Passwords made simple and secure

A great comic strip explaining how easy it is for you to get hacked and how to make a better password. Be sure to also activate the 2 step verification from my previous post.

xkcd: Password Strength

Your personal security online...

Everyone uses locks on their doors at home and some even have a security system to protect their personal belongings. Some get a car alarm and even one with a GPS to prevent your car from being stolen. A password on your phone, but what about your email? No one seems to secure email and it's the most important thing online now.

Why is email important? Think about it. Where are all your forgotten passwords resets sent? Especially for your banking and credit cards? Email. All I need to do is enter your password and is it even a secure one? Is it your kids name? Your wife's? Does it contain letters or numbers? Or even capital and lower case letters? Chances are it's a simple password. Is your password on this list?

25 most-used passwords revealed

Here are the steps to make it more secure and some recommendations:

1. Make a better password. Check this link out: http://xkcd.com/936/

2. Use Two-step verification. It's a second code that is sent to you or generated by an app, that needs to be entered. Think of it as your work VPN token. I have more information below.

Here are some links to popular email services with their "How-to". If you don't use any of these, I would seriously consider switching.

Hotmail or Oulook.com: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/two-step-verification-faq

Yahoo: http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_ACCT&locale=en_US&id=SLN5013

Gmail: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/180744?hl=en

Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5570

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150172618258920


Enjoy your new piece of mind!

Year end closeout...

So, another year has gone by... did you keep your New Years resolution? Mine was to post more. I came close. Missed a few since August due to work.

With the holiday's and New Year coming up. We all do things for other people, but forget to do the important things. Things that will benefit you and your future loved ones even more than the latest/hottest gift.

Here are a few things you've probably missed:

1. Examining your 401k - Is it giving you the best return, does it need to be reallocated? Are you getting at least 12%?? No? Time to take a look. While you're there, be sure to increase your contribution by 1%. You'll never miss it and you'll thank me later!

2. Your emergency fund - Is your money sitting in a checking account earning something for you? Most banks are paying 0.01 - 0.05% on your checking account vs a national money market account which is about 1%. Know what that means for every $1,000? $10 vs $0.10 in interest. What would you like to be earning?

3. Insurance - For everything. Are you covered? Life, Auto, Home, etc? Talk to an insurance agent or 2. You can save money and cover yourself. If hurricane Sandy taught us anything, is that anything can happen, make sure you're covered.

Life insurance can help your family through a rough time, especially if you had a new addition this year. Update your beneficiaries too!

Not to mention that you could also save a ton of money by getting additional insurance. I saved an additional $200 on car insurance for buying a $100 renters policy which covered me for property loss, even if something is stolen from my car.

4. Company benefits - This has multiple parts.

FSA/HSA/Dependent Care - ALL pre-tax benefits. Your child care, your glasses, dental work, doctors visits, etc. Plan ahead. You save 25% in taxes by just planning ahead. 25%!! Think about it. Could you use $250 for every $1,000 you spend. I sure could. (If you don't know what these are, I would find someone who does and ask. Talk to your tax adviser/accountant this coming April.)

Company Stock - Does your company offer it? My company offers a 15% discount on the purchase price at the end of every quarter. 15% You don't get a rate of return on your money that easy, ANYWHERE! Think about it, every $1,000 you earn $150 in 3 months. That's an extra $600 a year. Not to mention that some companies also pay dividends. Do you hear the dollar signs?

Pre-tax transit & Parking - Want to save 25% off your transit costs? It's easy! Take advantage of your pre-tax commuter benefit. Most companies offer this. On average, we spend about $1,000 a year on trains and buses. Park at a Park & Ride? You can put away for parking also. Add that $1,000 to it and you save $500 a year.

5. Your living will - Very important. If you don't have one. Get one. It's cheap and easy. It will save your family a ton of problems in case you ever pass away. No matter how old you are, you have assets and it can be passed on. Work has life insurance, your car, your retirement account. It will help in settling your affairs. Make a list and check it twice. You may have more than you know!

At this rate, I think I've saved and earned you at least $3,000+ a year.

And that's all I have for now! Happy Holiday's and Happy New Year!! See you in 2013!

The next generation of employment...

So the news has been reporting on "unemployment", "economy" and "job creation". The larger problem lies in the people who are currently unemployed. There are several factors.

The primary reason is that they are missing the skill set required. The job market is not as terrible, as one is lead to believe. See the article below. This is just one example of many.

Halliburton adding 11,000 jobs, mostly in North Dakota
By Annalyn Censky @CNNMoney August 25, 2011: 6:25 PM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/25/news/economy/halliburton_north_dakota_jobs/index.htm

The secondary factor is their location. Certain areas are hard hit by the down turn and shift that happened so it's up to the individual to make a change. If something you are doing isn't working or no longer required, then it is up to you the individual, to change. Sam Kinison said it best, "No jobs here? Well MOVE to where the jobs are!"  I'm paraphrasing a joke on Ethiopia, but you get the idea.

