5 Basic Tools you Need to Work from your Home Office

A lot of people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. And many companies could avoid job loss by allowing employees to work from home. The reality is that many small offices and businesses were not ready to allow employees to work from home. In this post, I will briefly describe 5 Basic Tools you Need to Work from your Home Office.
If you are ready to set up your office to allow your employees to work from home and need some help, check the list of services Izzytech provides.

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In this post, I will talk about the free tools that I have used in the past. These 5 Basic Tools you Need to Work from your Home Office or remote location.

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1) Video Conference Tools

One of my favorite tools, when I work from home, is Skype. If you have an account with Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail, then you can log in to skype and start using it right away. Skype will allow conference calls with video. If you want more security you can use Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams for a monthly cost.

Tip: If you are paying for a professional email with Microsoft (Exchange) you might be able to use Microsft Teams in your work from home. Contact IzzyTech if you need help

get Skype here: Skype

2) Remote Access Apps

One reason why companies don’t allow employees to work from home is that they own a desktop computer that can’t leave the office. The solution is simple, there are several tools that allow employees to connect to their computers at work using a home computer, tablet, or laptop.

Anydesk from Anydesk.com allows easy configuration to access another computer remotely. Additionally, IT staff can access other computers remotely to support users. Did I mention that it is free? Work from home is not optional, is recommended.

3) Security (Encryption)

I will not spend a lot of time explaining how encryption works. Basically, is a way to protect the information on your computer (phone and tables too!!!). Only a person with a valid password can access the information. So, if a laptop gets lost or stolen the data remains protected as long as it was encrypted.

Security is one of the most important reasons why employers don’t allow users to work from home (WFH). But most operating systems offer an option to encrypt the device: Windows 10, macOS, Linux.

For Windows 10, users can use built-in Bitlocker. check the steps here –> BitLocker. For more than 20 devices I recommend a management tool to encrypt devices like the ones in this external link or use McAfee Encryption to manage several devices.

Tip: If you encrypt a device make sure you have the Encryption key saved in a secure place and a strong password, If you forget your password the data, very likely, can’t be recovered once encrypted.

4) Strong Password

How many times have we heard that a site was “hacked”? sounds familiar?
Security experts recommend having a strong password, moreover, they recommend that we have a different password for each application or site where we need to log in. And I couldn’t agree more. But wait for a second …
are you saying that we need to have a unique password for Facebook, Twitter, online banking, Netflix, Spotify, etc?

YES, I am saying that you should have a unique password for each application with a strong password. IzzyTech can help you

What does it make a strong password? you might ask. Well, in basic terms a password that contains uppercase and lowercase letters, has numbers, and the length is also important, the more characters the better. But that is not all. Think of this example: Passw0rd. first of all, it is a weak password. Then let’s make it stronger. how about: (P@ssw0rd!!} a lot better. by including special characters you can convert any easy word to a more secure password. Unfortunately, this is not the best practice either but way better than Password123.

The best password, or better, think of a passphrase. Imagine that you want to use a sentence as a password, for example: “mary had a little lamb”.
easy to guess still, let’s improve it: [M@ryHad-aL1ttleL@mb!], you might be thinking –Izzy from Izzytech is crazy!!! — bear with me. The reason why this makes sense is that you can make up your own personal passphrase so difficult for others to guess but for you is personal and easy to remember.

LastPass – IzzyTech recommended solution

But, how about creating a unique password for each log in?!!!
Don’t worry I have the solution. all you need is to create a safe passphrase. Then you can use Lastpass software to manage all your passwords, this way you can have a unique password like ‘Yh%jbs12(0_} for each login and let LastPass store it and retrieve it. All you need to do is log in with your master password once. Also, you can create secure passwords with the app!!

There is a free version, but if you need to enhanced security then you can get the premium version and use two-factor authentication (2FA) to login to LastPass.

Tip: Don’t use spaces in passwords, and don’t write your passwords in post-its 🤓

5) Antivirus

Don’t forget to protect your devices with some antivirus. Antivirus can be the difference between having a computer that is slow. Or a computer that has malware, spyware, or any other kind of malicious attack. Are you worry about losing data? or someone stealing your personal information?

There is plenty of antivirus software available but they can be expensive. Sometimes, even antivirus can make your computer slow. Make sure you check the minimum requirements before you install an antivirus or any software.

My favorite free antivirus is Sophos Antivirus. you can download the free version from here –> Sophos