Home offices are no longer relegated to a corner of the basement or inside a small closet. With more and more people working from home, the home office has become an important space in the largest home or the smallest apartment.
With the average home office using a computer, fax machine, copier, shipping facilities, and internet connections, a small desk and chair in a corner just don't work. Working at home is routine for many adults.
Light the Way and Save Your Eyes
It's extremely important to have proper lighting in a home office. To reduce eye strain, have lighting installed over your reading area, over the computer, and behind you so that there's no reflection off the computer monitor.
Place the computer monitor a comfortable distance from your chair so that you don't need to squint or use reading glasses to read the screen. By reducing eye strain, you'll be able to work longer and more safely.
VPN to Access and Save Your Work
A VPN - Virtual Private Network - is one solution to establishing long-distance and/or secured network connections. VPNs are normally implemented (deployed) by businesses or organizations rather than by individuals, but virtual networks can be reached from inside a home network. Compared to other technologies, VPNs offers several advantages, particularly benefits for wireless local area networking.
To use a VPN, each client must possess the appropriate networking software or hardware support on their local network and computers. When set up properly, VPN solutions are easy to use and sometimes can be made to work automatically as part of network sign on.
VPN technology also works well with WiFi local area networking. Some organizations use VPNs to secure wireless connections to their local access points when working inside the office. These solutions provide strong protection without affecting performance excessively.
Cost Savings with a VPN
A VPN can save an organization money in several situations:
- eliminating the need for expensive long-distance leased lines
- reducing long-distance telephone charges
- offloading support costs
VPNs vs leased lines - Organizations historically needed to rent network capacity such as T1 lines to achieve full, secured connectivity between their office locations. With a VPN, you use public network infrastructure including the Internet to make these connections and tap into that virtual network through much cheaper local leased lines or even just broadband connections to a nearby Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Limitations of a VPN
Despite their popularity, VPNs are not perfect and limitations exist as is true for any technology. Organizations should consider issues like the below when deploying and using virtual private networks in their operations:
1. VPNs require detailed understanding of network security issues and careful installation / configuration to ensure sufficient protection on a public network like the Internet.
2. The reliability and performance of an Internet-based VPN is not under an organization's direct control. Instead, the solution relies on an ISP and their quality of service.
