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Thursday, November 19, 2015

College Students More At Risk of Identity Theft

We often think that business people are more at risk of identity theft. But, this is not the truth. You will be surprised to know that most of the victims of identity theft are college students.
Students take this risk very lightly. They think they do not have much worth and so, what will the thieve benefit from students’ identity. But it’s just the opposite. The thieves are more interested in your identification documents. Also, their laptops are also less secured and are more vulnerable to hacking.

We need to understand whom we can trust and who can actually steal your identity information. Most of the time the culprits are average looking person like your ex-roommate, library friend, an open WiFi or any such person whom you will least suspect and who can easily get away with your ID information.
We have a very interesting infographic here telling us more about identity theft in colleges and how the students can save themselves from being a victim.

6 Most Powerful Tips to Speed up Windows 8 Boot Time

The era of Windows 8 has been already activated and users have started to search for solutions and tips to improve their Windows 8 experience. And one among the most searched concerns is ways or tips to improvise the Windows 8 boot time. Like always, Windows OS’s startup speed is disquiet for many users and when speaking on the part of Windows, they have always tried and have succeeded in improving the startup speed in each newer version.

image: http://cdn.techgyd.com/Windows-8-vs-Windows-7-Speed-Performance-Testing-1.jpg
And so Windows 8 have a startup time which is much more or double than that of Windows 7. And if you are not yet satisfied with the speed, here are some tips to speed up your Windows 8 boot time.

Manage your startup Programs

Huge list of Startup programs is always a reason for increased boot time, while installing new programs they may automatically opt to run or start when the system gets on. So we will have to find these hidden programs and services and need to disable, those are not essential for us, nor for the system.

To disable such programs or services, open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and from it select the Start up tab, now you can see a list of programs and services which run along with system startup. This Window will also display the startup impact of each program and you can disable which are not necessary, like the Google Drive, etc….

Turn On Fast Start-up

Turn on fast start up is a new feature that can be seen in Windows 8 which will enable us to have a speedy startup time. To activate this feature, open up your Control Panel and navigate to the Power Option, now select the option saying “Choose what the power buttons do”, from the subsequent page check the check box saying “Turn on Fast Start-up”.

Clean your startup folder

Cleaning the startup folder is an effective way to speed up the boot time. This can be done by navigating to the following location
C:UsersAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart MenuProgramsStartup
Now find some program shortcuts which are not needed or not so essential and delete them and by doing this, the deleted program will be removed from startup list and will remain in your system and can be accessed manually.

Disable Startup Services

There are many services which will run in background and are sometimes of no use. Hence, deleting these services will result in a flying booting. So let’s find some unnecessary services and get those disabled. To do that,
Go to your Start icon and open the RUN box, enter services.msc and press enter.

Now a box with a list of applications will be opened, choose which all are not essential and disable by right clicking on them.

Delete Temporary Files and Clear Buffer Memory

Deleting the temporary files like the ones stored by the internet browsers is a nice tip to speed up the boot. And to do that follow the steps below

Open the RUN box from Start or by pressing Win + R and type “%temp%” and hit Enter. Now select all the files from the window opened and delete them. Again open the Run box, type temp and press Enter and delete the files like above. Yet again open the RUN box, type prefetch and click OK, and delete all files from the window that opens.

Now go to My Computer and select properties of the drive that contains the operating system by right clicking on it. And in the properties window, you can see an option named, Disk Cleanup, click on it and hit OK.
Now your system is clean from all the temporary files and all those buffer memory.
These are the top, simple, basic and effective five tips to speed up your Windows 8 boot time and I hope these will surely help you to see a speedy boot time with your Windows 8 operating system. Keep in mind that having an up to date version Windows and respective application will also support in owning an improved boot time.

Pause Unnecessary Services

One of the major factor that affects the Booting Time and Windows Start is the number of services that are running at background. Apart from those Visible Services that you’ve disabled from Start-Up, services like Media Player File Sharing, Printer Spooler services are of not necessary all the time.
So, its better to disable these type of services that are affecting Start-Up. For this, Press Win+R and on Run Dialogue box, write msconfig and press enter.

Move to “Services” Tab. Here, you can handpick services that are not necessary for your PC. Like, if you are not having printer connected with your system, its better to disable “Printer Spooler” service.
If you are quite unsure about Microsoft Services then Tick the checkbox saying “Hide All Microsoft Services”. Now you can see all Non-Microsoft Services and disable them.

FC Barcelona Star Gerard Pique, Shakira Trapped in Sex-Tape Blackmail: Reports

FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique and his superstar wife Shakira are reportedly facing a blackmail plot by a former employee over an alleged sex video. Pique and Shakira have two sons -- Milan, two, and Sasha, 11-months.

Spanish football is already reeling under a major blackmail with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema being probed for extortion of international teammate Mathieu Valbuena over another sex tape. According to Spanish law, blackmail is punishable by a serious jail term.

