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In the last year there have been so many vulnerabilities that have required updates to the operating systems on our mobile devices and computers. One related to a vulnerability that could result in our home routers being hacked.

So, how do you know if your router was impacted?  How would you know if hackers gained access to your own home's device? And what could happen if your router has, in fact, been hacked?

Well, it has been a long, painful road - one that is not quite ended yet.

But it looks like we are almost there.  

We now have NBN installed at the iTandCoffee shop.  It is a cable connection through Telstra, and the speeds that we now get are sooooo much better than before.

It took 7 months from order to installation.  It was supposed to be completed by the start of March this year. 

From the first appointment when no-one from NBN turned up, to the second when the technician turned up well after the arranged time and couldn't complete the job, through the subsequent 3 months of postponed appointments, each month without explanation.

Finally, we had technicians turn up in the second-last week of June.  

These technicians seemed to have no awareness of the problem that had prevented the install in March, so came unprepared and had to come back a second, then third day!  

We had thought that we were finally getting our installation earlier in June, when an NBN team was digging up the concrete outside the shop and installed a box on the wall.  Alas, it was not ours - it was our neighbour's.

So the concrete had to be dug up a few weeks later for our own connection.  

When I asked the technician why the two addresses were not done in one go (as one would have thought would be the most sensible, cost effective approach), I was told that it was must have been because I didn't have my order in early enough!

Visible smoke came out ears at these words!  The poor technicians who must face frustrated customers like me.  

What concerns me (and I know also concerns others I speak to) is the waste of money from the repeated mis-communication and poor co-oridination.  

I hear stories like my own from so many other clients and subscribers.

Do you have your own NBN story?  And, if you have NBN, is it better or worse that your old internet connection?

I am happy to report that the speed of the iTandCoffee Shop's NBN internet connection is MUCH better than it was - downloads are about 7-8 time faster than our ADSL connection, and uploads are about 30-40 times faster.

Fingers crossed that this continues.

Chris K has visited iTandCoffee over the past couple of weeks to discuss travelling with her technology.  We have discussed her options for phone, SMS and internet while travelling overseas this month.

The option that best meets Chris's needs is to purchase and set up a TravelSim (which she will get from a Post Shop) for her iPhone.  

Travelsim currently offers 1GB of mobile data with any activation (valid for activations before 16/7/17).  (This data allowance expires 30 days after activation.)

While 1GB is not a huge amount of data for 30 days, it certainly will give her enough to allow her to regularly check her email, look up maps, and do a bit of Googling when she does not have access to Wi-Fi.

Chris will also take her iPad mini. She wants to be able to manage her emails and look up websites using the larger screen offered by that device (instead of always using her iPhone 6).

Rather than buy another SIM for her iPad, I have suggested that she utilise the data allowance of her iPhone's TravelSim when accessing the internet on her iPad.

She can do this by enabling her Personal Hotspot on her iPhone, and connecting to this Personal Hotspot from Settings->Wi-Fi on her iPad.

Find out more about using a Personal Hotspot in the below Handy Hint for iTandCoffee Club members.

• ​Use your Personal Hotspot to provide mobile data to your Wi-Fi only device

iTandCoffee is presenting at local primary schools during term 2 of 2017, talking to parents about the topic of "Keeping Kids Safe on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch".

One of the questions that so often comes up during these sessions is whether there is a way to centrally control internet access to each and every device that is on the household Wi-Fi network.

The answer is:  There is!

I wrote an article on this topic over a year ago, where I described the device that we have installed in our own home - one that blocks 'Adult Content' for all devices in the house, and that 'switches off' the internet ever night between 10pm and 6am.  

We have set exceptions for our own (parent) devices, but all the kids' devices are subject to the router-level controls.  I have an app on my computer and my iPhone that allows me to adjust controls as needed, and even completely BLOCK certain devices.  I can even choose to turn off social media sites at certain times of day!

Here is the article, including the details of the device that we use.

•  All power to the mother!  How I took control of our internet.

​iTandCoffee can help with setup of a device such as this.  Just call 1300 885 420 to make an appointment.

iTandCoffee is offering free sessions on this topic to all local primary schools (within 10 kms of iTandCoffee's shop in Glen Iris), for sessions booked during term two of 2017.

Find out more about these free sessions and register your interest here »