Data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that the number of people working from home in the UK in 2020 doubled compared to figures from the previous year. The coronavirus pandemic prompted a seismic shift in our working cultures as people were forced to stay away from the office and do their jobs from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
Such significant changes brought inevitable challenges as businesses, and their employees had to adapt. Even as restrictions begin to ease, millions around the country are opting to continue to work remotely. It looks set to become a permanent solution for many, but those who wish to stay at home will need to make sure they’re set up with the appropriate technology.
Having the proper hardware is a given, but remote workers should also ensure they’re connected to a virtual private network (VPN). Here, we’ll explain what a VPN is, how it works and why you should be using one when working from home.
What is a VPN, and how does it work?
A VPN creates an encrypted data tunnel between your local network and a network in another location. It masks your IP address to make you virtually untraceable and encrypts your browsing data before sending it to a secure server. It is then decrypted before it is moved on to your intended destination. The same process works in reverse when you receive data.
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It’s estimated that 31% of internet users worldwide connect to a VPN, and some companies provide their employees with laptops preloaded with a VPN, which the business will pay for. If that’s not the case, there are numerous VPN services available – some that require a subscription fee and others that are free of charge.
What are the benefits of using a VPN when working from home?
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It’s recommended to always use a VPN when working from home, and here are just a few of the reasons why:
Guard against cybercrime
The National Crime Agency has warned cyber criminality is on the rise, and the consequences for the victims can be severe. Connecting to a VPN means your data will be encrypted, so hackers will find it much more difficult to get hold of any potentially sensitive personal or financial information.
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Protect your privacy
Your browsing data is recorded by your internet service provider. In some cases, they are permitted to sell that information to businesses, advertisers, and even government agencies. If you don’t want that to happen, using a VPN will mean that data will remain private.
Enhance performance
Connecting to a sound VPN can also improve your bandwidth and efficiency, meaning your browsing speeds will be faster and your productivity greater.
Enjoy secure sharing
Working from home means a lot of communication and file sharing, which can be done more securely with a high-quality VPN. Strong encryption will mean third parties cannot access these transfers, and any company or client data will remain safe.
Business
Plans unveiled to deliver 50,000 council and ‘genuinely affordable’ homes in Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Plans to deliver 50,000 council and ‘genuinely affordable’ homes in Greater Manchester have been unveiled.
By removing ‘blockers’ to development and transforming disused public land into new housing schemes, Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has set out her plan to tackle the housing crisis and deliver ‘a new generation’ of homes – with 50,000 new ‘genuinely affordable’ homes to be available across the city region by 2039.
It’s expected that 10,000 of these homes will either be built, on site, or in the pipeline with planning permission ready to go by May 2028.
To meet the scale of this ambition and deliver the homes the region needs, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) says it will need to ‘pull every lever at [its] disposal’, from remediating brownfield land, to bringing forward dormant sites in public ownership.
That’s why the Mayor will be asking Greater Manchester‘s public bodies to carry out a public land review and identify sites that could be brought forward to deliver homes.
GMCA has already used its Brownfield Housing Fund to support several schemes that are delivering thousands of affordable homes – including social rent homes – as part of the £2 billion Good Growth Fund.
If you’re unfamiliar, the Good Growth Fund is investing in a pipeline of projects to deliver new homes, regenerate town centres, create jobs, and build infrastructure to connect people and places.
“When I was Manchester City Council Leader, I built more council and social homes than Manchester had built in 25 years,” Bev Craig declared. “But we need to go further and faster in every bit of Greater Manchester.
“We will be leading by example when it comes to freeing up disused and dormant public land for development and I’m calling on other Government bodies to join us.
“I know first-hand the security that a Council house brings, and that’s why I am absolutely committed to delivering the Council and social homes that people here in Greater Manchester need, so everyone can have the foundation of a good life in our city region.”
Currently, land supply for 78,585 new homes of all tenures up to 2030 has been identified.
Greater Manchester is in line to receive an initial £1.8 billion from the Government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and the Mayor will meet with Government in the coming weeks to set out joint plans to achieve these ambitions.
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Business
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
The Manc -
17th June 2021 
