Facebook ads may be rogue

Posted on May 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

I’m always looking for stories, and told my producer recently about these ads appearing on my Facebook page. Some are borderline pornographic — they are woman in bikinis who want to chat. Who knows what that will lead to if you actually click on it. My producer looked at me kind of odd and told me she doesn’t have these ads all over her page. Then, I realized they weren’t on my Facebook page when I log in at work either. It got me thinking – what are these ads? I found it’s a problem many Facebook users are experiencing, but it’s easy to fix.

Facebook has a help page dedicated to this issue known as adware. The social media site says it likely happened when you clicked on a post with a headline like — click here to see who viewed your profile. If you click on the post, you end up with software installed on your computer that forces it to run slowly, compromises security, and may cause unwanted ads. I can assure you I’ve never clicked on posts like that, but I still ended up with adware. So, be aware.

You know these ads are not legitimate because Facebook ads will never appear as banners in the center, top or left columns. Ads in those locations are indicative of a problem.

If you downloaded the program or just have it on your account, it’s easy to clean up your account.

To get rid of these programs, you need to get into the extensions folder and check the plug-ins. In Mozilla Firefox, go to Tools, Add-ons, and then Extensions.  In Google Chrome, go to Window and then Extensions. If you use Internet Explorer 8, go to Tools, Manage Add-ons, and then Toolbars and Extensions. Sure enough, we followed these instructions and found a rogue plug-in.

Plus, clean your cache before you launch your browser and visit the site again to clear out any rogue programs.

It takes just a few minutes, and will enable you to browse Facebook again without being bothered by annoying ads and putting your security at risk.

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How much is your mom worth?

Posted on May 11, 2012 | Leave a comment
Mothers' Day Cake crop

Mothers’ Day Cake crop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Diapers, cleaning, and laundry are just some of the chores a mom deals with when she has kids. The list probably goes on and on. Happy Mother’s Day! So, how much is a mom really worth? A lot more than you may think. If you add up all of Mom’s duties, her salary would be substantial.

According to Salary.com, stay-at-home moms work 94.7 hours a week. Unreal! The pay for that would be $112,962 or just over $17 an hour. Too bad they’re not bringing home any money, although, most will admit their job is priceless.

Working moms make less than six figures but still work a ton. If they actually got paid, combined with their real salary they’d make big bucks. Their salary is an estimated $66,979 with a workweek of 57.9 hours. That’s on top of their 40 hour week for work that actually pays.

Salary.com bases these numbers on a survey of 8,000 moms. They were asked how much time they spend on common tasks.

So, how much is your mom worth? Check out the Mom Salary Wizard by plugging in your mom’s information and printing out a fake check for her. Let your Mom know this Mother’s Day how important she is to you.

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Party decorations may cost you more this year, but there are ways to save

Posted on May 8, 2012 | Leave a comment
This photo shows a helium-inflated blue 11&quo...

This photo shows a helium-inflated blue 11″ latex balloon with multi-colored ribbon tails. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mother’s Day, graduation, or your birthday party plans may be burst if you’re expecting to get cheap balloons. There is a world-wide helium shortage that could have you paying more for balloon decorations, but my producer found ways to cut the costs for a NewsChannel 5 story.

Balloons are not exactly a priority when it comes to the helium supply. It’s needed in more important products like MRI’s. The supply for all products across the world comes from 15 different locations. The supply is expected to run out in 2015, although, efforts are underway to open new helium plants.

“If a pipeline goes down, if there’s a problem with production, it puts a glitch in everything. Then you see that, gee we’re going to raise the price or gee there’s a shortage,” said Balloon Crew owner, Sopko-Crolius.

Shop around because some stores have doubled their prices while others have been able to apply just a small surcharge. Book in advance just in case the supply runs low during this busy time of year at your party store. Ask for alternatives. You can get balloons with 60% helium and 40% air if you don’t need the decorations to last that long, and you may save some money.

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Students learn life and business lessons

Posted on May 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

How would you rate your personal finances? According to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), 80 percent of those who took a survey said their finances need a major overhaul. It’s an astounding figure, and I think the problem is that so many adults are financially illiterate. I’m encouraged by the fact that there are high school students who are learning these important skills and their financial savviness at age 16-18 would blow away any adult.

