Cyber Monday Shopping Tips

AS FEATURED ON KGW TV'S
"PORTLAND TODAY" CLICK HERE TO WATCH

The Monday following the "Black Friday" shopping day has been declared as "Cyber Monday" and millions of people around the world are expected to do much of their holiday shopping online on that day.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help you shop more safely, this holiday season - whether you shop on Cyber Monday or not:

1. Be careful when clicking on email links

This time of year, people are especially vulnerable to "Click now for this amazing offer!" phishing emails. When you receive an enticing email offer, be careful when clicking on that link - what you see on the screen may not match the underlying link. Often, you can hover over the link to see where you're actually being sent but this can sometimes show you a long and confusing link, due to embedded tracking information.

If the sender is one you recognize, and the email is from a vendor to which you've "opted in" to receive email offers, you're probably OK. However, if you have any concerns about the validity of the link, it's better to be safe by typing in the address of the website directly rather than clicking on the link.

Which brings me to tip #2...

2. Use https:// instead of http://

When you're typing the address, you can ensure you get a secure connection by using the "https://" prefix on your web address. The 's' stands for secure, and it encrypts the connection between your browser and the site you're browsing.

More and more websites are offering (or even defaulting to) https: connections, but you can force it by typing the address in yourself. If your site doesn't support https: it is generally OK to browse there, but avoid using insecure sites for shopping, since your payment information  is not secure when you transmit it to the site.

Also, your browser can help you - it will often show a lock icon or other indicator, signifying that you have a secure connection to the website.

Clicking on the website address will show you the full path, which should start with https: as shown above.

3. Shop using official apps

If you shop from your mobile device and the site you're shopping with has an official app, use it. This can help you avoid spoofed sites (i.e. sites masquerading as a legitimate site, but in place to harvest your personal and/or financial information. If you go this route, you're best off going to the main shopping site from your browser, clicking on the app store link from their site, and letting that link redirect you to the correct app on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or whatever app store is used by your device.

4. don't Shop on Public WiFi networks

If you're shopping from a public WiFi network in a coffee shop, airport, library, etc. chances are, your traffic is being transmitted unencrypted (aka "in the clear"), which means an attacker could observe and capture this information. Unfortunately, in some scenarios, this can even expose your information when connected to an https: site due to something known as a "man in the middle" attack.

In general, you're best off not shopping on public, unsecured WiFi networks. If you really want to shop on these networks, and wish to do so in a secure fashion, you can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network service) to encrypt your device's traffic. There are some easy-to-use services that help you do this, such as Cloak (Mac and iOS only); TunnelBear (multi-platform), and WiTopia to name a few.

If you're not using a VPN, avoid sending sensitive information (such as your payment card data) over a public WiFi network.

5. Use a good, up-to-date security solution on your computer

Modern anti-virus and anti-malware technology can help protect you while shopping. Many of them not only scan your computer for malicious programs, they also have add-ins for your browser that are aware of know, malicious web sites and can warn you when you're in a dangerous spot.

Paid software is available for this, as well as free options. If you're using Windows and don't want to pay, the built-in Windows Defender is a good option. Companies like AVG, Avast, and Avira also offer free antivirus solutions for Windows and Mac computers.

Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) also offer free anti-virus or anti-malware licenses to their customers - check with your internet provider to see what is available.

Bottom line, have something in place and keep it up-to-date with current malware and virus definitions.

6. Consider Using Apple Pay or Google Wallet 

Whether you're shopping online or in a store, if Apple Pay or Google Wallet payments are available, they offer a safe way to pay. Due to the way the security model on these systems works, your individual payment card details are never transmitted to the merchant.

Instead a one-time transaction credential is shared to enable the payment and a new one is generated each time you pay. That means that even if an attacker gains access to the transaction information they will be unable to use that information for a second transaction.

I hope you find these tips helpful, and I hope you find some great bargains on Cyber Monday!

Managing Money: 3 Unconventional Strategies to Adopt

When it comes to improving your money management knowledge and skills, a little unconventional thinking can go a long way. Instead of simply being a victim of your impulses, spend your hard-earned money in a more conscious manner.

Here are three strategies that can help you:

Shop Smarter, Guided by Practicality

Gone are the days when your location and a store's sales limited your shopping habits. Thanks to online shopping, the options are endless, making good bargains more accessible than ever before. You no longer have to wait for Black Friday to get the best deals on your holiday shopping, either.

