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In Pictures: 8 Christmas gifts that will need to be secured

9 Photos Ryan Francis (CSO (US))

After employees unwrap their holiday gifts, many will want to bring them in to use for work. Remote employees may use personal devices at home to access corporate data. Here are eight popular products found under the tree, and advice for securing each

  • Before you hook your device up The boundless excitement of getting that techie gift you yearned for all year might cause some employees to let their security guard down. This can be a real problem for your organization's security if you have a BYOD policy that allows workers to use employee-owned devices. Before tying it to the network, here are some details to urge users to keep in mind so that your network is not the one that gets a lump of coal this season.

  • Lenovo Horizon 2 Tabletop PC The big thing with tablets, much like smartphones, is their size and portability. The advantage is you can bring them anywhere you go, but you can also lose them anywhere you go. Owners of the Lenovo tabletop PC should ensure their device is password protected. Lenovo also offers Computrace Lojack so you can track down where the device was left - or the culprit who swiped it. Make sure that you've confirmed with IT that such devices are allowed on the network, and that it's configured to align with current corporate policies.

  • Lenovo N20p Chromebook Make sure the antivirus is up to date and enable encryption to protect files. Any strong data loss prevention (DLP) policy should require this from employees who want to use their own laptops for work-related tasks.

  • Apple iPhone 6 There is nothing worse than losing your cell phone, especially right after Santa was good enough to leave one for you. But in the event of such a catastrophe, there are ways to at least leave the Grinch empty handed, so to speak, while also securing any personal or corporate information that may be on the device. This newest version of the iPhone comes with a fingerprint recognition feature called Touch ID. Take advantage of the more robust security of this device by securing the phone with these three steps suggested by Symantec: Enable Touch ID, use a strong Apple ID password and make it unique, and enable two-step verification.

  • LG G3 LG provides a knock code that allows you to lock your screen with a tap pattern. There is also a guest mode available for those you let borrow your phone. It is even set up to allow locking certain files from prying eyes. There is also a GPS chip within the phone for help in locating it.

  • MacBook Pro There is nothing Earth shattering in the revelations here in securing your MacBook Pro. It’s the usual stuff: run Apple’s software update to keep the patches up to date, keep your password to yourself and enable full disk encryption.

  • Samsung LED TV Smart TVs are all the rage, and with that comes the need for security of course. Samsung says certain communications between the TV and the Internet servers are encrypted. The TV’s operating system also has controls to prevent the installation of unauthorized applications. Samsung does also provide software updates and offers other advice such as making sure your TV is behind the firewall.

  • Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Surface Pro 3 works with Microsoft BitLocker, which syncs up with a Trusted Platform Module chip, allowing it to lock encryption keys. Also as part of the boot up process is an optional onscreen keyboard that can be used to key in the password.

  • LG G Watch R When inquiring about the watch, the LG staff continued to tell me the security capabilities of the watch with the caveat of this accessory or that accessory. A device lock option can be used with a voice command through a Bluetooth gadget. A privacy keyboard can be used to secure login. Finally the LG rep said there is a privacy pin code option that can be operated from the watch itself -- needing no accessory. At the moment, Android Wear 1.0 does not have any security features such as a lock code, for example. However, there are several third-party applications for Android Wear on the Android Wear Store that can do this. Takeaway: Do your research first on this device before diving in!

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