Here are 10 ways to keep personal information secure when online:

1) Favour common sense over technological solutions. Keep personal documents safe, preferably in a locked drawer. Shred bank statements, credit card slips and bills before throwing them away.

2) If it's too good to be true, it is. Never open unsolicited "spam" messages. Delete e-mails offering cash, free gifts or stock tips. Millions of unsolicited "spam" messages are sent every day in an attempt to defraud computer users.

3) Basic prevention helps. Protect your computer against identity theft. Install security software to combat viruses, spyware and spam and keep it updated.

4) Know enough about your firewall, the barrier between the public Internet and a personal computer, to know when it is working and when it isn't. Don't worry about the geeky complexity of it all, just know it's operating.

5) Beware of "phishing", where criminals trick people into revealing personal or financial details, often by sending e-mails purporting to be from a bank. Never casually reply to requests for your personal financial details.

6) Keep your private e-mail address secure. Consider using different e-mail accounts for shopping, banking, friends and work. There are many free account providers.

7) Do not use the same password for different sites. Choose passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Don't use obvious passwords, such as your first name or "123456" and don't write them down. For memory's sake, choosing a basic root word, then rotating numbers, is safer.

Make online payments safely. Never enter a card number unless there is a padlock in the Web browser's frame, rather than the Web page. The Web address should begin with "https" -- the extra "S" stands for "secure". Consider reserving one credit card for Web use or signing up for a separate online payment service like PayPal.

9) Secure your wireless network at home and be wary when using public access points. Encrypt the connection to scramble communications over the network. Turn off the wireless network when you're not using it.

10) Treat your laptop computer like cash -- never leave it in a locked car or turn your back while using it in a public place. The same holds true with your mobile phone: Lock your phone (and any passwords you keep on it) when not using it.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

WITH the current trend to make marriages believed to be made in heaven as heavenly (read ostentatious) as possible, this theme wedding is a pleasant departure from the regular pattern.

So disposable utensils and all kinds of synthetic food are a strict no-no, with all the pandal (canopy) decoration, too, donning natural bling-bling.

At this organic event scheduled on Tuesday, Jitu Shah, a city-based textile merchant is going all the way to avoid anything synthetic in his brother’s marriage.

“While the pandal is all decked by natural flowers and a lot of diyas (lamps) of castor oil, the invitees will be served food on traditional bell metal dishes. Not only that, the food will be cooked on traditional chulhas instead of LPG stoves,” Mithun Shah, the wedding planner told the Express Newsline on Monday.

“Also, any kind of synthetic soft drinks do not figure on our list. Instead, guest may savour ayurvedic sherbet and fruit juice,” Shah says.

And there’s more to the conventional catering as the guests will be served food in a traditional manner instead of buffet.

“We don't want to call this a theme marriage,” said Shah, adding, “But for us, this is a way of living.”

Shah has had an such a natural experience before when he had organised one such wedding for a Marwari family in Chembur, Mumbai.

For Jitu Shah this paradigm shift in life was propelled by the teachings of his preceptor Hitruchi Vijay Maharaj. Guruji taught us the importance of inculcating traditional values in life,” he said, adding that his family for years have been living life the organic way.

“My grandmother is well above 90 years of age and she has never taken any allopathic treatment in her life,” he says, adding that his family believes in ayurveda and for all ailments resort to the same.

"While we will serve only organic food to our guests, we have also decided not hire any professional caterer for the function,” says Jitu as his family members will personally supervise cooking to ensure nothing synthetic is used."

"Some of our family members and friends are still a little sceptical about the entire decision. But I want to prove it to them that even in this age, such endeavour is possible and feasible at the same time,” he says."

"For us, this is not just another fad as we want to pass on the message to the society,” Jitu adds.

Our traditions are rich and it is important that we realise their value and revive them for our own interest,” he says matter-of-factly.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

THE Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GCET) schedule declared by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved MBA and MCA has been revised. In a clarification by the Saurashtra University (SU), the dates declared earlier have been revised even as there would be group discussions and personal interviews only for MBA and not for MCA.

According to SU Pro-Vice Chancellor and Chairman of GCET nodal committee Kalak Trivedi, entrance examination for MBA will be held on July 15, followed by rounds of group discussions and personal interviews, which last for a week from July 17 to 24. Similarly, entrance examination for MCA will be conducted on July 22 ,and there would be no group discussion and personal interview rounds for the same.

GCET is conducted to centrally grant admissions in a total of 36 colleges with more than 1,500 seat in the state.

On June 16, the SU, in a press release, had mentioned that entrance examinations will be held on July 7 and 20 for MBA and MCA respectively, followed by group discussions and personal interviews on July 16 and 22.

The SU sources said that the examination must be conducted on Sundays to accommodate students at colleges of nodal centres. The dates announced earlier did not fall on Sunday leading to a venue problem.

he nodal centre includes Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Khariva, Patan, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Vallabh Vidhyanagar and Gandhinagar.


Courtesy : Expressindia.com