September 2018 - Wifi Attendance

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Corporates across the world have a tough time weaning employees from spending a lot of office time using the internet for personal interactions.

If you look into the statistics, you will notice an alarming number of man hours that are wasted by employees who drain office internet for personal reasons.

Companies which have employees hooked to the internet for long hours grab the bandwidth that is meant for official browsing. This causes a steep rise in their costs.Hence this is a serious concern that needs to be fixed at the earliest.

For all those companies who are looking for actionable ways to track the usage of the internet by their employees, here they come.

1. Unleash The Promise of a Wireless Router

Your office WiFi network can be connected to certain wireless routers which closely monitor all the sites that were browsed by your employees.

All you need to do is to set up the login by keying in the IP address of your wireless router on the search bar of your office default browser. After the initial set up procedure is completed, the wireless router will shed light on all the online activities of your employees once you click the ‘Logs’ option.

Alternatively, you can check out some routers which can help you block some websites, restricting your employees to browse them during working hours.

2. Install the Multi-Purpose Employee Monitoring Software

A supervisory software can effectively monitor the websites that your employees browse during work hours. It sends out consolidated weekly reports collating the browsing information of every employee to their managers’ official email IDs and also to their individual IDs.

Such weekly reports are not only easy to read, they can also become instruments to improve the productivity of your teams. You can also use this application to monitor employees working from remote locations.

These computer programs show up reminders in the form of popups on employee screens to restrict the browsing of private websites during office hours. Additionally, they can also step in to keep a watchful eye on the number of internet transactions that your employees initiate.

These transactions can cause virus attacks plaguing your official computer networks. Some software go a step further to notify the management about employees accessing restricted sites including chatting interfaces during office hours.

3. Keep A Tab on Network Traffic

In order to lay hands on the browsing activity of your employees, you may keep a tab on the traffic that is generated inside your official network. You can install a firewall which provides information regarding the information that was exchanged between your employees through the official server.

However, this option does not provide concrete data points linked to the duration that your employee was online. You would not know whether your employee actually read a news article or whether it was simply left open as an idle page in the background.

4. Implement Mandates Linked to Employee Internet Usage

It is very important for companies to follow certain best practices so as to curtail the unwarranted use of the internet for personal reasons. Here are some of them:

Clearly Indicate Your Internet Usage Policy

A policy which will shed light on the expected behavior of employees with regard to use of office bandwidth for other purposes should be in place.

Adopt the Practice of Constant Monitoring

It helps to impress upon your employees that they are being constantly watched.. Notifying employees about this will not only build trust but will also enable teams to adhere to the internet usage policy.

Action monitoring options

Another alternative is to install tracking software that provide decision makers with video clippings of all the browsing activities of employees.

Data points such as the amount of time employees spent online along with the online applications they opened can help companies better assess the internet usage during working hours.

Key Takeaways

When it comes to productivity, time and effort are the two important factors. Almost all the corporates face the issue concerning the unwarranted use of the internet for personal communications during office hours.

In an attempt to monitor employees for their internet usage, the above tips can help companies keep a close watch on the productivity of their teams. They can also improve the number of man-hours put in by employees as part of their internet usage monitoring procedure.

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Every internet connection comes with a browsing limit that should suffice for a month. However, there will be times when you lose track of the amount of bytes you are consuming as you are browsing.

You should also know that some websites and devices heavily drain your bytes and bandwidth more than others. For all those who wish to closely monitor their internet data consumption, here are 5 amazing free Windows apps to track internet usage.

1. Bandwidth Monitor

Bandwidth Monitor is a free bandwidth meter for Windows that is compatible with Vista, Windows XP and Windows 7. This simple-to-install and easy-to-configure Windows app shows up real-time data and web output supporting multiple connections and network adapters.

Allowing you to keep a close watch on your network connections, this is a highly-dependable and easy-to-use app that notifies you once you have reached the 90% bandwidth consumption limit.

2. NetBalancer

Tagged as an effective and powerful tool to control and monitor web traffic, NetBalancer allows you to control network traffic.

This app also monitors the entire system including system services, network adapters and processes. Meaning, you can effortlessly monitor WiFi and LAN connection simultaneously, in line with the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.

