Wi-Fi hotspots, a VPN hides your identity and location, preserving your privacy and offering you peace of mind.

What Can A VPN Do For You?

In this fast-paced, high-tech world, a VPN is an invaluable asset. While your internet service provider (ISP) can’t read your online interactions, it’s nevertheless capable of identifying communication links. For example, it can trace the connections from your computer to sensitive web addresses like your bank or brokerage firm. Knowing that your vulnerable information is floating around on the internet might be enough to entice an unscrupulous ISP into finding and using it for their own benefit.

If you’re not using public internet services or doing your computing from home, you might be wondering if you need a VPN at all. Not necessarily, but at McAfee Activate, we believe it always pays to take precautions.

Are Your Passwords Protecting You?

We often feel secure relying on passwords to protect our privacy. The unfortunate truth is that a password alone may not be enough to deter a hacker. If you notice unusual behaviour on your computer, it could mean that a hacker already knows your password.

We need passwords to get almost anywhere on the internet, but the familiarity of this practice may result in complacency. After a while, a password may seem unimportant or even burdensome. Instead of trying to remember countless complicated passwords, you might feel overly comfortable in resorting to simpler passwords that are easily breakable with even the smallest effort.

How To Strengthen Your Passwords

A secure password requires at least 14 characters and should include both upper and lower case letters, capitals, numbers, and symbols.

If your password consists of readily available public knowledge like your birthdate, street address, or your dog’s name, chances are it’s not very strong. Likewise, predictable sequences of numbers or letters, like 123456789 or abcdefg, are risky.

Should You Protect Yourself From Viruses?

You wouldn’t cross the street without looking both ways. Installing antivirus software is the virtual equivalent of double-checking on a busy street. Protect your computer’s health and safety with antivirus software that prevents attacks from malicious programs that can infect your computer and the computers of others.

The Antivirus Safety Net

Every time you access the internet, you risk infection from a vast array of malware, including trojan horses, worms, and spyware, to name just a few. Luckily, antivirus software has a firewall that can detect these intruders, while a recovery tool helps eliminate these malicious programs from your computer.

Both a firewall and a VPN can prevent unauthorized web access to your computer systems. McAfeeActivate offers both antivirus software that removes malware, spyware, and adware through scheduled scans and protects your computer in real-time with its VPN, Safe Connect.

Should You Update Your Software?

You’re likely already familiar with many of the best privacy practices. These include using secure passwords, rejecting unknown emails, ignoring suspicious-looking links, and never distributing your personal information. When you pair these practices with free updates to your security software, you’re in an excellent position to preserve your privacy on the web.

Software updates can rectify security issues, replace outdated features, enhance compatibility with your apps, and even increase running speed. These patches can protect your computer from viruses, and prevent spread to other systems.

How To Update

Ready to update? Simply click ‘yes’ when you get a popup from your software developer asking if you’d like the latest features.

Most manufacturers offer free updates, while others require a technical support contract. Each software manufacturers’ website should provide specific details to help you download their security updates.

What are Cookies? Should I remove them?

Removing cookies is really up to preference. Cookies allow a website you’ve visited to retain your information—like your email address and password—for more convenient user experience. However, tracking cookies do pose a risk to your security. By allowing cookies, you’re saying it’s okay for the information to be sent to an unknown location.

Many cookies are relatively harmless and do nothing more than use your IP address for marketing analysis. Others, however, may submit your name and address to a tracking host, allowing advertisers to target you with bullseye-like precision.

Every browser has an option that lets you delete your cookies from your computer. For example, Internet Explorer shows a gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the browser screen. You simply click on the gear, select “Internet Options” in the menu box, and then click “Delete browsing on exit.”

Connecting Securely Online

Yes, it is possible. When using an online browser, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) allows you to view webpages but doesn’t provide security. The lack of encryption enables third parties to easily intercept data that you may prefer to keep private. When you use Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), you enjoy secure transmissions. Not all websites support this function, but it can provide more web privacy when you visit sites that do.

Steps To Protect

So how can you use this information to keep your sensitive data from becoming vulnerable? Here are the main takeaways: • Get a VPN. Secure your home and travel networks with VPN software. It makes blocking suspicious activity easy and can protect your computer from becoming damaged. • Use a password manager. This is a great tool for creating and storing hard-to-break passwords. You can find free password managers online, coupled with antivirus software. • Install antivirus and firewall software that doesn’t flag false detections. • Accept free security updates from your software manufacturer. • Remove cookies from your browser. • Use HTTPS for encrypted security on sites that support it.

With a little security know-how and the right tools for the job, you’ll be well-equipped to protect even your most sensitive and valuable data. Don’t live in fear of hackers and malware. Let your software manufacturer be your safety net, and browse with peace of mind!

If you’ve been following recent stay-at-home orders, it’s likely that you’ve been scavenging the internet for new content to help pass the time. In fact, according to Nielson, there was an 85% increase in American streaming rates in the first three weeks of March this year compared to March 2019 reports.   

But having multiple streaming subscriptions can quickly add up. Consequentially, users who are hesitant to pay more for online streaming subscriptions often look for free options to stream their favourite TV show or movie.  

Criminals are often behind these websites, luring unsuspecting users into schemes via “free” downloads of movies and TV shows.   Some of these movies and shows are risker than others, however.  McAfee WebAdvisor data has revealed certain titles are tied to potential malware and phishing threats. 

Let’s take a look at the TV shows and movies that could lead you to a dangerous download instead of your next film spree, as well as discuss what users can do to stay secure. 

Top 10 U.S. TV and Movie Titles That Could Lead You to a Dangerous Download:

Top 10 U.S. TV Titles Top 10 U.S. Movie Titles “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” “Warrior” “Elite” “Zombieland” “Harlots” “The Incredibles” Letterkenny” “Step Brothers”   “Poldark” “Bad Boys” “Lost” “Aladdin” (2019) “You” “The Lion King” (1994)“Gentefied” “Swingers” “PEN15” “Frozen 2” “Skins” “The Invitation” 

Stay Protected While Streaming

While consumers search for new content from home, criminals are clearly searching for ways to trick eager TV and movie fans. However, there’s still a way users can stay both entertained and secure during this time. Follow these tips to help ensure that your online entertainment experience is safe:  

Watch what you click

Users looking to catch up on Season 2 of “You” or watch the “The Incredibles” on repeat should be cautious and only access entertainment content directly from a reliable source. The safest thing to do is to subscribe to a streaming site that offers the content or download the movie from credible websites, instead of downloading a “free” version from a website that could contain malware. 

Refrain from using illegal streaming sites

Many illegal streaming sites are riddled with malware or adware disguised as pirated video files. Do your device a favour and stream the show from a reputable source. 

Use a comprehensive security Solution

Use a solution like McAfee Activate Total Protection. This can help protect your devices from malware, phishing attacks, and other threats. It also includes McAfee Activate WebAdvisor, which helps alert users of malicious websites. Additionally, McAfee WebAdvisor can be accessed as a free download.  

Use parental control software

Kids are tech-savvy and may search for movies by themselves. Ensure that limits are set on your child’s device and use software that can help minimize exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites. 

Stay Updated

To stay updated on all things McAfee and on top of the latest consumer and mobile security threats, follow @McAfee_Home on Twitter, listen to our podcast Hackable?, and ‘Like’ us on Facebook.