Category: Website Review

February 17, 2017

TrashCan Disposable Email Addresses

You may be at an exhibition and want to download an advertised document but you have to give an email address to get it and you know your email address will go on their list for Marketing emails so you don’t want to give your real email address.

Or maybe you’re just on the Internet and you have to key in your email address for a one off reason.

Disposable email addresses are the solution. Use once and throw away.

There are various email providers including Yahoo and Google etc. that offer disposable email addresses and there are some specialist suppliers.

Trashcan is a new supplier that has simplified the process as much as is possible.

You go to the site www.trashcanmail.com

Type in your desired email address @trashcanmail.com

If it’s already in use you’ll have to pick a new one otherwise it’s now yours.

You don’t have to register or give your name and email address.

The disposable email address is yours.

To check any incoming mail – go to the website and type in the address and see what you’ve got.

That’s it.

Clearly this is not very secure as anyone can go to the Trashcan website and key in your email address deliberately or accidentally while trying to make one for themselves.

But it’s designed for a one-off use then forget it.

If you want a secure disposable email address then there are lots of providers available eg. Yahoo, Guerilla Mail and Maildrop. But if you want a one-off quick email address to use then Trashcan might fit the role.

Do enter your email address and click on the subscribe button on top right to keep up to date with new posts.

February 7, 2017

Safer Internet Day 2017

Safer Internet Day for 2017 is Tuesday 7^th February.

#saferinternetday on Twitter and Facebook

Safer Internet Day has become a significant event in the online safety calendar.

Starting in 2004, It has grown beyond its traditional geographic zone and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries worldwide.

From cyberbullying to social networking, each year Safer Internet Day aims to raise awareness of emerging online issues and chooses a topic reflecting current concerns. For 2017 that is the explosion of image and video sharing thanks to the continued dominance of the likes of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. This is to look at the power of photographs through the impact they have. There are various photographic projects specified – each with a learning aspect to it.

The UK Safer Internet Centre has a website at www.saferinternet.org.uk and its aim is to make the Internet a safer place for everyone but they do concentrate on children and young people who are generally the most vulnerable.

They are a partnership between Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning. It is part-funded by the European Union.

Their job is to promote safer us of the Internet and they have created Education Packs and complementary TV films tailored for 5 to 7 year olds, 7-11s, 11-14s, 14-18s and parents and carers.

These free packs include lesson plans, posters, presentations, activities and more!

There are also events to mark the day, including at Bletchley Park , the site of the famous code breakers in World War II and the construction of one of the first computers in the world. A series of talks are being held at the site plus exhibition on cybersecurity will allow people to enjoy interactive and audio experiences that draws a link between the efforts of the codebreakers in WW2 and the modern-day need to stay safe online.

If you want to take part – go to www.saferinternet.org.uk or www.saferinternetday.org.uk

Do share this post on social media or go to the website above.

January 31, 2017

Preview of Safer Internet Day 2017

The Safer Internet Day for 2017 is Tuesday 7^th February.

What does this mean?

They are a partnership between Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning. It is part-funded by the European Union.

Their job is to promote safer us of the Internet and they have created Education Packs and complementary TV films tailored for 5 to 7 year olds, 7-11s, 11-14s, 14-18s and parents and carers.

These free packs include lesson plans, posters, presentations, activities and more!

Safer Internet Day in 2016 reached 4 million people, mostly young people on social media and over a thousand organisations got involved so it’s quite an event.

One of the campaigns for this year is to look at the power of photographs through the impact they have. There are various photographic projects specified – each with a learning aspect to it.

If you want to take part – go to www.saferinternet.org.uk

Do share this post on social media or go to the website above.

January 18, 2017

How to Find Trustworthy Local Tradesmen

Most homeowners have faced the problem of needing a tradesman – e.g. a plumber, carpenter, decorator etc.

How do you make sure the person or company you choose is going to be trustworthy and do a good job.?

That’s not easy.

In the last few years various websites have appeared that include ratings on the tradesmen and these are very useful but the ratings are typically based on customer experience rather than an expert assessment.

TrustMark is a Government endorsed scheme for trades in and around the home. They award registered firms with accreditation after vetting and on-site inspections to ensure the firm is raising industry standards and this accreditation gives customers reassurance of quality and protection from rogue traders.

TrustMark is a ‘not for profit’ social enterprise and the TrustMark Scheme was developed in 2005, in conjunction with Government, industry and consumer protection bodies.

TrustMark says it seeks to continually improve and welcomes constructive engagement on how improvements and enhancements can be achieved.

The Website

www.trustmark.org.uk

The site is free to use and designed for you to find tradesmen based on entering a postcode and selecting a trade.

Or alternatively to find information on a specific tradesman /company

There are a lot of registered tradesmen on Trustmark but not everyone of course – it does cost time and money to be registered so not all tradesmen have done so.

So, you can use Trustmark to reduce the likelihood of problems with your chosen tradesman.

Do Share this post on social media – click on the post title then scroll down to the social media share buttons.

November 2, 2016

Website: Get Safe Online

Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org) say they are a jointly-funded initiative between several Government departments and a number of private sector businesses. They also benefit from the input of other organisations in the form of technical expertise, intelligence and advice.

It is backed by Barclays, City of London Police, Gumtree, Kaspersky (security software), Nat West, Paypal, Tesco and more. So this is a well funded and informed website.

Get Safe Online claims to be is the UK’s leading source of unbiased, factual and easy-to-understand information on online safety.

The website is a useful resource providing practical advice on how to protect yourself, your computers and mobiles device and your business against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other problems encountered online. It contains guidance on many other related subjects too – including performing backups and how to avoid theft or loss of your computer, smartphone or tablet. Every conceivable topic is included on the site – including safe online shopping, gaming and dating … so now you really can stay safe with everything you do online.

The site also keeps you up to date with news, tips and stories from around the world.

Get Safe Online is not only a website, they also organise national events – such as Get Safe Online week – and work closely with law enforcement agencies and other bodies in support of their outreach activity, internal awareness and customer online safety.

The site is divided into Personal and Business

Personal has advice on everything from protecting your computer to backups and safe disposal of a computer.

The business side has data protection, security planning, fraud and so on. Lots of very good content.

There’s also a social media presence – particularly with Twitter.

This website is well worth a visit.

Do enter your email address and click on the subscribe button on top right to keep up to date with new posts.

October 19, 2016

Website: Friends Against Scams

The website is www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/ and it has been created by National Trading Standards.

Their byline is

Friends Against Scams Will Start Taking Action Now Deliver the Message Against Scams.

The highlight on the letters S T A N D gives the word and you can get the phrase Stand Against Scams from this – very clever.

The introduction on the website states their reason for creating the website as follows

Friends against Scams is a National Trading Standards Scams Team initiative, which aims to protect and prevent people from becoming victims of scams by empowering communities to “Take a Stand Against Scams”.

It goes on to explain that the lack of awareness of scams is allowing a lot of scammers to get away with their criminality and Friends Against Scams encourages communities and organisations to take action.

There is a lot of useful content on the website but the starting point is a short video about scams and the damage they cause. Well worth watching. One statistic that stands out is that although anyone of any age can fall victim to a scam, the average age of those scammed is 75. They target the most vulnerable.

Friends Against Scams is also active on Twitter at @AgainstScams

This is a great new development in the fight against scammers and hopefully it will build to a huge public campaign. The more people understand what the scammers do then the more we can protect everyone against them.

Do click on the Facebook or Twitter icons on top right to follow Fight Back Ninja