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Friday, 6 January 2017

Eight Online Transaction Security Tips for Non Technical Folks

Eight Security Tips for Safe and Secure Online Transactions for Non Technical Folks

cyber security tips and tricks for safe transactions online

Online transactions and its security:

Many of us often transact online for the following purposes

Banking Transactions using internet banking services like balance inquiry, fund transfer, bill payments etc
Payment transactions such as booking flight or train tickets, shopping, paying bills, mobile recharge, DTH recharge etc

As a 21st century human, this is a proud moment for us that we go digital.When I first transacted online, I felt very proud because we can get things done in just a few clicks in a very convenient way. In fact I enjoy online transactions. Let us see the other side of the coin.

Is transacting online safe and secure?

Yes... it is safe and secure only when you take certain measures not to reveal your confidential information to unauthorized sources while transacting online.Unfortunately, many people do not know what these measures are and still continue to transact online depending only on their fate and luck.

There are huge number of online thieves watching continuously to get your confidential information to rob you. If you are cautious by following simple tips, you can make all your online transactions safe and secure.Here I am to help you on those tips. Before I suggest those tips let me make you understand

Internet Banking Transactions:

what defines the security of internet banking transactions?

Well, the security depends on two factors.

The security maintained by your bank : This is the first and foremost factor. It depends on how the data base of the bank which holds your confidential information and the internet banking website you use to transact are secured by the bank. Well, it is the responsibility of the bank to ensure it is secure.So, all the banks have put their own security measures to ensure this. Thus, we have no need to worry about this. All that we can do is choose bank with best security history. If the banks security is compromised,although it is very rare case, any or all of bank's customers get affected.

The security measures maintained by you : You are responsible for safe guarding your confidential information like usenames,passwords,OTP etc. Every time you make an internet banking transaction, you need to enter your confidential information the username and passwords. If you do not take certain security tips to safe guard your confidential information,you will end up giving this confidential information and consequently your hard earned money to online thieves unwittingly. Let me help you with those important tips

Tips for safe Internet Banking transactions (click the link to check out those tips)

Payment related transactions:

In payment related transactions like booking tickets,bill payments,online shopping etc,we have multiple options of payment like net banking,credit card,debit card,digital wallets etc.

Here we make the payment to merchant through an online payment gate way provided by some bank.

Tips for safe and secure online Payment related transactions

#1. Don't shop at unknown online shopping websites: There are huge number of unknown online shopping websites which display lucrative discounts for some products. Mostly, you land at their websites through social media channels like whatsapp and facebook etc, Do not proceed to complete the order seeing those huge discounts unless you verify the authenticity of the website.

#2. Use a virtual debit or credit card always for payments: Virtual card is a temporary card valid just for one transaction.It is just a virtual card not a physical card. Nowadays almost all banks provide this facility You can easily generate it through internet banking for an amount you want to make a purchase or payment.This is a very highly secure method of online payments though it takes a little effort. Suppose your account balance is in a few lakhs of rupees and you want to make a mobile recharge of Rs 100, generating a virtual card for Rs 100 is safe and secure instead of using your physical card which can keep your entire account balance at risk.Even a professional and expert hacker cannot touch a person who uses virtual card for payments.This is an ultimate solution to any kind of online payment risks.

#3. Set different passwords for different accounts: A recent study has revealed that majority of the people use common passwords for a number of transactions including sensitive transactions like net banking and credit cards for the convenience of remembering. Using the same password makes you at high risk, If hackers can somehow get access to one password, they would virtually have access to all your accounts. The best way to keep you safe in the virtual world is to use unique passwords for different transactions.

#4. Make payments at only familiar and securely encrypted web sites or stores.The website URL must start with HTTPS and there should be a green padlock symbol on the left of HTTPS. Never enter your card details on a website which starts with HTTP.

#5.Never enter your net banking username and password on other bank's payment gateways. Keep in mind that your debit and credit card details can be entered on other bank's secure bank payment gateways for payments but not net banking details.

#6. Do not share your confidential information of cards and net banking over instant messaging apps,SMS,E-mail etc even to the person you trust.If you do that , you unknowingly disclose your confidential details to the digital world not just to your trusted friend or family member whom you send.

#7. Avoid using public computers or internet cafes for making online payments rather use personal computer or mobile or tablet.Also avoid using unprotected public wifi on any device for financial transactions over the internet.

#8. Ignore those phishing E-mails asking for your confidential information,Nothing comes free in the world. Don't believe those prize winning E-mails and stay away from them.

