A Guide to Internet Safety for Writers

30 Sep 2019 Uncategorized

As a writer, you’re bound to use the internet a lot. You need to learn how to secure yourself from malicious activities within the internet. The internet is a source of unlimited information, but it also exposes you to infected ads, sneaky computer viruses, and rogue links.

Due to advancements in technology, computer viruses are more aggressive than ever before. Identity theft and financial fraud are quite rampant because hackers have all they need to hack whomever they want. As a student, work with legit writing services like Ewritingservice.com to avoid dealing with frauds.

Every time you encounter a suspicious website, hit the back button before cybercriminals get the opportunity to take advantage of you. Also, be careful where you provide your personal information because it could easily be a case of identity theft.

1. Have Strong Passwords Everywhere
When you use strong passwords, you prevent cybercriminals from hijacking your accounts. Avoid using generic passwords like your date of birth or the name of your pet because this makes your accounts easily hackable.
Ensure your password is at least 12 characters long because the more the characters, the harder it is for hackers to guess the password. The password should include both upper and lower case alphabets as well as numbers and symbols.

2. Avoid Using Open Networks to Access the Internet
If you’re a writer who likes working from cafés and coffee shops, avoid using their Wi-Fi networks to access the internet. There is nothing as cybercriminals-ridden as open networks. Use your own source of internet to protect yourself from hijacks.
Aside from cyberattacks, you never know the kind of virus that might be lurking in such networks. Protect your information by avoiding public Wi-Fi networks.

3. Use Viral Protection Network
If you have a computer you use to access the internet, use a VPN to protect your information. This way, you use a private channel to access the internet. Viral Protection Networks lock cybercriminals out. They cannot record any unencrypted information and use it to their advantage.

Conclusion
Writers are among the people who use the internet the most. Each time you browse the internet, ensure you’re safe from cyberattacks. Cybercriminals can use the smallest loophole to steal your personal information.

Low Value Slot Symbols explained

20 Sep 2019 Uncategorized

Whilst slot machine gambling has only really been a thing for the last century or so, the amount of gamblers who love spinning the reels of their favourite slots these days is second to none. In fact, the slots industry is by far the biggest offshoot of the overall gambling market in the 21st century, and it is funny to think that without a particularly savvy Californian engineer called Charles D. Fey they may not have ever been invented.

He made some crucial alterations to the rudimentary slot machines that were dotted around California in the 19th century, ending up with the Liberty Bell slot, the first of its kind. The main thing that Mr Fey succeeded in changing was the prize mechanism, with prize money actually coming out of the slot machine itself, instead of having to be collected at the bar. This also resulted in the formation of low and high value slot symbols, read on to find out about low value slot symbols from Rainbow Riches Megaways

A brief history of slot symbols in general 

Back in the day before Charles D. Fey had created the Liberty Bell machine slot machines didn’t really have high or low value symbols in the same way as we do now. This is mainly down to the fact that there was only a few different icons on the reels back in the 1800s, and so any winning combination tended to have roughly the same value. 

Of course, this all changed when Charles D. Fey first created the Liberty Bell machine, a slot that had a tiered system of symbols for the first time. The Liberty Bell icons that it derived its name from were the high paying icons, whereas a selection of poker inspired symbols were the low paying symbols. 

The first low value symbols 

So, as we mentioned, the first clear low value symbols continued in the poker style icon tradition that was a defining characteristic of the primordial slot machines from back in the day. As the slot machine industry slowly started to grow the low value symbols tended to stick by the same formula, with the poker style icons continuing to be used heavily well into the 20th century. 

In fact, slot symbols in general didn’t really change much throughout the 20th century, mainly because they still had to be painted on to a set of reels by hand, and there was therefore little scope for what developers could do. This all changed in the 1980s with the arrival of video slots, however the low paying icons still centred on playing card symbols. 

Typical attributes of low value slot symbols 

What do low value slot symbols tend to look like these days? Well, one of the main hallmarks of these icons is that they tend to be designed round playing card symbols. Most developers will try and give their own spin on these, with the playing card symbols usually being intertwined with the slot theme in some way, however this isn’t always the case.

