If you think, WiFi is just a bunch of radio waves exclusively meant for providing internet access, you are wrong.

If they have the power to retrieve information from another corner of the world, imagine what they could achieve in the residing premises.

If wireless media transfer was the dawn of the space age technology, IoT was the sun that brightened our day. All what made all this possible? WiFi indeed!

So would you still consider it a pompous conjecture that WiFi has more tricks up it’s sleeve?

If so, we have something that might clear the air!

A study co-authored by professor Yingying (Jennifer) Chen from the Rutger’s university claims to have prototyped a detection system which uses WiFi to sense bombs and weapons.

How does it work?

Rutger’s university researchers recently claimed the use of WiFi in detection of bombs and weapons. The existing WiFi networks instead of being used for browsing internet can be used to detect bombs, chemical explosives and guns in a large area.

People passing through the receptors will be scanned and any suspicious objects detected will be shown on the system in the form of an alert.

So what exactly is the knack of this technology?

We are aware that weapons and bombs are mainly made of materials like metal and liquid. The meddling of WiFi specifically with these materials is what does the trick.

The baggage used to carry these materials are usually made of materials like fibre, cloth etc which the WiFi can easily penetrate.

WiFi signals pierce into sealed packages and items scanning the vitals of the metal objects. In addition it can also retrieve the volume of liquid.

Researchers have tested the method using 15 kinds of objects and 6 types of bags which has led them to accomplish a result with 99% accuracy in distinguishing dangerous materials from non dangerous. Accuracy with metals was found to be 98 percent and that of liquids was 95.

So far the method has assured 95% accuracy.  But the accuracy rates have been found to drop to upto 90% when the objects inside the bags are wrapped. But the drop can be compensated for by doing some tweaks to the existing implement.

Required infrastructure and mode of working

The system typically requires a WiFi network integrated with transmitting and receiving antennas. The signal enters the interiors of the sealed object, scans the entire containment and bounces of giving an exact picture of what comprises the bag or package.

Advantage

Usual checking procedures follow hardened methods of going through people’s baggage and needs them to concede to physical detector scans. The novel improvement in the detection system will not invade public privacy in any way.

The checking procedure is less demanding and evokes absolutely no panic. We can call it a low-key way of checking.  No need to physically open bags and check them. No extra man power required for the purpose of ensuring safety

As compared to individual screening, WiFi can scan more packages than usual detecting systems and that too in a smaller window of time.

We know for a fact that in places with tight security a special expensive infrastructure is required to be erected to ensure protection. It is not always possible to implement it in public places. WiFi routers are easy to set up and occupy a significantly lesser space.

Now that we know the technology uses off-the-shelf WiFi devices to function, the system would naturally lead to Lowering the cost of the entire cost set-up. The researchers have estimated the technology will cost, not more than a $100.

Applications

This is definitely a cost effective solution to the entryway check up procedures which otherwise uses x-ray and other expensive implements.

When the crowd is huge, this technology can be attached to motorized cars and scan the area as it moves.

Conclusions

The researchers are sure that the WiFi based weapon detection technology will replace much manpower from areas like airports, stadiums, malls and other public places.

It is not one hundred percent sure as of yet if the technology could be a promising substitute for the intensive radio wave powered detection instruments. But it will definitely enhance the security at places which demand high protection and alert.

We are talking about technical evolutions taking man to space, but are skeptical to take a step towards the cloud.

Well here we only mean the cloud computing services – to be precise!

Given the complexity of the current attendance and productivity profiling methods, it is definitely a setback for the ninjas of the business who haven’t opted for a virtual and a self upgrading database yet.

A large number of businesses which have switched to cloud are already experiencing ramped up revenue in comparison to the competitors who haven’t.

If all the rant you have been hearing about how the service helps enhance efficiency and accuracy is not enough to convince you, we’ll break it down for you a little more in detail.

wifi attendance

1. No Software installation required

It comes as no surprise that cloud based programs can be directly accessed through any authorized desktop devices.

The purpose of saying “authorized” here is to highlight the fact that employers can restrict the attendance activities to certain PCs inside the office premises.

No loop holes that lead to fraudulent activities!

Also, a rather new approach to disaster proofing your records! Being web applications they naturally do not demand any room on the system of the user.  There is absolutely no need to go through the process of download and installation to clock in and out.

2. No proprietary hardware or infrastructure required

Many clocking devices as you know them are a hardware installed at office entry points. They run on principles ranging anywhere between biometric scans to proximal contact RFID cards.