Hope these tips help you. If you like this post and want to read more such interesting stuff of life and tech, please like Amazing things4u facebook page (scroll down and click like) or simply type amazing things4u blog in google to land here

Wish you safe and secure online transactions

Seven Tips or Precautions for safe and secure Internet Banking Transactions

Many of us do internet banking transactions without bothering about how we should actually do them safely and securely. If you do not follow certain basic security precautions for safe transactions, you may end up losing your confidential information and thereby your hard earned money. Here I am to help you with those tips and precautions

#1. Practice safe and secure ways to access your internet banking account

A. Do not use any search engines not even google to access your internet banking website: why?

Because online thieves are very crafty and cunning, they can make a website which exactly looks like your bank's internet banking website in appearance. Search engines just look for the keywords you enter in the search to serve you.They are not responsible if you get redirected to a thief's website based on the keyword you entered in the search. If your luck does not favor you at times, you may get redirected to fraud website and will end up giving your username and password to thieves by yourself unknowingly.

So, the best and safe practice to access Internet banking website of any bank is to directly the URL in the address Bar

Unsafe way to access INB website

Safe and write way to access INB website

Safe and right way to access INB website

B. After INB site opens completely, Check for the URL of the browser address bar . It must start with "HTTPS" not "HTTP". Here the letter 'S' stands for Secure communication.That means the communication between the bank's website and your browser is private. Data transferred in private communication is encrypted so that any third person or other website cannot see the information you enter on the website.

Also, check for the green color padlock symbol on the start of browser address bar.Go ahead to log in only after checking these things.

#2. Change your passwords periodically. When you change your password, you start it afresh. Even if some one already stole your password and watching for a chance to empty your account,changing your password helps you to save you from your stalker

#3. Do not write or store passwords in a file on any computer system (including mobile or similar devices) rather remember them

#4.Do not let your computer remember your password. Never accept auto complete option provided by your computer/ browser.

#5.Do not provide user-id and passwords on any page that appears when you click on a hyperlink received through email

#6. Do not respond to phone calls and emails asking for net banking passwords, OTP etc no matter how appealing and legitimate they appear

Hope these tips help you. If you like this post and want to read more such interesting stuff of life and tech, please like Amazing things4u facebook page (scroll down and click like) or simply type amazing things4u blog in google to land here

Wish you safe and secure net banking

New Year Resolutions

Ten New Year Resolutions you can take to improve your life:

1. Make peace with your past and live in the present

Forget all embarrassing events

Past is past. Forget all embarrassing events in the past year We all have experienced so many uncomfortable situations,insults,troubles etc in the previous year.You are not the only one to have faced these troubles.Every one experienced these troubles. Do not let your past rule your present. Forget every embarrassing scene in life and live happy in the present

Count your blessings

You have already made much progress in your life and career. You are a hero/heroin of your own film of life.Ponder all the achievements you accomplished in the past year and thank god for powering you to do so. Remember all sweet memories you had with your loved ones.Let these memories bring smile in your face.

2. Hope for the bright future

Even though things may not seem good for you, it does not mean you do not have promising future.Hope is the beginning for achievements.Hope takes out inner potential hidden in you.Put your best efforts and start hoping for a promising future.

3. Motivate yourself

The best motivator or counselor ever existed in the world is you yourself. You are the one who perfectly know your strengths and weaknesses.Self motivation is very important when are in difficult and disappointing situations in life. So, Pat on the back of yourself and start motivating yourself from today on wards.

4. Inculcate forget and forgive attitude

Relationships are valuable than any thing in the world. Some might have hurt you or insulted you in the past. Every one makes mistakes.No one is perfect.No matter whose mistake it was, just forget and forgive.Forgiveness is the attitude of strong and mature people. I think you are one of them.Start inculcating forget and forgive attitude today and revive your spoiled relationships if any.

5. Enhance your helping nature

Helping hands are better than praying lips. Helping others is responsibility of every human.Helping others gives real happiness and satisfaction in your life.I hope you already have it that's why I write to enhance it from today

6. Beat worries and start living happy

No matter what your life's journey is all about. No matter what troubles you are going through right now, Simply start living happy and don't let worries demoralize you.Worries reduce your productivity and performance.Worry is good for nothing and useless.It generates negative energy in you.So, beat this natural enemy and start living happy.If you understand Hindi,check out this video on Beat worries and live happy.

7. Learn new skills

Life is learning and knowledge is power.Do not stop learning till your last breath.Choose skills or hobbies that you love and start learning it today.You can consider learning a new useful language,Research has shown that learning new language improves brain memory and power.

