As more laptops come loaded with wireless modems, critical finance data and personal employee info is increasingly at risk of being stolen.

Users can take their company laptop almost anywhere, pick-up a wireless signal and access the internet.

But they often don’t realize that unprotected WiFi connections allow hackers to browse unsecured laptops and access files, read e-mails and change passwords without users ever knowing.

You can prevent hackers from snooping on your users’ laptops by adding layers of security to data.

Here are some tips for protecting your road warriors from a hacker attack:

• Make sure the laptop’s firewall software is configured to block unauthorized access from the Internet to the laptop. This software acts just like the hardware version that protects your network from outside intruders, but extends protection to laptops that aren’t behind your network firewall.
• Add another layer of protection by turning off the file sharing option on Windows laptops. Go to “My Computer,” right-click on “Windows Shared Documents,” then go to “Security and Sharing” to turn the option off. Disable the laptop’s capability to automatically connect to available WiFi signals. This limits exposure to WiFi vulnerabilities when Internet access isn’t needed.
• Encrypt company e-mails with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, so hackers can’t read user e-mails as they travel through cyberspace.
• Make sure users with a wireless connection at home set up password protection on their wireless routers.

Tags: access, data, hackers, hotspots, laptops, passwords, Wi-Fi