Supercharge Your Internet For Back To School

A Tech Checkup for Speed and Security

As summer activities wind down and family vacations wrap up, parents and kids may exhibit varied reactions, from joy to jitters, when they hear the words “back to school.” In all cases, confidence is key to move from one season to the next. That’s why this time of year is a perfect time to perform a checkup on your home’s internet, your devices and data. Knowing that your internet is up to speed and your devices  and data are secure, you can move powerfully and with ease into the next season–especially if you anticipate additional workloads from school laptops and tablets brought home by your kids.

Here are 6 tips to consider for optimizing your internet: 

1. Placement of Router: This point might seem obvious, but remember to show your router some love. Find a central hub for your router, somewhere free from signal-stealing obstructions including microwaves, walls, windows and cordless phones.

2. Use Ethernet: Game consoles, desktop computers and streaming boxes will generally enjoy more consistent speeds and less signal interference with a wired connection. Go with a wired connection on devices where an Ethernet cable is within reach.

3. Share the Signal: Consider switching off or temporarily disconnecting certain devices when you’re not using them. Is someone streaming a movie in the living room? Maybe you could switch your video call to audio-only. Every little bit helps.

4. Manage and Prioritize: Downloading and streaming are bandwidth-intensive. Download large files such as movies, music and audiobooks during off-peak traffic times. Save files to your hard drive. You’ll still be able to enjoy them anytime—offline—without gobbling up bandwidth. If you can,schedule automatic system updates on your devices for overnight, when the network is less busy.

5. Technology Can Help: If you’re still struggling with wireless dead zones or hard-to-reach corners of your home, range extenders, repeaters and mesh networks can help. Range extenders and repeaters grab existing WiFi signals from your router and re-broadcasts them. Mesh networks use a series of nodes set up in the home to distribute a wireless signal.

6. Consider a Managed WiFi Option: Managed WiFi service leaves set-up, maintenance and troubleshooting with your service provider. You can get help setting up your router, adding devices and securing the best signal.

Once you’ve optimized your internet, the information at your fingertips is traveling at lightspeed–so is the opportunity to be hacked. Let’s run through a checklist and tips for securing your home devices to protect your privacy and your family:

1. Use a strong firewall: Your first line of defense–A firewall is a layer of internet security that attempts to let good traffic through while blocking hackers from entering and using your computer. Hackers send out pings (calls) to thousands of computers and wait for responses. Firewalls prevent your computer from responding to these random calls. Most wireless routers already have a firewall, and you also have a firewall on your operating system. There might be occasions when you or someone working on your computer turns a firewall off. For example, when installing a program, there could be a conflict with the operating system firewall, and sometimes turning the firewall off temporarily resolves this. 

Tip: If you have turned the firewall off for any reason, you’ll want to make sure to turn it back on whenever you’re on a Wi-Fi network that isn’t in your home. Unless the firewall is causing you problems, it’s best to keep it on at all times.

2. Keep anti-virus software updated–Anti-virus software helps protect your computer from viruses that slow down or crash your computer, destroy your data or allow spammers to send email through your account. But it must be kept updated. As quickly as one virus is identified, new ones are being created. Most anti-virus software includes a feature to download updates automatically when you are online. You will want to make sure the settings for the software you choose checks your system on a regular basis, especially if you are a heavy internet or email user. Some programs do this in the background while your computer is on.

Tip: Schedule a time to have your computer scanned and updated during a time when you are not using the computer to avoid any slow-downs or conflicts.

3. Use anti-malware software–If you see a sudden flurry of pop-up ads, get redirected to a website you didn’t choose, or you receive a suspicious message that says your computer is infected and you must call the number on the message to fix it, you’ve likely been hit by malware, also known as spyware. Malware is a software installed without your knowledge or consent. This dangerous software can monitor your online activities and collect personal information while you surf the web. There have even been incidents of brand new in-the-box computers being infected with malware that is activated the first time the owner logs onto the internet. Don’t click on any of the pop-up windows or take any action. Immediately turn your computer off with the power button (not the menu), reboot in safe mode with networking. Spyware protection is included in some anti-virus software programs, but it doesn’t hurt to run more than one. Just like anti-virus software, anti-malware software needs to be updated regularly. Spyware is often contained in many “free” programs downloaded from the internet. 

Tip: Download software only from sites you know and trust. If you are unsure, do a Google search of the name of the software and “is it safe” and read other user comments.

4. Manage your system and browser to protect your privacy–Hackers are constantly trying to find new ways into your system. It is recommended that you set your internet security settings to, at least, medium. To adjust these settings, check the Tools or Options menus for how to do this. Update your system and browser regularly, taking advantage of automatic updating when it’s available. Windows Update is a service offered by Microsoft. On Macintosh systems, patching can be run automatically to update its operating system.

Tip: Knowing a little more about how browsers work will also help you pick the best one for your needs and help keep your browsing experience more secure.

5. Use a strong password, and keep it to yourself–Consider a password like keys to your house—it is the key to your personal information, so don’t share it! The strongest passwords contain at least 8 characters, upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t use common words, pet names or anything else that can be easily guessed.

Tip: One of the easiest ways to create a strong password is to make an acronym out of a sentence you can remember: “Did John and Susan arrive for dinner at 5?” translates to DJaSafda5?,.

6. Secure your wireless network–When using a wireless network in your home, make sure it is protected, too. A common mistake many people make is leaving the encryption password as the factory default. With a quick internet search, anyone can find the default password for your wireless router. Follow the instructions the router came with to reset the password, or look up the manual on the Internet and reset the router with a new, strong password. 

Tip: Wireless networks on public hotspots might not be secure, and you should avoid sending any personal information. As an alternative, you can buy your own hotspot—a mobile broadband device that plugs into your computer, laptop, PDA, or smartphone and uses a mobile phone signal to provide high-speed internet access. They are sold by cell phone companies and require a monthly service plan, but can be affordable when bundled with your existing service.

7. Shop safely online–Things to look for when shopping online include “https” in the address bar of the shopping cart, or an unbroken padlock icon at the bottom of the browser window. You might also want to check the website’s privacy policy and look for opportunities to opt out of information sharing.

Tip: Smaller storefronts might not have sophisticated enough security (unless they use a secure third-party payment system such as PayPal), but big name stores can be vulnerable to data hackers, too. Don’t store passwords on the site and be sure to clear your browsing history and completely close all windows after making an online purchase.

8. Use parental controls–Your children could unknowingly risk your family’s privacy. Make sure they know how to use the internet safely. Set parental controls that limit the sites kids can visit. Parental controls can be stringent when kids are younger, and more flexible as they mature, but remember software is not a substitute for parental supervision. Make sure you know what your kids are doing online.

Tip: Internet providers like Arvig include parental controls on apps like Manage Your WiFi.

Extra-Credit: Be cyber-secure
Cybercriminals are bad actors who are constantly thinking up new ways to steal your important information for their gain. Knowing more about how they operate is a good starting point. Watch this short video from Arvig on  9 cybersecurity terms to know.