Keeping families connected and protected in a digital world
Why it's important: As families navigate an increasingly digital world, creating healthy relationships with technology is more critical than ever.
Today, parents have a lot more to monitor. The average Verizon internet household now has 18 connected devices, according to Verizon's 2024 Consumer Connections Report.
Plus, parents are increasingly concerned about safety. About 63% of parents feel anxious when they don't have immediate access to their child's location, according to a recent Verizon survey.
The solution: Verizon Family is a game-changer for digital safety. It offers innovative tools to keep loved ones connected and protected — all from one app.
Verizon Family provides essential safety features for caregivers, including:
Safe Walk with SOS: Provides real-time location sharing to emergency contacts for added security.
Location monitoring: Allows caregivers to monitor their dependents' whereabouts and set alerts for arrivals and departures.
Call and text monitoring: Helps caregivers foster open communication by providing insights into calls and texts made over the Verizon network.
The positive news: Verizon Family is already helping parents take proactive steps to help safeguard digital experiences. According to 2024 Verizon's Consumer Connections Report:
62% of parents and other caregivers used filters to block objectionable content.
54% of parents and other caregivers restricted access to certain social media apps.
Worth a mention: Verizon also offers a range of tools aimed at promoting online safety and responsible technology use, including the Gizmo Watch line of kids' smartwatches.
Parents and other caregivers make an average of 3.3 million calls per month to children wearing Gizmo watches, underscoring the importance of safe, reliable communication.
Okay, but: Digital safety isn't just a priority for children — it's essential for vulnerable adults, too. Older adults are increasingly at risk in a more connected world.
Nearly 3 in 4 individuals over 50 report being targeted for cybercrimes, according to AARP.
And in 2023 alone, Americans over 60 lost $3.4 billion to online scams — with an average victim losing over $33,000 — according to the FBI.
That's why Verizon will extend its upcoming digital wellness initiatives to seniors and their caregivers, helping ensure they have the tools to navigate technology securely.
The details: Verizon is expanding its commitment to digital wellness, equipping youth, parents, caregivers and older adults with the skills to navigate technology responsibly.
Beyond connectivity, Verizon is focused on fostering a healthy relationship with digital tools through free, expert-backed programs.
For K-12 educators and students: Verizon is partnering with Discovery Education to provide digital citizenship resources to schools.
Verizon is also conducting a research study with Sesame Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center focused on children's digital wellness, to guide the creation of future digital wellness programs for kids.
For parents and caregivers: Verizon will offer free training on fostering healthy digital habits in partnership with My Digital TAT2.
For older adults: Verizon will provide digital literacy resources and cybersecurity training in partnership with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS), from AARP.
Parents can also get free tips, advice and research-based strategies from the experts to navigate the digital world at verizon.com/parenting.
By providing practical knowledge and best practices, Verizon is helping to ensure that people of all ages can use technology with confidence and awareness.
