MOBILE PHONES AND ECOMMERCE

PHONES SECURITY

While this won’t necessarily protect your phone against theft, it will protect what’s on it. For example, if someone tries to remotely log in to your Google account from another device, you’ll know via the 2-step message on your phone. And then you can take the appropriate action and change your password.

In 2017, the number of new mobile malware variants increased by 54%. With 5G on the rise, experts anticipate an even higher number of risks in 2020. This makes it more crucial than ever to take the necessary steps to protect your personal device from mobile threats.

Mobile websites can download malware onto our mobile devices without our permission or awareness. Phishing is a typical way attackers get us to click on links to sites containing mobile threats. For example, a hacker might set up a website that looks legitimate (e.g. like our banking site) to capture our login credentials. What can we do about web-based mobile threats? Security software on our phones can help detect malicious websites and phishing attempts. It also pays to be extra careful and attentive. For example, the IRS will never send an email requesting our tax data. (They only use the US Postal Service.) An email pointing to an IRS website is almost guaranteed to be a scam.

REFURBISHED PHONES

Where to buy refurbished If you're doing your research and are ready to buy refurbished, here are some great places to look that often have refurbished, recertified, pre-owned, or open-box phones. Gazelle refurbishes and sells phones it buys from consumers, and offers the last few years of popular devices from Samsung and Google (plus all of the latest iPhone models). This means there's a small diversity of brands, but a great selection within the most popular ones. Amazon has a "renewed" refurbished electronics section where you can find many last-generation devices at solid discounts. There's more variety of conditions, though, and it isn't always clear exactly what you're going to get when buying because the products come from a variety of companies that don't follow the same refurbishing process. Amazon Warehouse is often a better choice for discounted phones. Warehouse doesn't technically have "refurbished" phones, but instead sells opened-and-returned brand new (or gently used) products, which can be found at similar discounts to refurbs — but Warehouse has more latest-generation devices to choose from. Best Buy sells refurbished, pre-owned, and open-box phones from a variety of companies (though it's heavily weighted toward Apple) at discounts ranging from 10-30% off. Open-box deals, in particular, are great because they're typically devices that have just been purchased, opened, and returned, not even used. Because of this, you can often find the latest models of phones for sale, rather than just old models. Back Market works with phone refurbishers to form a marketplace where you can find refurbished devices of all types. Information on the refurbishing process is provided, and the listings are transparent about what damage is present if any. Also, there's free shipping and a warranty. Verizon has certified pre-owned devices, but the selection is small and isn't always the best deal. For the most part, it only sells pre-owned Samsung phones. Buying certified from the carrier gives you a bit of security, though, as Verizon will guarantee you're getting a working device and offers a 90-day warranty. T-Mobile sometimes sells certified pre-owned devices at deep discounts, but stock fluctuates regularly (sometimes to the point where there are no phones listed online) and is generally limited to Samsung and/or LG phones when available. The carrier will also offer similar support to that of a brand new device, so you do have a safety net there. AT&T technically has certified pre-owned phones, but they're only available online, and at any given time you may find just one or two low-end models. You're likely better off buying an unlocked refurbished phone elsewhere. Do your research, pick the right store, and compare prices before buying, and you're likely to come away with a good phone at a better price than you would ever find on a new-in-box phone. We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more. One-click These are the best unlocked phones on Amazon for every budget Amazon is one of the easiest places to go buy an unlocked phone and have it delivered in a flash. Here are the best unlocked Android phones it's selling at a variety of price levels. Protect the future These are the best Nokia 8.3 5G cases you can find today! The Nokia 8.3 5G has finally arrived! With a beautiful design, 5G connectivity, and some impressive specs this phone might be one of the best phones this year. But with a phone that looks this great, you'll want to keep it safe from life, so we've found the best cases. stood up Here are the best phone stands for Zoom & Google Meet in 2020 A stand can come in handy when conducting a virtual meeting over Zoom, Google Meet, or other video calling services. And the right one needs to have specific features that meet your needs. We found a few worth considering.