Compatible with Vista 7 and 8 versions, Windows XP and 2003, this multi-faceted app can help you prioritize/limit a download/upload process.

You can also group local computers into a network and synchronize the traffic. Set global net traffic limits while getting to view the network traffic in system tray. Allowing you to effectively check current connections, this app enables you to keep a close watch on the network speed.

3. NetTraffic

Recognized as an essential monitor of network bandwidth, NetTraffic is a multi-purpose Windows app that provides an array of monitoring statistics.

This multi-lingual freeware allows you to lay hands on the network usage history, providing you with a real-time data rate chart. In addition to being portable, this app supports all the 64-bit and 32-bit Windows PCs.

Along with real time statistics linked to data usage, you can monitor an array of internet statistics including the speed and the link data rate.

You can also monitor the traffic and its usage. This app provides details connected to link throughput along with connection throughput and network interface throughput.

Quota counter is a feature that can be of utmost benefit to users having a limited internet connection. Through this feature, you can view the usage of data limit on your mobile/PC.

4. Net Guard

Net Guard is another multi-purpose freeware that allows you to make the most of the internet speed while closely monitoring the usage of bandwidth. This app can also avoid any malware sapping your bandwidth.

Providing you with a detailed ‘monthly bandwidth usage report’, this app helps you uncover all those unknown programs that are unnecessarily draining your bandwidth. Through its ‘bandwidth usage prediction’ feature it can also help you forecast the bandwidth that you will need in a month.

You can also check out the ‘over-limit notification’ feature that popups a message once you exhaust your bandwidth. Hence this budget-friendly app can save you a lot a money by restricting the overuse of internet. Additionally, the ‘floating window’ feature helps you see real-time usage of your network data.

5. NetworkUsageView

Network Usage View is adifferent app when compared to the above-mentioned network monitoring tools for Windows-enabled PCs.

While this app cannot be called a comprehensive network monitor, this is a network usage viewer that is exclusively meant for PC enabled with Windows-8 and above versions. Through this app, you can view the full information about bandwidth usage pertaining to all the services and apps.

Another significant characteristic of this app is that you can track down users connected to a multi-user environment who are draining your bandwidth quota. You can also monitor the band width usage of a remote computer which can be exported to a CSV file.

Conclusion

All those who are linked to a limited broadband plan should definitely install one of the above-described free Windows apps. Best suited for students who operate with a tight budget and also for others, these 5 freeware options can help them monitor their internet usage.

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Are you looking for a way to connect your mobile to the internet even when you have stepped out of house or travelling?

With the increasing interest of people to always stay connected to the internet, enthusiasts have introduced many options to connect your mobiles to Wifi anywhere on the go.

The only hurdle is to know the optimal way to get free wifi anywhere you. While most of the options are available absolutely free of cost, a few ways are bound with some friendly conditions.

Here we are trying to help you out with this hassle by introducing a list of tested and proven ways to find WiFi anywhere around you.

1. WiFi in local business

First of all, you should have a better idea about your surrounding places. Many local businesses such as shops,restaurants and certain hotel chains around you will be offering free Wifi. So have an idea about such options

2.Phone Tethering

There are options to tether your phone to get internet connectivity. If there is a friend along with you, ask them to tether the internet connection if they don’t mind. Similarly, you can keep your mobile phone prepared with an internet connection so that you can connect your laptop anywhere on the go with a tethering option.

3.WeFi

This is an awesome website that works similar to Google Maps to point out the places where there is a free Wifi. This app automatically connects your mobile to the nearest best available network for free. It works based on the combined resources from many millions of users who have downloaded it.

4. Ask your cable company

Some cable companies will have options to provide free Wifi hotspots all around the town for their exclusive customers. So if you have an internet connection at home, better have a talk with your cable company to know if they are providing any such services.

5. Public WiFi spots

Many places such as railway stations, bus stands, airports, hospitals and parks will have free Wifi options. You can just take a halt at any of these places if you are in need of an urgent internet connection.

6. Browse right websites

If you are looking to pass the time by browsing a few sites, then local paid hotspots can be a good choice. However, this won’t give you access to the whole internet but only a selected sites.