But avoid emptying your bank account for the sake of fulfilling your holiday shopping list. To save more money around the holidays, downsize your list and check everything off before the holiday madness begins. Get creative by giving gifts you can create on your own. Or, if you must buy something for someone, make it as practical as possible. For instance, instead of buying your spouse a new iPad that they don't really need, buy them a new set of winter tires for their car, or a new winter coat. Necessities are the new "fun" gifts.

Think of the Future like the Present

Many of us fail to save as much money as we could — and should — due to plain old procrastination. Why do it today if you can put it off until tomorrow, right? But that line of thinking — the assumption you have plenty of time to save money — is precisely the problem, and it sneaks up on you.

UCLA behavioral economist Keith Chen found a direct link between our failure as a culture to save adequately and the manner in which we understand the future is near. Chen divides languages into two categories: futured and futureless. Like the English language, futured languages have different verb conjugations for the future tense. However, in futureless languages, like Japanese, Chinese and German, the same verb forms are used when the speaker is expressing something in the present or future tense.

This seemingly minor difference actually makes a major impact in how we perceive the "future" based on our native tongue. Those who speak futured languages tend to view the future as something significantly different from the present, thus making it easier to disregard its imminence and the need to save for it. Meantime, futureless language speakers view the future much more similarly to the present and, as such, tend to be much more successful at saving money for the future.

In order to better manage your own personal finances and savings, try to adopt the same concept of the future that futureless language speakers have. In other words, think of the future like it's tomorrow or just months away and allow it to positively impact your bank account so you can enjoy the benefits.

Question Your Motivations

Many industries are taking advantage of an emerging field called behavioral finance, which combines principles of cognitive and behavioral psychology. In business, the concept is used to manipulate consumers into doing what big business wants: for you to spend more.

To avoid falling for these behavioral finance ploys, it pays to be conscious of when your emotions are signaling you to make a purchase. Companies often use or take advantage of consumers' emotions in order to influence their decision-making and override their rationale. Instead, consumers like you should be especially mindful of their instinctive reasoning. Instead of going with the flow and following the herd mentality, be especially prudent of potential purchases if you know other people who have recently made the same purchase. A little extra caution will go a long way to help you better manage your money.

Using New Tech for A Better Night's Sleep

Having trouble sleeping is not only frustrating, it's also inconvenient. Your entire day can be ruined by a terrible night of sleep. Some people have more trouble than others, while some simply aren't aware that they're having trouble. Here are a few signs that probably indicate a lack of sleep:

• You're cranky and easily stressed
• You're not as productive as you could be
• You're putting on a few extra pounds.
• You look tired all the time
• Your coffee intake is at an all-time high due to drowsiness

These are some of the most common signs that you might need either more sleep or better-quality sleep. Thanks to the new technology, you can not only get help with your sleep, but you can determine what's really going wrong.

Sleep Masks

The classic sleep mask is always a good go-to. Blocking out light is what signals your brain to start producing melatonin, which is the chemical that makes you fall asleep. However, these can be uncomfortable for people with long lashes or just don't like anything that close to their eyes. There are options like the Glo to Sleep mask that rest above your eyes, so they won't bother you while you're trying to sleep. This particular mask also features blinking blue lines that are meant to train your brain to fall asleep.

When I travel, I usually keep a sleep mask tucked away in my bag just in case you are in a bright hotel room, want to take a mid-day power nap (more on that in a bit), or want to try to grab a few minutes of sleep on the plane.

Supportive Pillows

Any pillow will do when you're trying to sleep, right? Actually, chiropractors recommend using a pillow, like this one, that will hold your head in the correct place and will support your neck while you sleep. Not only will this help you get a more comfortable night's sleep, it will also prevent injuries that will send you to said chiropractors.

I happen to like lots of pillows to provide extra support. I sleep with 3 pillows at home, and always request extra pillows at hotels when I travel (I use the Hilton HHonors app a lot, and you can request extra foam pillows before you even arrive).

Wearables

The thing about changing your habits is that you can't change what you can't measure. If you don't know how bad of a night's sleep you're getting, how are you going to accurately address and fix the problem? While buying a lower-priced wearable will be able to do some of the same things as a more pricey model, your best bet for fixing your sleeping habit is to go for the one that will be able to give you a better sleep reading like the Apple Watch Sport. Taking the plunge and spending more money can seem intimidating, but with the Apple Watch, you have access to a wearable without having to pay for it upfront.

