Monthly Archives: May 2011

Most Popular and Useful Security Apps for a Smart Phone

Written by in Cell Phone
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The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting in the fun stuff along the way.

Buying a smart phone is a major investment because you spend hundreds of dollars and are often locked into a long term contract. Since you are making such a big investment, you may want to make sure that your phone’s data is protected from theft and programs trying to access your information. Here are a few useful security applications to protect your phone.

Smart Phone Security App #1 – McAfee WaveSecure

You have probably heard of the McAfee name before. The company is one of the largest antivirus and malware protection companies in the world. WaveSecure is protection software that stops users from being able to get away with stealing your phone. If your phone is stolen, McAfee lets you lock your cell phone down from a distance and erase all of the data from it. You can then track your phone automatically via its GPS system and also stop thieves from manipulating your SIM card.

Smart Phone Security App #2 – Lookout Mobile Security

Downloading apps and programs can be a risky business. You are never quite sure if an app that you are downloading is totally secure or if it has a Trojan virus within it. Lookout Mobile Security protects smart phone users from malicious software downloads. The software does this by checking for viruses before downloading any applications. All of the phone’s data is backed up and securely protected. The mobile security application can also help you track your phone down in the event of theft.

Smart Phone Security App #3 – Webroot

Webroot is a popular PC and mobile protection software that protects Android smart phone users against malware and spam. Webroot will scan web pages and URLs to make sure that they are safe before accessing the page. You can keep pages with viruses from opening so that your operating system will not get infected. This is useful software for mobile Internet surfers that want to make sure their phones are protected.

Smart Phone Security App #4 – Portscan

Portscan is great for iPhone users that want to be sure that there are no areas of vulnerability on their phone. Portscan will check every single port and let you know via report form what applications and programs are accessing your system. You can schedule port scans to randomly scan your system for thorough updates.

Smart Phone Security App #5 – Find My iPhone

According to Daniel, Find My iPhone allows him to locate his iPhone using GPS, lock it remotely, and even wipe the date remotely. He pairs it with Google’s 2 Step Verification, so that if a thief does turn off the phone, he can still go online and deactivate all of the Google services.

My Personal Experience – Total Equipment Protection

My first Samsung Epic was stolen from my purse while donating blood earlier this year. I didn’t have any security apps installed at the time, so my phone was just gone. Now I have the Total Equipment Protection App, which works similarly to McAfee WaveSecure and Find My iPhone. If my phone is lost or stolen again, I will be able to log on to my account from any Internet connection and use my pin to lockout anybody, locate my phone, sound an alarm, or simply erase all of my data.

What other smart phone security apps do you suggest?

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Having Problems Juggling Payments?

Written by in Debt
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As the price of household bills increases and budgets continue to be squeezed, many Brits are finding it difficult to balance their finances. Paying bills and servicing debts with several lenders can become a bit of a balancing act, particularly when your payment dates are spread throughout the month. This can make stretching the monthly salary even more difficult and at times can lead to financial penalties when late or missed payments occur.

For those individuals who find their monthly outgoings growing steadily larger than the money they have coming in and who are struggling to remember which creditors are due to be paid on which date – a debt consolidation loan may help.

Debt consolidation works by reducing the number of debts you have to service and the number of creditors you have to deal with. This can help lower the stress of juggling payments and assist you in keeping track of your money so that you don’t end up missing bills and being charged fees; it also frees up your time. Many people therefore find that servicing one debt on a monthly basis allows them to bring their finances back under control by making budgeting easier.

Debt consolidation often allows the borrower to lower their monthly payments too – although this may mean you end up paying more in the long term, it can help reduce your outgoings and give you a fixed date to work towards for becoming debt free. Most importantly, if employed correctly debt consolidation can help people manage their debts before they spiral out of control and result in more serious outcomes such as needing to contact bankruptcy lawyers.

If you are having problems juggling your debt payments and think debt consolidation may be a solution that could help, it is important you conduct research to see what options are available to you. For more information about the topic, look at Money Expert Debt Consolidation for a clearer idea of how debt consolidation works and the deals which may be available to you.

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Best of the Rest: Sprained Ankle Edition

Written by in Best of the Rest
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I play basketball once or twice a week nowadays, and on Wednesday night, I played a little 3 on 3 at a court nearby my apartment. But within about 25 seconds, I went up for a rebound and came down on someone’s foot, rolled over my ankle, and immediately crumbled.

I’ve been playing basketball for many many years and I’ve hurt my ankle more times than I can count, but never worse than this. I haven’t been able to put any weight on it since.

I went to the doctor, who took x-rays and it appears to be a bad sprain. They said all I needed was to wear a boot and use crutches, but they all said they didn’t have any boots or crutches in my size! How is that possible? I have no idea, but now I’m stuck on the couch for the foreseeable future.

While I’ve been chilling, I’ve had plenty of time to read some great personal finance articles! Here they are!

The Tablet Takeover: Dissecting the NOOK, iPad, and Kindle (via Currency)

Are Your Investment Earnings Being Undermined? (via PT Money)

Never Go To Bed Angry About Money! (via DINKS Finance)

Do I Have to Save Money in My 20s (via Studenomics)

Move On When You Lose Money (via Thousandaire)

When a Discount, Isn’t Really a Discount (via Budgets are Sexy)

 

I was also featured in two carnivals this week:

Carnival of Personal Finance (via My Personal Finance Journey)

Best of Money Carnival (via How We Prevent Wealth)

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Have You Noticed Google Advisor?

Written by in Money
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I do a lot of reading in Google Reader. I have about 50 blogs I read consistently, so each morning I just scroll through all the interesting articles.

Recently, I’ve noticed one ad in particular: Google Advisor.

Of course, I got interested, so I clicked over, and what did I find? An amazingly useful personal finance tool. Google Advisor gives a list of rates for mortgages, credit cards, CDs, checking, and savings accounts based on your location and needs. It even gives contact information for lenders so you can start the process!

I’ve seen some aggregators in the past, but when Google creates something, I expect them to do it better than anyone else. And it looks like they’re close if not already there.

The credit card offers are cool because you can tailor the results to you! You can choose whether you want rewards or a good APR, whether you’re doing it for a balance transfer or to earn air miles. Don’t want annual fees? No problem! Just select the options you want and boom, the best credit card options for you to look at are right in front of you. And it’s very simple to apply for a credit card from their site.

The mortgage page is similar. Just enter the amount of your house, the size of your down payment and your approximate credit score and voila, all the information you could ever need is at your finger tips. Maybe it will help you pay mortgage off faster!

One thing it definitely leaves out are the high interest checking accounts. I did a test with Consumers Credit Union in Illinois. I know they offer 4.09% APY on their checking accounts, so I typed in their zip code, 60079, into the Google Advisor tool, and sadly, they still didn’t show up.

Credit unions definitely need to be added, but Google gets bonus points for having savings accounts. Entering the amount of money you want to put in an account not only shows the interest rate, but also includes minimums to open the account, any fees, and the amount of interest you’d earn in a year. Very cool.

Their CD tool is another good one, showing the interest rate, length of term, minimum to open, interest earned over the length of the CD, and any early withdrawal penalties.

One thing I’d definitely like to see on there is a student loan comparison tool. It may get a little complicated because of unsubsidized and subsidized loans and determining who qualifies without a lengthy process, but if anyone can do it, it’ll be Google.

Google Advisor is the ultimate comparison tool. I give it a thumbs up. Once they add in area specific checking accounts and some student loan pages, that will turn into a big thumbs up.

Readers, would you use Google Advisor? What other types of aggregate information would be useful? Check it out and tell me what you think!

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