Such devices not only call for installation costs but also demand constant maintenance. But when you switch them with a network based attendance system, it not only saves you the financial investment but also raises the productivity metrics.

How is that true?

Hardware based systems can only keep you updated on the in and out time of the employee, while most cloud based systems have a comprehensive roster of features making them more reliable and efficient.

3. System administration

You can’t afford to not think of having a task force in place for managing and maintaining all you technical implements.

But with all your data now resting in cloud architecture, it is rest assured that the role of an IT department is peacefully ruled out when it comes to managing employee attendance information.

4. Security

For starters this is a network administered storage space undergoing overnight backup and hardening, and is least vulnerable to system failures.

When it comes to cybercrime threats like ransom-ware, data theft and computer hacking, the argument definitely goes in the favor of cloud computing. The reason being highly robust counteractive protocols put in place to fight potential breach detection.

Cloud computing systems prioritize on analyzing business risks rather than scanning susceptible systems for identifying intrusion point.

Data loss in case of system failure or crash is the last thing you need to worry about as the data is redundantly backed up on multiple servers. And of course these are virtual servers, not prone to the mishaps of internal crisis.

attendance app

5. Auto updates

Cloud service providers manage the backend infrastructure all by themselves leaving you with ample amount of time to focus on other priorities.

Software and UI updates occur by itself on cloud with you not having to spend a single penny on it. You would rather concentrate your IT resources over a more innovative production appliance rather than exhausting them over petty issues of system updates. At least not in the era when you have a full proof solution to avoid these obstacles!

6. Ubiquitous and On-demand access

As it stands, all you need to access data of a cloud based system is internet connection. In the face of overwhelming odds that might cause you to be away and not in premises, there could be a situation where in accessing certain clocking records may arise.

Having round the clock accessibility to records might prove to be a blessing in such cases.

7. Zero servers cost

Speaking of a server based data storage, you can expect zero expenses which rise as a result of technical issues. We know for a fact that cloud computing services deploy remote resources for the purpose of data storage.

That means a complete annulment of server cost. Unlike physical servers which could give you a run for the money, cloud computing uses virtual servers. These are cost effective and save a lot on business capital.

 8. Rise in productivity

Presuming your current attendance system is a contemporary mode involving manual interpretations for payroll calculations, the outcome is bound to suffer delays due to the human factor.

On the other hand, think about a system with real time analytical capabilities. It would downright reduce the burden of all clerical tasks and speed up the process.

Conclusion

Attendance management generically is a tedious task.

With the integrated functions of man-hour estimation and operational efficiency parameters, it definitely calls for a more flexible and a judicious mechanism.

Unlike other records which involve major availability and security issues, businesses can count on cloud to for a more faithful and unassailable data keeping.

In the words of Evgeny Morozov( author and technology skeptic)- “Cloud computing is a great euphemism for centralization of computer services under one server.”

More so, the people who have already embraced the tech have claimed a better functioning of business, enhanced services for their clients and ultimately higher profit margins.

What if you could see through walls? We are not talking about a sci-fi technology in future but a reality that is possible today.Scientists in MIT have figured out a way to photograph a room without entering it and even detect movement behind solid walls.  This is made possible using radio waves that are used by WiFi. This technology is also called WiVi Technology.

How does WiVi Work?

We are always immersed in a sea of radio waves around us. These are transmitted by network towers, WiFi routers and our own mobile devices.

The team of scientist at CSAIL (Computer Science  and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory)  have used these radio waves to detect human movement behind walls.

Manager App

The antennae receive radio waves that bounce back from objects and humans in a room. Since radio waves can pass through walls, the receiver can pick up reflections from another room too.

The way these WiFi signals bounce off a moving target are different and hence it was possible to detect human movement.

Next the scientist taught a computer to learn what each kind of radio signal meant.  For this they had to train a neural network how the radio signals bounced off different parts of the the body and translate it into 14 key points like the head, elbow , shoulders, knees etc. This way the computer was able to display a skeletal animation of a person moving behind a wall.

This only allows 2D imaging with movements currently. The technology is expected to get better as AI is trained on better data sets and radio signal detection improves.

Currently scientists were able to detect not just the movements but also the people who were moving behind walls. This was done by mapping the postures and walking styles to each person. The computer was able to identify the persons correctly 83% of the time with wivi-technology.

Another remarkable work with WiFi imaging was done by a student at Technical University of Munich. Philipp Holl came up with a way to make a 3D representation of a room and all the objects inside of it, all from outside of the room!

