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Stafford Springs, CT

Archive for the category “Miscellaneous”

16 Oct 2012

Cyber Security Awareness Month- Tips for Your Teens

Tips for Teens on Cyber Safety

While PCs are likely a prerequisite for school-bound young adults, securing laptops or desktops is unlikely to be a top priority. Don’t let high school and college students head off to the classroom or campus life without the knowledge they need to protect their computers and the valuable information on them. The strategies below – tailored specifically to young adults – will help to avert online disasters.

Be on guard when you shop online. You can save a bundle by buying books and other school supplies online. But, when it comes to giving out your financial information, stick to companies you know and trust or to well-established retailers. Before you click the buy button, always check out the seller, what you are buying, and the payment details.

Work securely from wireless networks. Today’s world means you can access the Internet from a variety of public locations, from a coffee shop to a library to a train station. But, open networks run an increased security risk and are vulnerable to security breaches. When you can, choose networks that have a network security key, which means information sent over them is encrypted. Connect to a standard or wired network for the most protection.

Steer clear of peer-to-peer and file sharing networks. You always need to pay special attention to what you download and share online – peer-to-peer networks are often swamped with malicious files. And it’s not just music and movie downloads that you need to be aware of; malware often piggybacks on other freebies that promise ringtones, smilicons, and screensavers.

Navigate social networking sites with care. Social networking and other Web 2.0 features make communicating, socializing, and sharing information easier than ever. But they also open you up to a variety of online threats, so you need to be on guard when logging into online hotspots like MySpace and Facebook. To avoid phishing and malware installations, use caution when you check messages, click on advertisements, and access links in other members’ profiles.

Be wary of sharing your PC. You should not loan your computer out to friends and peers but, if you do, make sure they are operating under a limited-user account and not the all-powerful administrator account. This will minimize infections in the event of an accident.

Create strong passwords and change them regularly. Passwords help protect your computer and your various accounts from unauthorized access. Use complex passwords of at least 10 characters, comprised of letters, symbols and numbers. Do not have your browser store passwords and log-in credentials – this is especially important to remember if you are using a shared computer.

Backup your data regularly.Even the most prepared and cyber savvy among us are bound to run up against serious PC problems at one time or another. Prepare yourself for worst case scenarios (your laptop crashing the night before a term paper is due) in order to avert a complete disaster. All you need to do is set up a regular backup system for yourself by saving critical information on a CD, external hard drive or online server.

Limit the information you give out online. Don’t post too much information about yourself, whether it’s on a personal website, blog, or chat room. Identity theft is a real and growing problem, and openness on the Web can lead to someone harvesting your information for their gain.

Be skeptical of e-mail and instant messaging. Do not open e-mail attachments or click on links in instant messages from anyone, including ‘buddies’, unless you expect it. Verify the attachment before opening and scan with updated anti-virus software first. Be especially leery of odd subject lines and suspicious links. You’ll also need to watch out for phishing e-mails that purport to be from familiar organizations.

While it may seem difficult to fit cyber safety steps into the busy lives of young adults, keep this in mind: it’s easier to prepare yourself and your computer than to recover from lost data and private information after an online nasty compromises your system. So, during this school season and for the rest to come, be proactive in keeping your PC safe and secure.

source: http://www.lavasoft.com/mylavasoft/securitycenter/articles/cyber-safety-101

Contact your local agent at Penny Hanley & Howley Insurance for more information on Cyber Insurance

Posted in Cyber Insurance, Identity Theft, Miscellaneous, Other Insurance and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
05 Oct 2012

Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses

Below you will find some great information on how to protect your Small Business from Cyber Attacks.

Recently cyber-attacks were back in the news, and the latest attempted victim was the White House. According to an October 1st report from the Washington Post the White House acknowledged that hackers attempted to remove data from a White House computer. While the attempt wasn’t successful thanks to mitigation efforts, the attack should serve as a reminder to all small businesses that they face risks of similar attacks from data thieves, and they may not have the same level of mitigation systems in place.

