Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Filter politics from your Facebook news feed!
This is a great article from CNET with some valuable advice on filtering politics and even show spoilers from your Facebook page!
Friday, September 2, 2016
Why your router is so important!
Routers are the oft-ignored work horses of the home network. Most
people hardly pay any attention to them unless there is a big
malfunction, and people may not consider upgrading them any more
than they consider upgrading their washing machine.
Unfortunately, this leads to a situation where the important-but-ignored router ends up being a source of degraded internet connection quality and a diminished user experience for everyone on your network. Upgrading to a current generation router is a cheap and effective way to improve your home network in every way: better Wi-Fi range, stronger signal, and better handling of demands modern users put on their network. The last thing you want in the age of Netflix is a router design from the days when Netflix was synonymous with DVD rentals.
First and foremost: are you experiencing frequent symptoms of an under-powered or overwhelmed router? If you can’t get a Wi-Fi signal everywhere in your home (and have considered getting a Wi-Fi extender or a second router), that’s a good indicator you’re a good candidate for an upgrade. If you frequently have network-related congestion issues, like slow web page loading or stuttering video playback, that can’t be chalked up to a slow broadband connection then it’s a good sign that your router isn’t up to the task of serving everyone in your household.
Even if you aren’t noticing problems, you should also consider the age of your router, too–both in terms of the actual age of your physical device and the age of the particular model. You might have bought the router two years ago, but if the model itself is from 5 or more years ago, there’s a good chance that you’re playing with outdated router tech and could benefit greatly from upgrading. If you’re still using a single radio/band Wireless-G router from 2010 or before, for example, you’re essentially using a bicycle when you could be using a spaceship.
Any router that supports newer standards will be, by default, at least a dual-band router. Older standards like 802.11b and 802.11g use the 2.4GHz band. Newer standards like 802.11ac use the 5GHz band (and some premium routers include two 5GHz bands, a little network magic trick that relies on using two distinct chunks of the 5GHz spectrum). At the bare minimum you’ll benefit from having one band for your older gear and one band for your newer gear that can support 5GHz communication (even if you don’t have any 5GHz stuff yet you’ll still have a nice wide open space for it when you upgrade).
What causes this network congestion everyone complains about? While you can contribute to it simply by having tons of Wi-Fi devices on your network there are also external factors at play. The 2.4GHZ band is chock full of stuff. Not only do many of the communication channels in the 2.4GHz spectrum used by routers overlap each other, but the same chunk of the radio spectrum is used by many cordless phones, baby monitors, wireless security devices, and more. Decreasing the load on your 2.4GHz network and putting some of it on the 5GHz network goes along way towards alleviating congestion problems.
*Originally posted by howtogeek.com
Unfortunately, this leads to a situation where the important-but-ignored router ends up being a source of degraded internet connection quality and a diminished user experience for everyone on your network. Upgrading to a current generation router is a cheap and effective way to improve your home network in every way: better Wi-Fi range, stronger signal, and better handling of demands modern users put on their network. The last thing you want in the age of Netflix is a router design from the days when Netflix was synonymous with DVD rentals.
First and foremost: are you experiencing frequent symptoms of an under-powered or overwhelmed router? If you can’t get a Wi-Fi signal everywhere in your home (and have considered getting a Wi-Fi extender or a second router), that’s a good indicator you’re a good candidate for an upgrade. If you frequently have network-related congestion issues, like slow web page loading or stuttering video playback, that can’t be chalked up to a slow broadband connection then it’s a good sign that your router isn’t up to the task of serving everyone in your household.
Even if you aren’t noticing problems, you should also consider the age of your router, too–both in terms of the actual age of your physical device and the age of the particular model. You might have bought the router two years ago, but if the model itself is from 5 or more years ago, there’s a good chance that you’re playing with outdated router tech and could benefit greatly from upgrading. If you’re still using a single radio/band Wireless-G router from 2010 or before, for example, you’re essentially using a bicycle when you could be using a spaceship.
Any router that supports newer standards will be, by default, at least a dual-band router. Older standards like 802.11b and 802.11g use the 2.4GHz band. Newer standards like 802.11ac use the 5GHz band (and some premium routers include two 5GHz bands, a little network magic trick that relies on using two distinct chunks of the 5GHz spectrum). At the bare minimum you’ll benefit from having one band for your older gear and one band for your newer gear that can support 5GHz communication (even if you don’t have any 5GHz stuff yet you’ll still have a nice wide open space for it when you upgrade).
What causes this network congestion everyone complains about? While you can contribute to it simply by having tons of Wi-Fi devices on your network there are also external factors at play. The 2.4GHZ band is chock full of stuff. Not only do many of the communication channels in the 2.4GHz spectrum used by routers overlap each other, but the same chunk of the radio spectrum is used by many cordless phones, baby monitors, wireless security devices, and more. Decreasing the load on your 2.4GHz network and putting some of it on the 5GHz network goes along way towards alleviating congestion problems.
*Originally posted by howtogeek.com
Friday, April 29, 2016
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
How to lock down your Wireless Network
Here is an article that talks about security measures with your network. We have seen an uptick in spam attacks come through tech support. If you ever have questions you can call them 24 hours a day at 888-529-5694.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Slow Internet?
Great article from speedtest.net, even at over a year old the information is very relevant.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
4 Ways To Manage Your Kids’ Internet Use With Your Router
These ideas can be used for anyone in the home! I love the idea of assigning priority to devices!
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
How can I control how much data Netflix uses?
Here is the link directly to Netflix on how to control data when you stream TV.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Helpful ways to control your data usage
WHAT
DEVICES AT HOME USE DATA?
From computers and tablets, to TVs, Personal Video Recorders,
gaming systems and more - they can all be connected to data, running updates or
backing up to the cloud without you doing anything. When you add to that other
activities like browsing, Skype or FaceTime - you can use your data allowance
pretty quickly.
HELPFUL
WAYS TO CONTROL YOUR DATA USAGE:
- Regularly
check for viruses; they can eat into your data allowance
- Stop
videos from playing automatically within apps or websites (e.g. like how
videos auto play in your Facebook news feed)
- Remove
or limit the use of browser 'extensions' or 'add-ons'
- Don't
use file sharing/torrent sites
- Keep
your web browser software up to date
- Keep
your operating system up to date
- Delete
apps you don't use (to avoid unnecessary updates)
- If
using cloud services (for backup or sharing) keep in mind the size of the
files being sent.
- Make
sure your Wi-Fi network is secured so no one can access it without your
permission
- Secure
your computer with a password
- Ensure
you activate a firewall to prevent unauthorized connections to your
computer
- If
you're going away for an extended period, switch your modem/router and
your computer off
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Top Rated Antivirus & Malware Protection!
Here is an article from pcmag.com that has this years best of the best for security. It's gone so far beyond antivirus and spyware now, there are more ways than ever that scammers are getting into our information. I mean, have you even heard of ransonware? This is crazy the stuff they have come up with!
Thursday, January 21, 2016
2016 Best Router List
A good wireless router is the life blood of your home network. Here is this years list from C|Net.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Wireless Network Buying Guide
We all wonder what is the best way to make a wireless network in our home. What equipment do I need and what works the best? Here is an article from c|net that has some great tips.
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