Our society seems to be more mobile than it was a decade ago. Not only do we have more ways to connect to the Internet, but they're faster and used more often. Our offices now extend to our homes and anywhere we want to work. And sometimes our employers want us to work virtually -- not even going into the office daily.

That connectivity, though, means more opportunities for the bad guys to reach us with malware, such as viruses, external attacks and spy ware. So I decided to ask Adam Johnson how he protects users from malware. Mr. Johnson, deputy field marshall at Geek Squad, manages 55 people who visit homes to address computer issues in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

When Mr. Johnson's team works with a consumer, they encounter different scenarios depending on the goals of the consumer. The consumer might work at home full time for a corporation, or connect wirelessly for home use with a smattering of business use, or he might be a road warrior.

Some users are set up by their companies with desktop computers that are 100 percent used for company work, and separated from the family computer, although they typically use the same peripherals and broadband Internet connection. Some are provided laptops by their companies so they can work while traveling or sitting at home. Others are asked by their employers to use their own computers at home or on the road.

If the organization provides the laptop, Mr. Johnson says the system is probably already secured for malware by the IT staff. That staff might even have a remote connection available to do troubleshooting or to remove the malware.

These days, according to Mr. Johnson, most laptops are connected wirelessly to the home broadband connection, although most organizations haven't set up a protocol on how the home networks should be secured.

If the wireless connection is insecure, it means the organization's data is insecure too. The old paradigm applies here about the weakest link. If the link between the laptop and the home network is insecure, the organization's data may be at risk too, even if other security measures have been implemented.

The first tier of security can be determined using a simple visual examination. Look at the connection icon, and see if your wireless network is secure. If not, you might be sharing it with an unauthorized user. Should you not be sure, it can be verified remotely by your corporate IT person, somebody from Mr. Johnson's team at Geek Squad, or other qualified individual.

Aside from determining the security status, remote diagnostics can be used in other ways to secure your computer and your data. A remote diagnostician can remove viruses, do some advanced diagnostics and help you set up your system software, eliminating that time consuming step of getting somebody to come into your home or bringing your system to the depot.

Not all diagnostics and repairs can be done remotely, though, such as hardware changes, for instance. Some can be done remotely if you play the part of the on-site diagnostician. That is, you can be led by telephone to make the appropriate changes to the system. For instance, you can change the security of the wireless network while being walked through the procedure by a telephone support representative.

Whether you are supported by your corporation or you need to reach out to a separate team of repair professionals, you should make sure that your computer is protected and kept in good shape. It could be critical to your company and the security of important data.

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