Month: March 2018

Identity fraud is becoming big business amongst gangs, criminals and cyber hackers. In mere moments someone can steal your personal information and apply for credit cards in your name, rack up an obscene amount of debt in your name and even fly to sunnier climes using your name and a faked passport. Like something out of the movies, these individuals can take on your identity and become you. The scariest aspect of this crime is that you will probably never know how the criminal came to steal your identity and you will never be able to put a face to the criminal who committed the fraud. However, there are ways you can protect yourself and your identity.

Passwords

It goes without saying that the passwords to all of your online accounts need to be strong and unhackable. In the twenty-first century, we have accounts for everything from our online banking to our social media and from our email to our Amazon account. These passwords should all be unique. The sheer scale of the chaos that could be unleashed if a cyber hacker discovered the one password to all of your online accounts would be unthinkable. Keep them at least twelve characters long, unique for each account, with a range of letters, special characters and numbers, and ensure that you change them every couple of months. This is the first line of defence when keeping your online data secure.

If you want to check if your email has been compromised, you can head onto a specific search engine that will investigate if your email address has been present at all on the dark web. You simply input your email and let it run a search. If it has been compromised, you can then change the password to the account or close it down and set up a new one altogether.

Helping to keep everything secure and private, you should also make sure you are using one of the best web browsers for privacy and security.

Your PIN

Chip and PIN has made it even faster, easier and more efficient when paying for items in physical stores. However, with this ease also comes a greater threat of identity threat. When in a store, make sure you cover the pad you are inserting your pin into so that nobody can see it. If you lose your card at all, phone your bank immediately to get it canceled. And if you find yourself at a cashpoint and the hole in the wall looks dodgy for any reason, don’t use it. PIN readers may have been installed, or cameras may have been placed strategically to read the numbers you input onto the pad.

Documentation

If you have your passport, birth certificate and financial documentation at home, you need to make sure you keep them safe. Don’t leave these items in drawers or under your bed. These are the first places any thief will look. Instead, try to put these documents into a lockable container or file which you can then store away in your attic space or under a floorboard. The harder it is for any potential thief to locate and get into, the more likely it is that they will give up and move on.

Becoming a victim of identity theft can leave you feeling vulnerable, foolish and violated. However, by ensuring that you heed this advice, you will be doing everything in your power to prevent your identity from ever falling into the hands of someone else.

Starting a business will never be a total breeze, but there are always ways to make it easier. Technology is one of the biggest things to speed up the process of starting a business and make it simpler,  and more accessible for anyone. If you’re thinking of starting a business but you’re worried that it’s going to take too much time and money to get anywhere, there are many tech tools that could change things for you. From cloud computing to social media, you don’t have to spend a lot of money or even use up a lot of your time running a business. Here are some of the things you could be doing.

Get Everything Set Up Online

If you can’t even get past the first stage of starting your business, you’re not going to going to get very far. Setting up all the official stuff to create your business legally can often be a bit of a hassle. You might get confused about what you need to do and end up going around in circles trying to work it out. It can also simply be time-consuming and frustrating. If you want things to be easier, you can do it all online without any trouble. Using a package from Your Company Formations, you can set up a limited company, and have some useful extras to go along with it. Get a registered office address, an annual filing service, and even mail forwarding to make everything simple.

Run on a Budget with Virtual Help

The internet makes so many things much easier to deal with. One of the things it can allow you to do is expand your business without having to hire permanent employees. With help from virtual assistants, you can get all your necessary work done. You can use a personal assistant, web designer, content writer, customer service assistant and plenty of other people to make your business look bigger than it is. When you work with people virtually, you can choose people from all over the world who are suited to your needs and to your budget. You can coordinate everyone you work with using various tools to keep everyone on track.

Get the Word Out with Digital Marketing

While traditional marketing methods are still useful, it’s difficult to get anywhere these days without digital marketing. Fortunately, digital marketing methods are often very cost-effective, so they’re ideal for getting a business off the ground. From social media to SEO and PPC, you can use a range of techniques to promote your business online. Of course, you need to use them effectively if you want to make sure you’re not just wasting money. The Social Media Marketing For Dummies 2021 guide could be just what you need to get your social media efforts launched.

Keep in mind that new business owners will often try to do it all themselves, which isn’t impossible, but it’s often better to get professional help. While you can learn the basics, you probably don’t have time to do everything on your own.

Work on Your Business Anywhere with Cloud Tech

Cloud technology has become one of the staples of running a successful business. It makes information accessible from anywhere, which is ideal when you’re collaborating with others, or you move around a lot. If you’re using cloud technology, you can work on things from different devices and stay connected, no matter where you are. Whether you’re working from home, in a coworking space, moving into your first office or travelling the world, you can make sure you’re able to work on anything you need to and coordinate with anyone you’re working with.

Funding

Technology also makes it easier for you to find the funding you need for your business. The internet makes it simpler to find useful resources, but that’s not the only way you can look for the funding you need. Many people have been turning to crowdfunding for various products and creative projects for years. Crowdfunding allows people to raise money by getting anyone and everyone to contribute however much they want so that they can reach a specific goal. Often this is done on an “all or nothing” approach; if they don’t reach their target, they don’t get any of the money. People who donate or invest often get something in return too.

Operate Online Only

If you want to use tech to make starting a business easier, doing everything online is the best thing you can do. While having a physical store or being able to invite clients to your office could be a goal for the future, it doesn’t need to be now. Stay online and you can keep your costs down and be much more flexible. f you’re into the clothing line, here’s a great step-by-step guide on how you can start an online boutique business from the ground up.

You could have a business set up in a few hours if you use the right technology. All you need is a good plan.