Insight into casino security

20 Sep 2019 Uncategorized

There is a hell of a lot that goes on behind the scenes at the world’s largest casinos, and a huge part of that ends up being the various facets of their security operation. In fact, apart from airports and banks, casinos probably have the most extensive and complex security systems in the world. And when you consider the amount of money held in these places there should really be no surprise. 

It wasn’t always like this, however. In fact, during the early days of modern commercial casino gambling in the mid 20th century places like Las Vegas were constantly plagued by casino cheats, and they therefore had to make sure that their casinos were as secure and difficult to cheat on as possible. Over the years these security systems have utilized new technology to make them more and more advanced, and nowadays you would do well to do any kind of cheating in a casino. Read on for an insight into casino security like what Star Slots has. 

24/7 all encompassing surveillance 

One of the main characteristics of modern casino security is an incredibly tense focus on 24/7 surveillance that reaches pretty much all parts of a casino establishment. In fact, casinos are amongst the most heavily watched places on earth, with only airports really have more cameras inside. Casinos do genuinely need this level of surveillance too; otherwise it would be far too easy for people to cheat inside of them. 

But here’s the thing: casino surveillance isn’t something that the average gambler would probably notice during their stay in Las Vegas, because it is all hidden away perfectly. The extent of surveillance is bonkers though, you should see the size of some casino’s surveillance control rooms! It all results in the fact that casinos could easily track a guest’s movements throughout a weeklong stay. 

Strict and hawkeyed pit bosses 

Another essential part of casino security is having a strict and experienced pit boss, as these will be the first line of defence against casino cheats and also gamblers looking to indulge in things like blackjack card counting. Pit bosses generally stand at a high vantage point above the pit in question, and they will be constantly on the lookout for people to eject from the casino.

The muscle 

What is the use of a top quality security system if you do not have the muscle to back it up? This is why most huge casinos will have a remarkably well trained security team, and it is very important that this team also has the muscle required to deal with any problems. 

This is why most casinos will be eager to have at least a few muscular members of security, because not only do they help out with genuine problems when needed, they also provide a warning to gamblers as they walk in. 

Heat mapping 

Modern technology is constantly utilized in casino security, for instance many of them have utilized heat mapping in order to stop gamblers loitering around slot machines.

The ROI of SEO

16 Sep 2019 Uncategorized

Almost every other day I am asked, “Do I have to invest in SEO?” The not so smart ones tell me, “I don’t need SEO”.

Here is the truth. Getting professional SEO is the best investment you will make to get the maximum ROI from your web presence. In fact it costs more to drive traffic to your site than to establish a web presence. Seriously!

Investing in growing your business is always a good idea. At Cyber Gear, we never hired a single salesperson in 23 years! We invested in SEO and digital marketing. Maybe, the number one reason why we are growing exponentially. Talk about walking the talk!

For the non-tech savvy people (do they even exist?) SEO, or search engine optimization, is an approach to marketing that helps your business show up at the top of search engine results pages when potential customers are looking for you online.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Google is the single largest traffic driver to websites. Google receives over 63,000 searches per second on any given day. That’s the average figure of how many people use Google a day, which translates into at least 2 trillion searches per year, 3.8 million searches per minute, 228 million searches per hour, and 5.6 billion searches per day.

Bottomline. Google accounts for 57.8% of total referral traffic for the average site (10x the traffic that Facebook drives to the average site).

Here is the no brainer – if you’re going to invest in one online marketing activity, you should invest in SEO.

For those on the fence, consider these facts:

• 72% of online marketers describe content marketing as their most effective SEO tactic.

• 81% of people do some type of online research before making a large purchase.

• 47% of consumers read 3 to 5 pieces of content created by a company before talking to a salesman from that company.

• Leads from search engines have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (ex. cold-calling, direct mail, etc.) have a 1.7% close rate.

• 78% of location-centric mobile searches result in an offline purchase.

To calculate the ROI on SEO, it is worth noting that ranking 1st in organic search results for an important search query will drive x number of qualified visitors to your website every month. Based on a 5-10% conversion rate, it will more than pay for itself. While it’s easier and more accurate to track conversions for e-commerce, it certainly is possible for lead-based businesses.

Based on our 23 years of experience in digital business, I can safely vouch that investing in SEO in the long term leads to exponential growth (and much more affordable customer acquisition).

