Month: June 2021

Internet Hygiene is commonly known as Cyber Hygiene. It is referred to as personal hygiene, as it is important for good health, Internet hygiene is also important to keep data safe and well functioning of your devices.

Internet Hygiene means taking measures to keep data safe, protected and secured from outside threats and cyber attacks.

Internet hygiene is important for two reasons:

1: Maintenance- It is necessary for computers and softwares to keep updated with the latest versions and regular check on the outdated files and applications.

2: Security- As important as the system maintenance is Security also plays an important role. As browsing through the internet you are open to getting attacked from cyber threats and malwares. Your system is vulnerable to security risks.

Internet Hygiene Policy

• Software update: Keeping softwares and applications up to date keeps your system protected from cyber attacks. This should be a regular check for Internet hygiene.
• Passwords: The password should be changed regularly and should be complex which will prevent any malicious activity online. This will prevent cyber threats and should be in practice for Internet hygiene.
• Access Levels: The users should be given limited access as per their requirement and level of authorization. Only the users with the admin level accessibility will be able to access.
• Secure your router:  Securing your wireless network should be the most common practice to ensure internet hygiene. Keep changing the wireless SSID and Password. Make sure your router offers WPA2 or WPA3 encryption to maintain the highest level of privacy of information sent via your network.

During the pandemic, we all are somehow bound to work from home, and the only helping technology to make it a success is VPN.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. As the name suggests, VPN is a tool used to virtually extend your private(home) network across the internet to connect with other private(office) networks.

Think of it as a bypass which will help you to get connected to your office’s network so as to access the private and confidential data/ server of your organisation.

Things to keep in mind while on VPN: As VPN allows you to access the private network, and if you are connected with a VPN you are no longer a part of the network your ISP is providing. Now you have entered your office network, so the speed and accessibility for the browsing you will be dependent on the office network. Your ISP holds no part in the speed and browsing accessibility.

You might face some issues while you are on VPN. These issues can be of two types:

VPN not getting connected:

1: Check with your VPN provider if the VPN works with a Dynamic IP or Static IP. Sometimes, if your connection is on Dynamic IP, your IP will keep changing and the VPN will not connect.
2: Check the login credentials for your VPN.
3: Check if the VPN is active and running.

VPN connected but not able to use connection: VPN helps you to connect your home network with the office network. Once you have connected VPN, you are no longer connected on your ISPs network. If, in case you face any trouble while browsing the internet or speed issue, the reason is the outside network. It’s better to check with the VPN provider or the office admin so as to resolve the issues regarding your speed and browsing issues.

Power outage in your area? No worries, we have got you covered. No need to stress over your internet connection if you have a power backup at your home.

Internet is provided via fiber wires which requires electricity to transmit data. As long as the backup is there, you will have an internet connection. However, the Wi-Fi router installed at your premises too requires electricity to function. So, if you have arranged the power backup at your end and your Wi-Fi router is up, you will have an internet connection.

If you can manage to run your wifi router and the device you are working on, the internet will not get disrupted because of the power outage.
The internet service provider (ISP) gets the internet to your house through industrial routers, switches, modems, amplifiers, and even wireless communication towers. If any of these components lose power, you will lose your internet connection. But if the ISP has a power backup arrange you can stay online till the power backup is up.

The biggest confusion while renewing an internet connection is how to find good deals and latest offers. As a consumer, this is one of the biggest challenges: What internet plan to opt for? While going through the website you can find multiple plans but what is best for you?

My Excitel App introduces a simple way to choose the best out of the rest. One tap option to Get Better Deals. Just login to your My Excitel App on your mobile device go to the Get Better deals option and here you get the best deal depending on your current/last plan. Select the payment method to go with and fill in your details and here you are renewed with the best deal with ongoing offers.

Also, you will get different options to pay online. If you want to pay via Debit card, Credit Card, UPI, Paytm Wallet or Net Banking. You will get all the options to choose from and you can opt for the best available plan.

You have opted for a plan with XYZ speed but how will you check if you are getting what you have opted for? There are some methods to check the accurate speed of your internet connection:

Wired connection: Always check the connection speed on a wired connection. If possible, use the internet wire directly with the laptop or if not, then a LAN cable from the Wi-Fi router. So, the results you will get will be accurate as the connection is on a dedicated line.

Wireless connection: For some of the devices, it won’t be possible to connect the LAN cable or the direct wire. In that case, you have to use a wireless connection to check the speed, for that you have to keep some points in mind:

1. Number of Devices: Make sure that while checking the speed only your device is connected with the Wi-Fi router and the rest of the devices are disconnected, otherwise, the speed will vary and the results will not be accurate.
2. Distance from the Wi-Fi Router: Keep in mind that the devices connected while checking the speed are as near as they can be to the Wi-Fi router.
3. Interference: If there will be any radio-emitting devices between your device and the Wi-Fi router there will be interference in Wi-Fi signals and the results will vary.

 No walls in between: There should be no thick/concrete walls in between your device and the Wi-Fi router so as the check the speed accurately.

