Home may be more comfortable, but is it more secure?

Two and a half years into a new normal, we have had to get used to working from the office one day and from home the next. A hybrid work model has become standard for a lot of us. And many new work opportunities list hybrid work as one of the perks of the company. We have gotten used to the comfort of working from home and deciding when to come to the office, but when it comes to digital security, this comes at a price. This is especially true if you use your personal devices for work purposes. Many employers have adapted this so-called bring-your-own-device (BYOD) protocol.

Research has shown that in 2021, 61% of malware directed at organizations targeted remote employees via cloud apps. Attackers are always looking for new ways to exploit, hurt or damage. Hybrid work has given them a new opportunity — one we cannot take lightly.

We take it for granted that our employer takes care of the company’s cybersecurity and protects its network. But what happens when some of this burden is put on the employee?

Apart from your company’s digital security protocols, you should also think about your own security and protection.

ESET’s new Windows offering has several improvements to make your home office security run smoothly. This offering includes all levels of security: essential security (ESET NOD32 Antivirus), advanced security (ESET Internet Security) and premium security (ESET Smart Security Premium). Whichever level you choose, it is a great start to protect your devices.

One of the features is Network Attack Protection, which is an extension of firewall technology and improves detection of known vulnerabilities at the network level. It also offers another layer of protection against malware, network-conducted attacks and exploitation of vulnerabilities for which a patch has not yet been released.

A critical layer of protection for any home is a router protection solution. ESET Network Inspector is a feature included in the advanced security (ESET Internet Security) and premium security (ESET Smart Security Premium) offerings. This diagnostics tool provides information about the security of your router. It also displays a list of devices connected to the user’s network, highlighting any surprise visitors.

Another useful feature for your home office is Exploit Blocker. It is designed to fortify commonly exploited application types, such as web browsers, PDF readers and Microsoft Office components. When Exploit Blocker identifies a suspicious process, it can stop that process immediately and then record data about the threat, which is then sent to the ESET LiveGrid® cloud system. This data is then analyzed by the ESET Research Lab to better protect all users from unknown threats and zero-day attacks.

This new offering also leverages a new hardware-based security that boosts ransomware protection by enabling Intel’s hardware-based ransomware detection technology found on Intel® Core™ processors. This will add an additional layer of protection to your device, without slowing it down.

All levels of this new offering also include Anti-Phishing protection. Phishing is a kind of attack that tries to gain access to sensitive data, such as bank details, usernames, personal identification numbers, passwords and more. This feature blocks web pages known to distribute phishing content. ESET protects your privacy and assets.

What makes this offering that much more useful is the option to group all of your protected devices under one roof. Connect them to ESET HOME to view and manage all of their activities.

ESET’s new consumer offering is a well-rounded digital security solution. It protects your personal devices so that you can use them to work or play without fear.