Finally, a note of caution, there is no magic bullet to activate the magic of SEO. It is a long and painstaking process – SEO often takes 3-6 months to gain traction. Use Google Analytics to measure the ROI of your SEO campaigns.

Microless is partnering with IT Plus to work on Artificial Intelligence

10 Sep 2019 Uncategorized

Microless is one of the leading online computer and electronics stores in the middle east. The company has been established in 2011 to transform the way people buy computers and electronics. Microless has set goals to expand rapidly in 2020 to become the leader in electronics and computer retail online.

Microless has announced that it’s partnering with IT Plus — one of the leading web and mobile app development agency in UAE, to integrate AI / Machine Learning techniques to optimize and automate their business processes. Apart from automation, and increasing the efficiency of existing processes in the company, the partnership is promising to bring new features, such as a smart chatbot that will handle part of the load on the customer service agents. The chatbot will be able to resolve customer inquiries and help customers with their purchases on the platform. The bot will be smart enough to understand your question and help you with the status of your order, item availability and pricing, as well as other queries.

Another interesting aspect of the mutual work will be the smart pricing bot that will adjust the prices on the products several times a day based on the market prices and customer demand. Customers will certainly benefit from this as they will have access to even better prices and unbeatable deals.

Once the work proves to be successful, the companies are planning to work on other important aspects such as intelligent delivery routing, using AI in stock predictions and even workplace gamification, which is a new trend that increases the employees’ productivity, by letting them see their work progress in realtime, get rewarded for achieving targets and compete with their peers.

Nowadays, as the competition is extremely high, the leading companies look for ways to cut the costs by optimizing and automating their business processes. Not only that reduces the costs in the long run, but it also allows the company to process much higher volumes of workload and it decreases the error rate and generates more streamlined results in the end. Machine learning is often used to achieve just that.

Machine learning or AI is the new trend in business. With the latest advancements in technology and new algorithms, computers are now able to recognize speech, detect objects and analyze what is happening in images and videos in real-time, predict sales and demand for products, and much more.

What Exactly is Tiktok?

6 Aug 2019 Uncategorized

The name TikTok is onomatopoeia for the sound of a ticking clock and represents the short format of the videos

TikTok is an iOS and Android social media video app for creating and sharing short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. The app was launched in 2017 by ByteDance, for markets outside of China. ByteDance has previously launched Douyin for the China market in September 2016. Douyin was developed in 200 days, and within a year got 100 million users, with more than 1 billion videos viewed every day.
The application allows users to create short music and lip-sync videos of 3 to 15 seconds and short looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds. It is a leading short video platform in Asia, the United States, and other parts of the world. TikTok is not available in China and its servers are based in countries where the app is available.

The TikTok mobile app allows users to create a short video of themselves which often feature music in the background, can be sped up, slowed down or edited with a filter. To create a music video with the app, users can choose background music from a wide variety of music genres, edit with a filter and record a 15-second video with speed adjustments before uploading it to share with others on TikTok or other social platforms. Its tunes are varied pop, rap, R&B, electro, and DJ tracks serve as backing for its 15-second video clips.

The app allows users to set their accounts as “private”. Such accounts’ content remains visible to TikTok but is blocked from TikTok users who the account holder has not authorised to view their content. Users can choose whether any other user, or only their “friends”, may interact with them through the app via comments, messages, or “react” or “duet” videos. Users also can set specific videos to either “public”, “friends only”, or “private” regardless if the account is private or not.

The videos are tall, not square, like on Snapchat or Instagram’s stories, but you navigate through videos by scrolling up and down, like a feed, not by tapping or swiping side to side.

The platform is said to have an addictive quality and high levels of engagement with its personalized feeds of quirky and creative short videos.

TikTok was downloaded more than 104 million times on Apple’s App store during the full first half of 2018, according to data provided to CNBC by Sensor Tower, an app analytics platform based in San Francisco. It surpassed Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to become the world’s most downloaded iOS app for that time period.

TikTok recently began testing ads and also makes money on in-app purchases. Users can buy coins to tip their favorite creators on the platform. It has grossed $80 million from in-app purchases globally, according to an April report from Sensor Tower. In Q1 2019, user spending reaching an estimated $18.9 million globally, which was 222% more than the app grossed during the same period last year.

