What are the dangers of using public WiFI?

We are living in a connected world where public WiFi networks are everywhere around us! it’s rare not to find free WiFi in coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, airports, malls, and nearly every business.

If you work or spend much time in coffee shops, you will notice that most people ask for the WiFi password the moment they sit in even before making their order. 

It’s well understood that everybody loves free internet but what are the dangers of free public WiFi networks? 

What are the risks of using Public WiFi? 

Whether the WiFi network is secured or unsecured, it’s not safe when any person can ask for the password because. Even worse, some Public WiFi networks leave their router exposed, letting any connected user gain admin access to the router, add some bad intentions and you could be under an attack. 

In this unsafe network environment, your network traffic can be monitored, packets sniffed, and you will probably notice an increased amount of suspicious pop-ups in your browser or redirections to phishing pages. 

Let us talk about some of the methods used in network attacks:

Evil Twin Attack

It’s a malicious WiFi network with a similar name to the Public WiFi, created by the attacker to lure unsuspected users to join it. When the victim connects to the malicious network, the attacker can have direct access to the victim’s computer.

So, make sure you double-check that network name before joining, you don’t know where you might end up.

Man-in-the-middle attacks

This is an interesting one, it’s when the attacker manages to put himself between you and the server you’re communicating with. So, instead of communicating directly with the server, the packets you send or receive from the server pass through the attacker who can alter these packets. 

This attack usually targets the communication between the victim and the DNS server, so when the victim types a web page address, the attacker intercepts the DNS server response before it reaches you, alters it, and you end up at the attacker’s server.

Since the attacker can monitor all the victim’s traffic, it’s possible to access every piece of information the victim is sending, such as credit card details, passwords, or important data.

Malware Distribution

Malware distribution or injection is when the attacker intercepts a web server response before it reaches the victim, manipulates it, inserts some hidden code in to run on the victim’s device.

How to Stay Safe While Using Public WiFi

It’s simple, use a VPN

It’s the best, easiest, and most convenient way to protect yourself online, whether you’re on a public WiFi or an unsecured network. When you connect to a VPN server, an encrypted tunnel is created for all your traffic. This will prevent any attacks because even if the attacker intercepts your data, it’s encrypted data, they won’t be able to see any of it which is enough to avoid the risks of public WiFi networks. 

If you don’t already have VPN, we recommend you to try bVPN, it’s one of the best VPNs in the market and it will ensure that your traffic is well encrypted without sacrificing the speed, plus you can use it on up to 6 devices at the same time.

bVPN lets you try before you buy, just download the app on your device, install it, and click “Connect”. No registration is required. 

bVPN is available on Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux.

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PC, console, or mobile gamer? High ping can ruin your online gaming

Whether you’re a casual gamer or an e-sport professional, you have already experienced the nightmare of high ping, latency, and lag! Here, we’re going to talk about how to get a low ping, latency, and lag for better online gaming sessions but first what’s Ping, Latency, and Lag?

What are Ping, Latency, and Lag?

Ping is the way the network measures latency, a ping message is sent to measure the time it takes from your computer, console, or phone to the game server and back again to you. So, if your ping is 100ms this means it takes 100 milliseconds for your computer, console, or phone to respond to the game server, which is a bit high but within the acceptable range.

When you’re playing an online game, you’re connected to the game server, every action you make such as moving around, lotting stuff, or running for your in-game precious life is data sent to the game server and back to you. So, low ping means smoother gameplay because the data travels fast between you and the game server and this is called low latency.

Lag is another term for the delay and there are different kinds of Lag, such as Network Lag or Input Lag but that’s another subject for another time.

Network Lag is a delay in data exchanged between you and the game server. You have seen it before, it’s when you pull the trigger but the bullet takes a little bit of time before it’s shot and now you missed the shot and revealed your position! I can feel your frustration!

What Causes High Ping, Latency, and Lag?

Many factors can contribute to high ping and cause latency which will make your game laggy and ruin your online gaming session. It could be your home network, your ISP network, the game server location, or the network hardware between your computer, console, or phone, and the game server.

How to Reduce Latency and Get Rid of Lag?

Get wired “Ethernet” Connection
If you’re on a wireless connection “WiFi”, maybe it’s a good time to get wired “Ethernet”.