In addition to a hacker getting into your system, data theft can occur if an employee’s computer is stolen, or if an unauthorized person is able to access a computer in your office. It could even be a disgruntled employee who carries out data theft. Any business that collects and stores sensitive information from customers, including credit card information, contact information, credit information, social security numbers, medical information, etc. is at risk for data theft.
Here are a few tips to reduce your risks for cyber-attacks and data theft of sensitive customer information:
  • Change the passwords you and your employees use to log into your technology systems on a regular basis
  • Avoid emailing sensitive information, but if you do, use a secured email service
  • Have employees lock their computer screens when they step away from their desks
  • Avoid having un-escorted/unsupervised visitors walking through your office
  • Don’t open strange email attachments or click unusual links in emails, especially from an unknown sender as they may be scams
  • Have a written technology policy in place so that all of your employees understand the expectations and rules guiding how your business handles sensitive data
Loss of electronic data is not covered under most commercial theft policies because it is not a tangible asset, and most general liability policies also exclude coverage for your costs to notify customers of potential data theft, pay for the costs of investigating the loss or the costs of potential fines, penalties or lawsuits that result from a failure to protect the data. A cyber liability policy can provide your business with coverage that will help you cover several costs, including the expenses to inform your customers and regulatory authorities about the possible exposure of data.
For more information on a cyber-liability policy contact one of agents at Penny-Hanley & Howley Insurance.
Information source: http://www.trustedchoice.com
Posted in Cyber Insurance, Identity Theft, Miscellaneous and tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment
26 Sep 2012

Tips to Prepare for a Fire Emergency in your home

In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for a house to fill with thick black smoke and become engulfed in flames. By preparing for a fire emergency, you can greatly reduce your chances of becoming a fire casualty.

  • Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement. For extra safety, install smoke alarms both inside and outside sleeping areas.
  • Test your smoke alarms once a month and change the batteries at least once a year.
  • Replace smoke alarms every 8-10 years or as the manufacturer guidelines recommend.
  • Plan your escape from fire. The best plans have two ways to get out of each room.
  • Practice fire escape plans several times a year. Practice feeling your way out of the house in the dark or with your eyes closed.
  • Purchase only collapsible escape ladders evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL).
  • Check that windows are not stuck, screens can be taken out quickly, and that security bars can be properly opened.
  • Make sure everyone in your family understands and practices how to properly operate and open locked or barred doors and windows.
  • Consider installing residential fire sprinklers in your home.

See the educational video below

Install, Inspect, Protect


Information gathered from http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/focus/emergency.shtm

 

Posted in Fire, Home, Miscellaneous and tagged , , , | Leave a Comment
18 Sep 2012

Cell Phones Cause Distracted Driving and Employer Liability

Recently, more attention has been given to distracted driving and the role cell phones play in driver inattention. There have been numerous studies done about the subject, and several regulatory agencies have banned their use.

In January of this year the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) banned the use of cell phones in commercial, regulated vehicles unless they are accessed via a hands free device. The driver cannot reach for, dial or hold the cell phone. Only Commercial Driver License holders are subject to these requirements while they are driving a commercial vehicle. Wired or wireless hands free devices are allowed under this requirement.

Another recent development is the National Transportation Safety Board recommending last December that all states ban the use of cell phones while driving, whether using a hands free device or not. This recommendation was made after a review of some large auto, bus and train crashes the last several years where they determined that using the cell phone and being distracted was the main cause of these crashes.

Unfortunately, this has also gained the notice of the trial attorneys. In any major crash where a cell phone may be involved, plaintiffs’ attorneys are going after the cell phone records. They have been successful in using these records to increase jury awards. A Florida family was awarded $21.6M from the employer of a driver that was using their cell phone; an Alabama trucking company was ordered to pay $18M; an Arkansas lumber company paid $16.1M; a paper company paid $5.2M in similar circumstances.