COMPUTER AND INSURANCE

Renters insurance and a computer you use for work If you use your computer for occasional freelance work, your electronics coverage limit through your renters insurance policy still covers applies. But if you use your computer exclusively for work, it would fall under another category limit for items used primarily for business purposes. Ask your insurance company what your business property limit is, and if you have one. If you don’t, or you need more coverage, you may need to purchase additional rider called a business property rider to ensure that your computer is covered. Renters insurance and a computer stolen outside of your home If your computer is stolen out of your car or out of your bag if you’re in a coffee shop, it may surprise you that your renters insurance may pay for a replacement. That’s because your personal property covers your personal belongings when they are inside or outside your home. Some policies may have coverage limits on personal property claims outside the home, so talk to your insurance company about your policy’s limits. Renters insurance and someone else’s computer Does renters insurance pay if you lose or ruin someone else’s computer? That depends, and is often up to your insurance company. If you lose or damage a computer belonging to a friend, your renters insurance liability coverage may pay for their computer, as long as your insurance company agrees that the loss was caused by your negligence.

COMPUTER VIRUS

A more damaging virus can wreak havoc on an extremely large computer system within a matter of minutes or hours, causing it to crash and thereby destroy valuable data. A virus may simply cause a harmless joke or cryptic message to appear on a computer user’s video monitor each time he turns on his computer. A virus is usually designed to execute when it is loaded into a computer’s memory. The infection can then transfer itself to files and code on other computers through magnetic disks or other memory-storage devices, computer networks, or online systems. Upon execution, the virus instructs its host program to copy the viral code into, or “infect,” any number of other programs and files stored in the computer. In most cases, the corrupted programs continue to perform their intended functions but surreptitiously execute the virus’s instructions as well. The replicating viruses often multiply until they destroy data or render other program codes meaningless. A virus consists of a set of instructions that attaches itself to other computer programs, usually in the computer’s operating system, and becomes part of them.

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

 

Communication technology

Pierluigi Coppola, Fulvio Silvestri, in Autonomous Vehicles and Future Mobility, 20195 Conclusions and perspectivesThe application of telecommunication technologies in vehicles, the widespread digitalization of the infrastructure, and the rapid diffusion of smartphones are key enablers for the advent of new ways of offering transport services and meeting new mobility needs that have been growing rapidly throughout the world.Future mobility scenarios concern both transport demand and supply; they require envisioning, on the one hand, the evolution of technological development of vehicles (electrification, connectivity, and automation), and on the other hand, the behavioral changes of travelers.It is likely that major changes will be induced by the introduction of in-vehicle connectivity and automation functions. These features will allow new modes of transport and mobility solutions customized to individuals’ needs that are multimodal, seamless (door-to-door), and easy to access on demand (via smartphones). Therefore we foresee the entry of new operators into the mobility market who will focus their business on automated mobility service on-demand (AMoD). However, it is equally predictable that current operators will gradually convert their fleets, exploring ways to integrate Innovative Mobility Services (IMS) with traditional services. In fact, the introduction of new mobility services in cities, if correctly planned and integrated in PT networks, could lead to great benefits in terms of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, thanks to a more rational and conscientious use of resources. For example, self-driving vehicles could primarily be used as feeders and shuttles for mass rapid transit systems (Yap et al., 2016) or, furthermore, be used as micro-transit, in order to extend PT lines in those areas where they do not operate now due to low demand density.From a system perspective, the co-modality and the interoperability of the various transport services is desirable and likely to happen. However, there is room for a further more innovative paradigm shift in the way transport services will be offered. This is the case, for instance, of the MaaS concept, which is based on the integration of mobility services currently offered by a vast number of different operators into a single service “aggregator.”On the demand side, a behavioral change is also expected. The high connectivity features could be used to enhance user experience by means of Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). However, the major breakthrough may come from a change in the consumer’s approach to transport modes from an ownership-based model to a consumption-based one. In the past, drivers have been the owners of their vehicles, sustaining investment costs amortized throughout the life cycle of vehicles. In the future travelers may be attracted to adopt mobility solutions for their trips that do not require vehicle ownership but are based on their temporary use, possibly shared with the rest of the community (i.e., shared mobility).In the long term, a widespread adoption of IMS and CAVs will make investing in ITS more important than investing in road capacity expansion, and CAVs themselves will promote shared urban mobility forms (CAR, 2017). Fig. 5 gives a synoptic description of a possible timing for when technologies for connectivity and automation will reach maturity. Although from 2019 conditional automation functions will be available in most of the new vehicles sold, it will be necessary to wait few more years before SAE Level 4 (time t1 in Fig. 5) and SAE Level 5 cars (time t3 in Fig. 5) could be circulating on public roads. When high automation is standardized, V2V, V2I, and V2P technologies should also be available (time t2). V2N, however, could be reached in the same period in which 5G connectivity will complete its development cycle (time t4).Fig. 5. . Timeline of the maturity of vehicle technologies and mobility services.Uncertainty about the future introduction of CAVs depends on supply-side, demand-side, and governance factors (Nikitas et al., 2017; Smith et al., 2018). Supply-side factors are related to technological development and its cost, including the performances of vehicles in promiscuous traffic situations, ability of vehicle sensors to respond to unexpected situations, technological level of connectivity required, maintenance needs, and obsolescence of control system. Demand-side factors concern user acceptance (Payre et al., 2014), attitudes, and behavioral factors (Trommer et al., 2016; Piao et al., 2016), such as desire to drive or to cede control, interactions with vulnerable road users, safety, security, and privacy. Deployment will depend also on users’ willingness to pay for automated transports (Litman, 2018). Governance factors are related to national regulation, such as permission to validate on public roads, license to operate in mixed traffic, data protection regulation, and cybersecurity standards. In a few years the commercial release could take place, but only in those countries that have in the meantime legislated to allow circulation of CAVs in mixed or reserved lanes. Additional time is necessary before they reach large market penetration.

