Advanced Security in Rogers Xfinity App

[RogersMaude]

How does Advanced Security help protect my data and devices?

When enabled, Advanced Security in Rogers Xfinity 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 Rogers Xfinity 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 Rogers Xfinity App. You can also choose to allow access for certain blocked activities, which temporarily overrides the block.

Visit this article to learn how to enable or disable the Advanced Security feature using the Rogers Xfinity app. 

What are the types of threats prevented with Advanced Security?

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 that a threat is detected in the following ways:

Overview tab: Near the top of the Overview screen in the Rogers Xfinity 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.

Connect tab: In the Connect 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 Rogers Xfinity app, go to the Overview tab.
2. Select the Account icon .
3. Under Notifications, select Preferences.
4. Select Push Notifications to manage your notification preferences.
5. To enable Advanced Security notifications, select the checkbox next to Network Activity.

If I receive a notification of a threat, or if my access to a device or website is blocked, how do I resolve it?

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 Rogers Xfinity 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 Rogers Xfinity app.

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 Rogers Xfinity 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 Rogers Xfinity  app and follow the instructions. If you want to allow access for more than 1 hour, disable Advanced Security in the Rogers Xfinity  app. If you want to continue using Advanced Security and need ongoing access to the blocked item, contact us.

How many threats should I expect to see?

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 change your Rogers Xfinity Gateway modem for a new model, or move and transfer your Rogers Xfinity Internet service to a new address, you may have to enable the feature again after setting up your new modem/connection. Simply follow the instructions to turn on Advanced Security Feature With Rogers Xfinity!