What can an insured do about it?

With the employer being the target in cases like this, insured’s need to have a strict written policy banning the use of cell phones (talking or texting) while driving. Compliance with state and federal regulations should be considered a minimum standard.

With increased accidents surrounding cell phone use while driving you must be sure you have a policy in place to protect yourself and your employees.

Does your company have a policy regarding the use of cell phones?  If not, have you considered putting one in place?

Be safe, use a hands free device while driving.

Penny-Hanley & Howley Insurance

reference  source http://qbena.com/personal-business.aspx

Posted in Auto, Miscellaneous, Other Insurance and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment
07 Sep 2012

Use your voice and cast your vote on November 6, 2012

There are only 60 days left before the November Election.  Regardless of your political affiliation, you should exercise your freedom and right to vote on this day.  Changes can only happen if your voice is heard.

Here is a little history on voting:

Only Free White Men with Property Can Vote

There is no right to vote in the United States Constitution, so each state’s standards have evolved separately unless federal laws were passed that applied to every state. When this country was founded, only white men with property were routinely permitted to vote (although freed African Americans could vote in four states). White working men, almost all women, and all other people of color were denied the franchise.

By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote, whether or not they owned property, thanks to the efforts of those who championed the cause of frontiersmen and white immigrants (who had to wait 14 years for citizenship and the right to vote, in some cases). Literacy tests, poll taxes, and even religious tests were used in various places, and most white women, people of color, and Native Americans still could not vote.

African American Men Get the Vote

In 1866, the 14th Amendment to the federal Constitution was passed, guaranteeing citizenship to the former slaves and changing them in the eyes of the law from 3/5 of a person to whole persons. Then, in 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races still unable to vote.

1869 also marked the beginning of “Black Codes,” or state laws that restricted the freedoms of African Americans. Among the freedoms restricted was the freedom to exercise the right to vote. Literacy tests, poll taxes, hiding the locations of the polls, economic pressures, threats of physical violence, and other strategies to suppress the African American vote were either found in the Black Codes or flowed from them.

While strategies such as these are no longer legal, some have argued that the misallocation of voting machines in 2004 so that whites in Republican-leaning districts had short lines and minorities in Democratic-leaning districts were forced to miss work to wait in long lines was equivalent to placing a new poll tax on African American and other minority and poor voters.

Women Get the Vote

Initiatives to promote voting for women have been traced back to the 1770s, but the modern movement for a vote for women traces its beginning to the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when supporters of a Constitutional Amendment to allow women to vote came together. While their movement was slowed during the Civil War years, the two major suffragist organizations united after the war and pushed forward with a movement that culminated, after many difficult years, in the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos Get the Vote

Some Native Americans became American citizens if they gave up their tribal affiliations in 1887, but many did not become United States citizens until 1924. Many Western states, however, continued to deny the right to vote through property requirements, economic pressures, hiding the polls, and condoning of physical violence against those who voted.

Asian Pacific Americans were considered “aliens ineligible for citizenship” since 1790, and interim changes to naturalization and immigration laws in 1943, 1946, and 1952 give the franchise to some but not all immigrant Asian Pacific Americans. Nevertheless, because citizenship is a precondition of voting, immigrant Asian Pacific Americans did not vote in large numbers until after 1965, when the immigration and naturalization laws were changed.

Asian Pacific Americans born on American soil were American citizens and had the right to vote. When 77,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were put in American concentration camps during World War II, however, their right to vote was not allowed.

For Mexican Americans, those in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas were supposed to get voting rights along with American citizenship in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ended the Mexican American war. Property requirements and literacy requirements were imposed in those states to keep them from voting, and violence and intimidation were used against anyone who dared to exercise the franchise.

The Sons of America organized in 1921 to fight for equality and the right to vote, but all Mexican Americans did not receive the right to vote until 1975.