Tiktok is available in over 150 markets, and in 75 languages worldwide.

Source: Hashtag Social

What is the Impact of Technology on Our Society?

1 Aug 2019 Uncategorized

The rapid growth of technology has become a force to reckon with such that we cannot exist without it. You and I depend on every form of technology to go about our regular lives. However, it is good to note that technology has impacted the society both positively and negatively. Let us dive more into it.

The Top Positive Impact of Technology

Whether it be playing online games with a Resorts casino bonus code, or going out with your GoPro, there is a lot that you can do. Here is how technology has improved our life.

#1. Has improved agriculture
Food is vital in our lives, but the current human population cannot be sustained with limited resources. However, technology has given farmers a chance to grow large quantities of good even in small tracts of land. Also, they can access fertilizers and other tools which boost crop productivity.

#2. It has improved the transport sector
Transportation has evolved in a great fold with time. People can move quickly from one continent to the next. Technology has revamped the transport sector and improved it such that mobility is more accessible. For instance, there are electric trains which can move almost at the speed of light. We have gone further to explore space and even landed on the moon and Mars.

#3. Technology has revamped communication
Communication is the only way that we can pass information. There are various forms of mediums we use to communicate that have been impacted by technology. For instance, the rise of social media has made it easy for people to know each other and talk despite the distance. The Internet, radio, TV, and others are acting as tools where they inform the rest of the world what is happening.

The Negative Impact of Technology

#1. Technology is straining natural resources.
Natural resources have depleted a significant lot that there is a rising concern. Yes, we are glad that technology is rising rapidly, but it is harming our earth. For instance, natural metals need to be mined continuously so that we can develop gadgets such as phones and computers.

#2. There is a rise in population.
In 2017 the World Population clocked to 7.7 billion. Advanced technology has improved the health sector, thus reducing the mortality rate. This is good news, but there is also a downside. It is becoming hard to sustain the current population with limited resources.

Integrate Salesforce with a Cloud-Based Data Warehouse

1 Aug 2019 Uncategorized

Data from Salesforce (a cloud computing platform managing your interactions with current and potential customers) could be a saving grace for anyone working in the sales or marketing industries, since it provides insights that few other platforms can provide. However, knowing how to read this data is just as vital as finding it in the first place.

Using cloud-based data warehouses alongside your general Salesforce usage can help with integrating it into your other data sets. A data management and warehousing platform can allow you to review data collected by Salesforce, and integrate it into your other company-related data.

Here are some perks of integrating salesforce data into your everyday business work:

Find the right warehouse platform

First and foremost, you’ll want to find the right data warehouse platform to integrate Salesforce with. This is important because, even though Salesforce is compatible with many different platforms, only some will provide you the tools and integration you need to be a successful, well-run business.

Blendo Salesforce integration gets all of your data into your warehouse and can help find answers to data and sales-related questions. With platforms like this, you can also assess leads and deals and pursue whatever’s most promising.

Create a unified view of customers

Another perk of integrating Salesforce is the fact that it you get a more unified view of customers for your employees. It’ll paint a more complete picture of your customer and aid in finding the most promising leads.

Virtualize and manage data

By integrating Salesforce, you also can virtualize and better manage any data that comes to your business. Virtualization, for one, brings agility to the use of data, and this virtualized data can be more readily accessible and proactively managed.

Likewise, the management of data is made easier because platforms which integrate Salesforce use open application programming interface (API) to allow applications integrated into one another to communicate better. This makes managing the data sets coming from multiple platforms to be easier.

Consider integrating more

Lastly, if using Salesforce proves successful for your business, consider some other ways you can make use of this gold mine of a data platform. Data integration is merely the first step of all of the possibilities you can have using Salesforce.

There’s also process, security, and user interface integration to implement in your office. Here are a few key differences between all four:

Data integration: Mere data integration, though incredibly helpful, just means that the unified data platforms communicate with one another. By having these platforms communicate and work together comprehensively, it promotes employee efficiency and ensures quality, consistent data sets. It can also deliver one data set to another for comparison and analyses.

Process integration: Next, process integration takes what data integration does and goes a step further. Process integration throws applications designed for workflow into the mix so that business processes exist end-to-end. This creates a more cohesive working system.

