Reports

Alright, you already know a lot about online safety when it comes to your personal and financial info on sites like Facebook.  But right now is a perfect time to remind yourself why you have to be careful when you're online.

Here's a quick review of the one stupid mistake people our age continue to make, plus some tips to protect you from yourself and from the scammers who monitor social network sites constantly.

Still the biggest stupid act: posting troublesome pictures, videos or comments on your social network sites: "Troublesome" covers a lot of territory, too:

Thousands of scammers monitor what we do on social network sites.  And maybe even worse, thousands of legitimate companies monitor the sites, too. A picture of you simply looking out of control in a party picture can persuade some companies not to hire you.  Posting "My parents are out of town for ten days, so I'm partying!" is an open invite for house robbers or worse to try to join the party.

December 2010

Most consumers try to protect financial and personal information when online, but are you aware of newer, emerging risks and what you can do about them? Do you manage the cookies on your computer? Do you look for security indicators before using websites? Do you know about other steps you should be taking? In this month's report, I look at these and other ways to protect your financial and personal information online against both older and more recent risks.

Why should I care if a website is secure?

If you are accessing your financial accounts, looking at your medical records, or providing any personal information or any other private information, you'll want to protect that information. If a website is secure, then that information is protected. Any messages sent between your computer and the secure website are encrypted. That means any other computers can't read the message contents.

66 vehicles are winners of 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK award

This award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recognizes vehicles that do the best job protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on the Institute's tests.

Time is running out for some tax credits for Energy Efficiency Home Improvements.

Tax credits that expire on December 31st include HVAC, roofing, insulation, windows, doors, and skylights.

The other day a friend of mine came over to my place and we started looking at stuff on the Internet. We watched some funny YouTube videos and checked the swell report for the surf.  She showed me her hometown back in England, Frinton on Sea, on an Internet map site. All quite innocent, I'd say.

However, the next day I noticed that my newspaper website was displaying ads for hotels and holidays in Frinton on Sea! How the heck did that happen?

Ever notice that ads in your webmail or ads on websites that you've visited show items that are targeted towards your interests? Stuff you've recently been searching for on the web? Stuff you recently emailed back and forth about with friends?

Putting Money In Your Pocket

November 2010

Special note from Remar: This Remar's Report is going to sound like a commercial for CCU, but it isn't. This report is about saving you money, and since many times "saving money" and CCU go hand-in-hand, the Credit Union's name comes up a good bit. I think you'll be glad I bring it up, if you read carefully.

Want some free money? You know, some you don't have to work for? How about free money every month?

If you haven't looked at your debt—whether it's a payment on a loan or a credit card, recurring payments on your cell phone or insurance, or what you spend on groceries and house supplies each year, you're throwing away money and you're probably throwing away thousands. Like this:

Resisting the Online Tracking Programs

Do you think cookies are the only tracking programs you need to be concerned with? They aren't. This article from the New York Times, describes other tracking programs that are being used and how you can control them.

Center For Responsible Lending has new Consumer aid, Signs Of Predatory Lending.

It's easy to check for signs in six areas including car loans, credit cards and mortgage loans.

On Gift Cards, That Is…

Get these two scenarios:

Scenario 1:

You got a sweet gift card for $50 for your birthday from your friends. You run to the shop to buy your favorite game that goes for $49.95! But, the store charges you a $10 activation fee… Bummer!

Scenario 2:

Because you were so irritated with the gift card from the previous scenario, you chucked it in your desk drawer and completely forgot to use it until now, 6 months later. You run to the game shop again to buy the (now) discounted game only to find out your card has expired… Bummer!