Choosing a plan that suits your needs is the biggest challenge before getting an internet connection. Sometimes you will pick up a plan and will realise later on that it is not enough or is more than what you need. Read on to know what’s best suited for you…

FOR HOME ENTERTAINMENT
50-100 MBPS

If you are using the internet just for home entertainment and want to spend your spare time surfing the internet, binge-watching a movie or a TV show, then this will be your best plan to choose at an affordable price.

Those days are gone where you watch an episode of a daily soap waiting for the next episode to telecast the next day or week. It is the time where you binge-watch the whole series at one go. This will be the plan to download or stream the latest shows and browse over the internet learning new ideas and exploring the world wide web.

FOR DOWNLOADERS AND OFFICE WORK
100-200Mbps

If you are a downloader and need a great speed to download large files for your office work or if you are downloading huge files or games from the internet, then a plan between 100-200 Mbps will fulfil your needs.

You will get appropriate speed so as to download movies, games, heavy files. Also, you can attend meetings, conferences and watch HD videos.

FOR GAMERS AND STREAMERS
300 Mbps

If you are a hardcore gamer and play online multiplayer games, then the best plan to go with is of 300 Mbps. Live streaming needs a good upload speed and to upload the contents you need a stable and a better upload speed as download speed doesn’t matter if you are streaming. Therefore, this plan will provide you with both download and upload speed. Just in case you want to download or stream, this plan will fulfil all your needs from gaming to streaming to downloading.

If you have a Wi-Fi router, you know the drill. When the internet goes down at home, you unplug the device, wait for a minute or so, and plug it back in. For some reason, rebooting your router seems to do the trick. Why? You might not think of it this way, but your router is actually a small computer. Inside that plastic box is a CPU, memory, and local storage, all running on an operating system. And like a computer, some things can go wrong from time to time. And that means they too benefit from a fresh start every now and then just like computers.

Now people have 10, 15, 30 different devices that connect to the internet and that’s increasing the demand on that networking load. When that happens, your router can run out of memory or slow down until the system grinds to a halt. With lesser memory, the average wireless router can get hung up in download requests. But a quick reboot of your router will flush away all that and will increase its performance of speed. If you are facing connectivity issues, restart your router. If you are having trouble in speed, restart the router. Having frequent drops in the connection? Try restarting the router once, maybe your issue will get resolved within a couple of minutes.

When you do a speed test, you see two numbers in the results: one is your upload speed and the other is your download speed. The results will be your plan speed in Mbps, but the speed while actual downloading the data from the internet will be lesser than the speed test result and it will be measured in MBps. It doesn’t mean that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is providing you less speed.

The main difference between the two terms comes down to bits vs. bytes. The first acronym, Mbps with a lowercase “b,” refers to megabits per second, while the second, MBps with a capital “B,” stands for megabytes per second.

Both terms are related to measurements, but they are used differently. Megabits per second is commonly used when talking about internet upload and download speeds, or the rate at which information is uploaded or downloaded based on your connection speed. Megabytes per second is referenced when talking about file size or the amount of data transferred. You might see MBps shortened to just MB, such as a 500 MB video clip. MB can also be used when talking about internet data limit or mobile data allowances.

The actual speed will always be the 8th part of the plan speed. For example, if you have a plan of 100 Mbps, the actual download speed you will get is approximately 12.5 MBps. The reason for this will be the same: difference in bits and bytes. 8 bits make 1 byte. So, the plan speed is on Megabits and the actual speed will be on Megabytes.

We already know all the devices have different wireless capabilities and the speed depends on multiple factors. Devices such as mobiles and tablets will have a lesser capability than the desktop and the laptop as these devices have smaller memory and processors comparatively.

There are other factors on which the speed depends:

Wi-Fi router compatibility: If your router is not capable enough to deliver the speed you have opted for, it will just be a waste of money. So, it is better to check the router compatibility as per your plan. If you have opted for the higher speed, make sure your router is capable enough to deliver it.

The difference in Wireless and Wired Connection: The speed always varies in a Wi-Fi connected device and a local area network (LAN) connected device. The reason for the same is, a wired connection will be directly connected to the device and wireless will use radio signals to connect with the device.

The distance of the device From the Wi-Fi router: The Wi-Fi speed depends on the distance of the device and the router. The farther you will be from the router, the weaker the signal will be. So, it will directly impact the speed on the device. Make sure that your device is at the closest distance from the Wi-Fi router so as to achieve the best speed.

The number of the devices connected: If there are multiple devices connected on your Wi-Fi router, the speed will get divided amongst all the connected devices. Therefore, whatever the plan you have opted for, the speed will get distributed among the connected devices. Hence, it’s better to disconnect the devices that are not in use to get a better experience on the speed in which you are working.

Device compatibility: One of the main factors of the variation in speed is the capability of the device. The speed of the device depends on the operating system and the wireless interface of the device. Better the device, more efficient will be its speed.

Interference inside the home: If you have placed a router at a location inside your home where other devices using radio waves are also installed, the speed will vary and result in poor speed delivery. Reason: devices such as refrigerators, microwaves, emit radio waves and if these devices are placed between the Wi-Fi router and the mobile device, then the Wi-Fi signal will get interference resulting in variation of the speed.