Spanish media has reported that Pique and Shakira have been threatened with the leak of an intimate video if the high-profile pair did not pay a significant sum of money. The footballer and his pop star wife have not confirmed or denied the reports, says the Mirror.

Shakira, 38, met Pique, 10 years her junior, when the Spanish star appeared in her music video for the single Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), the official song for 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Pique left Manchester United in 2008 to join Barcelona in a 5 million Pound deal. He has been a Barca regular, helping the team win the Champions League three times, and five La Liga titles.

With Spain, Pique won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later.

Gold Prices Rise But Still Near 5-Year Low

Melbourne: Global gold prices revived on Thursday from their lowest in more than five years the previous session as the dollar fell back, releasing its stranglehold on commodities and making gold more affordable for buyers paying with other currencies.

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday continued to flag December as a likely time for interest rates to rise after seven years near zero, with two expressing confidence they will be able to pull off a rate hike smoothly despite fears of an abrupt market reaction.

"I'm convinced that the start of the (rate hike) cycle will see relative dollar weakness as investor money flows into other regions and other types of investment, away from the U.S. where the cost of capital - and doing business will also grow," said Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Barratt of Ayers Alliance in Sydney. He added that a rate increase could also boost gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Spot gold was up 0.6 per cent at $1,077.20 an ounce by 0216 GMT. Prices fell to 1,064.95 an ounce on Wednesday, the weakest since early 2010.

US gold had risen 0.8 per cent to $1,077 an ounce.

US housing starts in October dropped to a seven-month low, weighed down by a steep decline in the construction of multi-family homes, but a surge in building permits suggested the housing market remained on solid ground.

The dollar fell back from seven-month peaks against a basket of currencies early in Asia on Thursday.

Story first published on: November 19, 2015 08:52 (IST)

Bike Taxis Coming Soon to NCR

Bike taxis, a new concept that has been creating a buzz across the world, have received the Haryana government's approval and will soon be seen driving around Gurgaon. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the regional transport authority has given the approval to a private entity for the debut of the aforementioned service in Gurgaon.

One must note, after Goa, Haryana becomes the second state to approve bike taxis in India. Globally, this service is offered in several countries Sweden, China, Cameroon, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Brazil.

Baxi, the operating agency owned by a Gurgaon-based company, intends to cater to daily travelers looking to commute to their respective destinations from metro stations and bus stops.

Ashutosh Johri, an IIT-Delhi alumnus and managing director of the company, said, "Our pilots (drivers) will be trained in hygiene, etiquette, safety and other aspects to make passengers comfortable with using our service. They will carry helmets and hair nets for pillion riders. Our bikes will be easily visible from a distance and all our pilots will be wearing uniforms."

The bike taxi service, with 100 motorcycles in its fleet, will be launched by the end of November.

NCR continues to struggle with congested roads despite the presence of the Delhi Metro and initiatives like Car Free Day. Perhaps the introduction of such services, even if one region at a time, may contribute towards the resolution of this issue that has the tendency to become a nightmare during rush hours.

Suspected Mastermind of Paris Attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, Dead: Reports

Washington: Within hours of the French Ambassador telling NDTV that there were indications that Belgian Abdelhamid Abaaoud -- the suspected mastermind of the Paris terror attacks -- had killed himself, US daily Washington Post reported Abaaoud is dead.

The Post cited two unnamed intelligence officials, who said forensic experts confirmed it while combing through the aftermath wreckage at the building of a Paris suburb after a 7-hour siege. Reuters, which cited the Post report, said it could not independently confirm it.

"I have information that led us to suspect that he has committed suicide. I do not have any particular documents saying that but that is the first indication we have received," Ambassador Francois Richier said. "We need to wait for confirmation of the outcome of the operation."

A DNA test is expected to provide the final evidence.

Abaaoud, the 28-year-old member of the Islamic State terror group, was believed to be among the suspects who were holed up in an apartment during the seven-hour raid by the French police and army.

Abaaoud was initially believed to be in Syria.

Today's raid targeted Abaaoud, said police sources. Gunfire and explosions erupted at around 4.30 am this morning at Saint Denis.

Two terrorists were killed, including a woman who detonated a suicide belt. The woman, say unconfirmed reports, was Abaaoud's relative.

Abaaoud was thought to have pulled the strings from Syria for the attacks that killed 129 people in Paris on Friday.

Soldiers flooded into the area and heavily armed police were seen deploying along a street full of shops in the center of the district, while ambulances and fire engines filled the streets.

Some residents were evacuated, some still in their underwear, and authorities warned residents to keep away from windows.

The raid came as Europe was placed on high alert after footage from the scene of one of Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed 129 and injured 350, revealed a ninth suspect may have taken part.

Story First Published: November 18, 2015 23:55 IST