Consumer Reports: Staying safe from hackers while working from home during COVID-19 pandemic

If you're working from home, cybersecurity is something your company would normally handle. But now it falls on your shoulders.

These criminals view people working outside their element as opportunities," said Sergio Serritella, security expert and president of Vantius. "People get complacent and they forget that criminals work every bit as hard at being good at their job as you and I do at ours."

Serritella says it's vital to make sure your home router is up to date.

"And if your router is more than a few years old, upgrade to the newest technology," he said. "Take advantage of those security features."

You should also change the default password on your router with a random string of letters or words with numbers and symbols.

If you have too many passwords to keep track, try a password manager. They create, store and automatically fill in complex passwords for the dozens of sites and apps you may log into each day.

One last tip: you should enable two-factor authentication on accounts whenever it's available. It's one more layer of added security just when you need it most.

"We have to be ready 100 percent of the time to stop cyber-crimes. Criminals only have to be ready once to make it profitable.

As a general rule of thumb, protect yourself from phishing email attacks or tech support scams, experts recommend that you think before you click. If an email looks shady, delete it and don't open attachments or click on links from people you don't know.

For more information, check out Consumer Reports' guide on password managers and other tools to make working from home easier.

WLS contributed to this report

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