Advice Request Will Kaspersky and VPN protect from malware attacks?

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Shaun001

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Thread author
Apr 4, 2017
2
Hey!
I am a web designer and I just got permission to work from home for the next week. I am allowed to take my work laptop home for it. I would like some advice regarding the security concerns before I start the work.
I have heard about spyware and malware attacks that can cause severe loss of data. I don't want such things happening to me in my work system. As of now it's clean and no malicious files are present in the system. It's installed with Kaspersky Internet Security and ExpressVPN when connecting to the Internet. Will it help in protection from spyware and malware? I have seen articles mentioning not clicking on emails and installing antivirus softwares will help, but still I have heard a lot about such attacks. What else can I do to ensure nothing harmful will happen?
 

Ink

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Jan 8, 2011
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It being a work laptop, you shouldn't replace any of the pre-installed software, correct?
 
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Winter Soldier

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Feb 13, 2017
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Many infection's vectors come from the internet, some of them from infected USB devices.
If your main thought is to safeguard your work laptop during browsing session, I think you are already reasonably covered.
Possibly you can install Sandboxie (it will not work with Edge but with Chrome or Firefox it would be no problems) by enabling a virtualized session that does not allow any malware to get out from the sandbox and infect your real system.
At the end of the navigation, you can easily delete the sandbox and all its contents.

PS: it seems the previous KIS version had some compatibility problem with Sandboxie, I don't know if the new one still has problems.
Eventually you can try with a test or someone here can confirm that?
 

Parsh

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Dec 27, 2016
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If it's a serious corporation you're working for, then they might have even locked the settings at admin level to prevent changes to your Kaspersky and others.
  1. However if you can, configure its settings for higher level of protection. KIS/KTS should be enough for overall security
  2. VPN will protect your privacy well
  3. You don't need anything more ideally. If you're concerned, add (1) on-demand scanner like HitManPro or Zemana and (2) a backup as recommended by others above.
Rest are the no-brainer things to take care of - avoid clicking on suspicious emails, visiting suspicious sites, download from official sources, disable autoplay etc.
 

Shaun001

New Member
Thread author
Apr 4, 2017
2
Thank you guys! Never visit suspicious sites or click suspicious mail links and never comes a need to download anything in the office laptop. So I guess I am safe on that part. I contacted the admin and he said there is a backup of the laptop. I 'll be very careful though about what i'll do with it. Thanks again for such quick and extremely helpful replies.
 
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ctrlz

Level 2
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Mar 20, 2017
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If it is a business laptop, I suggest to:
- use common-sense
- avoid software licensed for personal use
- use the laptop only for business purposes, not for: chats, youtube, torrents, facebook, surf the internet in the free time, streaming, ...
- don't install software, or only really needed software, and keep it updated
- in case you are forced to install software, trust only software you paid for (or well-known/popular open source products, eg: Gimp, 7zip). Avoid freeware sw, trials, cracks, keygens
- don't use USB devices. I know it can be difficult, but it's not so hard.


In general, there are other concerns in home works, that in this case may not apply. Anyway, I'll explain them below just for a complete overview.

The real difference is that, depending on the company size, your offices have a lot of physical security measures that your house doesn't have (h24 surveillance, alarms, different badge permissions).
So ask your company if there are specific practices that you must follow, it strictly depends on the data that you manage but it is a matter of professionalism to safeguard their/your customers data. Also, they probably already have customer agreements for some practices.
Since you will be responsible for it and bad things always happen (a theft, laptop stealing, ...) it's perfectly fine to ask. Don't expect special measures, but maybe they will provide you some software to crypt your work folder, or will ask you to upload your daily-work on their servers.
 
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