Protecting Your Devices at Work and Home
Week 2: Protecting Your Devices at Work and Home
Take one step this week to secure a personal device or account.
Your phone, laptop, and home Wi-Fi hold your coursework, photos, bank accounts, and email. Many people also use them to reach college systems. The good news: the same layered protections that keep CCRI’s systems safe can protect your devices at home, and most take only a few minutes to set up.
Layers That Work Together
No single protection stops every attack. Security works best in layers, so if one fails, the next one catches the problem. Here is how CCRI’s layers compare with what you can do at home:
| Layer | How CCRI protects college systems | What you can do at home |
|---|---|---|
| Updates | Security updates are applied to college systems and computers. | Turn on automatic updates for your phone, computer, web browser, apps, and router. |
| Antivirus and endpoint protection | College computers run endpoint protection that watches for malware. | Keep your computer’s built-in protection turned on: Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows, built-in malware protection on Mac. |
| Firewall | Firewalls filter traffic in and out of the college network. | Turn on your computer’s firewall and your router’s firewall. |
| Email filtering | Email is filtered, and messages from outside CCRI get a yellow [External] tag. | Use your email provider’s spam and phishing filters, and report suspicious messages. |
| Multi-factor authentication (MFA) | All faculty, staff, and students sign in with Microsoft Entra MFA. | Turn on MFA for your personal email, bank, and social media accounts. |
| Strong passwords | CCRI requires strong passwords for college accounts. | Use a long, unique passphrase for every account, stored in a password manager. |
Your Computer: Check Your Built-In Protection
- Windows: Search the Start menu for Windows Security. Under Virus & threat protection, make sure protection is on and up to date, then check Firewall & network protection.
- Mac: macOS includes built-in malware protection that updates automatically. To turn on the firewall, open Apple menu › System Settings › Network › Firewall.
- Both: Turn on automatic updates, restart when updates ask you to, and remove programs and browser extensions you no longer use.
Your Phone
- Turn on automatic updates for the operating system and apps.
- Use a screen lock: a PIN, passcode, fingerprint, or face recognition.
- Install apps only from the official app store, and delete apps you don’t use.
- Review which apps can use your location, camera, and microphone.
Your Passwords and Accounts
- Make passwords long and unique. Use a passphrase of four or more random words, and never reuse a password across accounts.
- Use a password manager. It creates, stores, and fills in strong passwords, so you only need to remember one.
- Turn on MFA everywhere it’s offered. In a 2025 National Cybersecurity Alliance survey, 77% of people knew about MFA, but only 53% used it regularly. An authenticator app, passkey, or security key gives the strongest protection.
Your Home Wi-Fi Checklist
Your router connects everything in your home to the internet. The FTC recommends these steps:
- Change the router’s default administrator username and password.
- Use WPA3 Personal encryption, or WPA2 Personal if WPA3 isn’t available.
- Give your Wi-Fi network a strong password and a name that doesn’t identify you.
- Keep the router’s software (firmware) up to date. Turn on automatic updates if your router offers them.
- Turn off features you don’t need: remote management, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).
- Turn on the router’s firewall.
- Set up a guest network for visitors and smart home devices.
If your internet provider supplied the router, check its app or website, or call the provider for help with these settings.
On College-Owned Devices
- Let updates install, and restart when prompted.
- Keep security tools turned on. Never disable them to “speed things up.”
- Contact the IT Help Desk before installing new software.
- Lock your screen when you step away: Windows key + L on Windows, or Control + Command + Q on a Mac.
Your action this week: take one step. Turn on automatic updates, add MFA to your personal email, change your router’s admin password, or try a password manager. Then see how many squares you can check off on our Secure Your Setup Bingo card.
This Week’s Challenge: Secure Your Setup Bingo
Each square is a quick step that makes your devices safer. Check off a row, column, or diagonal for BINGO, or fill the whole card to become a CCRI Cyber Champion.
Free Resources
- How to Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network (FTC)
- Best Practices for Securing Your Home Network (NSA, PDF)
- Update Software (CISA)
- Use Strong Passwords (CISA)
- Turn On MFA (CISA)
- Microsoft Defender Antivirus in the Windows Security App (Microsoft)
- Protecting Against Malware in macOS (Apple)
- Block Connections to Your Mac with a Firewall (Apple)
- Creating Strong Passwords (CCRI)
- Multi-Factor Authentication (CCRI)
- Update Software (CCRI)
Need help? IT Help Desk: [email protected] | 401-825-1112 | Help Desk portal
Up next, October 19: Identity Protection and Financial Security, including credit freezes, fraud alerts, and breach monitoring.
Sources
National Cybersecurity Alliance, Oh Behave! Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report 2021–2025. Federal Trade Commission, How to Secure Your Home Wi-Fi Network. Microsoft and Apple support documentation (linked above).