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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Verizon hopes a new tactic will fix fleeing customer problem
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CNET
15 hours ago
- CNET
Laggy Internet? 4 Easy Ways to Fix It on Your Own
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According to AT&T's website, certain materials, dense walls and even furniture can obstruct your Wi-Fi signal. Other common factors contributing to a weaker signal include outdated equipment, poor router settings, bad weather and extreme cases like hacking or malware. In addition, finding the right Wi-Fi band for your router or investing in a network switch can also help optimize your internet connection at home. To ensure you're making the most of your internet, read our guides on how to weatherproof your internet and secure your connection from hackers. My main takeaways Speeds in my basement increased after installing the extender. Ookla screenshot by Trisha Jandoc/CNET Once I successfully installed my extender, I conducted another speed test in my basement and I saw a surge in my internet connection, coming in at 598Mbps in download and 187Mbps in upload. What I discovered about optimizing my speeds at home Router and Wi-Fi extender placement are key . The location of your router and extender is directly proportional to optimizing your speeds. Give it a few tries and place your extender in different areas of your home. Ensure you don't place the extender too far or close to the router. . The location of your router and extender is directly proportional to optimizing your speeds. Give it a few tries and place your extender in different areas of your home. Ensure you don't place the extender too far or close to the router. Conduct a series of speed tests after every step , monitoring any changes in your internet connection. , monitoring any changes in your internet connection. Seek out self-installation guides . Many ISPs, including AT&T Cox Spectrum Xfinity . Many ISPs, including Consider buying a Wi-Fi extender. While your ISP might recommend using its equipment, many Wi-Fi extenders support Wi-Fi 6 and should do the trick. Check out our top picks for the best Wi-Fi extenders While your ISP might recommend using its equipment, many Wi-Fi extenders support Wi-Fi 6 and should do the trick. A coax cable works just as well as an ethernet cable . Your ISP might recommend an Ethernet cable for pairing your extender to the router, but a coax cable also works. . Your ISP might recommend an Ethernet cable for pairing your extender to the router, but a coax cable also works. When in doubt, contact your ISP for support and discuss your options. You can also try negotiating with your ISP What's the bottom line? Since completing this experiment, I've seen a drastic change in my internet connection. My family and I can stream our shows without problems and my Zoom calls are running more smoothly than ever. I outlined four steps on this page, but you might need to do a few extra steps to ensure you cover all your bases. Fixing your internet doesn't have to be complex. This is my first time experimenting with this, and I've discovered a new comfort level with my internet connection and how it works.
Forbes
16 hours ago
- Forbes
New VPN Attack Warning — What You Need To Know
Virtual Private Networks have been the subject of myriad news headlines recently after the U.K. government's Online Safety Act put in place age-verification requirements for sites with adult content. The humble VPN, often associated with advertising persuading users that it's something necessary to protect against hackers on trains, at airports and in coffee shops, but most commonly used to bypass geographic content streaming restrictions, is not just a consumer app. VPN appliances are used for grown-up, serious security purposes within enterprises around the globe. So, when researchers issue a warning of a potential VPN attack, it's not something that can be dismissed. Here's what you need to know. VPN Security Has A History Of Compromise Let's get the virtual elephant out of the private networking room before moving on to the latest VPN warning. A VPN app, far from being a security silver bullet, can actually just be an extension of your threat surface. How many examples would you like me to provide as evidence of this? I'll throw Google's warning about a backdoor bundled with a free VPN app into the ring for starters, or how about the FBI warning concerning Medusa ransomware compromising VPN credentials? One more? OK, the recent Katz Stealer warning as this threat also targeted VPN credentials. The latest VPN security warning comes from Julian Tuin, a senior threat intelligence researcher at Arctic Wolf Labs, who has confirmed that 'an increase in ransomware activity targeting SonicWall firewall devices for initial access,' has been observed late in July. More specifically, Tuin said, 'multiple pre-ransomware intrusions were observed within a short period of time, each involving VPN access through SonicWall SSL VPNs.' While there can, and should, be questions asked as to whether these attacks could have occurred thanks to brute force or credential stuffing methods in at least some cases, Tuin warned that the 'available evidence points to the existence of a zero-day vulnerability.' Not least as some of the SonicWall devices were fully security patched and had also had credential rotation applied before the attacks took place. 'Despite TOTP MFA being enabled,' Tuin said, 'accounts were still compromised in some instances.' I have reached out to SonicWall for a statement and will update this article in due course. Mitigating The Potential For VPN Attack Given that the Artic Wolf report revolves around a spike in attacks involving the Akira Ransomware group, known to have compromised more than 300 organizations and with some very high-profile names published to the hacker's data leak site listings, the threat should not be taken lightly. Throw in the fact that SonicWall only recently issued a warning regarding the CVE-2025-40599 vulnerability in SMA 100 appliances, which could see remote code execution if successful, and you would be foolish not to at least mitigate against the potential of attacks. 'Given the high likelihood of a zero-day vulnerability,' Tuin said, 'organizations should consider disabling the SonicWall SSL VPN service until a patch is made available and deployed.' Meanwhile, SonicWall has previously said that organizations should harden defenses, including security services such as botnet protection that can help detect those targeting SSL VPN endpoints, as well as enforcing multi-factor authentication.
