FAQs about Advanced Security in Ignite HomeConnect

When enabled, Advanced Security in Ignite HomeConnect continuously monitors your home network to automatically block suspicious activity and inform you of potential security concerns, plus presents options to address them. Advanced Security analyzes activity sent through your Ignite WiFi Gateway modem and can complement traditional antivirus software with intelligent cyberthreat protection for all your connected devices. There’s no additional hardware or software to install.

Here’s a breakdown of the key features of Advanced Security:

Monitor: Advanced Security monitors for virtual intrusions from websites containing malware/spyware/bots/phishing, as well as unauthorized remote access attempts to your smart devices from hackers in real-time. All devices connected to your home network are covered, including computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, as well as other internet-enabled consumer electronics like TVs and stereos, and smart home devices like thermostats, cameras, bulbs and switches.

Block: Advanced Security uses Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to monitor and analyze WiFi traffic, and will automatically block suspicious activity in real time. It can prevent you from inadvertently visiting malicious sites and becoming a victim of phishing attacks. It can also block unauthorized access attempts from open ports, any suspicious device activity on your smart home devices and attempts for targeted network attacks like a denial of service.

Inform: Advanced Security alerts you when devices are behaving in unusual ways that could indicate a network threat and allows you to review a list of digital security-related actions from the past 7 days on the Security dashboard in the Ignite HomeConnect App. You can also choose to allow access for certain blocked activities, which temporarily overrides the block.

Here’s an overview of the different types of threats that the Advanced Security feature will help prevent:

• Unauthorized Access Attempts
• Suspicious Site Visits
• Suspicious Device Activity
• Targeted Network Attacks
• IP Reputation Threats

When Advanced Security is enabled, you can be notified in the following ways:

Overview tab:

Near the top of the Overview screen in the Ignite HomeConnect app you will find the network status for your Gateway modem. Urgent issues like Unauthorized Access Attempts, Suspicious Device Activity or Targeted Network Attacks will be flagged in this status message along with a link to View affected devices.

Home tab:

In the Home tab, you can select Advanced Security to view a list of any devices for which a threat has been detected in the past 7 days. Simply select a device to view more details or take action. Some threats like Suspicious Site Visits won’t require any action, but you will still find them detailed here.

Push notifications:

Follow the steps below to turn on push notifications to your device for urgent threats like Unauthorized Access Attempts, Suspicious Device Activity and Targeted Network Attacks.

1. In the Ignite HomeConnect app, go to the Account tab.
2. Under Notifications, select Preferences.
3. Select Push Notifications to manage your notification preferences.
4. To enable Advanced Security notifications, select the checkbox next to Network Activity.

Note: Email and text notifications aren’t available at this time.

Select the notification to view details about the threat, including options or tips that can help you fix it. Depending on the threat, the tips may include the following :

Quarantine your device

If one of your devices has been compromised, you can use Ignite HomeConnect app to pause its access to or disconnect it from your home WiFi network. This will keep it from endangering other devices connected to your network.

Update your software

When your device’s software or firmware is up to date, you have the latest security updates. Use the update feature usually found in your device’s settings or check with the device manufacturer.

Restart your device

After updating your device’s software, make sure it restarts. This will complete the update and stop any existing communication with malicious sites.

Check your port forwards

Open ports on your home WiFi network give potential access to malicious attackers. Ensure your port forwards are set up correctly for your devices. Learn more about port forwards and how to set them up using Ignite HomeConnect.

Disable DMZ

Enabling DMZ (a demilitarized zone) may resolve a device communication issue, but it’s a security risk. If a device needs to be accessible by outside sources, we recommend using port forwarding instead. You can disable DMZ by going to the WiFi tab in the Ignite HomeConnect app, selecting View WiFi equipment, and then Advanced Settings. Next, select DMZ and then Edit to access the setting. Deselect the checkbox next to Enabled, and select Apply Changes.

For your protection, Advanced Security may block your access and prevent you from visiting a legitimate website or service. If you’re sure that a website or service is safe and you want to allow access, you can override Advanced Security allowing access for 1 hour. To do this, select Advanced Security from the Home tab in the Ignite HomeConnect app and follow the instructions. If you want to allow access for more than 1 hour, disable Advanced Security in the Ignite HomeConnect app. If you want to continue using Advanced Security and need ongoing access to the blocked item, contact us.

This depends on the following:

• The number and type of devices connected to your home network
• The settings you’ve customized for your network, including the security mode and port forwards
• If you have open ports on your network; online gamers are more likely to encounter threats as they are more likely to have open ports

However, despite your home WiFi network’s devices and settings, it’s not uncommon to have no threats one week, then one to three threats the next week. Advanced Security will actively monitor for these threats, block them, and keep you informed. 

In some cases, the feature will allow access to a site (or app) and will only block part of the page from loading (e.g., a banner ad) that is considered potentially dangerous. In that scenario, blocked content will not be seen while browsing, but you’ll still be sent a notification notifying you that the website connected to that piece of content (e.g., the banner ad) was blocked.

If you enabled the feature, the network status message near the top of the Overview tab of the Ignite HomeConnect app will not only indicate if your Gateway modem is online, it will also note if it is secure or if there are threats that need attention.

You can also check the Connect tab to confirm that Advanced Security is enabled.

A lack of threat notifications is likely due to a low number of devices connected to your home network, as well as factors like the security settings you’ve configured for your network. 

You may have to enable the feature again after setting up your new modem, or setting up your existing modem at your new address. Simply follow the instructions here to turn on Advanced Security.