There are also apps that use your phone to track sleep, typically by putting the phone under the mattress. That doesn't really work for me, but I know a few people who swear by it.

Noise Machine

We've all heard about white noise machines, but the Sleep Genius app helps you fall asleep by using what is known as pink noise. Developed by neuroscientists for astronauts, the app uses pink noise as a softer variant of white noise to help lull you to sleep. It also uses neurosensory algorithms to trick your brain into thinking that you're being rocked to sleep, just like a baby.

Not getting enough sleep can be stressful and downright harmful to your health. It may not be your first instinct to look to technology to be a sleep solution, but thanks to the huge strides that humans have taken towards helping each other live better lives, it can be that and more.

Power Napping

When all else fails and you are tired anyway, a 15-20 minute power nap can do wonders. Perhaps you sit in your car for a few minutes during lunch, or find a quiet corner to snooze - it can make a huge difference in your mental state.

To keep from sleeping too long, I use an app called "Pzizz" which is an audio app that has a voice-guided talk track to coach you into a relaxed state for napping. It then plays soothind sounds and music for the duration you specify, and gently wakes you when the time is up. I swear by this app!

By the way, Pzizz also has deep sleep mode that can help you get to sleep, by guiding you into a relaxed state, then fading away without waking you up. This is also helpful while traveling.

If you have other tips, please share them here!

The Benefits of Writing By Hand

Many traditions just aren't appreciated like they once were. Technology has changed the way people communicate, interact and play. So why wouldn't it change the way people learn too? College, high school, and even intermediate classrooms have integrated computers, in part because more time outside of the classroom is spent on computers or mobile devices. But the benefits of hand written notes do have some advantages. Handwriting is important, even in this digital age.

Notes By Hand vs Laptop

While most students can type much faster than they can write by hand, this doesn't mean it's a better way to take notes. While it's true that people who take notes with a laptop will, on average, take more notes than those who write notes by hand, there is a difference in memory retention that is reliant on the medium the notes are taken in. According to the Scientific American three experiments were done by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer that tested different aspects of the handwritten word. In one study they had half the subjects take notes on a lesson with laptops and the other half take notes with pen and paper. While those with pen and paper took considerably fewer notes, they nevertheless showed a stronger conceptual understanding of the material. They were also more successful when asked to apply said knowledge.

I sometimes take notes by hand, and sometimes on my computer, and I've noticed that I retain and recall information from handwritten notes better, even when I don't go back and review the notes. I am not sure how much of that has to do with my bias toward visual learning, or whether there is something about how handwriting a note engages my brain - I just know it works well.

Verbatim vs Conceptual

Those who use computers for notes typically take down larger portions of information, mainly in verbatim chunks, because of the ability to take notes so much faster than those who take notes by hand. However, Mueller, via The Atlantic, said, “The people who were taking notes on the laptops don’t have to be judicious in what they write down," which causes some problems in retention. Those who write by hand simply don't have time for verbatim notes, and because of this, must conceptualize and write down ideas in their own language. This helps people internalize ideas instead of simply listen to them.

While notes by laptop should hardly be discouraged in the classroom , K-12 teachers should encourage handwriting whenever possible. For instance, word search puzzles help young students spot patterns, recognize words and practice handwriting.

In the workplace, handwritten notes are always fine, but I believe you can map the type of note taking (digital or handwritten) to the kind of meeting or notes. If I need to have a detailed account of a meeting, or if I know I'll need to share it with others, I gravitate to digital note taking using OneNote or Confluence. Examples of those meetings are status meetings, technical meetings, or project working sessions.

If the notes are more for my own use, or to capture concepts and ideas, I tend to use handwritten notes. I also take handwritten notes when a computer might interfere with the mood of the meeting. Examples of meetings where I take handwritten notes include  idea generation / creative sessions, customer "discovery" meetings, and listening to speeches or lectures.

Other Benefits

While notes by hand help people retain and conceptualize information more accurately, there are a host of other benefits. Writing by hand soothes people. Cursive connects the left and right side of the brain, and for young children, handwriting boosts cognitive skills that technology-aided writing doesn't. For older people, it keeps the mind sharp and some psychologists even believe it improves memory over time.

Perhaps the most basic, yet one of the most important perks of the written word is that a pen and paper limits distractions when you write. For young students with already short attention spans, this focus can be invaluable in the course of their education, and for older students, even those in college, the lack of social media may be painful, but ultimately helpful.

