Tech Talk News
From Your IT Professionals

April 14, 2020 - Volume 8, Issue 9
Remote Access and Expanded Networks

Recently, Ridge Support has completed a lot of work to prepare the networks of our clients for user isolation practices in an attempt to continue as many operations as possible while protecting users during the Coronavirus pandemic. As we all know, social distancing is of great importance and we are happy to assist with this, but it is also a good topic of conversation: avoiding the spread of a computer virus can be a big concern of it's own.
 
After one device on a network becomes infected with a virus, it is far more likely that others will become infected. By using a computer to remote into a system, you are adding another device, one that is connected to other networks and may not be as secure as the in-office network, that has access to the office network. If this device has some sort of malware, it could get transferred to the in-house network because of this frequent contact from remoting in.

Planning is Key

This infectious ability is one major reason that we recommend a unified threat management system through Sophos to so many of our customers. It may not make financial sense for all organizations, but having a Sophos UTM can help stop infections as the local agent on the computer alerts the firewall to the issue and the firewall quarantines the device from the rest of the network until the issue can be addressed.

Additionally, it is why we recommend specific firewalls for those that are looking into the ability to add remote users. The ability for the firewall to create a secure connection for users to login through allows the network so much more additional protection from those who might seek to use that connection to breach the network.

The other major point is education. All users who would be setup with remote access should be aware of a few things:

  1. Company devices should only be used for company work and personal devices for personal work. This will help to avoid excess exposure for the office network.
  2. Related to the above point, personal devices should not be used to connect to the office network.
  3. Uses should beware of sending sensitive information via email as it may not be secure. This includes emailing files to yourself.
  4. Beware of the increase in Coronavirus schemes being emailed out (see the previous issues of Tech Talk News on this on our website)
  5. When setting up remote access, consider adding security measures like a VPN, a stronger password policy and multi-factor authentication among other options.

We're Here For You

Ridge Support hopes that all of you are able to maintain your health - both physical and cyber - and are here to help you maintain the ladder. Should you have any questions about setting up remote access abilities, learning more about unified threat management platforms, your current firewall or anything else, please feel free to reach out to our office.

We strive to look out for the best interest of our customers and their procurement in the IT venue, be it hardware, software or service related, we want to guide you in the most effective manner possible.  

Don't Forget
_
___ If you are engaging service or support with a software or third party vendor in which our services may be required, always make sure to give Ridge Support as much advanced notice as possible. These situations include but are not limited to:
  • Changing of an internet service provider
  • Changing phone service providers
  • Updating of websites
  • Software and hardware migrations, upgrades, and installations
  • Addition or deletion of user accounts
We ask this in an effort to be able to provide you with the steadfast and professional service that you have come to expect of us.
Ridge Support Technologies
610-323-3351  |   pbowman @ridgesupport.com   http://www.ridgesupport.com