Close Background Application and Programs
Also, make sure that no other apps are running in the background, these apps could be eating your bandwidth. In some cases, your Antivirus or firewall can cause latency.

Select A Server Near Your Location
If all is good on your end, it could be the game server location. Servers located far from your actual location will definitely cause high latency, so choose a server near your region for lower ping. Usually, online games offer multiple servers located around the world for that reason.

Use A VPN

If all the above didn’t help lower your ping, then you may need to use a VPN.

Online gamers use VPN for many reasons, some online games are banned in certain countries and a VPN can help you reach the game server and also to lower your ping.

In simple terms, VPN creates a tunnel between you and the VPN server, so you’re accessing the internet through the VPN server. This can help you avoid any routing issues that probably exist in your ISP network.

We have tested lots of VPNs and found that bVPN is a very decent solution with unlimited bandwidth, zero-logging policy, and servers strategically located in more than 40 locations around the world, I’m sure you will find a server near your location. You can even get 30 Days Free Trial if you subscribe through Apple App Store.

The post How to Get Low Ping to Improve Your Online Gaming appeared first on VPNanswers.com.

File Safe is a built-in feature in the latest version of the smart phones operated by Android. The feature acts as a virtual safe or vault for all your important and confidential files on your Android phone. A lot of Android users today are not aware of the built-in File Safe feature and usually refer to downloading third party applications for this purpose. In this tutorial we will show you how to enable/disable and use the File Safe feature on your Android smart phone.

How to Enable File Safe

1- From the main screen tap to open “Settings”

2- Scroll down in the “Settings” page and tap on “Security & privacy”

3- Under “Privacy” tap on “File safe”

4- At the bottom of the screen, tap on “Enable”

5- Choose which location of files you want to secure; “Internal storage” or “SD card”

6- Enter a password you wish to set for your File Safe and re-enter it to confirm it

7- Tap on “Done”

8- You will be asked to set 2 security questions and answers. You can tap on the questions to open the drop-down menu and select a security question and then enter the secret answers

7- Tap on “Done”

8- If your phone has the “Fingerprint Recognition” capability, you will be asked if you want to associate your fingerprint to quickly access the safe. If you want to associate, tap on “Associate” but if you don’t, tap on “Cancel”

At this point you have successfully enabled the File Safe feature. Now we will show you how to add files or use the feature.

How to Use or Add Files to the File Safe

1- Repeat steps “1” through “3” from the previous section

2- If you associated your fingerprint in step “8” from the previous section, you will be asked to enter your fingerprint to access the safe or you can tap on “Use Password” at the bottom of the screen, enter the password you have set for it and tap on “Done”

3- Choose which type of files you want to add to the File Safe; either “Images”, “Audio”, “Videos”, or “Files” and tap on “Add”

4- Browse through your files, tap to check the checkbox next to the files you want to hide in the File Safe, and tap on “Add” at the bottom of the screen

How to Remove Files from the File Safe

1- Repeat the first 2 steps from the previous section

2- Tap on the type of files you want to remove

3- From the files, tap to check the checkbox next to the file you want to remove and tap on “Remove”

4- You will be asked if you want to move the file to the “Default Location” that the file was saved in before you added it to File Safe or move it to a “Custom Location”. Tap to choose one of these options

How to Disable File Safe

1- Repeat the first step from the previous section

2- From the bottom of the screen tap on “Settings”

3- At the bottom of the screen tap on “Destroy Safe”

4- Verify your identity either by your fingerprint or by password

5- A message will pop-up telling you that the File Safe and all the files in it will be deleted. You can either go back and remove them, or tap to check the checkbox labeled “Move these files to another location” or leave them to be deleted and tap on “Confirm”. If you chose to move the files to a different location you will be asked if you want to move them to their “Default Location” or “Custom Location”. Choose the option you want.

At this point your File Safe has  been completely disabled.

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What is Wifi+?

Wifi+ is a feature built in the latest version of the popular smartphones operating system, Android. When enabled, it allows the phone to compare between the strength of the Wifi network available and the mobile data network and automatically either switch on or off the Wifi. In other words, if the mobile data network is stronger than the Wifi network, the phone will automatically switch off the Wifi and connect to the mobile data network. In addition to that, if the Wifi+ is enabled it automatically switches on your Wifi in the phone if a known Wifi network is detected. For example, if you have Wifi+ enabled in your phone and enter an area where there is a public Wifi hotspot, your phone will automatically switch on the Wifi to connect to the Wifi network. Last but not least, Wifi+ evaluates all available Wifi networks and temporarily suspends auto-connect to avoid your phone connecting to a Wifi network that is not connected to the internet. There is a similar feature in the latest versions of iPhone called Wifi Assist.