This is done by detecting the WiFi transmission in a room. Routers emit WiFi signal and some of which bounces off objects in our house.

The technology uses these scattered waves to map the room. Two antennas – one static (also known as reference antennae) and another moving (called the scanning antennae) pick up the intensity and phase of WiFi signal. By stacking the 2D images received from these two antennas, computers are able to build a 3D picture of a room.

Remember that this technology does not require you to emit any WiFi signals. It can work very well with the radio waves already bouncing off the objects in a room. And since radio waves penetrate most objects it is possible to see a room even if you are outside of it.

Read Also : 15 Best WiFi Routers For 2020

With advancement of technology it will be even possible to map out a whole building using drones. Currently the resolution of picture is not very clear and the computers have problem photographing any object less than 4cm.

Applications

So what are the applications of this technology? An obvious use is in security and crime prevention. With the help of wivi-technology, police and law enforcement could see through walls in a critical situation like hostage and hijack.

Commercial buildings like offices and malls can also monitor the movements throughout the building using this technology.

Emergency services like fire fighters could see persons trapped in a building on fire. Victims of earthquake can also be found under the rubble with the help of WiFi signals.

Perhaps the most commercially profitable application could be in healthcare. Data on daily movements and activities of patients is important information for caretakers.

This will give doctors more data to treat patients of neuro-degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Unlike a visual camera, wivi-technology will only capture required movements and leave out the private details of the patient’s life.

Privacy concerns

Of course anything that can see through the walls of your home will spark privacy concerns. Governments and big corporations have been caught spying on the daily lives of common people far too often in the past few years.

The worrying thing is that this method of spying does not even require the spying party to install any device in your home. They can simply pick up on the scattered radio waves of your own WiFI and map your entire house.

Of course right now the technology is in its early development and a lot of advancement is required before it can spy on people for any practical purposes.

wifi attendance

The onus remains on the companies and governments to use this technology ethically. Unfortunately, they have given us little reason to trust them with our privacy.

Tracking time during a project is probably the most important aspect of project management. Time aligns productivity, efficiency, and quality of your project.

If you have been confused about the importance of time tracking in project management, this article will resolve those confusions for good.

Here are all the reasons you should utilize time tracking in your project management.

1. Differentiation of essential and non-essential tasks

During a project, time becomes a limited asset. You need to track and plan a systematic expense of time to ensure the desired productivity. It will help you differentiate essential and non-essential tasks.

2. Successful goal achievement

Tracking time keeps you aware of the deadlines of a project. You can increase the pace from time to time and ensure the successful achievement of desired goals.

At the same time, you can re-define your estimated time of completion in accordance with the desired goals. In many situations, goals are modified to match the project’s time frame. It all helps in balancing a project to its maximum success.

3. Estimation of upcoming tasks

Tracked time reports become a collection of insights for future work. A project manager can use the time-related reports from the previous task to estimate a suitable completion time for an upcoming task. Constant practice improves the efficiency of the team members, and they promise and deliver their work on time.

4. Smooth daily routines

Without time tracking, every day starts with confusions. Team members begin each day, trying to figure out how to start their work and what goals to achieve. This also presents the issues of procrastination in the team members.

On the other hand, time tracking helps in designing set routines. The project manager doesn’t have to communicate the tasks every day, Team members know what to do and know in how much time they have to do it. Hence, no chances of procrastination occur in your team.

5. Making projects profitable for the company

Some companies charge for whole projects, while others charge with hourly basis. For both types, tracking the time is extremely important to ensure profits.

If a team works on an hourly basis, time tracking helps in adjusting the rate of work. This way, your team can ensure fair payments for the quality and amount of work delivered.

At the same time, complete project completion also requires time tracking. If you get paid for the whole project, time tracking helps in deciding the overall profitable time period of project completion.

You can compare the payments given to employees for a particular time period with the payments received for the project. Hence, you can track time to ensure the profitability at the end of the project.

6. To obtain help when necessary

Time tracking data helps in presenting evidence that you require more resources. If the project seems to require more resources, the project manager can show the tracked time data and ask for help.

This way, business leaders see the challenges and become compelled to increase the resources as per the requirement.

7. Client satisfaction

In any industry or business model, client satisfaction matters the most. And your client feels satisfied when you deliver quality product without delaying the delivery time.

Tracking your time keeps your delivery dates and product quality in check. You can change the pace of work and get more resources to match the delivery deadlines and required quality. Hence, your clients feel satisfied with the results you offer.