Security integration: Security integration makes accessing information both on the employee and customer side of things easier and less administrative in nature. By combining authentication systems with these platforms, data and information can be accessed appropriately by the individual.

User interface integration: And last but not least, user interface (UI) integration just makes the overall experience of using the platform easier for users by integrating systems to create one entry-way for multiple different applications. It streamlines the platforms by bringing them into one place and enhances the overall user experience.

Importance of Digital Location Management For Local Businesses

30 Jul 2019 Uncategorized

How to maintain accurate listings information in a world that has moved way beyond the yellow pages!

Being found when consumers are ready to connect is critical. In today’s digital marketplace it is imperative that location data is managed in the local marketplace and across key business discovery platforms. People might constantly be online, they might be sharing details of their lives with personalities across the world, but ultimately people are local. They shop local. They eat local. They live local. That means that no matter how big or small our world becomes, local will continue to be the operative word when it comes to local online presence.

Here are the ‘Top 10’ most popular navigation platforms:

1. Google Maps
2. Apple Maps
3. Factual
4. TomTom Maps
5. OpenStreetMap
6. Facebook Local
7. Here Maps
8. Foursquare
9. What3words ID
10. 2GIS.ae

For starters, every self-respecting business needs to claim their business listing on Google. The following information should be submitted for listings:

• Business Name
• Detailed Address
• Exact Map Pin (geocode)
• Phone Number
• Website URL
• Operating Hours
• Category of Business
• Photos and logo
• Business information

Location intelligence can help businesses reduce their operating costs, increase asset utilization, optimize margins and improve customer service.

Here are a few distinct benefits of mapping your business online:

• Increased brand recognition
• Increased customer footfall
• Increased sales per location
• Increased local search rank
• Data insights & reporting
• Keep your digital presence fresh with real-time updates
• Track the performance of your listings

Most online experiences between a customer and a business begin with a search engine. People who search on their mobile phones for your business have a high intent of making a purchase. According to research, 76% of people say to visit a store after looking up information and 28% make a purchase afterwards. Location proximity is a decisive factor for customers who are looking for nearby places to dine and shop.

For more information on location mapping, brand reputation management, sentiment analysis, customer reviews, and local SEO services, contact Cyber Gear at info@cyber-gear.com

UAE launches first single-letter government domain name

22 Jul 2019 Uncategorized

The Government of the UAE has launched the new domain name of its official portal to become the first government domain in the world composed of a single letter (U), to facilitate the public access to information, services, projects, strategies and laws in the UAE.

The new domain name, developed in cooperation between The Prime Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), is composed of the initials of the United Arab Emirates (u.ae). The first letter is the domain name, while the second and third letters form the UAE’s country code Top Level Domain “.ae”.

The official portal of the UAE Government is a comprehensive platform for all government services and information, as well as important data and information related to vital sectors in the UAE, including education, economy, business, infrastructure, residency regulations, health, national policies and strategies, and others.

Commenting on the new domain name, Hamad Obaid Al Mansoori, TRA Director General, said, “The new domain name of the UAE Government portal embodies the meaning of innovation, which is simple and easy to remember. It also reflects the centrality of the people in the government’s concerns with its various projects, programmes and plans. The adoption of the new domain name comes at an important stage of the digital transformation, in which we enter the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the smart city, and the government of Artificial Intelligence. We are guided by our wise leadership directives to adopt a culture of innovation and creativity as a way to assert our nation’s leadership and our community’s happiness.”

Al Mansoori added, “The most important message of the new domain name is the focus on people. It is a message from the UAE leadership that you are the goal, you are the purpose, you are the bet, you are the government, and you are the United Arab Emirates. We enter the digital age through the u.ae portal, to tell the world that the people are the ultimate goal of the UAE Government. The people in the broad sense of participation, tolerance, peace, prosperity, happiness, wellbeing, and sustainable development. The “u.ae” mission is that we are all our partners in future making.”

The informative side of the portal includes facts and figures on the UAE Government organisational structure, the Founding Fathers, the UAE strategies and initiatives, and development goals and plans. The portal also includes an e-participation platform that contains an online forum, blogs, surveys, polls, Chatbot, and links to the mGovernment pages on social medial such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others.

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