Archive for November, 2007

Newer Entries »

Don’t Let Social Networking Scammers Steal Your Identity

So you like to hang out on social media sites like MySpace and Facebook? Great fun aren’t they? Well you won’t be laughing when you realize you could be, unwittingly, giving away personal details that could lead to idenity theft.

Although I think I’m always careful about these things I started to wonder after watching a TV show about it.

A journalist for the show created an account with Facebook and then befriended random people. They then looked at the profiles of some people who reciprocated and started chatting to them. Using the information gained on Facebook (and info that is linked to from their profiles) they were able to successfully apply for a credit card. Ouch!

Of course money is probably the biggest source of stress for us all so this is definitely not something you want to happen. So what can we do to protect ourselves?

Don’t give out the following information:-

  1. Full date of birth
  2. Where you live or were born
  3. Mother’s maiden name
  4. School attended
  5. Be careful about listing favourite things – security questions for online banking often ask what your favourite TV show, food, signer etc is.

When connecting to the internet with wireless broadband make sure that it’s properly secure. If you don’t know how to do this ask your local computer guy. The reason you need to make sure it’s secure is because people who aren’t even in your home can tap into your connection. I read about a guy who sat outside in his car accessing the wireless broadband to download images of child porn!

Software to Protect your Computer

  • Firefox – It’s said to be more secure than Internet Explorer.
  • AVG Free Edition – don’t think that because it’s free there’s something wrong with it. I’ve heard great things about if from people who are computer technicians. You can pay to upgrade if you wish to protect yourself from spyware, spam and hackers.
  • Windows Defender – I currently have this installed to protect me from spyware.
  • ZoneAlarm – a firewall which gives further protection to your computer.
  • Make sure you are running the latest version of your software.
  • Avoid file sharing sites. If you do use them make sure to run the file through a virus scanner.

Disposing of Your Old Computer – When getting rid of your old computer take out the hard drive or use an overwriting programme. The reason is that many computers end up in Nigeria which seems to be the epicentre of many scams. I watched a documentary about this; scary stuff!

Check Your Credit Rating – Another thing to do is to contact credit reference agencies to make sure there’s no “abnormal” activity on it. I’ve heard that you can do this online but it costs quite a bit of money. It’s much cheaper to write to the different companies instead. Obviously this will depend of what part of the world you live.

I hope that this will make you think a bit more about giving all your personal details to people you’ve never met. Don’t be one of the 41% of Facebook users who aren’t so careful.

5 comments »

Posted in Friends

Tags:

Is Revenge Good for the Soul?

This isn’t normally a sponsored post I would accept but after reading the description I was intrigued. It seems that a very swish and swanky S-Type Jaguar has ended up on an online car website www.buyyourcar.co.uk under somewhat “unusual” circumstances…

The husband bought this car and for some reason registered it in his wife’s name. It wouldn’t necessarily have been a bad thing but he then cheated on her, she found out and then, well, um… she threw a pot of red paint over the car. Now she is selling it for 50% of what it’s worth simply as revenge, beware of a woman scorned.

What I want to know is does she feel any better after doing this? They say revenge is sweet but I’m not so sure.

In our old house we used to live next to woman who we couldn’t stand. She became very frosty towards us when we had to complain (nicely) about her new gutter dripping and causing rising damp for us. She had a dog that barked constantly from about 7am until 9am when he was taken out. One of her sons had a drum kit just through the wall from my bedroom. I won’t bore you with the other stuff but she basically acted as if we were the neighbours from Hell and refused to even acknowledge us.

After we moved house my Mum got it into her head that she would take revenge by killing her hedge. Anyway, she didn’t go ahead with it. Sometimes you should just leave the past where it is and move on.

* Buy Your Car is a UK website where you can buy used cars, new cars and find details of loans etc.

3 comments »

Posted in Reviews

Tags:

An Intro to Foot Reflexology

One of the best things in life is massage. It’s reviving to have a deep tissue rub down that relieves tension in every muscle, loosening each of them from the shoulders all the way to the toes. By the time the session is over all the stress that was there before is now magically gone.

There are two parts of the body that endure the most during the day – The feet. Constantly having the weight of the body upon them as they take it where it needs to go. Having a foot massage can help to take some of the pain away. Even more impressive, it may help you to maintain optimal health.

What is Reflexology?

Foot Reflexology is more than just a simple massage. It is designed to work certain areas of the foot that are believed to be connected to different areas of the body. The idea is that by working these areas it will help to relieve pain and discomfort somewhere else in the body.

Reflexologists have a mapping of the feet to guide them. If someone comes in complaining of a headache, they would focus on massaging the upper part of the foot and toes for example.

Rubbing the feet to help the body heal has been around for thousands of years. Dating back as early as ancient China and Egypt but it was not called reflexology back then. Naming this type of massage didn’t come until the early twentieth century.

Benefits of Reflexology

Stress is the body’s biggest enemy by far. It can cause problems such as a simple headache to something more extreme like a heart attack.

Anytime that a massage is given, it removes the stress and tension that is stored in the muscles. Reflexology is doing the same thing in a concentrated area.

This type of massage can help with headaches, digestion issues, problems with your eyes along with a number of aliments.

Creating Romance

Yes, believe it or not, rubbing your partners feet will not only create a bit a romance but will also help maintain optimal health.

