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VPNs, anti-malware, and good cyber hygiene will help prevent viruses and phishing attempts from penetrating your home office.

Alice M., who works as a benefits manager for a health insurance company, primarily used her personal laptop for Netflix binges and Facebook updates before the coronavirus pandemic. Since March, and for the foreseeable future, she’s had to give it a new task: handling confidential medical records. Alice worries her home equipment isn’t up to the job of her job.

“My company usually does give us necessary tools to feel secure, but because of Covid, they had to send everyone home,” Alice told Recode. “If you didn’t have their setup already, you had to use yours.”

“I’d argue that if patients knew this, they wouldn’t be so happy,” she added. “We aren’t as secure as we should be.”