FREE OFFERS

The pandemic has created hard times for families,as a result, people are looking for hand outs,give aways, which has a way of saving the family from pressing expenses.Research has shown that some companies are giving out gift items ranging from electronics,to gift cards.We all appreciate free gifts and so this article is focusing on free items that can be given.The  gifts are to be used and a feedback given so that concerned organisation may mass produced these products as gifts 

The following items can be given

1.electronics

2.Gift card

Now talking about electronics,it can be laptop,printer,scanner or any of it likes.

ABUSE OF  FREE ITEMS

Some can take undue advantage of gifts,gather as much as possible then hoard them to  detriment of others.This should not be encouraged,the gifts are like blessing and must be allowed to go round

REACH OUT TO MOBILE DEVICE USERS

Gone are the days that  people browse only on computers, the World has seriously advanced to the extent that mobile phones can be used to browse the net.

With this in mind your websites should be optimized for mobile viewing, if not, you are losing a huge chunk of potential customers.

More people browse the internet on their smart phones than on their computers.

So you are walking along in the mall and you see these little rectangular devices protruding from people's hands almost everywhere you look. You have seen this yourself almost everywhere you go.

People are more connected than they have ever been.  This is the new evolution in communication and information gathering.

When someone wants to know where a restaurant is, they don't go looking for a phone booth to find a phone book. (Are there still phone booths out there?) They whip out their smart phone or tablet, do a search and bring up the restaurants website.

If your website is not optimized for mobile viewing you are losing out on a huge segment of people that are searching for you.

The good news is that optimizing your site for mobile viewing is easy to do. In fact you can use a tool to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. All you have to do is do some tweaking.

You don't have to worry that people on regular computers will get a weird looking site. All of the device handling happens automatically. Smart devices get the mobile version of your site and regular computers get the normal version of your site. This gives you the best of both worlds!

HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOUR HARD DISK IS ABOUT TO CRASH

The drive is the store house of programs that runs the computer.

However, there are times, this device fails you when you least expect .The worst of all is the imminent loss of data.

                            

As in vehicles, a good and careful user can spot the signs of a troubled hard drive and take a proactive actions.

Below are signs or symptoms to look out for when your hard drive is about to pack up or give up the ghost

     (i.)            Frequent but irregular crashes, especially while booting up Windows®

    (ii.)            Frequent and cryptic error messages while performing typical activities like moving files

  (iii.)            Folder and file names that have been scrambled and changed

  (iv.)            Disappearing files and folders

   (v.)            Really long wait times to access folders and files

  (vi.)            Hard disk is silent for a long period after you request data by opening a file or folder

(vii.)            Garbled output from open files or printing

(viii.)            Hard drive grinds away constantly because of noisy bearings

Sound can be an excellent indicator of disk trouble! If you previously didn’t hear a peep from your hard drive, but now you d. If it seems much louder than usual or makes occasional clicks or grinding sounds, check it ASAP and get ready to backup your data and replace the drive.