When getting into a reflexologist is difficult, try using your significant other as a substitute. Using a few simple rubbing techniques like the rolling of your fingers or even using small balls will help to make the experience enjoyable.

The first step is to relax the whole foot before moving on to certain areas. Relaxing the foot can be done a number of ways. Choose a style that is the most effective for that individual.

Make sure you have your mapping of the foot handy and also which technique is recommended for that area.

As soon as the foot is relaxed, work the area that is connected to the part of the body that is causing the trouble.

Massaging the feet in this way several times a week will help maintain good health. Plus, it will strengthen the bond you have with your partner.

1 comment »

Posted in Massage

Tags:

Don’t Let Money Stress You Out at Christmas

shopping at christmasThis is a Sponsored Post

People are coming under increasing pressure to have lots more “stuff” than ever before. There’s so much to tempt us including gadgets, new cars and fancy exotic holidays. When I was at school (I’m 25 so it wasn’t that long ago) nobody had mobile phones. Now I see young children walking down the street chatting to their friends on them.

As I walk round the shops and see the amount of Christmas gifts being sold I can’t help but worry for people who think they need to spend huge amount of money each year. It’s all so unnecessary, kids even admit that they don’t like a lot of what they receive. I can remember receiving more than I knew what to do with!

My family got so fed up of the commercialisation of Christmas that a few years ago we changed the way we bought gifts for each other. We spend £3 on a “secret Santa” gift which is uni-sex. Then we spend £6 on a specific person (chosen at random). It means that not only do we save a lot of money but we also have to put more time, effort and thought into the gifts we buy.

If you are going to spend a lot of money make sure that you can afford it. The lack of money can seriously affect our health. What would you prefer, lots of shiny new toys or the bailiffs knocking at your door?

Read this Press Release from Save Buckets for more info on saving money at Christmas.

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST HAUNTS INDEBTED BRITS

– New price saving site launches to save Brits up to 20% this Christmas –

As the nation approaches the final countdown to Christmas, new research rings alarm bells over the financial impact of Christmas in credit crunch Britain. The research from the new money saving website Savebuckets.com reveals that as Brits prepare for Christmas, many are still paying off last year’s festive spending.

With 41 per cent of Britons paying for Christmas on credit last year, almost one in five are still paying for last year’s festivities (17%), fewer than one in three having cleared their Christmas debts when their January credit card bill arrived (29%).

Following a year of consumer confidence in 2006, Christmas spending soared 52 per cent in two years (from an average £548 per adult in 2004* to £837 per adult in 2006), with over one in five Brits spending over £1,000 on Christmas last year (22%). This year, with spending power at its lowest level for 10 years**, consumers are feeling the financial hangover from a more confident Christmas enjoyed on the credit card and loans.

Alarmingly, it is cash strapped youngsters and low income earners who, having spent the most on last Christmas, are most likely to be feeling the repercussions of last year’s spending spree (see figures below).

The research into the financial impacts of last Christmas amongst a GB representative sample of 2,000 British adults was carried out by the new money savings website Savebuckets.com which launches this week to enable Brits to get more for their money this Christmas.

With these alarming figures in mind, Savebuckets.com will give shoppers the opportunity to save up to 20% on their Christmas shopping. Putting consumers back in control of their spending, the site searches over 700 retailers for the best price on around one million products. The site includes a unique price checker which allows consumers to set the price they want to pay for items, notifying them when the price of a product falls to within their budget.

1 comment »

Posted in Reviews

Tags:

Homeopathic Remedies for Insomnia

There are thousands of people who cannot get to sleep at night. Their minds are racing about the day’s events, the plans for tomorrow and all the stresses of the week. While this can and probably has happened to most of us at one time, there are those who struggle with this every night. When sleepless nights occur often, it is called insomnia.

There are a number of over-the-counter, prescription, and herbal remedies for insomnia. All have the ability to help you sleep but some may carry side efforts.

Understanding Homeopathy

Before getting into what homeopathic remedies work for sleeplessness, it is important to understand what homeopathy is. Similia Similibus Curentur, or “Let likes cure likes” is a phrase that was used by Samuel Hahemann to describe this form of treatment. This form of therapy uses substances that would normally cause the symptom in a healthy person that the ill person is experiencing-In this case insomnia.

Homeopathic remedies are safe and have no side effects. They can be used on anyone of any age.

Remedies

Unlike modern medicines that have one drug for one ailment, homeopathy looks at the specific symptoms with the understanding that we all experience these differently. There are a number of reasons why certain people cannot fall asleep. It could be a mind that is forever thinking, or a body that aches. Whatever the reason is, the cure would be from a substance that induces like symptoms.

Here are a few examples of remedies that you may be given:-

Coffee – derived from the coffee bean, can be given in a very small dosage to a sleepless person. The idea being that coffee in large amounts would make a healthy person awake, so a person who is experiencing similar symptoms needs a “like” remedy to cure them.

Aconite – For those who have difficulty sleeping due to shock, fear, bad news or grief.

Cocculus – If you’re a shift worker such as a nurse or police officer then taking cocculus can help, also ideal for people who are over-tired.

Lachesis – For menopausal women

When trying to find a cure for symptoms you may be having, go to a doctor of homeopathic medicine. There they will be able to determine what will work best for you.

3 comments »

Posted in Sleep

Tags: