What is a Computer Privacy Screen Filter?Ī computer privacy screen filter is a thin layer of polarized plastic that significantly reduces the viewing angle for your screen. It is a hardware solution that is easy to implement then maintain with no input besides installation. This is the single action that will do the most good in securing your work from unwanted attention. Get a privacy filter for your computer screen.At a minimum, make sure any folders, documents, or notes containing sensitive information are put away. It can also target paper documents and information. Visual hacking targets more than just screens. Keep your desk clear of sensitive documents.Whenever you step away from your computer, remember to put it to sleep behind a password-protected login. Make sure to turn unattended displays off.Whenever possible, keep your displays facing away from public thoroughfares and high-traffic areas to limit exposure. Cubicles and offices make it much easier to keep visual data safe by blocking both displays and hard copies from view.

Open office floor plans make visual hacking much easier.

Use partitions or walls around screens.

They vary in complexity and not all are universally applicable. There are plenty of solutions for reducing visual hacking and improving screen privacy. Are you really aware of what everyone is doing on their devices around you at any given time? Did you just look over your shoulder now?ĭespite its simplicity, visual hacking poses real risks of a data breach and you need to be on guard. Given the prevalence of smartphones, however, it’s not hard to snap a photo or record a video under the pretense of checking a text message. A shocking experiment by the Ponemon Institute ( see here for more) showed just how vulnerable office environments are social engineering hacks, especially visual hacking.Īt its simplest, visual hacking involves just seeing information on a screen and remembering it. (It is only slightly more complex than just stealing a paper document off a table.) However, being simple doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous. Visual hacking has to be one of the lowest-tech ways to steal information. You need to protect data from visual hacking. If you work in these roles, it’s your responsibility to protect your others’ sensitive information as well. Think about how much personal data is displayed on a typical nurse’s station or bank teller’s computer. Moreover, visual data protection becomes unavoidable if you regularly work with confidential data like medical records, financial transactions, or clients’ work protected by non-disclosure agreements. And if you’re not protecting your data from prying eyes nearby, you’re opening up very dangerous vulnerabilities for you and your organization. You never know who is watching (or recording) your work. Nor does a screen in a small team of trusted colleagues in a windowless room.īut if you work in a public space – either in the general public or at a large organization – then securing the content on your monitor becomes an essential security measure. Your home computer probably doesn’t need to secure visual data. To be honest, there are many contexts in which screen privacy is completely unnecessary. With all the modern focus on cyber-security protecting us from online threats, it’s easy to forget the low-tech security vulnerabilities like what people can physically see on your display or important documents you have just lying around. But have you ever wondered who else is also looking? From online banking and business transactions to social media and personal communications, we access a huge amount of sensitive information through our screens. Screen privacy is a problem in an increasingly data-driven society. Or learn more about ViewSonic’s advanced screen privacy filters. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about screen privacy.

Also, you’re not going to want to miss the deep dive into one of the most effective tools: privacy screens for your monitor. Luckily, there are a number of actions you can take right away to resolve data vulnerabilities. It is surprisingly easy to steal visible data with low-tech visual hacking techniques. Screen privacy is a major concern when dealing with sensitive data, and it’s a problem we don’t think enough about.

Privacy protector laptop