Advantages of Using Wifi+

The main advantage of using Wifi+ is that it ensures that your phone will always be connected to the internet, whether if its through the mobile data network or through a reliable Wifi network. If for any reason the Wifi network or connection drops, your internet session will not be interrupted until a stable, strong, and reliable Wifi network is in range again.

Disadvantages of Using Wifi+

The problem with using Wifi+ is that if your Wifi network weakens or drops temporarily for any reason your phone will switch to mobile data without your prior consent, which will cause your mobile data bundle to be overused hence increasing your mobile data bill with no way of controlling when your phone uses mobile data and when it uses Wifi. The only way to control this is by disabling Wifi+ from your phone settings

How to Enable/Disable Wifi+ on your Android Phone

1- From the main screen, tap on “Settings”

2- From the “Settings” page, tap on “Wi-Fi”

3- From the “Wi-Fi” section and under the button responsible for switching the Wifi on or off, tap on “Wi-Fi+”

4- Tap to turn on or off the button labeled “Wi-Fi+” to enable or disable “Wi-Fi+”

Conclusion

If you prefer that your phone to be continuously connected to the internet regardless of its impact on the cost or the usage of the mobile data bundle, then it is recommended to keep this feature enabled. However if you would prefer to be in control of how you are connected to the internet and when your phone relies on a Wifi connection or a mobile data network connection, then we would recommend you keep this feature disabled.

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In the previous article we have discussed how to perform firmware update on different routers. In this tutorial, we will show you how to update the firmware of 3 more different routers in simple and easy steps. Scroll down for more details.

Updating Linksys Router’s Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update your Linksys router’s firmware:

1- Launch your browser.

2-Type “www.linksyssmartwifi.com” or “192.168.1.1” in the URL bar.

3- From “Router Settings”, click on “Connectivity”.

4- With your mouse, stand on the “Basic” tab which is located on the left, and then select the “Firmware” option.

5- Check for firmware update.

**N.B: you can tick on the checkbox next to “Automatic” to enable automatic firmware updates if you do not want to go through this process again.

That’s it! Good job!

Updating Netgear Router’s Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update Netgear router’s firmware:

1- Launch your browser (e.g: Chrome, Firefox, etc).

2- Type “routerlogin.net” or “192.168.1.1” in the URL field, and then hit “Enter”.

3- Next, insert your username (admin) and password in order to login.

4-  Navigate to the top of the screen, and then click on the “Advanced” tab.

5- From the left-side pane, choose “Administration”.

6- Select the “Router Update” option.

7- Finally, click on the “Check” button.

That’s it!

Updating TP-Link Router’s Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update TP-Link router firmware:

1- Launch your browser (e.g: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, etc.).

2- Type “tplinkwifi.net”, “192.168.0.1” or “192.168.1.1” in the URL field, and then hit “Enter”.

3- Head over to the top of your screen, and then click on the “Advanced” tab.

4-  Click on “System Tools” followed by a click on “Backup & Restore”. You need to first backup your data before upgrading your firmware on a TP-Link router.

5- Once the backup process is completed, you can now return to the “Settings”  tab.

6- Click on “Check for Upgrade” option.

7- After successfully upgrading your firmware, go back to “System Tools, Backup & Restore”.

8- Click on “Factory Reset”.

9- Finally, you need to restore your settings. You can do that by going to “Backup & Restore” menu.

10- Click on “Browse”, and then locate your file.

11- Click “Restore”.

That’s all! A lengthy procedure, but you did great! Well done!

The post How to Update Any Router’s Firmware (Part 2) appeared first on VPNanswers.com.

Samsung Galaxy Tab is a line of high end tablets developed by Samsung Electronics. The first version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab was introduced into the market in September 2010. Ever since 16 models were introduced after. In this tutorial we will be showing you how to manually configure a virtual private network or VPN’s Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol or PPTP on your Samsung Galaxy Tab device.

