As a freelance graphic designer, you have the freedom to choose your hours, the clients you serve, and the ability to steadily increase your income compared to a full-time job. In order to succeed in your career as a freelance designer, you must think about how you will run your business, but this is not the only thing that is important, maintaining data security and privacy on the Internet is also important.
As a freelance designer especially, it's easy to forget about everything that has nothing to do with design. However, if you do this, you may face many problems later, such as: B- Theft of your personal or business data.
In this article, we list 6 security and privacy tips that can help you stay safe when working online as a freelance graphic designer:
1- Use a strong password:
Passwords are one of the oldest ways to secure and keep data private online, but their effectiveness depends on many factors. Creating a simple password can help you log into your account quickly, but it also puts you at risk of being hacked. On the other hand, creating and remembering long and difficult passwords can be stressful for you, but it is important to protect your data.
For more convenience, you can use one of the specialized password manager applications that will help you generate strong passwords. They are saved in the app, so you don't have to save them yourself, and the app also auto-fills them in if it has any login details you'd like.
If your company owns Macs or iPads, iCloud Keychain is useful because you can use it to generate a strong password for any website you sign up for. iCloud Keychain stores your website credentials. It autofills your credentials into websites and apps, and you need Touch ID or Face ID authentication to log into your account.
2- Be careful when receiving messages:
As a freelance designer, many people will contact you via email and LinkedIn, and you may receive messages from people trying to scam you in some way.
Before replying to a message and receiving a message on this site, please check the user's LinkedIn account and do a search engine search for the name of the company they work for and if you have a job offer in an email received from a particular entity. Business person, look for businesses to make sure they exist and ask about them and their services.
3- Avoid connecting to public WiFi:
Public Wi-Fi is accessible to everyone, and if you send sensitive information while connected, you risk giving it to someone who might want to scam you or steal your work.
Not all public Wi-Fi networks are secure, and if you must use a public network, avoid sharing sensitive information while connected.
4- Please close the computer screen when away from the computer in public places:
Sometimes working from home as a freelancer can feel boring and lonely, and you want to work in a busy environment. At this time, you can go to a comfortable coffee shop to work, but be careful when using the computer in a public place and be sure to step away from the computer to take a break or turn off the computer screen when doing these things.
5- Choose reliable design software:
As a freelance designer, you need to think about tools that can help you be more productive. You will have to experiment with a variety of programs and tools to see what works best for you, and it is also important to make sure that the software you use protects your private information.
Therefore, before you start using any software or tool to design and save your work, please research the software or tool carefully and make sure you understand and read the security and privacy features offered by such software and tools and user reviews (if any).
6- Ask the client to sign a contract before starting the project:
Before starting any project, ask the client to sign a contract detailing the work to ensure your full rights. Clients can also ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
After you sign a contract that protects your rights and the rights of the client, you can start the project. However, if the other party refuses to sign, you must cancel the business plan with him.