Should I set my mobile hotspot as an "office network"?

I use the data from my mobile 'phone by setting it up as a hotspot, and then connect my laptop to that Wi-Fi source in order to access the internet at home.

The following notification popped up, inviting me to set that Wi-Fi signal as my "office network".

Should I do that or not?

I'm not sure if there's any other documentation about this. All I found online was this

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/40620/

which is very general.

—DIVERSE

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Accepted answers

Gjoksi

@Sqsh

This is what i just got from Bitdefender Consumer Support global chat:

"Bitdefender Wi-Fi Security Advisor analyzes how secure a wireless network is, and when necessary, it recommends you to use Bitdefender VPN. Bitdefender Wi-Fi Security Advisor monitors the following networks: Home Wi-Fi, Office Wi-Fi, Public Wi-Fi.

If you set it to Home Wi-fi, the network will be 100% trusted, for office it will have some extra layer of protection to protect your privacy on the network, and the public will be 100% untrusted and it will be recommended to use a VPN."

The support agent didn't give me a more detailed info on that matter.

Regards.

All comments

DIVERSE

Next day, and now (after I declined to identify that source as my "office network") BitDefender has popped up a new message inviting me to set it as my "home network". I'm still not exactly sure what difference it makes, but I've gone ahead and accepted that invitation.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @DIVERSE,

While running in the Public Wi-Fi profile, Bitdefender is set to automatically accomplish the following program settings:

• Advanced Threat Defense is turned on

• The Bitdefender Firewall is turned on, and the following settings are applied to your wireless adapter:

• Stealth mode-ON

• Network type-Public

• The following settings from Online Threat Prevention are turned on:

• Encrypted web scan

• Fraud protection

• Phishing protection

You can find more information regarding the Public Wi-Fi profile at the following link:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2068/

Best regards.

Sqsh

Hi, I just wanted to comment here to echo the fact that the documentation about this feature is very poor, I too wasn't sure what to do when I got the popup asking me if I wanted to make my wifi at home my "office network". There is nothing at all that tells us exactly what this setting actually does - I understand what the "public" profile does, but it isn't clear if there is any difference between the "home" and "office" settings, and if there will be any downsides to setting my home network as my office.

Is it simply the case that "home" and "office" networks are a way of marking networks as "not public", with no differences between "home" and "office" beyond the label? Or are there different settings for "home" and "office"?

Gjoksi

@Sqsh

This is what i just got from Bitdefender Consumer Support global chat:

The support agent didn't give me a more detailed info on that matter.

Regards.

DIVERSE

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/312272#Comment_312272

While the Public Wi-Fi Profile is documented, it seems that the Office Wi-Fi Profile and Home Wi-Fi Profile are not. Cf. bitdefender .com/consumer/support/answer/2062/

It's also an open question as to what happens by declining the pop-up. Logically I would hope that it should default to the more cautious ("Public") designation [at least, if no other user preferences have been recorded]. However, the phrasing of the pop-up suggests that by declining we will be 'missing out' on a "security assessment" — which sounds like the less cautious option.

—DIVERSE

Alexandru_BD

Hello,

If a larger number of devices connects to that hotspot and they are not in your household, then the Office Wi-Fi Profile is recommended. If you are the only one logged in and no one else knows the password, Home Wi-Fi Profile is the one to use.

More information regarding the WI-FI profiles can be found at the following link and also in the userguide here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/40620/

Cheers

Alexandru_BD

In addition to my comment above:

Wi-Fi security advisor was mostly designed for unsecured or unencrypted public Wi-Fi networks. These networks are more likely to be unsafe, since they do not require a password for login, and if they do, the password could be made available to anybody who wants to connect. Moreover, they may be malicious or honeypot networks, representing a target for cybercriminals. The Wi-Fi security advisor also monitors the home Wi-Fi and office Wi-Fi. If you are using a trusted network, either office or home and still do not wish to disable this feature, you can configure them individually, as follows:

To start configuring your home network:

1. Click Protection on the navigation menu on the Bitdefender interface.

2. In the Vulnerability pane, click Open.

3. Go to the Wi-Fi Security Advisor tab and click Home Wi-Fi.

4. In the Home Wi-Fi tab, click SELECT HOME WI-FI. A list of the wireless networks you connected to until now is displayed.

5. Point to your home network, and then click SELECT. If a home network is considered unsecured or unsafe, configuration recommendations to improve its security are displayed.

To remove the wireless network you have set as a home network, click the REMOVE button.

To add a new wireless network as home, click Select new Home Wi-Fi network.

To start configuring your office network:

1. Click Protection on the navigation menu on the Bitdefender interface.

2. In the VULNERABILITY pane, click Open.

3. Go to the Wi-Fi Security Advisor window, click Office Wi-Fi.

4. In the Office Wi-Fi tab, click SELECT OFFICE Wi-Fi. A list of the wireless networks you connected to until now is displayed.

5. Point to your office network, and then click SELECT. If an office network is considered unsecured or unsafe, configuration recommendations to improve its security are displayed.

To remove the wireless network you have set as an office network, click REMOVE.

To add a new Office wireless network, click Select new office Wi-Fi.

Once you have these configured, the notifications will no longer be displayed, as the networks will be marked as trusted. However, if you use public Wi-Fi networks in general, is is useful to have it enabled. But given the lack of security these networks usually have, it will pop-up everytime I think.

The advisor works more like a warning tool, as it monitors and makes a recommendation. It will not really protect you, other defenses will.

DIVERSE

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

As a relatively new user, it has taken me a while to get my head around things like the Office Wi-Fi Profile and the Work Profile (which sound a bit similar, but turn out to be different).

Thank-you for the support.

Alexandru_BD

Just doing what I can and I'm happy to hear the information was helpful 🙂

You are most welcome.