If your drive is making regular clicking or grinding sounds, chances are you have a mechanical failure within the drive. Turn off your computer as soon as possible as continued use may damage the platters (data storage area) and make your data unrecoverable. The longer the drive is powered on, the more damage you may be doing to your data. You should then make a note of what happened and contact a computer technician immediately.

COMPUTER ILLEGAL OPERATIONS

Today’s article may be serialiszed,so it is advisable  there be constant follow up on the part of readers and Users of information.
People Users are guilty of performing illegal operations in their computer; these constitute an abuse and have the long term effects on affecting your personal computers
These illegal and can be caused by various factors. The following are some of the more commonly known reasons performing illegal operations.

1.  Third-party programs causing memory conflicts or other conflicts with the program or programs attempting to be run.
2. Data not being read properly from source. Running a program or game with a dirty CD can cause the CD to be read improperly causing Illegal Operations. Floppy diskettes, which may contain errors can cause illegal operations.
3. Installing a program or game on a hard drive that has errors or is highly fragmented.
4. Corrupt files.
5. Memory managers.
6. Bad, incorrect or not the latest video drivers.
7. Computer Virus.
8. Added hardware
9. Error in program coding
10. Corruption or problem within Windows.
11. Bad Memory, invalid bits or physically bad memory.

The solutions to the above will come in my next  article

COMPUTER II

HOW TO IMPROVE THE SPEED OF YOUR COMPUTER

In this jet or information age,one of the things that frustrate a computer user is slowness of ones personal computer.This article has been well researched out to provide tips on how to boost the speed of your laptop or personal stand-alone computer,in order words speed up your computer.

1 Free up disk The Disk Cleanup tool helps you to free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete and lets you choose to delete some, all, or none of the identified files.

2.Remove spyware, and help protect your computer from viruses

Spyware gathers personal information without asking for permission. From the websites you visit to user names and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to compromising your privacy, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to combat spyware.
3.DOWNLOAD MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS for free to help guard your system from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malicious software Microsoft Security Essentials acts as a spyware removal tool and includes automatic updates to help keep your system protected from emerging threats.
4.The MICROSOFT WINDOWS MALICIOUS SOFTWARE REMOVAL TOOL, also free, checks computers running Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, windows me, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software, including Folstart, Phorpiex, Weelsof, Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. It helps remove any detected infection or malware.

5. Free up disk space

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you to free up space on your hard disk to improve the performance of your computer or thereby speed up the computer. The tool identifies files that you can safely delete and lets you choose to delete some, all, or none of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:

ü Remove temporary Internet files.

ü Delete downloaded program files, such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets.

ü Empty the Recycle Bin.

ü Remove Windows temporary files, such as error reports.

ü Delete optional Windows components that you don't use.

ü Delete installed programs that you no longer use.

ü Remove unused restore points and shadow copies from System Restore.

ü Delete system files (Windows 8).

6.MAKE SURE YOUR HARDWARE IS SUFFICIENT

ABOVE AND BEYOND EVERYTHING YOU CAN DO WITH software to optimize the function of your computer, making sure you have the proper hardware to support Windows is critical.

7. CLEAN YOUR DESKTOP

Is your Windows Desktop dotted with files? Have you noticed that your computer has been running slower and slower? Do you see the hard drive light often flashing while you wait for the computer to respond to an action? There are steps you can take to fix it. Read this article.

8. SCAN YOUR WINDOWS SYSTEM FOR ERRORS

An operating system is a collection of files that perform different functions. It is possible, over time, that one or more of these system files has changed or become corrupted. If this happens, the speed of your system may decrease. By using a utility called “System File Checking”, it will inspect these files and correct any problem it finds.

9. SCAN FOR VIRUSES, SPYWARE AND ADWARE

Every Windows computer is vulnerable to viruses. Viruses are nasty little programs that cause both major and minor problems for users.
Spyware and Adware are programs created by companies to find out more information about customers, so they can better market products to them. Usually these programs are not created for malicious purposes. Spyware and Adware can load into computer memory and slow it down.
Periodically scanning and removal of Viruses, Spyware and Adware is a great way to improve computer performance.

