Before going to discuss the use of work laptops as personal ones let’s have a brief picture of security measures from different perspectives.
Human Beings & Sense of Security
Man is a social animal. He lives in a society where he has some duties and rights. In the basic needs of a human being, after his birth (hunger and thirst) is the feeling of shelter. In other words, we can say that security is a very important need of human beings.
In the past man felt dangers from robbers, thieves, looters, etc. Even the cavemen were anxious about their secure home and belongings.
With the development of human society, the element of fear increased. The Man-made borders and fences for his security.
As science progressed and technology stormed the biggest change in human life, the need for secure life also increased to its maximum.
Do You Work In A Company?
If you are working in a company, you have some main duties to perform. With assigning different duties, the company provides you with different types of material to ease your work.
You are completely responsible to look after the company’s assets carefully. No doubt you don’t invest in this material but it’s your moral and ethical obligation to keep it safe.
Does Your Company Use Advance Technology?
In the modern world of today, the volume of every field has increased many times. The business doing companies have also maximized their network. The huge business machinery is managed through technological gadgets.
Among the list of hundreds of gadgets, the laptop is the very unique gift that is used for performing every type of work in factories, industries, institutions even in every field of life.
Does Your Company Have Secure Networking?
When a company hires your services, it provides you with a laptop to do your job easily. The company keeps its secret information’s in this laptop and appoints you as its guardian.
But for the security of its secret data, the company installs some softwares on this laptop so that nobody can steal it.
The brand companies which deal with the great sensitive businesses as finance and data collection provide to their employees very costly and unique gadgets (laptop mobile, printer, etc.).
So they don’t compromise on the security of these things. The installed software in these gadgets has specific passwords and hidden codes.
Does Your Company Use Some Software For Its Security?
If some employee tries to disturb these things, the company comes to know. The employee has to be aware of the rules and instructions of the company. If he breaks them, he may be punished or removed from the job.
In a work laptop, there are many installed softwares for security, especially in window 10. The laptop which a company provides to its employee needs more antivirus softwares to make it more secure so that the work laptop remains safe from malicious software, ransomware, and spyware.
According to the rules of the company, it is very important to protect its data from the approach of hackers or any danger which may result in great harm in the future.
Can You Use A Company Laptop For Your Personal Use?
Sometimes the company assigns such duty to the employee for which he has to keep the laptop with him every time. His boss or supervisor allows him to take the laptop home for the timely checking of necessary emails and important messages to reply.
When at home, your family members, your friends, and even you start misusing it as playing games, watching movies, or visiting suspicious sites.
It may be dangerous for company data as the hackers are always ready to steal and harm it. So you should not use a work laptop for personal use without taking the necessary measures.
But when you are away from the company and want to use this work laptop as a personal laptop, you need not take all these extra security measures because you will have the solution to your anxiety after reading this article.
But how will you do that?
If you want to learn how to convert a work laptop to a personal laptop, let’s read it in detail.
Ways to Convert a Work Laptop to a Personal Laptop
#1. Perform the task of Factory Resetting.
The first and the easiest way is resetting the factory. It will erase all data from the work laptop even the installed software. The laptop will become fresh and new.
But doing this may be harmful. So you should have to convert work laptop to personal laptop from the setting of the laptop keeping some files and enabling or disabling some applications.
Path # Main Menu > Setting > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get Started > Remove everything or Keep Files > Confirm Reset > Reset Processed and Finished > Restart your PC
#2. Uninstalling All additional anti-viruses
As we know that the company installs many anti-viruses software to keep its data safe and confidential.
They use more space in RAM; affects the speed of the processor and even the companies pay a heavy amount for them.
But converting work laptop to personal use you should uninstall all the programs except windows own programs.
Path # Main Menu > Setting > Apps > Apps & Features > Select App to Remove > Uninstall > Restart your PC
#3. Disabling Window Defender
Window defender is the protective software of Windows which provides real-time protection and makes the laptop more secure. So making the work laptop ready for personal use, when you uninstall all other protective software, activate window defender
Path # Main Menu > window setting > update & security > window security > Virus & threat protection > Manage setting > Tick off at (real-time protection, cloud derived protection, automatic sample protection)
#4. Using True Crypt to Encrypt Data
When you use a work laptop as a personal laptop, your friend, wife, or children may use it.
They can read your files and can blackmail you. There may be your office files or data which you don’t want to show them.
So for this purpose, you can compress those files and folders by using the True Crypt. It changes them to zip files that will not be opened without a password.
It will also prevent hijackers to open your personal files or folders.
Path # Download True Crypt > Accept agreement > Extract >Install > Run True Crypt >Create Volume (standard or hidden) > Next & select device or partition (encryption options) > volume size > volume password > Large files > volume Format > Done
#5. Disabling the Window Firewall
When you go to a shopping Mall, You see that a guard is standing at the entry gate who checks everyone using a metal detector.
Having any type of suspicion, he will not let you go inside the Mall. It is a strong security measure kept on the entry.
So is the case of a window firewall that stops scammers and hijackers at the entry, checks them, doesn’t let them go inside the window and see the confidential data. But to change this work laptop to a personal laptop you should disable the window firewall.
Path # Main Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall > Turn Windows Firewall on or off > Turn off Windows Firewall > Restart your PC
#6. Disabling the Window updates
When you are working in the company, it is very important to have the new features of all the softwares. Microsoft always keeps updating them. So for better performance, you have to update the window.
But when you take this work laptop for personal use, you need not update the window all the time .you should disable the updates to save your precious time and keep on working.