If you would like to read more on Voting History check out http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/

Casting your vote on November 6, 2012 is your right and freedom.  Please be sure to vote.

 

 

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25 May 2012

Sorry for the Two Week Delay

Hello subscribers and readers. I apologize for no new posts for the past two weeks. I was busy studying for the insurance exam (It’s such a pain in the behind) and now that’s out of the way, I can provide you all with helpful information once again. Hope all of you were patient enough and would continue reading the blog. I will try not to let that happen in the future and if a situation does occur, I will notify you all beforehand this time. If you would like me to cover a specific topic about insurance, don’t hesitate to ask.

Happy weekend everyone :)

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22 Mar 2012

Springtime Cleaning: Save Money Furnishing Outdoor Space

Getting outdoor living space sorted for summer is an important ‘to do’ point on the spring cleaning list – but it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Whether you mend and make do, recycle or get creative, the need to be thrifty doesn’t have to impact on style – here’s our top tips for saving money on furnishing outdoor space.

Annual stock take

Unless you’re completely starting from scratch, dust off the garden furniture from last year – anything that has been stored carefully out of the elements should still be good for another season.

Second hand scavenge

Anyone starting from scratch and short in finances should check out local garage sales, charity shops and online auction sites. There’s always a surplus of garden furniture on the second hand market every spring when people clean out their sheds.

Mend and make do

Furniture from last summer will need a good clean – get the hose out and brush down with a stiff brush. Wooden frames, chairs and tables will need a soaking of oil, whilst metal sets should be checked for rust and perhaps given a touch up with paint where needed. Fabric covers should be checked for durability and washed – replacement covers can be easily sourced from most furniture stores.

Get creative and DIY

Whilst there are loads of cheap tables and barbecues on the market – you pretty much get what you pay for, which might be just one season; plus they’re the easiest garden pieces to build yourself and can be created to fit the space perfectly. Barbecues can be built out of bricks, blocks, or cob – grills are available at most DIY stores, whilst a waney edged cross section of oak serves as both a beautiful and unique table top – speak to the local timber merchants to source.

Invest wisely

Whilst we all love a bargain – buying the cheapest option on the market doesn’t always pay, especially if replacements are needed every year. Shop around, checking both local retail outlets and online stores to compare products and prices – many retailers now offer a ‘price promise’ guarantee, which means they’ll match the cheapest RRP the customer can source, so do your research.

Saving money should be a habit that everyone should develop because you never know when you might need it to get yourself out of a pinch. Follow these tips and you should be on a good start to save money for the spring time.

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14 Mar 2012
2 Comments

Money Saving Tips

There are countless ways to save some extra money. Most people have short term habits that cost them in the long run. Whether it’s picking up fast food for lunch or coffee drinks every day, it all adds up quick. It might be hard to fight such habits but it’s definitely worth it. Do it for yourself. You’ll really appreciate it someday. Read the tips below and see if any sound familiar.

  1. Need Caffeine? These days, it’s really easy to get into a habit of getting a daily item. Whatever it might be, you should try to identify what it is in your daily life. Say you’re working 5 days a week, and you get a $4 coffee every day. You could be saving $20 a week just for cutting that back!
  2. Lunch time. Convenience is easy to find when it comes to food. Fast food can be extremely unhealthy, in addition to being costly after a while. If you get lunch from time to time that’s OK, but try to budget it in rather than making it a bad habit. Besides, home cooked food always tastes better than fast food so bring lunch from home instead.
  3. Commit to saving. It’s always nice to have an emergency stash of cash for yourself right? Have your bank deposit a certain amount of your pay checks into a separate savings account. Even if you only budget in $20 a check, that’s potentially $480 a year! But don’t stop there! Let it grow! Alternatively you could fill a jar or something up with pocket change and watch it fill up over the months.
  4. Be a smart shopper. When was the last time you used coupons for your groceries? Check the newspaper for coupons. Sunday papers usually have lots of coupons in them. You should also check out the deals online, on sites like Groupon, there are local deals for just about anything.
  5. Drive less! Investing on a gas saver might be the way to go if you don’t already get good gas mileage. The cost of gas has always fluctuated and this year we might hit $5/gallon which might be just too much for some people to pay. There are only a few factors you can change yourself. You can travel less, or be more fuel efficient. If nothing else, you could use the other tips to keep up with the cost of driving. Consider public transportation from time to time to save some gas or consider buying a hybrid that gets you 50 mpg or more. You can also use the website GasBuddy to find the cheapest gas prices near you.

