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7 of the best Google Chrome extensions

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Google Chrome is the most popular internet browser in the world thanks to its neat user-friendly interface, high power performance and easy mobile sync-up. But it gets better – with Chrome extensions you can personalise your experience for free – just head over to the store and check them out.

Here are seven of our favourite Google Chrome extensions…

Honey

If you love to shop til you drop, Honey is the Chrome extension for you. This sweet tool automatically sources and tests hundreds of coupon and discount codes from hundreds of online retailers to make sure you never have to pay full price again. Simply browse and shop as usual and then click ‘find savings’ when you checkout to apply any offers – saving you time and money!

Adblock Plus

When you’ve got lots of stuff to be getting on with, adverts can be time consuming, distracting, and quite frankly annoying! Adblock Pro magically removes (nearly) all of them, making ABP an ideal addition to your toolkit. There’s loads of settings to play around with so you can find what works best for you.

Google Dictionary
Double click on any word on the web and Google dictionary gives you its definition instantly. What’s more, it works as a translation tool for foreign languages too.

Calculator
No need to spend time digging out that desktop calculator or your smartphone when you need a maths answer pronto, the calculator app is here for you now. This app is so useful, you’ll wonder how you lived without it so long!

Panic Button
Browsing Facebook at work and your boss walks in? Planning a surprise getaway for your wife and she suddenly appears in the room? We’ve all been there! With Panic Button you can quickly hide any activity and page views if someone walks in the room or a urgent or awkward situation comes up. A quick touch of the button restores everything back.

Ginger
Ginger is a comprehensive spelling and grammar checker to make sure your writing is always well formed across all platforms including email and social media. It also helps you come up with creative alternatives to regular words and phrases to take your writing to the next level.

Sunrise Calendar
Sunrise calendar is not only very aesthetically pleasing, but it packs in a tonne of useful features way beyond the abilities of Google’s traditional desktop calendar. There’s a mobile app for iOS and Android too, so you can keep organised on the go.

 

ontactless-Payment

Is the rise in contactless cards use killing off cash?

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Is the rise in contactless cards use killing off cash?

The UK Card Association revealed that more than one billion contactless transactions were carried out in the UK last year. The research also shows that around one in thirteen purchases are made on contactless, but this massively increased to one in eight purchases throughout December.

It is currently estimated that more than half of the nation’s debit and credit cards are fitted with the contactless function which explains why the technology has seen a huge rise in popularity, with more money being spent via contactless last year than in the previous seven years combined.

One f the most common ways Brits like to use contactless technology is on the London underground where more than a million journeys are funded this way every single day. Transport for London (TFL) claim to be the first transport authority to introduce contactless ticketing.

About contactless

Shoppers can use contactless to pay for purchases of £30 or less by simply holding their card near a compatible sensor. No PIN is required, making it super quick, easy and convenient for retailer and consumer. So will contactless eventually replace the need for loose change? Will it gradually replace cash altogether? Let’s look at some facts about the UK’s current favourite payment method…

•The spend limit was set at £20 until September 2015, when it was increased by £10. We’re keen to see if the surge in contactless payments will encourage banks to increase it further.
•In France, the limit is €25 (£18), In Canada it is set to $100 (£48) and in Australia it is limited to $100 (£45).
•A similar technology makes it possible to pay with contactless for goods using connected smartphones, watches and keyfobs.
•£7.7billion was spent on contactless cards in the UK through 1.05 billion transactions last year.

Security issues with contactless

Recently, there have been an influx of security concerns with regard to contactless payments but the banking industry confirms that fraud committed through contactless payments is negligible.

Each contactless card has a built in security checker which requires manual PIN entry after multiple contactless purchases in order to verify the card user as genuine.

The consumer group, Which? recognise that although risks are low, a person could potentially fall victim to their card details being lifted if a fraudster stood in close enough proximity to commit this type of offence. Which? have advised consumers to protect their card details by wrapping the card in tin foil or placing it in a special foil-lined wallet.

pesky-passwords-might-soon-be-a-thing-of-the-past

Passwords to be replaced with icons and patterns

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Passwords to be replaced with icons and patterns

For as long as we can remember, online accounts, apps and programmes are accessed with a string of letters and digits to form username and passwords. As technology becomes more advanced, these so-called private accounts are becoming more susceptible to hacking.

In a bid to make online platforms more secure, we are seeing a rise in password-free login solutions including fingerprint and selfie technology. The latest innovation of this type comes from researchers at The University of Plymouth with their GOTPass system.

The development will require users to draw a pattern or symbol, similar to the unlock function for some mobile phones, followed by selecting two images or icons from a grid of 16. The grid will have a number of similar themed decoys but selecting the correct pair will generate a one off numerical code which needs to be typed out before it gives the user access.

 

replace passwords with icons

Image Credit: TechRadar

As well as helping to protect personal data from hackers, this method will be cost effective for providers to implement, removing the need for costly and complex hardware systems. Plus it will save users a lot of time and effort because they won’t need to scramble around trying to remember difficult passwords.

Initial tests show that the technology is easy for users to remember, but a problem lies in the fact that security analysts managed to hack the system 23 times out of a total of 690.

The GOTPass is clearly still in research stages, but it could certainly be useful in the future. The rise in the need for a selfie, fingerprint, text, or handshake to gain access to personal accounts definitely confirm the fact that passwords are slowly but surely becoming extinct.

 

Windows-10-is-coming

Windows 10 automatic upgrade

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Windows 10 Automatic Upgrade

Microsoft has just announced that Windows 10 will be automatically installed to all devices as of early 2016.

Up to now, Windows 7 & 8 users have received numerous (annoying) pop-ups giving them the option to upgrade to Windows 10 through a registration process. But this is all set to change. For the rest of this year, the Operating System upgrade will be listed as an ‘optional update’, and then as of 2016 it will be re-categorised to ‘recommended update’ which will automatically install itself – giving users very little freedom of choice.

It will be possible to opt out of the Windows 10 upgrade but Microsoft insists that this may put your device at risk of cyber threats.

How to Cancel Windows 10 Upgrade

As with all upgrades, it will possible to return back to your previous version of windows within 31 days if you wish. All you’ll need to do is click on Settings > Updates & Security > Recovery > Uninstall Windows 10. This will restore your system to its previous version of Windows.

How to avoid upgrading to Windows 10

To avoid falling foul of this mandatory upgrade, you should adjust a few settings ahead of the automatic upgrade changes that are coming in 2016. Here’s how:

Hit the Start button and go to the control panel, then click updates or Windows update for Windows 8 users and select “change settings” from the left hand task bar. This will take you to a new window and from the “Important updates” section, and from the drop down menu, select “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them”. By choosing this option, you will have full control of the future upgrades and updates your device is installing.

Help with Windows 10

If you need any advice with Windows 10, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’re more than happy to help you out and answer any questions you may have.