Path # Main Menu > Control Panel > System and Security > Security and Maintenance > Maintenance > Stop Maintenance > Turn off Updates
#7. Using a Virtual machine
A computer file that works as an actual computer is called a virtual machine. It runs in the window as a separate machine with the different operating system.
When you have less space in your working system’s RAM and you want to run another operating system you should use a virtual machine to enhance its capacity. It provides you the chance to work better without disturbing the work laptop.
Path # Main Menu > Window powerfulshell (Admin) > System Info > press Enter Key > Hyper V > Again press Enter Key > Turn Window Features on or off > Select Open > A card opens > Tick Hyper V > Click on OK > Restart Now
#8. Using Bit locker to secure data
To minimize the access of unauthorized data on lost or stolen computers, you can use Bit Locker to encrypt all user files and system files on the operating system drive, swap files and hibernation files, and check the boot components and boot configuration data.
Here we make a hardware-based Bitlocker Path.
Path # Main Menu > Control Panel > System & Security > Bitlocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drive > Turn On Bitlocker > Save to your Microsoft Account > Click Next > Encrypt used disk space only (faster and best for new PCs and drives) > Next >New encryption mode (best for fixed drives on this device) > Next >Run BitLocker system check > Continue > Restart your PC
#9. Creating a Separate user Account
Another way to convert a work laptop to a personal laptop is to create a new user account of your own. Use your email ID and strong password. You can perform your activities in your account.
Path # Main Menu > Setting > Accounts > Family and Other Users > Create a User for this PC > Fill Information (User Name and Password) > Next
#10. Turning off the fast Startup
The companies often install Fast Startup software to their work laptop that helps them to boot the system quickly.
But when you use the work laptop for personal purposes, you have to switch between two accounts (Official & you’re Personal) repeatedly. The software of a fast Startup will inform the IT team of the company.
So if you wish that the IT team will not come to know about your activities, you must turn off the Fast Startup feature very soon and work smoothly.
Path # Window Tool Bar >Search >type Control Panel >Press Enter > type Power Option > Press Enter > Change what the Power Button Do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > Turn on fast startup (recommended) > Save Changes > Restart your PC
#11. Using Browser in Incognito Mode
There are many different ways to use a work laptop as a personal laptop keeping your privacy. But the simplest and effective way is private browsing. It is also called Incognito.
When you use a browser that is installed on your laptop, just turn on the private browsing. It can be repeated and the others using this laptop cannot see your searched history. The Incognito mode will keep all your files private.
Path # Go to the right corner of chrome window > Click on three Dots > The card opens > Click New Incognito Window > Type and search
#12. Using a valid VPN Connection
If you want to use a work laptop for personal use, and don’t want to leave your footprints behind you. The use of a good and quality VPN will make your work easier. Applying this VPN technique will make you secure in online work.
Path # Main Menu > Setting > Network & Internet > Advanced >VPN > Add > Enter the Information (Name, address, User Name, Password) > Save
Some Android apps can also be used when you convert a work laptop to personal laptop.
#13. Configuring work profile to Guest mode
A set up of work profiles is kept in many companies’ laptops for the facility of the employees to perform official assignments easily. They can hide their activities from the IT Department.
If you have access to the work profile, you can hide your private data as;
Opening the installation directory of guest account > Deleting the content or
Installing a virtual machine in running window account > configuring it as a guest account.
#14. Using Steganography Software
A technique to send a secret suspected or covered confidential message in a way that nobody can come to know. It may be in the shape of text, image, video, audio, or network.
It is a technique of safely conveying a message to the receiver from the sender that only they know the exact meaning and purpose. It is the best technique to be secure from hackers. Actually, these are the code words.
#15. Using Portable Applications
The Software is made to move easily from one computing system to another. This is the easiest way to use a work laptop as a personal laptop.
Just install necessary apps in a pen drive or network-attached storage and use them when you need them. You will have all the third-party apps in one location instead of different drives in scattered positions.
#16. Using Self-Destructive Message App
When you use a work laptop for your personal use, install the software self-destructive message app, set a date and time.
You will see that it will delete all the data automatically from your work laptop. Then store those messages in your USB and transfer them to your laptop and use them later. You can also send them to other people.
#17. Using USB Flash Drive with a Password
If you want to use a work laptop for personal use, there is another safe way of using it. Take a USB Flash drive; transfer all your files, documents, programs, software which is important and necessary for you.
When you are free from work and want to use the laptop for a personal assignment, just connect the USB Flash Drive to the laptop, enter your password and start working.
#18. Using Cached Data
When you are working in a company that gave you a laptop for work. It is necessary to install any third-party apps to make your performance better. You always keep them changing according to the requirement of your work.
But when you are free at home, just close all those apps. They will be installed again automatically when you start your work.
I also believe this video will help you a lot;
All In a Nutshell
In this informative article, we have learned many new and most unique solutions to convert a work laptop to a personal laptop. But morally and ethically, it is not good to use the office things at home for personal use.
- Firstly, the company trusts you and hand over its gadgets to you.
- Secondly, the company provides you the access to its very important and confidential information.
- Thirdly, the company is a source of your income; it pays you to keep its assets secure.
But if sometimes you have an urgent need to use these gadgets, you don’t have other option except it and you get the permission from your boss legally, then you must know the legal and lawful ways to convert work laptop to personal laptop for your facility.
You must adopt the better way from the discussed above to make your work easy and not harm the company’s record.