Delta Airlines is such a good example where you can freely browse People magazine, Amazon or the Wall Street Journal on flight mode without spending a hefty sum from your pocket.

7. Use Facebook “Find WiFi”

This is another great option from the most popular social media platform. You can easily see public WiFi near you despite where you are.

Tap on the ‘more’ option after opening Facebook app on your device. There you can access the “Find WiFi” option.

8. Loyalty Programs

Some restaurants or similar hangouts will offer loyalty programs for their customers through which they can access Wifi for free.

However, they might use your email id to send deals, promotions and makes your inbox full. So have a good spam blocker before you go for such option or just keep an alternate id for such loyalty programs.

9. MAC spoofing

If you are technology savvy, you can try for free Wifi through some MAC spoofing. Most of the free Wifi sources have put a limit to the usage for certain minutes or hours. If you can do MAC spoofing, you can overcome this condition and access Wifi far more than the permitted limit.

10. Coupons

Some websites are offering coupon codes for public through which they can get free Wifi minutes for a certain limit. Accessing such coupon codes are a lot easy than you think. So spare some time to keep a directory of such websites and earn free internet.

11. FourSquare

This local search site has a repository of places that offer free Wifi such as cafes, restaurants, bars and transportation hubs. You can access the user updates regarding these places including the Wifi details. You just need to Google for ‘wifi <place> foursquare despite your location.

12. Find hidden networks

Some places that offer Wifi keep that under hidden status due to privacy concerns. These options won’t pop up when you look for Wifi through normal search. But there are many apps that are now available for iOS and Android platforms to trace out even the hidden networks in case you can’t find out any.

13. Join a community

Another option is to join an online community which provides a list of Wi-Fi connections and passwords and you have the privilege of accessing it from a single convenient location. Instabridge is such a community which even offers passwords for secured locations in addition to free locations.

14. Rent Travel WiFi

This is not a free option but you can get value Wifi usage for the money you have spent. Also you will have to adjust the drawbacks such as slow connection speeds, small download limits, unreliable security, and other travellers sharing the signal.

TravelWifi.com is an exception where you can access fast and reliable internet from your pocket without the need for an expensive travel router or a change in the cell phone plan.

15. Hacking

Last but not the least, hacking into any favourite Wifi hot spot can be an option. However, it is illegal and so it is not recommended.

But if you are in danger or a serious situation and you need an internet connection to get some help, you can consider this as an option if everything else fails.

These awesome options can be a great help for Wifi lovers to connect to the world at their finger tips whenever desired.

You may also keep a check list of these options with you to help out your friends who are badly looking for ways to get Wifi outside their house.

With a few tricks and tips on your pocket, finding free WiFi is a lot easy than ever before.

At the same time, just keep a careful check on the fake WiFi options that may tempt you but might land you into trouble.

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Employees are the most valuable asset for any company. The productivity of your workforce decides how successful your business will be.

Your employee’s attendance is closely linked to their productivity. Lets see how the two are connected and what you can do to improve employee attendance.

Why is punctuality important at workplace?

Arriving and leaving on time is closely related to productivity of your workforce. Punctuality is not just the punch- in and punch-out time but also showing up on time for meetings and honoring promised timelines.

Punctuality is a value that must be present in the very culture of your company. Without time – management all your projects will miss the mark because of following problems

1. Quality of Work

You may have noticed the effect an early day has on your productivity. When you start your day on time, you get ample time to prepare your mind, set an agenda for the day and finish tasks on your list.

On the other hand, late arrival at office leads to piled up work, hasty meetings and unfinished tasks. Quality of work suffers when employees are not punctual.

2. Teamwork

Teamwork and collaborative projects suffer when some members are not punctual. Making a team of people work together to achieve common goals is not an easy task.

There is lot of coordination required and dependency on each member when it comes to collaborative projects between different teams. The team needs to work on a common timeline and all actions must be performed like clockwork for projects to succeed. Without punctuality teamwork is hard to achieve.

3. Employee Morale

Punctuality and absenteeism are indicators of employee engagement and employee morale. Late arrival of employees to office or meetings signals lack of motivation in their jobs.

