Your modem and router lights are blinking all the time – even when you know that no one is using the Internet. Is that a warning that something’s wrong?

Mostly, the lights on your modem or router indicate perfectly normal activity. Even when you aren’t actively browsing the web or downloading a video, your computer busily monitors all its network connections – to your Internet Service Provider, to your Wi-Fi-connected phones, and to other connected devices, like your cable box, AppleTV, or Xbox. And all of this communication shows up as activity on your modem or router.

While most blinking lights are nothing to worry about, there are some real threats that you should know how to protect yourself from.

Botnets: Botnets are software programs that scan through the Internet looking for unsecured computers they can take over and turn into zombie spam machines. But no need to panic here; any computer that has even a basic firewall or is behind a router is