Happy learning in the new year.

8. Give up on a bad habit

If you have any bad habit that you want to give up,make commitment today to overcome it.

9. Set Positive approach to life

Vow to always view the glass to be half full. This will help you solve any obstacle you may face in life.You will experience the power of positiveness if you start practicing it from today.

10. Make some sincere commitments

You can make small commitments like

1. I won't Break traffic rules

2. I won't use mobile phone while driving and crossing roads

3. I won't waste food in restaurants and home

4. I will try to be punctual etc

I will be happy if you take any one of the above resolutions in the auspicious new year.Do comment your new year resolutions here. its gonna be good and fun

List of Medicine data base websites for India

List of useful medicine data base websites for India:

1. Medguideindia.com

This website provides search for both generic compositions and brand names. The best thing is it provides market prices of medicines manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies.You can find alternative brands for your prescribed medicine.You can also find information like drug indication,contradictions,precautions and side effects. No registration is required for accessing this information.

2 MIMS.com

This web site is most popular among physicians in india.It also provides e-learning facility. It provides all the above information but free registration is required to access it.

3. 1mg.com

You can search for any drug here and find valuable and important information about your drug like uses,how the drug works,common side effects etc.You can also give order on line if you upload your doctor's prescription.

4. Medindia.net

This site provides generic data base with price details.You find almost all available list of generic drugs in alphabetical order.It provides every fine detail of the drug and I like that.

5. mydawaai.com

This is an android and IOS application based data base website.It provides price information about alternate brands and provides you with the comparison of price for various brands.No registration is required for accessing the information

6. getdavai.com

It provides a simple search engine to browse the generic name of drugs and provides information like price,manufacturing company,composition etc.No registration required.

7. Netmeds.com

This is one of on line medicine shopping websites.It contains fair information about your medicine.

Although this list is not exhaustive,I hope it helps you. Comment if you know other websites.

Thanks for visiting this blog.Hope to see you back again here

Introduction:

Every allopathic medicine available in the market has two names.

1. Generic name or drug name:

This is actual chemical substance or active ingredient of the medicine.It is actual drug name that works to serve your purpose.

Ex: Acetaminophene,dipenhydramine,botolinium toxin etc

2 . Brand Name:

This is the name doctors write on your prescription sheet. Brand name is set by pharmaceutical companies who manufacture the actual drug and release it in the market after getting required licences.One drug/medicine may be manufactured by so many pharma companies and they give their own brand name for the same drug.One brand name may contain more than one active ingredient. This is very useful for doctors to prescribe a single brand name for two or more ailments like fever,cold etc

Ex: Saridon(contains paracetamol and caffeine),benadryl(contains dipen hydramine and other ingradients)

Idea to reduce medicine costs:

If you purchase medicines in large quantities for long time for any of your loved ones, this idea is going to save you much expenses on your medicine bills.The idea is to purchase same medicine or generic prescribed by your doctor but a different brand which is cheaper than your doctor has written.Doctors do not have enough time to compare medicine prices and prescribe you the medicine with best price.So,they prescribe you the most popular brands in the market.But these brand's medicines are expensive than other brands.

How to get medicine with best price in the market?

1. Read and note down the brand name written by your doctor in your prescription sheet

2. Search for the brand name on medicine data base websites like medguideindia.com to find the generic names or active ingredients of your medicine's brand name.For countries other than India, you can search in google for your countries medicine data base websites.

For example in the above screen shot,The medicine prescribed by doctor is FILFIRE 25 mg tablets.
Search for brand name FILFIRE on the medicine data base website in brand name field.

3.You will get the relevant information of the medicine like manufacturer name, brand,price etc.Then click on active ingredients/Matched brands link.

4. In this page,you will see active ingredient of the drug,why it is prescribed,contradictions,precautions etc.Click on matched brands with above ingredients link

Now you will see a pop up with all other brands of your medicine along with price and every important detail.

5. Compare the price of the other brands with brand doctor has prescribed you. Most of the times,you will find cheaper brands with the same ingredients required for you..Ensure here that your medicines active ingredient and dosage do not change.You can select a brand name with best price for your medicine.

7. Calculate your savings for the quantity of the medicines you are going to purchase over the period of time.If you find the savings are appreciable,you can purchase those alternative brands available in the market and save on your medical bills

8. You can visit medical shops with doctors prescription sheet and ask for the alternative brand of best price you have chosen and purchase them.

All the brands in the market are licensed by government,So you can choose any brand.If you have any doubt about safety of other brands,you can talk to your doctor and proceed.

