For your eyes only

Private business information can easily fall into the wrong hands, but there’s no need to lock yourself in a secret room with blacked out windows in attempt to safeguard the top secret report you’re working on…

Any reputable company takes the issue of protecting confidential information very seriously, and as someone who is the gatekeeper to much of that information, the trusted PA has a lot of secrets to hide!

The misuse of confidential information has become so widespread that laws like the Data Protection Act (1998) were enacted to ensure privacy.

The Data Protection Act (1998) states that appropriate safeguards should be put into place to make sure that personal data is not disclosed to third parties, without the consent of the individual concerned. Most companies, from local councils to multinationals have to comply with the act in some way.

But it can be difficult to safeguard confidential information if you need to have it open on your computer screen, particularly if you work in an open plan office, or if you need to work at a laptop on the move.

According to a ‘Snoop Survey’ carried out by stationery and office supplies company 3M, we can’t help ourselves from taking a sneaky peak at other people’s computer screens.

An amazing 72% of adults surveyed admitted to snooping. It may be brief, but they’ve peeked at someone else’s computer somewhere, at some point. While 36% have read over someone’s shoulder in a public place, that figure rises dramatically to 63% who say they have looked at someone else’s computer in the office.

Business travellers are the biggest snoops, with 89% of those who travel for work admitting to snooping. That means that almost 9/10 people you sit next to on a business trip will be looking over your shoulder if you start tapping away on your laptop.

If everyone is having a sly peek, how can you keep your data safe and secure? Well obviously it goes without saying that anything of a truly top secret nature should stay off the laptop screen when you’re on the move, but if you really must work on confidential information when other people are around, attaching a privacy filter is one easy way of keeping your work safe.

Using unique technology, 3M Privacy Filters help prevent casual observers from viewing confidential on-screen information. Basically they keep your data out of sight of anyone who is not sitting directly in front of the computer screen, by blacking out the view on either side of the monitor without blurring or distortion. There are a wide variety of filters for virtually any type of computer screen, whether you have a CRT or LCD monitor, or a laptop. Many filters even include an extra set of hanger arms that allow you to use the filter on both CRT and LCD monitors.

As an added extra, a privacy filter will help to protect delicate LCD screens from scratches, fingerprints or damage, and they will reduce glare on your desktop PC by up to 95%. Plus, if you’re worried about radiation from your computer, many models will cut out ELF/VLF E-field radiation by up to 99.9% as well as reducing static charge and dust build up when properly grounded. Any device that leads to less dusting can only be a good thing!

As a final bonus, all 3M Privacy Filters come with a lifetime warranty, so you’ll never need to worry about revealing confidential information on your PC screen (or dusting it!)

To find out more about 3M privacy filters, visit www.3M.com/computerfilters