8. Ability to appreciate the performance of team members

Time tracking offers a great benefit of acknowledging the performance offered by employees. A project manager can identify the talents and working capacities of team members.

With that insight, the project manager can advocate a raise for deserving employees. Plus, the manager also knows which team members are suitable for upcoming tasks.

9. Convenient reporting

Project management reports become more compelling and useful with time tracking metrics. Company leaders get to see the growth of a project with time and its on-time completion.

Daily, weekly and monthly time tracking statistics also help in predicting the success rate of a project. At the same time, higher authorities become aware of the time frames required to complete a project. With that, they can promise suitable project completion time period to clients in future.

Thanks to advanced time tracking software and tools, project management has become extremely simple. All smart managers are utilizing time tracking software systems in project management.

Hopefully, these reasons have made time tracking importance clear to you. Find a reliable tool with effective features.

Employee management impacts almost every function of an organization. Which is why there are thousands of time tracking software options available in the market.

A time tracking software is more than a simple assessment of employees’ time of coming and leaving the office. Modern-age time tracking software provides unique features with incredible benefits for a company.

When you find a software for your business, think about following essential features and their benefits:

wifi attendance

1. Versatile Timesheets

Timesheets provide a centralized presentation of billable hours. You can call it attendance reports, as they include information related to holidays, time-offs and absence of employees.

Benefits: Not all software providers offer timesheets. But they are effective in managing the payroll and invoicing. With timesheet feature, you can export CSV, PDF and other formats of billable hours and prepare invoices conveniently.

2. Project Management

In companies, a project management system requires time tracking features as well. Which is why smart software providers include essential project management features in their time tracking software as well.

For instance, such a software can allow team leaders of a project to set deadlines, assign tasks to the present employees. Similarly, features include tracking the progress of a project in terms of daily tasks, weekly goals, and monthly achievements.

Benefits: Tracking time of a project saves from wasting too much money on the same project. Projects with restricted budgets require on-time completion, hence, such a software seems logical.

3. Time Tracking

This core feature is essential in all time tracking software tools. The tool should be able to capture worked hours accurately and create an easy-to-understand record of it.

Benefits: With time tracking, project managers and company leaders can monitor the project completion periods and track the performance capacity of employees at the same time.

In fact, the records of previous projects help in estimating the deadlines for an upcoming project as well. The records of worked hours help in deciding a project strategy.

4. Online Invoicing

Online invoicing allows you to bill clients as per hourly and minute basis. The accurate time tracking and automated bill generation become possible with this feature.

All the process of billing takes place transparently without any human errors. Employees simply enter their “in/out” time and the payroll system receives the date from the time tracking software.

Benefits: The automation of the process saves from time-taking efforts of bill generation. The transparency saves from unwanted disputes regarding the bills and payments.

attendance app

5. User Management

User management feature involves the creation of teams, departments or working groups. Then, the management feature assists in managing those groups as users.

Team-focused reports get generated, which are shareable with other authoritative individuals. User types include admin, a manager or a staff, which defines the type of accessibility.

Benefits: With group management, each team leader can get the best-suited report associated with the performance of the team members.

Well-designated reports make quick analysis of teams easier for business leaders and help in modifying the productivity of the overall functionality.

6. Notifications

Notification feature assists in creating alerts in important situations. For instance, an employee can get a reminder whenever he or she misses to check in/out.

Team members can get regular notifications regarding the upcoming project deadlines. These notifications are automatically distributed to employee emails or mobile phone numbers.

Benefits: Keeping employees disciplined and helping them with the project deadlines become easier. Reminders allow employees to perform with the motivation to complete the tasks at hand as efficiently as possible.

7. Analytics and Reporting

The visibility and understanding of data are essential for any software. Hence, a time tracking tool has to provide a comprehensive analytics including all the relatable data.

The view of the data should be easy-to-understand. Plus, the managers should have the features to generate reports with graphs, charts, and other visualized elements. Reliable software and tools come with customizable analytics and reporting features.

Benefits: Reliable analytics and reporting features help attaining daily and weekly stats and generate visualized reports. Custom reports align the software with the company goals regarding time tracking and project management.

8. Ability to Integrate

As mentioned before, a time tracking software impacts almost every department of a company. Hence, the software should provide the ability to integrate with other systems utilized in a modern-age working environment.

Benefits: Integration of time tracking with other software and tools offers better control over employee management and project.

Company leaders can obtain broad insights and look at a huge picture of performance and productivity. As a result, a company can align employee performance, payments, accounting, projects altogether.

