What is Net Neutrality?

What is it?

Network neutrality – or ‘net’ for short, is the concept that internet service providers (ISPs) should not charge users to access platforms on the web differently based on user, content, website, platform, application, type of equipment, or method of communication.

Currently in the USA there are plans for ISPs to begin charging users to use different networks and online platforms, such as Netflix and WhatsApp, to increase the efficiency and line speeds at which they are using them.

Websites and companies will have to pay ISPs premiums to allow them to grant access to potential site visitors, giving an edge to bigger companies with more power and money.

The impartiality of this method could affect hundreds of thousands of businesses without the funds to pay ISPs. It will act as a form of censorship, dictated by companies already in good financial standing or with strong partnerships with other mega giants.

Any companies offering similar services, such as online video streamers – Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, many also have influence over several other popular sites depending on existing alliances and deals.

The future landscape of the world wide web could soon look like this;

First slower speeds:

Source: arstechnica.com, 2017

Packages you pay for because your service is slow:

Source: indivisible.org, 2019

Once you’ve paid for a subscription plan that doesn’t cover the website you’re on:

Source: stories.avvo.com, 2017

Proposals for net neutrality were repealed towards the end of 2017 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and was officially ruled out on June 11 2018.  

The issues that came into question were; who would regulate the broadband companies and ensure they weren’t abusing their powers as gatekeepers of the internet, and not favour their own content over a competitor’s?

A Republican-led FCC was stripped of its authority after Chairman, Ajit Pai abolished these old rules safeguarding net neutrality.

Currently, there is a wait for the appeal courts decision as to whether this move was legal and the fate of net neutrality.

What does it mean for me?

For now, this issue is contained mainly to the USA, with little effect on external nations like the UK. For the States, it means higher prices for have ease of access to everyday sites like Facebook and even WhatsApp. It also means the content being distributed to different factions in society will be censored and the elite can easily dictate, what those less able to pay for freedom on the web, are exposed to.

If net neutrality laws eventually fall through and the new monetisation of the internet catches on, it is highly likely the concept with spread globally too.

Secret Threats of Public WiFi

No matter where you travel to these days, you’re destined to never be left without a means of contact, with the help of public wi-fi hotspots. Free access internet is now available at nearly every shopping centre, train station, airport, major tourist attraction and even on populated streets. The temptation, to save your monthly data allowance in exchange for simply handing over your email address and full name, seems harmless, right?

Unbeknownst to too many people, by connecting to these open networks you are letting hackers know you’re open for business. By accessing emails and online banking, you have inadvertently marked yourself as a target and made all your sensitive information, vulnerable. 

Here’s How

‘Man in the Middle’ attacks

This is when someone within range of the hotspot reach is essentially eavesdropping on your online activity. They are able to intercept the flow of information you’re sending between your device and the internet service.

Unencrypted networks

The information that flows from device to wireless router should be in the form of a secret code, meaning sensitive information cannot be read. Most routers are unencrypted until set up by IT professionals who know how to encrypt it, so anyone who uses this router is protected by this private network. Public and unencrypted networks deliberately set up by hackers don’t enable this safety feature so that they can survey your activity from afar.

Malicious hotspots

Cyber criminals will set up fake hotspots named similarly to reputable businesses. They will be branded and made to look legitimate, the same way in which, BT for example has their access pages displayed. These rogue hotspots then act as a direct portal for criminals to peer into your sensitive information and give them to platform to use it anyway they see fit. When doing so they can see which web pages you visited, any log in information you submitted and hack any accounts.

Tips for staying safe:

Do

  • Turn wifi off when you’re not using it
  • Log out of accounts when done
  • Disable Bluetooth and file sharing
  • Only use web search

Don’t

  • Allow auto-connect
  • Access apps with sensitive information such as online banking/health records
  • Fill in credentials like username/password

Wouldn’t It Be Life Changing To Reach Inbox Zero… Every Day?

Wouldn’t that be epic. No emails at the end of each day. No worrying that you’ve missed something important.

Or scrolling through the same emails again and again, when you’d rather be playing with your kids.

Inbox Zero isn’t reached by having fewer emails… that’s really hard to achieve. Instead, you need to change the way you handle emails.

We’re on a mission to free business owners and managers like you from the hell of email.

Watch our brand new video now. We’ll tell you about a cool feature in Office 365 called Focused Inbox. It’s a better way to do email.

Why You Must Replace Your Windows 7 Machines Now

If you have a Windows 7 machine, you MUST replace it by the end of this year.

Why? Because it’ll be a major target for hackers in January next year (2020).

This is a serious threat to many businesses in Barnet. It will leave their entire computer network open to hackers.

We’ve created a new short video to tell you why it’s such a problem, and why you must not wait too long to replace your old tech.

Your E-Mail Is Your Greatest Tool… And Biggest Threat

Because we rely on email so much to run our businesses, it’s our greatest tool (no matter how much you might sigh when you see how many unread emails you have).

But because there’s so much activity in there. And you can receive emails from anyone, it’s the most common way to try to breach your business.

Hackers are targeting every business, every day. Using clever automated tools.

In this new video we show you some of the common cyber crimes that start in emails. And how to protect your business.

We’re iceConnect, looking after businesses in London. And we’re very much on your side. Let’s work together to keep the hackers out.

Watch our brand new video now.

5 Ways OneNote Will Help Organise Your Life

To get more done in your business, you and your team need to be highly organised, and have systems to leverage information.

There’s a perfect tool for this – and you probably already have it.

OneNote from Microsoft is part of the powerful and popular Office 365 suite.

We’re big fans here at iceConnect, local IT support and data security experts.

We’ve put together a brand new educational video on OneNote. So you can see the top five features your business will benefit from.

Automate Tasks With Software You Already Have

Now this is exciting… assuming you already use Office 365 in your business, there are a bunch of productivity tools hidden within that can save some serious time and money.

As Barnet’s Office 365 experts, we know this. Take Microsoft Flow for example. It allows you to automate tasks between apps.

We’ve created a brand new video to show you how it works.