In most high schools you don’t learn how to balance a checkbook or read a mortgage. These are money basics that we all need in life, yet we’re never told how to do them. How about a few less classes on some trigonometry that I’ll never use in life unless I’m an engineer? Everyone needs to know how to manage their money.

There are programs that can reverse this dangerous trend. Some states require some type of financial literacy in some class along the way. Also, Junior Achievement has various programs that teach financial literacy and business skills.

I recently judged a Junior Achievement competition. High school students created a business selling stocks, designing and marketing a product, and eventually liquidating their company. The companies ran the gamet from creating a green tradeshow, designing printed material, and selling lanyards, T-shirts and bags. One group made $2 and another made over $20,000 profit.

It wasn’t about who made the most money, but who learned the most about running a business. Some classes experienced real world problems with their supplier. One supplier told the group their rally towels were too thin a material and the printing was running off it. The group didn’t want to sell a product that would make their customers upset, so they had to find a different material which delayed delivery and sales.

I was most blown away by the group from Avon High School when they said they did market research and looked into the quality fo the product they were going to sell. They sold popular Twitter phrases on T-shirts. They wanted material that wasn’t too expensive but wasn’t so cheap it would shrink. They looked for a cotton – polyester blend. I was amazed a high school student would even think about that. A happy customer reaps more rewards than an unhappy one. Annoyed shoppers tell 4x more people about their experience so annoying one person can jeopardize other business.

The students also learned the value of money. Some students took field trips — one even to an eco-friendly site in Miami — and others donated their money or a portion of it to charity. In Avon, the students were touched by two classmates who are enduring medical and financial challenges. Kelly Aston is in a wheelchair having to relearn the basics of life after suffering a stroke. Click here to read more about her story. Another student was involved in a motorcross accidents and is recovering. The high school students realized their classmates needs were greater than their own and both will benefit from their business.

Avon took second in the competition and earned a cash prize. Lorain took third for a historical book of their school system that is uniting the community. Beachwood took first place for its green trade show.

Learn from these students, and their experiences. Take control of your personal finances today. You never know when life will take a detour. Set aside a rainy day fund. It probably won’t cover you in time of need, but it will help offset some costs. Secondly, pay down your credit card debt. If you need help tackling your finances, get it. There are certified credit counselors who work for non-profits and charge minimal fees to help you regain control. Click here to find one near you.

Related stories you may like:
Money doesn’t grow on trees
Don’t let money get in the way of life
Find missing money

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Mother’s Day savings

Posted on May 7, 2012 | 1 Comment

You can get your mom a beautiful gift this Mother’s Day without breaking the bank. Lots of online florists are offering 50% off deals including ProFlowers and FTD. That’s just the start of saving.

ProFlowers is offering a LivingSocial coupon for $15 off a $30 purchase. FTD is offering a Groupon for $20 off a $40 purchase.

In previous years, there were issues with the FTD deal.  In February of 2011, users who bought the deal were directed to a special website to buy the flowers. Shoppers complained the prices were higher so the offer really wasn’t a deal. Plus, you couldn’t take advantage of other discounts or promotions which are common with these online flower sites just for visiting the website. Sometimes you don’t even have to enter a special promo code to get a free vase or a percentage off your oder. To deal with the issues, customers were allowed refunds if they complained.

That previous issue made me leery to take advantage of the ProFlowers deal, even though it’s a different company and I’ve had great luck with ProFlowers delivering a high quality product. A few times they’ve missed on the flowers. Call it a bad batch or whatever, and the company made it right.

I read the fine print on this year’s deal, and found ProFlowers setup a special website to deal with this coupon. That was the issue that got FTD in trouble because the prices were different. I perused the prices on the special site. They appeared the same, and reluctantly I clicked “Buy.”

I’ll note this year’s FTD deal does not use a different site for purchase. You simply go to FTD.com if you use the Groupon deal.

While there is a special website setup, I bought the flowers with the deal without going to the special site. I did that just to make sure I wasn’t paying any additional fees. The promotional code was accepted.

