cell phones

12/06/2017 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

How Much Can Identity Theft Impact Your Life?

Identity theft is at an all-time high in today’s digital world. Identity theft can happen to anyone including teenagers browsing their smartphones to middle-aged families securing their nest egg. Security is no longer guaranteed and crucial steps need to be taken to make sure safety is within reach. Last year alone, 15 million people lost over $16 billion due to identity theft. Identity theft doesn’t stop with just bank accounts either. Medical records, credit scores, and even criminal records are at a higher risk.

The most common form of identity theft starts with an unauthorized credit card or bank account charge. About 86% of fraud victims initially notice the intrusion by noticing an unauthorized charge on their bank account or credit card. Those diligent enough to find the unauthorized charges early usually have the charge taken care of within a couple of hours. Not all cases are so quick. Some identity theft cases can take years to resolve and 25% of cases are never fully solved. As a freelancer, you also need to understand the importance of protecting your credit as well.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking platforms have become a hotbed for identity theft. Social networkers have a 46% higher risk of identity theft. Online shopping also carries a higher risk. Your risk raises 30% online than in traditional brick and mortar stores. Taking steps such as clearing your card information in your browser, creating complex passwords, and securing your online shopping purchases can help protect that extra money you worked hard for safe from identity theft.

Whether you’re 18 and graduating high school or 80 and making your retirement fund last, keeping an eye on your digital footprint is more important than ever. Check out the infographic from Investment Zen below. It shows extra information on the risks of identity fraud as well as a additional information to keep you safe from harm. If you suspect identity fraud at any time, call the Federal Trade Commission and file a report.

Via: InvestmentZen.com

01/28/2016 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

How to Keep Your Cell-Phone Bills Down

Owning a cell-phone can be expensive, especially if you are a slave to the latest handsets and simply have to own the newest model. It can also be expensive making calls and using the internet if you are not careful. If your employer picks up the tab, you won't be too concerned, but if it's down to you to pay the bill every month, you need to start looking at ways to keep the costs down. So what is the best way to do this?

How Do You Use Your Phone?

Usage is very important. Some people make hundreds of calls, but rarely use their phone to access the internet. Others practically live and breathe Facebook and can't bear to be disconnected from their favorite social network. How you use a phone directly affects the tariff you need, so it is worth shopping around to find a tariff that works best for you. Our phones, among other technologies, can also do their part to keep us healthier!

Stick to Wi-Fi

Making use of Wi-Fi wherever possible will significantly reduce your cell phone bill at the end of the month. Data usage is responsible for a large percentage of most people's cell phone bill, particularly if you are logging into 4G networks. Restricting your internet use to Wi-Fi will save you a fortune. Or you can even get a NZ sim card which allows you to have internet worldwide at a cheaper price.

You can use public Wi-Fi hotspots when you are out and about, but at home make use of your home internet connection. Obviously you need to make sure you don't have any restrictions on your home broadband, because downloading music and large data files on a smartphone all count towards your monthly download usage.

For this reason, check what your current internet package is at home and if there are any restrictions on how much you can download in any given month or the Wi-Fi signal is poor, look for a different internet provider or visit https://www.attinternetplans.com/ to see what plans they are currently offering their customers.

Download a Usage App

It is easy to get carried away downloading music or spending hours on Facebook, but all this data usage adds up. Using free Wi-Fi is the most sensible solution, but sometimes this isn't possible and you won't have access to Wi-Fi. So if this is the case, download an app to help you keep a close eye on your data usage. That way you will have advanced warning when you are getting close to your limit.

Make Free Calls

Calls can be expensive, particularly if you are calling over mobiles. To keep these costs down, use apps such as Skype and WhatsApp to make internet calls instead. As long as the other person has the app installed on their phone, calls will be free. And even if they don't, calls will be cheaper than they otherwise would be.

Use Instant Messaging

Text messages can also be expensive if you don't have them bundled up in your monthly fees, but free messaging apps cost nothing, so use these instead if possible.

Don't spend more than you have to - if you follow the tips above your bill will soon come down.

08/06/2015 By Jason Bean Leave a Comment

Should Your Business Have a Mobile App, a Mobile Friendly Site, or Both?

The importance of being able to access websites comfortably from a mobile device has been really highlighted of late, ever since Google caused what is now jauntily referred to as 'Mobilegeddon' back in April. If you are not familiar with the term, this essentially was when Google released an update to its search algorithm that meant that if a site wasn't responsive or optimized for mobile, it wouldn't show up in search results on mobile devices.

Mobilegeddon Was Not the Only Reason to Act

Of course, even before that change to Google, which undoubtedly forced the hands of some late adopters, responsive or mobile friendly design was important if you wanted to give the best possible user experience to the widest possible audience. But then, when a lot of your users are on mobile devices, there is also the option of having your own mobile app. Whether you build it in house or have a third party do it, there are plenty of firms now offering custom mobile apps. So which should you do?

Where a Mobile App Can Benefit Your Business

Having an app people can install on their phone or tablet means they always have a simple way to access a portal to your services, or simply a fun feature you use for marketing purposes like a branded game. If you are the kind of company that really thrives on repeat business, or which provides services to subscribed customers, an app by UK app developers can be the perfect way to make it easier for customers to connect with you and buy or manage their accounts. If you rely more on passing trade or one off sales, then an app may not be so helpful, and you may be better focusing your budget on improving SEO so more people will discover your site (on mobile and their computers). You can find a top SEO companies directory you can use to find a good agency to help you at https://www.wordpressdesignservices.com/company-service-type/seo/.

Mobile Friendly Design is No Longer a Choice!

If you think an app could be a good way to strengthen your brand, improve customer engagement and drive repeat business, then this is probably something well worth doing. However, an app is never truly a replacement for a good mobile site. Remember that most apps don't offer all of the services or content of a site, and so even existing customers will sometimes need to use the proper website rather than their copy of the app. Also think about new business people who don't already have the app or use your company will still need a good mobile friendly website to discover.

The answer to the question posed at the start of this article then, is that it is never a case of mobile friendly site, app, or both. The question you need to answer for your business, is whether you need both, or just a mobile friendly site.