So what are your habits? Do you fall under any of these scenarios? If not, then that’s more than I can say for myself! The point is to alter your daily routine to gain a more beneficial long term savings. Of course, you can save a lot on your insurance which would make budgeting for everything else less of a hassle. Assure your getting the best deal, get a free quote on our website or come into our office.

Posted in Miscellaneous and tagged , , ,
01 Mar 2012
2 Comments

March 2012: Chance to View 5 Planets in the Night Sky

Not sure if this has happened before in the past but March 2012 is a special month as it ranks among the best to watch planets in the night sky. Five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) are going to be visible in the evening skies of March.

Mercury, the innermost planet, makes its best evening appearance for the year in the Northern Hemisphere. All over the world, Mars shines at its greatest brilliance for the year – and moreover, the red planet stays out all night long. Plus, the brightest and second-brightest planets – Venus and Jupiter, respectively – come together for a stunning conjunction in mid-March. Saturn, the farthest and faintest visible planet, is nonetheless as bright as a first-magnitude star, and its glorious rings are surprisingly easy to view through a backyard telescope.

Four of the five visible planets – Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Mars – pop out first thing at dusk. Saturn comes up later in the evening. All of these worlds should be easy to see, with the sole exception of Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system. As darkness falls, Venus and Jupiter blaze away in the western sky, while fainter Mercury lurks beneath them, near the horizon. The red planet Mars is found low in the east at dusk and nightfall, beaming as the sky’s fourth-brightest “star,” after Sirius.

Mercury, along with Saturn and Venus will be visible on March 14, 2012. It will be shining below Jupiter and Venus so you have to draw an imaginary line to be able to locate it. Use the picture provided above as a guide to find it. If you have a backyard telescope, it’s even better as you can view Jupiter’s moons near the end of the month. It is an amazing sight to see.

The planet that you should be most excited to see should be Mars. Mars is rising in the east as the sun sets in the west in early March 2012 (March 3rd and 5th). This is the other planet that will “wow” you on these March evenings. Mars reaches opposition on March 3, at which juncture this brilliant, ruddy world shines all night long, from dusk till dawn. Mars will become extremely noticeable in our sky in March – more noticeable than it’s been for the last two years. Very exciting!

In early March 2012, Earth passes in between the sun and Mars. Mars comes closest to Earth for this two-year period and shines most brightly in our sky. This is the wonderful Martian opposition. So don’t forget to get those telescopes or binoculars out and look out for bright red glow in the sky and witness the beauty that the universe has to offer.

Posted in Fun, Miscellaneous and tagged , ,
16 Feb 2012
1 Comment

Higher Education is Going Digital

We’ve all seen movies where the future holds a lot of technological advancements but are we close to achieving that? We are in one of the aspects. People have been talking about digital technology’s opportunity to improve the classroom for years now. Much of the discussion has been focused on digital textbooks.

At the university level, many schools are dipping their toes in the promise of a digital future, and it’s not just about textbooks. The folks at OnlineUniversities.com have compiled the infographic below that explores the pros and cons of various platforms and technologies that have found their way into the halls of higher ed.

With so many online colleges popping up nowadays, the future does seem to be in digital education. Is your college or university investing in digital texts or online courses?

Courtesy of OnlineUniversities

Posted in Fun, Miscellaneous and tagged , , , , , ,

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