Last Wednesday, Gryphon Insiders held our first live webinar. We discussed new releases, network security, and tips & tricks for making the most of their Gryphon routers. We were also able to answer some of our Insiders’ burning questions. Read on to find out more about this exclusive presentation—and, if you’re interested, how you can attend the next one.

What is Gryphon Insiders?

The Internet and the ways we use it are constantly evolving, so we at Gryphon understand that we need to be constantly evolving too. We’re not perfect, but we strive to be the best, and we’re always ready to adapt to the changing needs of our current users. 

One way we do this is by connecting with people who already own a Gryphon router. This way, we can find out what we can do better, with the guidance of the real pros—namely the parents, educators, and even kids who use our products every day.

This is why we set up Gryphon Insiders, a club for the people who love their router and have ideas about how Gryphon can improve.

Among the perks of joining Gryphon Insiders is access to our live webinars, where Insiders can ask questions and have them answered by Gryphon’s most knowledgable industry professionals. Insiders will also get personalized digital parenting tips and security advice, and may even be updated on new releases ahead of other customers. 

What kind of information can I access through Gryphon Insiders? 

To give you an idea of the information you’ll have access to at one of our live webinars, we’re happy to present you with a basic recap of our first webinar. Panelists went into great depth during the meeting, so this summary just skims the surface of the exclusive information you’ll be able to access if you join Gryphon Insiders. 

The importance of securing your home network in the (post-)pandemic era

First, founder and CEO John Wu opened with a discussion about a new product launch and a big upcoming software update, which includes new data insights and additional machine learning features. 

He then briefly discussed the necessity of securing home networks, especially in recent months. “If you really think about it, our home networks are becoming enterprise networks. Most of you have at least a dozen connected devices in your home… Just over the past year, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of attacks that are happening. Ransomware has increased over 400%… Most of us are working at home, we’re doing distance learning, so hackers are targeting homes.” 

John then passed the mic to Consumer Security Advocate Dennis Devlin, who has worked as a chief security officer at various companies and schools for decades.

Dennis talked first about what drew him to Gryphon. “Professionals like me used to make a lot of money, still do, securing big networks. Each individual parent and homeowner now, especially in light of COVID and everything else, has to put together a network that can not only secure the entertainment that it was brought in for, but also work from home, learn from home, do all your purchasing from home, and it’s a really scary proposition.” 

He invited attendees to check out some of his recent blog posts on the ins and outs of cybersecurity, including this one which encourages you to learn what’s on your network.

“I could share with you logs, every single day, of people trying to break into our home network,” he adds. “They’re just scanning random IPs.” 

He gave advice on how to better protect your home network from attacks, expanding on points made in his last blog post. 

Setting up routers, restrictions, and how to avoid early mistakes

Next up was Senior Technical Support Manager Sarah Kimmel, who besides being a tech expert and blogger is also a mom herself. Sarah was one of Gryphon’s first customers and supporters and recently joined the Gryphon team. She was reminiscing with John about their first meeting, even before the Gryphon tower had its release:

“As soon as I met you, I knew exactly when I spoke to you that this was exactly the product I’ve been waiting for, I’ve been looking for, I was super excited and couldn’t wait until you actually had a product to release… It was exactly what I was looking for.” 

Sarah talked first about the standard spacing for routers and repeaters to get coverage over the entire house, taking a deep dive into this infographic:

She discussed how to determine if your repeater is too far from your router: Click “Network” in the app and then click the green Wi-Fi icon next to the name of your mesh repeater. If the RSSI is higher than 20, you’re good to go.

She also discussed possible Gryphon setups for families that primarily used shared devices. (Essentially, set restrictions for the age of the youngest kid on the device.) 

We then moved on to Q&A. Sarah and Allan Chua, VP of Marketing and Business Development, talked about how to avoid the early mistakes that some Gryphon users make, including forgetting to power cycle their router and modem. Dennis explained why it’s important to block access to Tor and other parts of the dark web.

Panelists were also able to answer some new questions in the chat as they came up. After thirty minutes of updates, informative tips, and one-on-one answers to our Insiders’ questions, we were ready to wrap up the thirty-minute webinar. 

Interested in joining our next live webinar and having early access to exclusive information? 

The next live webinar for Gryphon Insiders will be streamed on Zoom on June 2nd, 10:30 AM. Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, an organization dedicated to digital education and protecting kids. All you have to do is sign up for Gryphon Insiders. 

How do I join Gryphon Insiders?

It's easy: just sign up here. The good news is it’s completely free, and you don’t have to give out any personal or confidential information. Every two weeks you’ll have the chance to participate in activities or challenges with fellow Gryphon users: posting reviews and stories, referring friends, and more.

Each time you complete an activity, you’ll earn rewards points. You can then redeem these points for online gift cards and other valuable rewards—like access to our webinars. There, you’ll get to participate in our Q&As, plus receive exclusive information and updates. These webinars go into even greater depth than we’re able to discuss on this blog, and strengthen connections between Gryphon and our users on a more personal level. 

We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas about how we can improve our routers and software to make your life easier. Join Gryphon Insiders today.