--- title: "Working From Home Without Bringing Work Home | StartCloud" description: "Module 8 of our free Cyber Hygiene for Staff pathway: the home router nobody updates, keeping the work laptop for work, paper and printing at home, and video calls where your screen and your house are on show." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": [ "LocalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://startcloud.au/#business", "name": "StartCloud", "legalName": "Start Technologies Pty Ltd", "alternateName": "StartCloud Australia", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ABN", "value": "17 676 121 449" }, "slogan": "Go Beyond", "description": "StartCloud is Perth's cybersecurity-first AI MSP: managed IT, Essential Eight security, Microsoft 365 and cloud, networking, and practical AI for Australian businesses with 5 to 50 staff.", "url": "https://startcloud.au", "logo": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "image": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", 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"https://startcloud.au/learn/working-from-home-safely" } ] --- [![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth")](/ "StartCloud | Managed IT Services Perth") - Cybersecurity - AI Solutions - Cloud - Technology - Networking - Explore [Contact Us](/contact "Contact StartCloud, Perth IT Support") Open menu Module 8 of StartCloud's Cyber Hygiene for Staff learning pathway, in five short units with a knowledge check: the home router nobody has updated since it was installed, keeping the work laptop for work and the family laptop for family, why the kids using your work machine is a genuine risk, printing and paper at home, and video calls where your screen or your house is on show. Course contents [Pathway overview](/learn/cyber-hygiene-for-staff) Pathway Cyber Hygiene for Staff 0 of 5 units done in this module 1. [Why you're a target ](/learn/why-cyber-criminals-target-your-business) 2. [Spot the phish ](/learn/how-to-spot-phishing-emails) 3. [Passwords and MFA ](/learn/password-and-mfa-habits) 4. [Devices and Wi-Fi ](/learn/safe-devices-and-wifi-habits) 5. [Share safely ](/learn/share-work-files-safely) 6. [When something looks off ](/learn/what-to-do-cyber-incident) 7. [Scams aimed at you ](/learn/scams-that-target-you-personally) 8. Working from home 1. The router nobody has touched since it arrived 2 min 2. One laptop for work, one for the family 3 min 3. Paper, printers and the kitchen table 2 min 4. Video calls, your screen and your house 2 min 5. Knowledge check 2 min 9. [Social engineering ](/learn/social-engineering-tactics) # Working From Home Without Bringing Work Home Module 8 · Home Unit 1 of 5 · about 2 min ## The router nobody has touched since it arrived Somewhere in your house there is a small box with blinking lights that has not been thought about since the day it was installed. Everything you do from home goes through it, including work, and **it is the least maintained piece of technology most of us own**. The office router gets patched by somebody whose job that is. Yours does not, unless you do it. The good news is this is a one-off afternoon job with four parts, and then you can go back to ignoring it with a clear conscience. Change the admin password, and the admin username if you can Most routers ship with a default login that is printed in a manual anyone can download. That login is what lets someone change your settings, not just use your internet. Set a long passphrase instead, and if your router lets you rename the account from admin to something else, do that too. Give the Wi-Fi a decent name and a decent password The ACSC suggests changing the network name from the manufacturer's default and keeping anything identifying out of it, so it does not announce your surname, your unit number or the exact model of router you are running. The Wi-Fi password should be long and hard to guess, and it is fine to write it on the fridge. Check for firmware updates, and check the router is still supported Routers get security updates for a limited window, and the ACSC puts that window at roughly three to five years depending on the brand and model. If yours has not seen an update in years, or the manufacturer has stopped supporting it, replacing it is one of the cheapest security wins in the house. Use the guest network for guests and gadgets Most routers have a guest Wi-Fi option sitting there unused. Put visitors, the smart TV, the doorbell camera and the kids' friends on it. It keeps the odds and ends separated from the network your work laptop is using, and it takes about five minutes to switch on. If that list made your eyes glaze over, do just one thing Log in to the router and change the admin password. That is the one that matters most, because it is the difference between someone borrowing your internet and someone quietly rearranging your network. Your internet provider's support page will walk you through getting in, and there is no shame in ringing them. Mark done and continue ![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth") Cybersecurity-led IT for Australian businesses. We manage security, compliance, and modern IT environments, so risk is governed, not guessed. 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