With technology, menial tasks, paper pushers, etc. have essentially become extinct. Physical tasks that don't require skill are no longer needed. This will create a larger shift between the employed and unemployed.

Those that adapt and learn will always be employed. Those that resist change will be the ones left behind.

5 Things Nobody Tells You About Being Poor

So, I started reading the site Cracked.com. It's pretty funny and the humor is based on some facts.

I came across this great article: 5 Things Nobody Tells You About Being Poor | Cracked.com 

It's funny, but horrifyingly true! I had a co-worker making decent money, but wasn't getting ahead. So I offered to help. All I did was reconcile his checking account to find that he was paying $600 a month in overdraft charges because his wife was using the debit card attached to their checking account!! That's $7,200 a year and it was going on for several years! At 3 years, it's $21,600!!

It's shocking the lack of financial education in the United States. When I used to hear how important education was, "Go to school!" from my parents day in and day out. I realized that they don't necessarily know why. They see that people with college degrees make more money so they equate that with success.

In reality, it's not just the degree. If it was, certain people will not have succeeded in life, such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs to name a few. The focal point should be the desire to LEARN in life. Know why is it that way and not just take it. For example, the "Occupiers" are mostly the "educated ignorant" people or the sheep that woke up one day and said something is not right with the "System", when in reality it's them who failed the system.

If you're poor reading this, there is hope. Know what is wrong and go about fixing it. Don't get sucked into a bad daily pattern of poor. Change your habits and you can change your life. Unless you like the way it is now, then ignore this post and go back to Facebook.

For those that are still reading, take notes from the article above and keep that money for yourself. Stop giving your money away and start saving it for yourself.

Happy New Year!

New year, new beginnings...

So, how to keep relevant and employed in the new year? That's the million dollar question. Here are a few considerations and if you see yourself answering yes to these questions, be sure to keep reading!

1. Does your job seems mindless to you? You just go in hang out and go home? Do you just push paper around? Can a monkey do your job? (Well, not a real monkey. But someone out of college or an illegal immigrant?) Are you making a decent salary doing it?

2. Are you keeping up with your industry? Still using old ways? Don't know about the new technologies in your industry? Not current on your industry certifications?

3. Has business been declining? Have there been less people every year at work? Is management rumbling about business being bad? People NOT being hired? Seeing more managers than actual workers?

4. New companies and/or technology in your industry taking over and doing better? Your company fighting to be relevant?

These are just a few off the top. But if you've agreed or relate, you're in for a shock. Still confused, I'll elaborate with an example.

The US Post Office.

10 years ago, they gave the packaging business and express mail away to UPS and FedEx. They spent billions on technology to install high speed readers than handled letter mail.

Well, there was this thing called the internet and email that came around and decimated their letter business.

Now the post office is regulated and constrained. Unable to move into new businesses, so they will shrink to a point where they will almost disappear and another 5-10 years.

Things they should have gone into.

1. Maps. Most people don't realize, but they have the most up to date maps and business address of anyone. After all they have to deliver it. That data is extremely valuable to providers, such as Google Maps, Bing Maps and GPS manufacturers. The issues they face today, is the ability to update them. The post office does this on a daily basis.

2. Secure email. They can provide a secure email account, easily. Think about it, no fake accounts. Like a PO box, but you have to go to the post office to validate with a federal ID. No fake accounts, these people would be the people they say they are. Spam? A thing of the past. If you aren't on the approved sender list, then it gets junked. You have to send a person the mail first and they need to reply to send future mail.

3. Drop ship locations. Like the UPS stores. They have the MOST locations of any retailer. Accept packages from your competitors. Amazon also has a "Locker" at select locations.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200689010

How to avoid this?

This is hard. In the end, it's up to you the individual. NOT your company.

Most companies have a large middle and upper management with lots of internal politics. Things won't change, it's what's wrong with the government now. But that's another story. So ultimately, it's up to you, because people will always save themselves first. It's rare that they don't, but don't be upset when they don't. They have families and priorities also.

The best example I can use, is myself. You can tweak the information to benefit you.

1. Check Monster. Are there a lot of positions available in the industry doing what you do? Is the job in demand? If you see the salary declining... as in desktop support becoming a $15 an hour job vs a $80,000. It's time to get out.

2. Keep up with your industry. Read blogs, news, trade journals, etc. Learn the new technology that comes to your industry.

3. Partake in new things at your company. New projects, new technology, etc. Go with it and don't fight it. It may help you in your new job.