This low morale spreads to other employees as well and can be toxic for your company culture. Your workforce productivity can plummet in such an environment, if appropriate action is not take to address absenteeism.

Ways to improve attendance at work place

So what can you do to improve attendance and lower absenteeism in your office? It is upto to the employer to encourage punctuality and create an environment of discipline.

You also need employee engagement activities to encourage higher attendance.Here are some concrete measures that you can take:

1. Have a Attendance Policy in Place

First and foremost you must have a written attendance policy for the employees. This should be a part of induction of all new joinees and must be made easily available to everyone as an internal resource.

The idea is to make sure that everybody is aware of minimum and maximum attendance expected from employees and the consequences of not meeting it.

Remember to also have policies against overtime and unnecessary late hours. These habits are usually a sign of inefficiency and different times for different teams can create a feeling of injustice. Its best to encourage employees to arrive and leave on time although this does not apply to some industries.

Give a serious thought to the freedom of working hours you want to give in your company. Some companies find it beneficial to give flexible working hours and work from home option to their employees. This will again vary from industry to industry.

Your attendance policy must detail attendance requirement of employees, leave system, leave encashment, absenteeism and disciplinary action for defaulters.

Similarly a formal leave approval system should also be in place. Employees must submit their leave request in advance (except sick leave) and get an approval from their reporting managers.

2. Track Attendance Accurately

An accurate attendance tracking system is important to maintain employee attendance records. This lets the employees know that their attendance is being counted and taken seriously.

There are many technologies available today for attendance tracking. There are biometric systems, web portals, mobile applications with GPS tracking and WiFi attendance tracking to choose from.

A good application will also give attendance reports and integrated leave management system.

With a good attendance tracking system you can get concrete data on employee absenteeism, frequent days of absence, unaccounted leaves, etc.

Advanced technologies like WiFi also allows HR to track exact location in the premise. This means productive hours spent on desk can also be recorded.

Employees with poor attendance record or absenteeism must be dealt with according to the attendance policy.

3. Team Bonding

People are not motivated to come to office just for work. Their projects, bonding with teammates and relation with reporting manager are strong motivators too.

It is the people and environment that give meaning to jobs, so strengthening relations is one of the best ways to improve attendance in your office. People are ready to go the extra mile when their colleagues are also their friends.

Employee bonding can be achieved with team competitions, office trips, team building activities and office parties. You should also make sure that the overall environment of your office is conducive to building friendships.

Things like seating arrangements, hierarchical structure and company policies shape the interactions of a company.

4. Rewards & Recognition

Letting your employees know that you appreciate their timeliness will encourage them to be punctual. You can show this appreciation by giving awards at annual functions or quarterly titles for the most punctual employee.

You may also want to consider giving incentives for meeting deadlines and timely project deliveries if that fits in your compensation program.

Employee Attendance Improvement Plan

If a particular employee’s attendance is in poor shape you should consider implementing an employee attendance improvement plan. This is nothing but an intervention plan to help employees to correct their course and get their attendance up to the mark again.

Any plan must start with a detailed discussion with the employee and understanding their reasons for absenteeism or unaccounted leaves.

Sometimes employees have a genuine problem like a sick spouse, addictions or single parenthood. In this case flexible working options or part- time schedule can be worked out.

Once the problem is known a 30-day plan can be made to evaluate employee productivity and punctuality.Counseling sessions, scheduling assistant and supervisory observation is an important part of employee attendance improvement program.

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

WiFi signals can give you a hard time every now and then. Especially with fluctuating networks combined with the effect of external factors like the weather can get on the nerves. How often do think of a solution beyond restarting the router?

A few places may give very good wifi but others are fully dead when it comes to network. And your aim is to always avoid the weak spots and set up things according to the availability of the wifi.

You can avoid being a slave to your network if you consider having the following solution.

What is a WiFi Analyzer and why you need them?

These are basically softwares that help you point the issues with the network by highlighting the areas of network distress and select the best channels for you to switch on to.

It also helps you find the best place to install your router when the signal strength is uneven.

Wifi analyzers scan all the available networks in your area and gives you a detailed account of each. A few analyzer programs let you create wifi strength heat maps marking the areas of weak network.