Apart from all the above-mentioned features, you can also look for features such as lightweight design, free trial, and others.

Now, you know all the essential features of a time tracking software. Evaluate potential software providers with respect to these features and choose a reliable option.

 

Ever introspected how much the outdated systems are costing you and your business?

If ever asked, any HR manager would invariably mention the payroll processing in the list of their most despised tasks.

In today’s era if we have not automated the task of time keeping we are undoubtedly lagging the race.

Employee attendance management is no less than a laborious form of computation. No doubt it is easy, but the results are affected by a lot of deviations in shifts and scheduling.

Having software in place for this process will not only maximize efficiency but also eliminate potential errors caused by distractions of humans.

If you are still not convinced by the gravity of the matter, have a look at the roster of benefits that can be enjoyed with a web based time clock app at your disposal.

wifi attendance

1. Prevents time theft

Prevents the employees from committing unfair attendance practices like buddy punching. In a cloud based attendance system there is no room for time theft.

2. Easy and flexible

Web based time clock apps provide users the comfort of punching in using personal mobile devices. There is no need of a special hardware device to for attendance.

3. Lowers the strain on HR department

Every time an employee needs a leave or has any enquiry about the remaining number of compensatory offs, he would approach the HR for the details.

With the introduction of this software the HR is ruled out from the picture. Employees can have direct access to their time sheets and activity trackers. This will help them tweak their planning of work and vacation.

4. Exhaustive account of employee performance

Managers might need to access employee time cards for monitoring employee performances. This is a major parameter while employee productivity and contributions are assessed for the purpose of hikes and increments.

Using web based time clock apps, an elaborate account of activities can be generated. The report showing a breakdown of man hours for each task is created for the employer to carry out a rightful examination at the time of appraisals.

5. Integrated Functions and facilities

Not only attendance, but other a web based time keeping app is a collective interface enveloping other features like leave management, over time, yearly calendar, PTOs.

Many apps have a feature of sending customized alerts to the employees when their timings are not aligned with the shifts.

A major advantage of a cloud based system is it can store records from any number of facilities and warehouses that belong to a business. You need not have a separate time keeping implement for each premise.

attendance app

6. Highly accurate

Accuracy is the main objective we look to accomplish when we resort to technology. Web based time tracking software turns out to be a boon during audits and payroll calculations. Imagine all the manual calculations with a paper based attendance record.

With the introduction of cloud based systems it becomes a breeze to manage all employee related data like productivity, overtime, man hour calculations etc.

The system is complicit to accurately measure the productivity and will save you the trouble of dealing with losses due to time theft and unproductive premise hours.

7. Easy maintenance

Cloud based time tracking systems do not face troubleshooting, upgrades and update issues. Hence it is much easier for the IT department to maintain the data and manage the system.

8. Profitable

No better implement that can give you a cost effective solution to the tedious process of managing employee information.

Considering the cost of installing and maintaining an employee attendance tracking hardware, this application seems very much viable and agile.

All you need to do is install the central management system and feed employee data. The information will be auto mapped once the subjective mobile devices are connected to the system over the network. Thus the need of employing a separate hardware is dropped.

9. Round the clock record retrieval

The HR, managers or any other authorized officer can access the details of employees for the purpose of payroll calculation, performance monitoring as and when they desire. The details of the monthly activity and daily working hours can be easily fetched once all data is saved on cloud.

10. Secure

Count on the cloud based server for data protection in case of crisis or any other natural disasters. The imminent issues of power failures and calamities are inevitable but we do have the power to disaster proof and secure our records from them.

Cloud based systems have a strong armor against all the odds including system crashes and hacking as they undergo nightly backup and hardening procedures.

11. Environment friendly

The amount of paper produced each year in the world is figure running at a lightning fast speed. The demand is said to double by the year 2030.

You can only imagine how much you could save the environment if you switched to paperless means of employee management. A web based time clock system could be your step one.

Would it really be worth choosing a manual time tracking methodology at the cost of the 10 practical parameters we just assessed?

Human operated systems are tedious, time consuming and prone to errors. While time clocks are flexible, secure and can be easily scaled up with growing employee numbers.

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.

Read Also: How WiFi Attendance Makes HR Manager’s Job Simple

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.

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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.

Read Also: Tips To Attract The Perfect Employee

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.

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.

Read Also: 15 Tips For HR Managers To Create A Sustainable Company Culture

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.

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.

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.

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

wifi attendance

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.

attendance app

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.