Deals are really the only way to buy flowers from these online sites because the handling charges and shipping charges add up fast. If you buy a $30 arrangement, expect to pay close to $45 with all the fees. Consider the promotion you bought as a way to cover all the excess fees you’ll be charged online. Also, you don’t see all these fees until after you enter all your information on ProFlowers. At that point, you’ve already invested a lot of time. Are you really going to shop elsewhere if you don’t like the price?

If you can, I’d skip online and head over to Costco or your local florist. You’ll get a nice looking arrangement for $15-20 at Costco. Your local florist won’t charge you excess fees either because you’ll be delivering the bouquet.

If you have to order online, take advantage of multiple deals. Use Ebates. It’s a great way to get paid for shopping. I earned an additional 16% back on my order. Plus, if you click through from Ebates, you’ll get a free vase.

Also, look for promotional codes. You might be able to save up to 20% more.

You don’t have to spend a lot to save a lot this Mother’s Day. You just have to know where to look for the savings.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you why balloons might break the bank this Mother’s Day and a trick to keep the cost down.

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Will your computer work in July?

Posted on May 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

The FBI is warning computer users to check to see if their computer is infected with Malware that will make it difficult to browse the Internet, check email, or connect to Internet services. Millions of computers are infected, and there is a simple way to check if you are a victim. If you are, the FBI wants to hear from you.

This Malware is known as DNS Changer. DNS stands for Domain Name System. The FBI says when you type in a domain name like jennstrathman.com, the address is converted into a numerical address that allows computers to talk with each other. If your computer is infected, it’s directed to a malicious DNS server and will give you fake, malicious answers, alter your searches, and promote fake and dangerous products.

The Malware redirection happened in two ways — through search results and advertising. If you clicked on a search result, the Malware redirected your coputer to a different website. For example, if you looked up Apple-iTunes, the FBI said you would be taken to a business unaffiliated with Apple but appeared to be selling those products. For Netflix, the FBI says you were taken to a business called “BudgetMatch.” When you clicked on the link for the IRS, you were taken to H&R Block. The FBI says for each click the alleged criminals received money under their advertising agreements.

There was also an advertising component. The FBI said legitimate ads were replaced with ones that triggered payments to the those allegedly infovled. The indictment alleges that when you went to the Wall Street Journal home page, an ad for the American Express “Plum Card” was fraudueltnly repalced with an ad for “Fashion Girl LA.”

The FBI allege at least $14 million was earned through this scheme. The problem is that your computer can be infected without knowing it. The FBI says it has arrested and charged those responsible, and under a court order computers that are pointed at these malicious servers are redirected. That’s why you may not know your computer is infected. This is being done to give people time to fix their computer and avoid massive disruption. This redirection will expire July 9th. So, you need to act now or your computer may be useless in July.

There are a variety of sites set up so you can check to see if your computer is infected. The FBI says the software will not be downloaded, no changes will be made to your computer, and your computer will not be scanned.

Click here for the English version. Click here for websites for other countries and languages. When you click on the site, you are shown a screen with a color as shown at left. Green means your computer is clean.

If your computer is infected, click here to learn more about fixing it.

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Cash for your feedback

Posted on May 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

We all want a little extra cash, but how much time are you willing to invest for the chance of winning something? At the bottom of most cash register receipts, the store asks you for customer feedback. If you take the survey on the phone or online, you could win a prize. Sometimes, it’s up to $5,000. The constant surveys have consumers asking — “Does anyone ever win?”

For a NewsChannel 5 story, I looked for winners. For some companies, they’re easy to find. Others won’t even reveal who won citing privacy reasons. Other times, the winner is listed with their first initial and last name like J. Smith. Plus, their city.

I’ve been backgrounding people for a long time, and can usually find someone. However, this task proved difficult. I started with the less common names knowing that might yield better results. I’d call every person with that name in a particular city. I’d reach people and say are you the J. Smith that won $500 from such and such a store? It never was that person. Unfortunate for them and myself.

I must have called fifty people and never did find someone whose first initial, last name, and city were listed as the winner. I got lucky, when I found the lists from Red Lobster and Olive Garden. The full names of the winners are listed online.

