Digital Smarts Blog

Want to save some money while also making your home safer? Try ‘staking’ those “vampire electronics” – the idle devices that consume power all day and night, costing on average around $165 per household every year. These electronics include TVs, computers, appliances, and home entertainment gear, which go to sleep rather than turn completely off. With summer’s higher electric bills on the way, be sure to check out Kim Komando’s list of tips for tips on identifying what soaks up power, monitoring your power usage, and slaying the worst culprits.

Want to save some money while also making your home safer? Try ‘staking’ those “vampire electronics” – the idle devices that consume power all day and night, costing on average around $165 per household every year. These electronics include TVs, computers, appliances, and home entertainment gear, which go to sleep rather than turn completely off. With summer’s higher electric bills on the way, be sure to check out Kim Komando’s list of tips for tips on identifying what soaks up power, monitoring your power usage, and slaying the worst culprits.

Taking care of the affairs of loved ones after they have passed away can be stressful and time consuming if you don’t have their passwords or other ways to get into their accounts, but Facebook has created a way to allow others to close your page or turn it into a memorial. To get started, go to your Facebook account settings from your browser or mobile app and select Security. At the bottom of the Security settings page, choose Legacy Contact. Enter the name of the Facebook friend or relative you want to use and click the Add button. You can then have a message sent to inform your contact of your decision. If you would rather not have your page stay on Facebook after death, an option in the Legacy Contact settings can also allow someone to permanently delete your account.

Taking care of the affairs of loved ones after they have passed away can be stressful and time consuming if you don’t have their passwords or other ways to get into their accounts, but Facebook has created a way to allow others to close your page or turn it into a memorial. To get started, go to your Facebook account settings from your browser or mobile app and select Security. At the bottom of the Security settings page, choose Legacy Contact. Enter the name of the Facebook friend or relative you want to use and click the Add button. You can then have a message sent to inform your contact of your decision. If you would rather not have your page stay on Facebook after death, an option in the Legacy Contact settings can also allow someone to permanently delete your account.

Energy drinks have a new marketing strategy underway, and the target demographic is young gamers. Though on the surface it could seem innocuous, there are some real issues. A 2014 study conducted by the University of Minnesota suggested that boys who drank energy drinks on a weekly basis spent around four more hours playing video games per week than boys who did not consume energy drinks as often.

Even worse, there are very real health risks associated with consuming these kinds of drinks that are especially dangerous for teens. A March 2015 study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity noted that teens and adolescents who consumed highly caffeinated energy drinks could experience health issues including social, emotional and behavioral problems. Moreover, hospital emergency room visits by teens as a result of energy drinks jumped 30 percent between 2007 and 2011, and just last year The New York Times reported a 14-year-old in Norway “collapsed and fell into a coma after reportedly drinking four liters of energy drinks during a 16-hour Call of Duty party at his school.” The purchase and consumption of these kinds of beverages is something to watch out for if you have teenagers at home.

Energy drinks have a new marketing strategy underway, and the target demographic is young gamers. Though on the surface it could seem innocuous, there are some real issues. A 2014 study conducted by the University of Minnesota suggested that boys who drank energy drinks on a weekly basis spent around four more hours playing video games per week than boys who did not consume energy drinks as often.

Even worse, there are very real health risks associated with consuming these kinds of drinks that are especially dangerous for teens. A March 2015 study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity noted that teens and adolescents who consumed highly caffeinated energy drinks could experience health issues including social, emotional and behavioral problems. Moreover, hospital emergency room visits by teens as a result of energy drinks jumped 30 percent between 2007 and 2011, and just last year The New York Times reported a 14-year-old in Norway “collapsed and fell into a coma after reportedly drinking four liters of energy drinks during a 16-hour Call of Duty party at his school.” The purchase and consumption of these kinds of beverages is something to watch out for if you have teenagers at home.

It is known that Americans highly value the privacy of their personal information and online communications. Unfortunately, they have little faith that the government and private companies will actually protect their data. According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, more than nine in ten adults said that controlling who gets access to their private information and what information those people can see is important to them, yet half of the people surveyed felt they had little or no control over what is collected by the government and corporations.

Although respondents to the online survey conducted in 2014 and early 2015 said they have taken some actions to protect their privacy (such as deleting the web tracking software known as cookies), few had resorted to more serious measures like encrypting their personal data. Perhaps that was because two-thirds of those surveyed said they didn’t believe it would be very hard for a determined person or organization to ferret out their personal information online.

It is known that Americans highly value the privacy of their personal information and online communications. Unfortunately, they have little faith that the government and private companies will actually protect their data. According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, more than nine in ten adults said that controlling who gets access to their private information and what information those people can see is important to them, yet half of the people surveyed felt they had little or no control over what is collected by the government and corporations.

Although respondents to the online survey conducted in 2014 and early 2015 said they have taken some actions to protect their privacy (such as deleting the web tracking software known as cookies), few had resorted to more serious measures like encrypting their personal data. Perhaps that was because two-thirds of those surveyed said they didn’t believe it would be very hard for a determined person or organization to ferret out their personal information online.

Finding free or low cost ebooks for kids and adults to enjoy over the summer can be challenging, but Google may be making it easier. With a goal of digitizing the full text of books and magazines across the world, Google has already scanned more than 30 million titles. A recent study by Reading Is Fundamental found that summer reading loss is reversed when students receive books to keep and read at home, and downloading ebooks is an easy way to do that. Check out Google Books for a top free titles list, as well as great deals on paid books for children 8 and under, children 9-12, and young adults. The Google Play Books app for Android and iOS is free and makes it even easier to take a book with you wherever you go this summer. 