The best program comes with a simple interface, easy to use and minimal features to optimize your wifi network.

Have a look at the features of these 10 wifi analyzer app for windows and select the best one for your problem.

1. NetSpot

Availability – MacBook (macOS 10.10+) , Windows 7/8/10

This tool can be used by both – a rookie who has hardly known much about wifi issues and experienced network administrators. The user interface is simple and easy to adapt to.

NetSpot defnitely takes pride in its lavishly designed interface. Not just that but it steals the show when it comes to the features.

It has these two incredibly rich features for wifi scanning.

Discover mode : It presents the velocity of the movement of data from user to internet.

Survey Mode: Allows to create wifi strength heat maps wjich helps you to detect strong and weak signal areas.

It costs $ 49 for a home analyzer tool.

2. InSSIDer

Availability – Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 10

To help you explore your wifi network metageek brings to u InSSIder plus. The program has tools to help you retrieve a visual representati on of the entire wifi network. With this tool at hand it becomes easy to detect problems in the network.

The program is available in three different versions – inSSIDer Office, inSSIDer Office + Wi-Spy Mini, and inSSIDer Office + Wi-Spy DBx. The first edition does not support spectrum analysis of 2.4 GHz frequency. But it offers more reliability , accuracy and enables you to select the best channel for your utilities.

3. WiFi Analyzer

Availability – Windows 10, Windows 10, Mobile

The basic rendition of this app is ad free and this app is purely for home netwok.

The professional version has a beeper for strength of the signal and can connect to a wifi network from the app. It can also immobilize the screen timeout function and possesses live-tile support. This may not be a feature rich analyzer but is great for beginners.

4. Vistumber

Availability – Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista

This one is unique though. It has set goals for other wifi analyzers by adding features like GPS and live Google earth tracking. It scans the area for a wifi network and when one pops up on the radar, provides the user with the exact location, strength, name and the details of the network.

Designed especially for the act of war driving, the tool helps a person in a moving vehicle to find available wifi networks through a laptop or a smartphone. The only put off is an outdated user interface which makes the use of the application tedious.

5. Wireshark

Availability – Windows, Linux, OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD

If you are looking for a pro wifi analyzer for troubleshooting varied communication protocols wireshark is just for you. This is a free open source network protocol analyzer. It’s features span a wide range.

The first choice among analyzers owing to the opn source configuration.

If you are looking to analyze your home wifi network, wireshark is definitely not meant for you. Wireshark users are trained IT experts who undergo a thorough training for using this implement. The only limitation is its restrictive user base.

6. Netcut

Availability – Windows, iOS, Android.

If you are looking for an all in one tool for your laptop and phone, this is the apt solution.

This tool has both network debugging and investigating function. The tool is meant for professionals to analyze the IP addresses on network.

The most incredible feature of this tool is that it allows you to remove users from your wifi network even when you have no physical access to your router. Thanks to the ARP protocol function, you can manage the bandwidth and prevent trespassers from exploiting your network.

Not only does it help reduction in network hooliganism but also cut down the interferences and enhances router performance.

7. WiFi Analyzer Tool

Availability – Windows 7/8

It helps you find overlapping networks with the aid of a spectrum chart. You now know which is the best channel you need to switch your router to.

This tool is not meant for professional users or commercial arenas. A simple tool to point out the glitch and help you correct the anomalies of your home network.

It shows historical data graphs to help you understand the fluctuations in the signal.

The app is available for an affordable price of $4.95 for home necessities.

8. Speed Test master

Not all of us are looking for a feature packed wifi analyzer program. Sometimes users require just the knowledge of what the issue is.

Speed test master is for such users who are looking for point blank details. It scans the speed of the network and downloads and upload speeds. It also analyzes the networks in the proximity.

The analysis is swift and easy. All the tests will be saved in case you need to revisit the results in future.

9. WiFi commander

Availability – windows 10 only.

The draws the graphical representation of signal strength in real time. This lets you select the best network on the basis of fresh data.

The user interface is a high standard 3D graphics illustration. This could be fun for specially those users who have a touch-screen laptop. This brings in the engagement factor and adds a sophistication element.

