Your home router is part of your workplace now

When you work from home, your home broadband router becomes part of your employer's security perimeter, whether anyone planned it that way or not. Every work email you send and every file you open passes through it. A poorly secured router is an easy first foothold for an attacker, so it deserves ten minutes of your attention.

Change the default admin password

Most routers ship with a default administrator password, and lists of these defaults are freely available online. If yours is still set to the factory value, anyone who can reach the router's admin page can change its settings, redirect your traffic, or open it up to the internet. Log in to the router's admin interface and set a strong, unique admin password. This is separate from your Wi-Fi password, and both matter.

Use strong Wi-Fi encryption

Your Wi-Fi network should use WPA2 or, better, WPA3 encryption with a strong passphrase. If your router only supports the older WEP standard, it is long overdue for replacement. Avoid sharing your main Wi-Fi password casually; most modern routers offer a separate guest network, which is a good place for visitors and for smart home gadgets you don't fully trust.

Keep the router's firmware updated

Routers run software too, and that software has vulnerabilities that get fixed over time. Many attacks against home networks exploit routers running firmware that is years out of date. Check whether your router updates itself automatically. If it doesn't, set a reminder to check for updates every few months, or ask your internet provider whether a newer model is available. If your router is so old it no longer receives updates at all, replace it.

None of this requires deep technical skill. The point is simple: the router is a computer, it guards everything else on your network, and it should not be left in the state it arrived in from the factory.