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Internet Safety


Here is a collection of parent resources for kids' internet safety. These guides feature what children do online, the threat of online strangers, & how to ensure a healthy balance between Internet use, your children’s online privacy, digital security, and more.

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/safe-online-surfing
https://sos.fbi.gov/en/
https://www2.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
https://www.mastersindatascience.org/resources/parents-guide-to-keep-kids-safe-online/
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/07/22/kids-online-health-safety-task-force-announces-recommendations-best-practices-safe-internet-use.html


Miscellaneous Links



How to check your cable modem signal levels (copy & paste these links)

  • If you have a Motorola brand or Arris brand modem, send your web browser to http://192.168.100.1/
  • If you have a 3Com Tailfin (for early firmware versions), send your web browser to http://149.112.50.65/
  • If you have a 3Com Tailfin (for recent firmware versions, send your web browser to http://192.168.100.1/

Apple Status Pages

Apple - Support - System Status
System Status - Apple Developer

Find more status links at status.mpsconsulting.com


Internet Diagnostic Tools

Unlike bandwidth testers, Internet Diagnostic Tools try to test the reliability & operational status of your desktop computer & network connection. They use several different methods to do this. They are also helpful for testing whether your ISP is manipulating your traffic. Most of them are experimental.

Open Observatory of Network Interference
M-Lab
Internet2 Performance Initiative


Network Troubleshooting Tools

Web-based networking toolkits often offer numerous ways to test routes, domains, and other issues directly affecting your network.
DNS Stuff
Network-Tools.com (no longer in service)
DNS Inspect
MTX Toolbox Supertool
Dotcom-Tools
Robtex
Netcrunch Tools
eMail Header Analyzer


Internet Weather/Health Report

These sites try to display metrics on overall Internet performance, monitor availability, & monitor latency between major Tier One backbones. This helps you quickly identify and diagnose problems in your Internet connectivity, application, or Web server infrastructure.
Internet Traffic Report
Internet Weather Map
UCLA Network Weather Report
State of the Internet by Pingdom
AT&T Global IP Network Status
Cogent Communications Global IP Network Status
PingER
CenturyLink IP Network Statistics
Overall Lumen (CenturyLink) Status
Sprint Performance
ioda.caida.org


Internet Service Providers Bandwidth Testers

If you plan to argue with your ISP about your slow internet connection, the best option is to test the speed of your internet connection between your home or business & your ISP.
While some of the other more generic internet speed tests further down our list may be technically more accurate, it'll be challenging to convince your ISP that your internet service isn't as fast as it should be unless you can demonstrate this with the bandwidth tests they provide.

AT&T High Speed Internet Speed Test
CenturyLink Broadband Speed Test
Google Fiber Speed Test
Bendbroadband
Verizon Speedtest
Comcast Business Speed Test
Cox Internet Speed Test
FrontierNet Network Speed Test
Spectrum Speed Test
Speakeasy Speed Test
TDS Telecommunications Speed Test


Generic Bandwidth Testers

Fast.com
Cloudflare Internet Speed Test - Measure Latency & Jitter
SpeedOf.Me, HTML5 Speed Test | No Flash/Java Need
Testmy.net Speed Test
Broadband Reports
Bandwidth Place
MySpeed
Speedtest.net
Speedsmart.net

MPS Consulting Text-Based Speed Test

Most people feel the need to test how fast their broadband modem is at downloading or uploading. To answer this need, several speed testing sites have sprung up. The problem is that none of these tests measure the actual speed of your modem: they measure the bandwidth between your modem & the test site itself, subject to a maximum cut-off at the modem's speed. The bandwidth between two points on the Internet is determined by the hop in the path with the least available spare capacity, and if that limiting bandwidth is less than that of the modem, then that is the reading that the speed test will return. This figure might or might not be typical of speeds you could expect from other sites or at different times, depending on where and when the bottleneck is.

If you are fortunate enough to choose a test site where the available free bandwidth on all hops is greater than the speed of your modem, then the test site will indeed measure the speed of your cable modem, which is then the limiting bottleneck.

Here is some more information on speed tests: https://www.lifewire.com/internet-speed-test-sites-2626177

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