I've been doing a lot more journaling lately, and I get different results when I type and when I write thoughts out by hand. Like with note taking, I go back & forth between digital and analog journaling.

Practice and Improve

A couple of things can get in the way when you start taking more handwritten notes: if you're out of practice, you may have lousy handwriting and you may not be able to write very quickly.

Both of these can improve through practice. A friend of mine gave me a practice drill that works really welll:

• Get a legal pad and a pen, and start watching a TV show.
• Concentrate on one character, and try to write down everything that character says, doing your best to keep up.
• After you get the hang of the content aspect of this note taking, begin to focus more on your handwriting - strive for clear, legible writing.
• When you get really good at taking notes on one person's dialog, you can up your game by trying to record the dialog of two people.

This exercise can help you if you practice regularly (a couple of hours per week, for example).

4 Entrepreneurial Traits That Can Help You Land the Perfect Job

Last week I spent a Saturday with a bunch of existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. Their passion, optimism, and thirst for success was inspiring. Right now, I'm working in a company and not really looking to embark on an entrepreneurial journey just yet (though I think I will at some point in the next few years). So I was curious - what does it take to go alone, and make your way in the world? And can you be entrepreneurial within a company?

The path of an entrepreneur is fulfilling and rewarding, but never easy. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 14 million Americans were self-employed in 2015, while another 29 million were hired by the self-employed. Every man or woman with the American Dream in sight seeks that self-owned, independent career, but it's not a reality for everyone. Taxes, costs, health insurance, competition and plain bad luck are just a few of the barriers keeping millions in their 9-to-5 jobs. But there is a better way.

Just because you can't (or choose not to) own your business doesn't mean there isn't a place in the workforce that is ready and willing to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit. More companies are ditching the three-piece suits and cubicles for a more modern and contemporary working lifestyle. Google is probably the most famous example of this new ethos, where employees are encouraged to dress comfortably, work their own hours and take advantage of a multitude of amenities to make office life fun.

If you want a career that's less like a cage and more like a playground, hone these entrepreneurial skills to score a job and lifestyle that you love.

Find the Right Company
(or the right place in your company)

When starting a job search, you'll be amazed by how transparent companies can be when asking for entrepreneurs — the key is finding the businesses that really mean what they say. Auto retailer DriveTime has it front and center on its career page. It states, "If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, welcome a challenge, have high personal standards of achievement and are extremely motivated, we have endless opportunities for you to succeed."

If your skepticism doesn't stop at the front page, find a few of the company's employees on LinkedIn and ask them what life is like in the office. Some may give you the company speak, but others will be surprisingly candid.

Create an Unsolicited Project

Some companies will ask you to complete a sample project during the interview process, but this is something you can provide without being asked. Study the company's website, business, clients (if they're listed), and create your own version of a project that could fit a real business need. This could be a marketing campaign, editorial calendar, social media strategy or financial plan. The point is, your future employer will probably be wowed by an initiative not taken by other applicants.

If you're in a company already, think about a way you can innovate beyond the world of "what's expected" in a way that will build your experience, as well as add value to your company. Figure out a way to get this done, and you'll have a blast.

Calculated Recklessness

While reckless carries negative connotation, calculated recklessness is a quality more businesses crave. What is calculated recklessness? It's simply the willingness to take risks in the better interest of the company. The why doesn't matter — calculated recklessness could be in pursuit of a bonus or promotion — but if the boss benefits, you'll be given more freedom to try new things in the future, and that's what every entrepreneur wants.

Say Goodbye to the 9-to-5

The traditional workday is dying, and with good reason. A set 9-to-5 schedule can hinder productivity, erode trust in management and cause distractions while employees watch a clock for eight hours, just waiting for 5 p.m. to roll around. Your company should work like you do, and more startups are adopting this culture. Don't be afraid to tell hiring managers you prefer to set your own hours, and you'll be pleasantly surprised with how many are receptive to the notion.

Find Some Mentors or Guides to Help

One of the things that stood out from last week's collaboration was that a lot of the entrepreneurs I met were involved in "Mastermind Groups" which are information sharing and support groups where entrepreneurs can share their business challenges and get advice from others who've walked the path before them. It is a great concept and everyone I met recommended it. You can find out about Masterminds by word of mouth, or check out resources like "The Success Alliance" for a list of groups you can approach.

Are you an entrepreneur? Are you on the journey to become one? I'd love to hear what you're learning - leave a comment below if you have anything to add to the conversation.