Before we start make sure you have the following:

1- A working wireless internet connection

2- A Samsung Galaxy Tab device connected to your Wifi

3- A premium subscription to a reliable VPN service that supports PPTP among its security protocols

Setting Up PPTP on your Samsung Galaxy Tab

1- From the home screen, tap to open the “Applications” panel

2- From the “Applications” panel, tap on the “Settings” icon

3- From the “Settings Panel” and under “Data Usage”, tap on “More Settings”

4- Tap on “VPN”

5- Tap on “Add VPN network”

6- In the “Edit VPN network” and in the field labeled “Name”, enter the name you wish to give the VPN’s PPTP connection that you are creating (it is usually recommended to name it after your VPN service provider)

7- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Type” and select “PPTP”

8- In the field labeled “Server address”, enter the hostname or IP address of the VPN server you wish to connect to (this could be found in the client area of your VPN provider’s website but make sure that the server you choose is one of the servers that supports PPTP)

9- Tap to check the checkbox labeled “PPP encryption (MPPE)”

10- Make sure that the checkbox labeled “Show advanced options” is left unchecked

11- Tap on “Save”

12- Back in the “VPN” section tap on the name of the VPN PPTP connection that you just created

13- In the field labeled “Username”, enter your VPN account username

14- In the field labeled “Password”, enter your VPN account password

15- Tap to check the checkbox labeled “Save account information”

16- Tap to check the checkbox labeled “Always-on VPN”

17- Tap on “Connect”

Once the connection is established a small icon will appear next to the network indicator indicating that you successfully connected to the VPN’s PPTP server. At this point your Samsung Galaxy Tab device is fully secured with and enjoys all the online security advantages provided by a VPN service.

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Nowadays, a router is one of the most essential devices in any home. In order to maintain the security of your internet connection, you need to frequently update your router’s firmware. In this guide, we will show you exactly how to do so for 3 different routers in simple and easy steps. Scroll down for more details.

Updating Amped Wireless Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update Amped Wireless router firmware:

1- Visit the Amped Wireless website.

2- From there, go to the “Support Section”.

3- Click to expand the drop down menu, and then select your router’s model.

4- Go to the “Downloads” section, and then click on “Firmware”.

5- A zip file will be downloaded. Once the download is completed, connect your PC to your Amped Wireless router via Ethernet cable.

6- Launch your browser, and then enter “setup.ampedwireless.com” in the URL bar.

7- From the left-side panel, click on “Settings”.

8- Click on “Management” followed by a click on “Upgrade Firmware”.

That’s it! Good job!

Updating Asus Router Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update Asus router firmware:

1- Visit your Asus router’s website.

2- Next, click on “Support” followed by a click on “Consumer”.

3- Search carefully for your Asus router.

4- Click on “Support and Driver & Tools”.

5- Choose your Operating System.

6- Next, scroll down to “Firmware”, and then download the latest version.

7- Once the download is completed, connect your PC to your Asus router via Ethernet cable.

8- Launch your browser, and then type “192.168.1.1” in the URL bar in order to get access to your Asus router’s interface.

9- Go to the “Configuration” page, and then choose the version of your firmware.

10- Upload your zipped file, and then your device will install the update.

Make sure to reset the router after the process is done. That’s it!

Updating D-Link Router Firmware

Follow the steps below in order to successfully update D-Link router firmware:

1- Launch your browser, and then go to “dlinkrouter.local” or type “192.168.0.1” in the URL bar.

2- Login to your D-Link’s interface by inserting your username and password.

3- Click on “Management”.

4- Click on “Upgarde”.

5- Click on “Check for new firmware”.

That’s it! Your device will take care of the rest. Good job!

The post How to Update Any Router’s Firmware (Part 1) appeared first on VPNanswers.com.

Blackberry Playbook is a mini-tablet computer that was developed by Blackberry. It was originally released back in 2011 and ever since has launched several versions. In this tutorial we will be showing you how to manually setup a virtual private network or VPN’s Internet Key Exchange version 2 or IKEv2 internet security protocol on your Blackberry Playbook tablet.