10 UNINSTALL UNUSED PROGRAMS

Over time, you may have accumulated programs on your computer that you do not use. When a program is installed, it creates connections between the program and the operating system. Even if you don’t use these programs, they can slow down your system. If you have the original program’s installation disk or file, removing programs will free up space on your computer and may speed up your system's performance.

10. ADJUST VISUAL EFFECTS FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE

Windows provides a number of interesting visual effects including animated windows and fading menus. If you do not have enough operating memory (see above number 1), these effects can slow down your computer. Adjusting or reducing visual effects can make a difference.
To speed up Vista computers in particular you can disable features and function that are not used. For more information, read "How to Speed Up Windows Vista."

11. DON’T AUTOMATICALLY START PROGRAMS

Programs use operating memory (RAM, also called system resources). Unless you always use these programs, you can keep them from loading at Windows startup and speed both the booting of your computer and its performance.

12.. DEFRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVE

The more information and programs you have on your computer, the more it is likely that Windows has placed parts of the same file in different locations on your hard drive. It may do this for hundreds of files and programs, depending on how much space is available. Defragmenting the hard drive places all information for each file in one place. The result can be a faster computer experience.
Important Note: Before you even try this, backup all your work onto a different computer, hard drive, CD or disk. Also, you should only do this if you have a reliable source of power for your computer. Doing this when there is a brown out or power problem in the neighborhood, is not a good idea. If a computer turns off while it is defragmenting a drive, it will create more problems than not defragmenting it in the first place.

13 REINSTALL THE OPERATING SYSTEM AND PROGRAMS

If you have done all the above steps and your computer does not become more responsive, you might consider reinstalling the operating system and programs. This is a scorched earth option - basically you backup all your data and user settings, wipe your hard drive clean and re-install the operating system with your original disks. Next, install all your favorite programs and restore all your data and user settings.
The nice thing about doing this is that you essentially have a new computer, free of years worth of software and registry changes, additions and errors that can turn a fast rabbit of a Windows computer into a slow turtle. The bad thing about this choice is that it takes time and planning to do it correctly. If your PC is 3 to 4 years old and continues to run slower than it did when you purchased it, this might be the only action that will make to run faster

 

HOW TO REVIVE A DEAD PHONE BATTERY

I have seen people wondering if it possible to revive a dead phone battery. I have  had serious issues with dead batteries especially as a consultant that works in a company that deals on ICT related issues and counsel clients on how best to use  computer like phones and computers. I researched out these articles for people to try and test the claims made, so that we can save ourselves unnecessary frustrations and resources.

When you talk of having dead batteries around, and wishing they could come up alive again, I have been there. You need patience to work out the following instructions contained in this article.

As you read, am embarking testing these claims or would have verified these claims. There is no harm in trying. Collectively we shall shout “EUREKA” I have discovered the secret.

Do these

1. Get your cell phone battery on charge,  though it appears to be dead. Insert the plug from the charger into the correct socket on the phone and turn on the charger. The display on the phone indicates it's charging.

2. Remove the plug from the phone when the display indicates the battery is fully charged. It probably takes only a few minutes to charge because your battery needs to be reset.

3. Take off the back from your phone and remove the battery. Wait a couple of minutes and put your battery back into the phone and replace the back.

4. Turn on your phone. Open as many applications on your phone as possible. Turn up the sound, play music or games. The idea is to use as much power from the battery as quickly as possible. Leave the applications running until the phone turns off automatically because of lack of battery power. This may happen quickly or take a while, depending on how bad your phone battery is.

5. Remove the battery cover and battery as before. Wait a couple of minutes then replace the battery and cover. Turn on your phone; surprisingly, it powers up. Open phone applications as before and let it run until the phone turns off. It doesn't take long, when you have a battery that appears dead.

6. Repeat the complete procedure, as monotonous as it is, until your phone won't power up. The procedure is reactivating the battery by breaking down crystals inside the battery, increasing the surface area. Because the battery hasn't been regularly discharged, the crystals have expanded and merged, and this results in an inability to retain a charge.

7. Remove the battery from the phone a final time then reinsert it. Put the plug from the charger into the phone charging socket and turn it on.

8. Let the phone charge. Be prepared to wait a while now, because your battery is revived and can hold a greater charge, similar to when you first purchased it.

9. Remove the charger and remove the plug from the phone. Turn on your phone and use as normal.