Finding free or low cost ebooks for kids and adults to enjoy over the summer can be challenging, but Google may be making it easier. With a goal of digitizing the full text of books and magazines across the world, Google has already scanned more than 30 million titles. A recent study by Reading Is Fundamental found that summer reading loss is reversed when students receive books to keep and read at home, and downloading ebooks is an easy way to do that. Check out Google Books for a top free titles list, as well as great deals on paid books for children 8 and under, children 9-12, and young adults. The Google Play Books app for Android and iOS is free and makes it even easier to take a book with you wherever you go this summer. 

Facebook has a feature you might not be aware of called Safety Check that allows people in disaster areas to check in with friends and family when cell towers are not working well. While this can be useful, it can also provide a false sense of safety, as one survivor of the recent Nepal earthquakes points out in an article in the Atlantic. Although someone may be safe at the time of the check-in, disaster areas often pose continual dangers after the catastrophe strikes.  

Facebook has a feature you might not be aware of called Safety Check that allows people in disaster areas to check in with friends and family when cell towers are not working well. While this can be useful, it can also provide a false sense of safety, as one survivor of the recent Nepal earthquakes points out in an article in the Atlantic. Although someone may be safe at the time of the check-in, disaster areas often pose continual dangers after the catastrophe strikes.  

Security breaches have become something we hear about almost every day, but what about those we don’t hear or know about? Research conducted by AlienVault shows that 20% of Information Technology (IT) security professionals have witnessed a breach being hidden or covered up by their boss or company. The survey also found that in the event of a breach, only 25% of professionals would see the best course of action as telling the regulator and paying the fine. Blogger Javvad Malik, a security advocate for AlienVault, explains that “security professionals find themselves under more pressure to cut corners and bend rules in order to keep the show on the road.” He suggests there is a need to change the culture of the industry to one that “accepts, fixes and moves along when they [breaches] do occur.”

Security breaches have become something we hear about almost every day, but what about those we don’t hear or know about? Research conducted by AlienVault shows that 20% of Information Technology (IT) security professionals have witnessed a breach being hidden or covered up by their boss or company. The survey also found that in the event of a breach, only 25% of professionals would see the best course of action as telling the regulator and paying the fine. Blogger Javvad Malik, a security advocate for AlienVault, explains that “security professionals find themselves under more pressure to cut corners and bend rules in order to keep the show on the road.” He suggests there is a need to change the culture of the industry to one that “accepts, fixes and moves along when they [breaches] do occur.”

In 2013, a survey revealed that about 21.5% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied and 6.9% reported being cyberbullied -- the lowest rates since the first School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey was released in 2005. The numbers of reported bullying have gone down from 27.8 percent in 2011, and 31.7 percent in 2007, and reports of being cyberbullied also fell, down from 9 percent in 2011. Despite the overall drop in bullying and cyberbullying, reporting rates remain low – just more than one-third of students who were victims of traditional bullying - and fewer than one-quarter of cyberbullying victims - reported the incident to an adult. The most common forms of cyberbullying were unwanted contact via text messaging and posting hurtful information on the internet. Without more reporting, it is hard to tell how accurate the data is and whether efforts to curb cyberbullying are having any effect on the decline.

In 2013, a survey revealed that about 21.5% of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied and 6.9% reported being cyberbullied -- the lowest rates since the first School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey was released in 2005. The numbers of reported bullying have gone down from 27.8 percent in 2011, and 31.7 percent in 2007, and reports of being cyberbullied also fell, down from 9 percent in 2011. Despite the overall drop in bullying and cyberbullying, reporting rates remain low – just more than one-third of students who were victims of traditional bullying - and fewer than one-quarter of cyberbullying victims - reported the incident to an adult. The most common forms of cyberbullying were unwanted contact via text messaging and posting hurtful information on the internet. Without more reporting, it is hard to tell how accurate the data is and whether efforts to curb cyberbullying are having any effect on the decline.

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released a guide recently to help parents understand student-data-privacy policies and to clarify students' and parents' protections under the law. The FPF, a Washington-based organization that advocates for the responsible use of data, worked with the National Parent-Teacher Association and Connect Safely in publishing the online resource. The new parent guide provides details about who can access students' data, what education companies can do with student information, what laws are in place to protect student data, and when parents can opt out of sharing data.

The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) released a guide recently to help parents understand student-data-privacy policies and to clarify students' and parents' protections under the law. The FPF, a Washington-based organization that advocates for the responsible use of data, worked with the National Parent-Teacher Association and Connect Safely in publishing the online resource. The new parent guide provides details about who can access students' data, what education companies can do with student information, what laws are in place to protect student data, and when parents can opt out of sharing data.

If you haven’t looked at Facebook’s Privacy Basics portal that was introduced late in 2014, it’s a good thing to check out. A topic was recently added called How to Keep Your Account Secure. This new section features 11 visual and interactive guides covering topics such as passwords, reporting suspicious posts or messages, and what to do if a user account is taken over by someone else.

If you haven’t looked at Facebook’s Privacy Basics portal that was introduced late in 2014, it’s a good thing to check out. A topic was recently added called How to Keep Your Account Secure. This new section features 11 visual and interactive guides covering topics such as passwords, reporting suspicious posts or messages, and what to do if a user account is taken over by someone else.