What changes at home
In an office, someone else usually manages the network, the firewall and the physical space. At home, much of that falls to you. Your router, your household’s other devices and your own habits all become part of the security of the work you do. The risks are not exotic: most come down to weak sign-ins, out-of-date software, careless clicking and lost or shared devices.
What follows is general good practice, not a guarantee of safety and not a substitute for your employer’s policies or for professionally managed systems. If your employer’s IT team gives you instructions, those come first.
Follow your employer’s rules
Before anything else, find out what your workplace requires. Many organizations specify which devices and applications are allowed, how to connect to internal systems, where files may be stored and who to contact about problems. Ignoring such rules can create security gaps and can also cause trouble for you. If a rule seems impractical, ask rather than working around it.
Keep the device itself in good shape
Install updates promptly. Software updates often fix security weaknesses, so postponing them indefinitely leaves known problems open. If your device is managed by your employer, updates may be handled for you; if not, turn on automatic updates where possible.
Lock the screen. Set the device to lock after a short period of inactivity and lock it manually when you step away, even at home. This protects against curious children, visitors and opportunists.
Use disk encryption if available. Encrypting the drive protects data if a laptop is lost or stolen. The basics are described in our article on everyday encryption. Many modern systems offer it built in, but check the setting rather than assuming.
Keep work and personal use apart. Where you can, avoid letting family members use your work device, and avoid installing unrelated software on it. A child downloading a game on a work laptop is a classic way for trouble to arrive.
Look after the hardware. Know where your device is, avoid leaving it in a parked car or an unattended café table, and be aware of battery and storage condition. Signs that a device is failing, such as unexpected slowdowns or crashes, are worth reporting early.
Strengthen your sign-ins
Accounts are the main target. Good practice includes:
- A unique, long password for every account, kept in a password manager
- Two-factor authentication on work email, file storage and other key services
- Never sharing passwords or codes, even with someone who claims to be from IT; genuine support staff typically do not ask for your code
- Signing out of shared or public computers
If you are unsure how the second factor works, our plain-language explanation of two-factor authentication walks through the common methods.
Make the home network safer
Your router is the front door for everything at home. Steps that help:
- Change the default administrator password on the router
- Use a strong wifi password and modern encryption settings
- Keep the router’s firmware up to date, if it does not do so automatically
- Turn off remote management features you do not use
- Consider a separate guest network for visitors and for less trusted smart gadgets
These and more are covered in the guide to home network security. If your employer provides a VPN or secure access tool, use it when connecting to company systems. Remember that a personal VPN does not make you immune to phishing or malware, as the basic VPN explanation points out.
Be careful with messages and links
Phishing is common and often convincing, and remote workers can be targeted with messages pretending to be from colleagues, IT or a delivery service. Warning signs include urgency, unexpected attachments, requests for credentials or payments, and sender addresses that look slightly off. When in doubt, contact the supposed sender through a separate, known channel rather than replying. Our guide to recognizing phishing messages goes into the details.
Be thoughtful about public places and wifi
If you sometimes work from a café or shared space, avoid handling sensitive material on open networks, keep the screen out of view of others, and never leave the laptop unattended. The risks and sensible habits around public wifi are worth reading about before you go.
Protect the information, not just the device
Think about where work data ends up. Avoid copying files to personal cloud accounts or unmanaged USB drives unless policy allows it. Be careful about what you say on calls when others are in earshot, and consider where printed documents are stored or shredded. Keep a data backup of anything not already covered by your employer’s systems, if you are permitted to hold it.
If you use AI tools for work, check your employer’s guidance before pasting confidential material into them, and read about assistant privacy so you understand what such services may do with what you enter.
If something goes wrong
Even careful people make mistakes. If you suspect you have clicked a bad link, lost a device, or entered credentials on a suspicious page:
- Report it to your employer’s IT or security contact promptly; early reporting limits damage and rarely gets people in trouble
- Change the affected passwords from a device you trust
- Disconnect the device from the network if you suspect malware, and wait for instructions
- Follow guidance on data breaches if personal or company information may have been exposed
Delay generally makes things worse, so do not wait to see if it resolves itself.
A realistic mindset
No setup is perfectly secure, and the goal is to reduce common risks rather than eliminate them. A handful of consistent habits, namely updates, unique passwords with a second factor, a locked-down router and healthy suspicion of unexpected messages, covers a great deal of ground. Review them every few months, and follow your employer’s guidance as it changes.