There are no embedded ads and hence the program is light and simple.

10. GlassWire

For starters we are greeted with a user interface which is easy on the eyes. Basic functions include channel search and network enhancement. In addition to these, this program will acquire details of communications between your PC and other IP addresses.

All the data that is being exchanges and the apps working on it are precisely revealed. If you desire to block any of these exchange, for security reasons, you may very well do it with this tool.

The basic version is available for $39 with additional updates which can be made on premium packages.

The premium features include lockdown mode and 6 month history of data.

Final Thought

The above given wifi analyzers work just fine with their compatible devices. Whether you are a professional or just a normal internet user looking for the right solution to his wifi problem, the tools have been listed.

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Wifi Attendance Super Admin

Be it at the gym and local coffee shops, you can find WiFi networks everywhere today. While it is great of convenience, you’ll need to take out time to secure it by setting a network password.

If you do not have a strong password and leave your connection open, you are prone to malicious attacks and your neighbors could be leeching off the internet you get billed for.

A WiFi password can be set by anyone in a few simple steps. Having a wifi password will save you from countless headaches down the road.

Take a look at the step-by-step guide below to understand how you can set a password and make your WiFi safe and secure:

1. Access your wireless router

This is where you need to start. If you have the setup disc for your router, use it to access your router. In case the disc is not available, you can access the router remotely over the internet.

Enter the router access URL into your web browser. The most common URLs are 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, and 192.168.2.1.

It is advised that you use the computer connected to the router with an Ethernet cable to access the router. If you try and do it over WiFi, you will be instantly logged out after you change the settings. You will need to reconnect and log in to the network for further use and adjustments.
The username and password for factory setting routers is ‘admin’. In case this is not accepted, enter admin in one of the fields and leave the other one blank.
If you have altered the username or password in the past and cannot remember the same, just long press the reset button on your router to reset to default settings.

If you cannot access the router using any of the guidelines mentioned above, search for your router model online and get specific steps.

2. Go to Wireless Security Settings

Once you have logged in to access your router, you need to visit the tab for “Wireless Settings” or “Security Settings”. The positioning and nomenclature of the labels will vary from one router to another.

3. Choose an encryption type

There are several security options to choose from. The typical settings that you will see for most routers include WEP, WPA2-PSK, or WPA-PSK (Personal).

The WPA2 option is most secure for wireless connections and should be your choice. You may not be able to choose this option if you are using an older router.

Furthermore, if you will be connecting multiple devices and some of them are older router versions, you will not be able to choose and connect to a network that uses WPA2.

4. Select AES algorithms with WPA2-Personal

Once you have selected WPA2 as the Security option, you could be asked to select the type of WPA encryption. If the option exists, select AES as the encryption algorithm.

AES, also known as Advanced Encryption Standard is the most secure algorithm for wireless encryption. Certain routers may also give you the TKIP option, however, that is older and less secure.

5. Set your username and password

The screen in front of you will show fields for SSID and passphrase. SSID is the name of the network, commonly known as the username while the passphrase is the password that you will need to enter on all devices trying to connect to the network.

Remember to choose a strong password. This must be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. If the password is easy to crack, you will not be able to keep yourself safe from hackers.

Some online websites can help you choose a strong password for solid protection. Use them if you need to.

6. Save and Refresh

Click on the Apply or Save button to change your Wireless Security settings successfully. Most routers of today’s generation will refresh automatically and all devices that were earlier connected to the network will be disconnected until the new password is used to sign in.

For routers that do not automatically refresh to the new settings, manually turn off the router and wait for 10 seconds before you turn it on again. It will take some time to boot. You can notice the lights to see when your router has successfully refreshed to new settings.
Enter the new login username and password to all devices that regularly connect to your Wi-Fi network. Make sure you take a note of the password so that there are no chances of confusion in future.

To sum it up

To keep your WiFi network secure for long, it is advised that you change your password every 6 months. Here’s a quick summary of the steps you need to follow:

Log in to your wireless router
Select the Wireless Security settings tab
Open the section for Passwords
Choose WPA2 and AES for encryption settings
Enter a new password and click on Save or Apply