Digital Safety Tools Every Remote Worker Should Use

1. Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Key Aspects:

• What it does: A Virtual Private Network, or VPN in its acronym form, encrypts your internet connection and would make it really hard for hackers or online thieves to intercept and reach your sensitive information. Additionally, a VPN is designed to mask your IP address for added security and anonymity, enabling safe browsing of the internet with assurance.
   
• Why You Need It : In this digital era, a majority of remote workers may find themselves in public or unsecured Wi-Fi, which is quite risky, highly vulnerable to various cybersecurity risks, and at great risks to several cyber attacks. A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, will basically create a secure, encrypted online tunnel so every one of your online activities is kept secretive and away from all sorts of cyberterrorists so your sensitive data and private information remain unharmed in any situation.

Recommended Tools:

• Express VPN: Now known for its breathtakingly great speed and, at the same time, being reliable in work, ExpressVPN provides strong encryption for safeguarding your data and offers a vast array of location servers all over the world.
   
• Nord VPN - This is one of the most popular ones out there because of its increased security feature and ease of use.

2. Password Manager

Key Aspects:

• What it Does: The password manager is a particular utility that securely keeps and then effectively manages all of your different kinds of passwords, enabling you to generate strong, unique passwords for each account. It means you are able to use robust passwords to add security without bothering yourself to memorize every one of them.
   
• Why You Need It: Using weak or repeatedly used passwords increases the chances of hackers gaining unauthorized access to your different accounts manifold. In this respect, a password manager is one of the very important utilities that help you create elaborated passwords and store them safely. This way, the chances of credential theft get reduced phenomenally, improving online security.

Recommended Tools:

• LastPass: Provides an intuitive interface, lets users save and store securely, and features the creation of new passwords.
   
• 1Password: Uses robust encryption, allows for the sharing of passwords, and supports multi-factor authentication.

3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Apps

Key Aspects:

• What it does: MFA adds another layer of security to your accounts, whereby authentication requires the use of two forms of verification, such as a code sent to your phone in addition to using your password.
   
• Why You Need It: MFA makes it considerably harder for hackers to get access to your accounts, even after they have gotten your password.

Recommended Tools:

• Google Authenticator: IT is a basic but widely-used application for the generation of time-based authentication codes.
   
• Authy: Since it allows cloud backup and multi-device synchronization, it becomes pretty easy to use MFA with it.

4. Antivirus and Anti-Malware Software

Key Aspects:

• What It Does: Antivirus and anti-malware software protect your devices from viruses, ransomware, spyware, and other malicious software that can compromise your security.
   
• Why You Need It: Remote workers, being totally dependent on their own devices and networks, are considered to fall highly at risk regarding cyber threats. Antivirus and anti-malware tools provide some protection against these kinds of threats.

Recommended Tools:

• Bitdefender: Provides fully fledged protection with minimum impact on system performance.
   
• Malwarebytes: It's an effective anti-malware tool that takes over from where your antivirus stops—focusing on advanced threats.

5. Secure Cloud Storage

Key Aspects:

• What it does: Secure cloud storage safely stores and backs up your important files in the cloud using state-of-the-art encryption techniques. This ensures that once your device is lost or stolen, your valuable data will remain safe from unauthorized access.
   
• Why You Need It: People who work remotely sometimes come across responsibilities that involve them in accessing confidential data, which is very crucial and demands certain security to keep it safe. Cloud storage provides a secure and efficient way of managing and storing your data; it not only keeps your valuable data safe but also provides easy access to it whenever you may need it.

Recommended Tools:

• Google Drive: It allows safe storing of data, advanced collaboration capabilities, and access with multiple devices.
   
• Dropbox: It is well-recognized because of the security based on a two-factor authentication system, recovery of files in cases of loss, among other options.

6. Encrypted Communication Tools

Key Aspects:

• What it does: The encrypted messaging tool makes available a strong manner of securing your messages and calls, hence keeping them safe. It's the level of security that actually serves to prevent unauthorized parties from being in a position where they can intercept and access private communications.
   
• Why You Need It: In the digitized world of today, even the colleagues are required to share confidential information and discussion of confidential projects is so common. Thus, encrypted communication tools become absolutely indispensible for maintaining ultimate privacy.

Recommended Tools:

• Signal : It is one of the most secure messaging applications that offers its users a controlled and safe private conversation in messages or voice calls thanks to end-to-end encryption.
   
• Proton Mail: This is an encrypted email service that ensures your messages are not accessed by third-party vendors.