Now, I’m all about privacy. I understand why stores are reluctant to name the winners online and why some stores use ways to protect them by just listing their first initial. However, there is a lot of skepticism among shoppers about these surveys and whether anyone ever wins.

Cleveland State business professor, Elad Granot, told me consumers have survey fatigue. We’re asked about our opinion far too often. He says the validity of these survey results is flawed. Are people just giving any old answer to the survey just to be done with it and entered into the grand prize? Or, do they sincerely take the time to fill it out?  Granot says an engaged manager would yield better results for the store.

When consumers feel like nobody is winning, you lose trust in the store which is the opposite of what stores are trying to do with these surveys. This story generated more than 60 comments on our NewsChannel 5 Facebook page and my page. Only one person mentioned they ever won.

The shopper won $500 to Best Buy, and says it definitely paid off for the business. He bought a camera he still has and it got his friends to shop at Best Buy thinking they might win. That’s not the norm, though, as dozens of other people told us they never knew a winner.

They are out there. They’re just rare — just like lotto winners. The good news for shoppers – stores are switching their marketing methods. Many are using social media to give you instant savings. If you like something on Facebook or Tweet a deal, you can earn instant money. It’s a little more gratifying and you’re in control.

Instead of asking for feedback, stores want you to promote their business. For it, you are rewarded. Sears is offering a personal shopper program. Recruit your friends, and you earn a 1% commission on their purchases.

I expect more companies to begin these programs. They are still limited, but I think this is more gratifying for the shopper and rewarding for the business.

Have you ever filled out a store survey? Do you think it’s worth your time?

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Costco offers home mortgages

Posted on April 30, 2012 | 1 Comment
Costco in Moncton, New Brunswick

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Toilet paper, meat, clothing, tires, and now a mortgage? You can buy it all at Costco. The warehouse giant is now entering the home mortgage business. You can get a new loan or refinance your old one.

Costco advertises savings of $5,000 over the life of the loan. If you’re an Executive level member, your fees will be $600 or less. If you’re a GoldStar member, your fees will be $750 or less.  You may also pay 3rd party fees for an appraisal, title, and credit report.

The warehouse store is working with 11 lenders to offer the mortgage product. You enter your mortgage details, and select the lender and rate that interests you. Once you choose the loan product you want, you deal directly with that lender and not Costco. The bank is just a preferred lender through Costco.

It’s also mentioned in the fine print that your mortgage may be sold. That’s common in the industry, but if you choose the right bank you may not have this happen. I’ve had two mortgages and never had it sold.

This is not the first venture for the warehouse store into financial products. The company also offers auto, home, and health insurance.

 

 

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Dispose of old prescription medications for free

Posted on April 27, 2012 | Leave a comment
Various pills

Various pills (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do you have leftover prescription drugs filling your medicine cabinet? You don’t exactly want to throw them in the trash because studies have shown the drugs can seep into our ground water. Experts suggest putting them in with coffee grinds and sealing them up in bags. Flushing them down the toilet is not a good idea either because the pills can still disintegrate and make their way into our ground water. This weekend there is an easy way to dispose of all those unwanted medications.

The Drug Enforcement Administration teams up with local police agencies to “Take Back” all those drugs. It not only keeps our environment safe, but it helps keep prescription medications out of the wrong hands. They can be deadly to children. Also, there is a huge problem with prescription drug abuse in many regions of the country including Northeast Ohio.

I have friends who’ve had their prescription drugs stolen from their home by someone who needs to feed their habit. So, it’s a serious problem. Why put yourself or someone else at risk? Dispose of the medications this weekend.

Click here for a list of sites across the country. The program runs this Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM.

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Say goodbye to spam text messages

Posted on April 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

I am so tired of my phone buzzing, only to find a text message telling me I can win an iPad or $1,000 cash.  Some even use local phone numbers to make you think it’s a legitimate text from a local business. All I have to do is go to a website and give up all my personal information. I get these texts on my work and personal phone. The good news – there are things you can do about it.

You can forward the text to your carrier by sending it to SPAM or 7726. That way they can investigate where the texts are coming from and help prevent them in the future. To send the message to SPAM, you won’t incur any fees.

 

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