Before we start you must make sure you have the following:

1- A fully working internet connection

2- A fully functional Blackberry Playbook tablet

3- A premium subscription to a reliable VPN service which supports IKEv2 as one of their security protocols

Setting up IKEv2 on Blackberry Playbook

1- From the top right corner of the “Main Menu” screen, tap on the “Settings” icon

2- From the “Settings” panel on the left of the screen, tap on “Security”

3- Tap on “VPN”

4- At the bottom of the “VPN” page, tap on “Add New”

5- In the field labeled “Profile Name”, enter the name you want to give to the IKEv2 connection that you are creating (it is usually recommended to give it the same name as your VPN provider)

6- In the field labeled “Server Address”, enter the hostname or the IP address of the VPN server you want to connect to (this can be found on the VPN provider’s website but make sure that you choose one of the servers that supports IKEv2 protocol)

7- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Gateway Type” and select “Microsoft IKEv2 VPN Server”

8- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Authentication Type” and select “EAP-MSCHAPv2”

9- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Authentication ID Type” and select “Email Address”

10- In the field labeled “Authentication ID”, enter your VPN account username

11- In the field labeled “MSCHAPv2 Password”, enter your VPN account password

12- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Gateway Auth Type” and select “PKI”

13- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Gateway Auth ID Type” and select “Identity Certificate Distinguished”

14- Tap to open the drop-down menu labeled “Gateway CA Certificate” and select “AddTrust External CA Root”

15- At the bottom, tap on “Save and Connect”

Once the connection is established, this means that your Blackberry Playbook device is fully secured with a VPN’s IKEv2 connection meaning that all your network traffic will be going through the VPN’s IKEv2 server instead of your ISP server.

The post How to Setup IKEv2 on Blackberry Playbook appeared first on VPNanswers.com.

In this guide, we will show you how to easily setup PPTP VPN connection on iPad through simple steps. Scroll down for more details.

Getting Things Ready

Before creating a new PPTP VPN connection on your iPad, first you will need to set things up:

1- You need an internet connection that works properly.

2- Make sure that your you have an iPAD that is working.

3- Make sure that your premium VPN service subscription is active (e.g: bVPN).

Setting Up PPTP VPN on iPad Manually (Manually)

Follow the steps below in order to successfully create a new PPTP VPN connection on your iPad:

1- Go to your homescreen, and then tap on “Settings”.

2- Next, tap on “General” followed by a tap on “VPN”.

3- Next, tap on the “Add VPN Configuration” option.

4- Tap on “PPTP”.

5- In the “Description” field, insert a name for your PPTP VPN connection (e.g: bVPN PPTP).

6- In the “Server” field, type in the IP address of the server you wish to connect to.

7- In the “Account” field, type in your VPN username.

8- In the “Password” field, type in your VPN password.

9- In the “Send All Traffic” field, set it to “On”.

10- Next, tap on the “Save” icon.

11- You have now created a new PPTP VPN profile on your device.

12- Make sure that you have enable the “VPN” option.

13- Wait for a few moments for your connection to be activated on your device.

Congratulations! You have successfully created an PPTP VPN connection on your iPad. Very good job! You can now enjoy browsing the internet securely and anonymously whenever you are connected.

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In this guide, we will show you how to easily setup L2TP VPN connection on iPad through simple steps. Scroll down for more details.

Getting Things Ready

Before creating a new L2TP VPN connection on your iPad, first you will need to set things up:

1- You need an internet connection that works properly.

2- Make sure that your you have a working iPAD.

3- Make sure that your VPN service subscription is active (e.g: bVPN).

Setting Up L2TP VPN on iPad Manually (Manually)

Follow the steps below in order to successfully create a new L2TP VPN connection on your iPad:

1- From your homescreen, tap on “Settings”.

2- Next, tap on “General”, and then tap on “VPN”.

3- Now, tap on “Add VPN Configuration”.

4- Tap on “L2TP”.

5- In the “Description” field, insert a name for your L2TP VPN connection.

6- In the “Server” field, type in the IP address of the server you want to connect to.

7- In the “Account” field, type in your VPN username.

8- In the “Password” field, type in your VPN password.

9- In the “Secret” field, enter 12345678.

10- In the “Send All Traffic” field, set it to “On”.

11- Next, tap on the “Save” icon.

12- You have now created a new L2TP VPN profile on your device.

13- Make sure that you have enable the “VPN” option.

14- Wait for a few moments for your connection to be activated on your device.

You have successfully created an L2TP VPN connection on iPad. Great job! You can now start browsing safely and anonymously whenever you are connected to the internet.

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