It is always advised to talk to your doctor before going for alternative brands.

Hope this idea helps you.Thanks for visiting.

Great safety idea for women travellers

Private cab/taxi Travel:

Often times, you or your loved ones find yourselves in a situation where you have to travel alone in a private taxi like uber, Ola etc.The fear of safety aggravates when the travel happens to be in the night after a party in a pub etc.We can book a taxi online and select the comfortable cab based on your budget. But unfortunately, you do not have an option to select a good and gentle cab driver who can surely drop you at your destination safely. In recent times, rape and harassment crimes by cab drivers on women passengers have unfortunately increased. Even though avoiding alone and night private taxi travel is a good idea but you cannot keep up with this idea every time.So, I come up with one innovative tactic to handle this situation.

Idea for safe cab/taxi travel:

1 .Note down the vehicle registration number of the cab/taxi you are about to board

2. Call any of your loved ones and talk some thing like this in a language cab driver understands "Hi honey, I am taking a taxi with vehicle number for ex.WB06F5977(say the vehicle number you board), I will reach in an hour or so. Call me if I get late". If you don't want to disturb any one at that time, you can simply pretend that you are talking with some on ever phone so that the driver notices you talking this.If you don't get the attention of driver,simply ask him his vehicle number as if you didn't know it.

3.That's it.Your idea is implemented. Now your cab driver will become a body guard for you to help reach your destination safely because his identity is revealed to one of your loved ones.If some thing happens to you on the way,the cab driver is the first one to be investigated by cops.So,In a fear of getting caught,he probably will not behave inappropriately.

Conclusion:

An idea can save your life.I like this idea that's why I share it.Thanks for visiting this blog.Hope to see you back again.

Have a happy and safe travels.

Picture joke

Clean Joke

Clean joke-Young boy's monkey

A boy with a monkey on his shoulder was walking down the road when he passed a policeman who said, "Now, now young boy, I think you had better take that monkey to the zoo."
The next day, the boy was walking down the road with the monkey on his shoulder again, when he passed the same policeman, The policeman said, "Hey there, I thought I told you to take that money to the zoo!" The boy answered, "I did! Today I'm taking him to the cinema."

How to avoid mobile phone radiation

Mobile phone radiation in our lives:

mobile phone radiation when you talk over phone

In today's fast pacing tech world, mobile phone has become a must have gadget.It is mobile phone which stays with us 24x7. These mobile phones communicate wireless through Radio Frequency radiation.When you talk over mobile phone, you are exposed to some electromagnetic radiation generated by your mobile phone.Our bodies can safely absorb this radiation to some extent.This absorption rate depends on how close you keep your mobile to your body and for how much time you talk over mobile.If you keep your mobile more close to your body for more time,you are body absorbs more radiation which is not good for your health. Recent studies proved that getting exposed to more and more radiation leads to so many Health Hazards linked to mobile radiation .

Mobile phone radiation hezards:

I don't say avoid using mobile phones because it is almost impossible to stay without using mobile phones in today's tech world. So,when you use your mobile phone, I suggest you to follow some of the precautions I provide here to avoid any future health hazards and stay safe.

Precautions to avoid mobile phone radiation

1. Minimize the time you speak. Preferably use the mobile phone only for a very short duration.
2. Minimize the intensity of the irradiation. Avoid calling when the signal is weak, because then the mobile radiates maximally. Keep your phone as far away from your body as possible. For this purpose:
(i) Use safe headsets—the kind with a plastic tube between the earpiece and the phone. Search Google for tube + headset (or air tube)(scroll down to see such headsets) and you will find several alternatives.
(ii) Use a loudspeaker phone, as your headset may not always be available. But be careful that your face is as far away from the phone as possible to reduce absorption of radiation by the face.
3. Avoid putting the cellphone in your left pocket, which is closer to heart.
4. Avoid carrying cellphone clipped to your belt, as it has been found to affect fertility.
5. Use a rear shield for the phone to prevent radiation towards your body.
6. Buy cellphones with low SAR rating.
7. Buy cellphones of reputed make so that at least the present-day power levels are ensured.
8. Keep the cellphone away while sleeping.
9. Switch between the left and right side of your head when using the cellphone without headsets.
10. Pregnant women should avoid cellphone usage as it may affect the fetus.
11. More precautions should be taken with children since they are more susceptible to cell damage.
12. Avoid unwanted calls and advertisements through calls.
13. Use your landline, particularly when your work demands a lot of communication.

Hope you find my tips helpful.Comment if you have any doubts.

Radiation free Headphones on amazon: