September 10, 2013
#CAARewards Challenge and Giveaway!
For the past month I have had the privilege of working alongside some fabulous ladies under the guidance of our incredible and fantastic leader Lil Miss Kate in the #CAARewards Spot The Partner challenge. Our goal was to identify CAA partners while we are out and about – snap either a photo or video to upload to our social media page. Each team is awarded points for these shares.
I have been a CAA member for the past three years but even I was unaware of all the reward partners that were available to us! Not only were there fantastic family attractions, hotels, gas stations – you can also earn CAA dollars online shopping! Those CAA dollars come in handy during renewal time when you can use those dollars to help lower the cost of your membership.
The challenge has now come to a close but CAA has a special reward for all of you! A giveaway for an iPad mini!! The giveaway is open to US/CAN and you can enter until September 18th. So hurry over to Lil Miss Kate and fill out that Rafflecopter widget! Click here to head over!
Good Luck!
If you are around next week join in on a twitter party on September 19th from noon until one!
Image from PTPA
Check out another team member – Raising My Boys post here.
September 10, 2013
Blogger Opp: InnoTab 3s Giveaway
InnoTab 3S Giveaway
This giveaway is hosted by Empowered Mommy and Joys Of Life
FREE blogger opportunity with paid options. OPEN to US/CAN.
Prize: Vtech InnoTab Event Dates: October 15 – November 15 Sign-ups: October 12
Get 1 Free link (Facebook or Twitter) with announcement post. ($5 waiver fee without announcement post) Additional links for $3 each Co-host for $20- Get up-to 3 free additional links and a back-link to your blog on the final giveaway post. Host pages/Comment pages $10 each
The blog who refers the most bloggers will get free co-host spot. (If you paid for co-host and wins referral prize, your payment will be refunded) So let them know I sent you!
Questions? Email me: admin@empoweredmommy.com
September 10, 2013
Protecting Your Computer From Phishing #ESETProtects
In the past ten years various computer viruses and attacks has evolved as more of the population have begun to use the Internet. Online shopping is now incredibly popular as well as online banking and wire transfers (how can you not beat the convenience of this?).
The term “phishing” is used to describe the process by which a bait (usually an email) is sent out to a potential victim in the hopes that they will click on it and unknowingly download malware causing their personal information to be compromised. They can compromise usernames, passwords, credit cards and banking information.
It is so important to be careful not to fall for these scams but you have to be aware to be able to protect yourself. ESET gives us four great tips on how to identify typical phishing scams.
- Email links : How many emails have you received asking you to click on the included link to verify accounts or the email, etc…Be wary if you do not recognize the account or if it looks suspicious. Don’t ever open any links from accounts you do not know!
- Email threats: Do you constantly get emails threatening to close your accounts if you do not click the provided link? Don’t respond but if you are really concerned and you use the company give them a call to see if the email is valid. Better safe than sorry!
- Spoofing companies and popular websites: These fake sites look so real but be careful if it doesn’t look right – exit and start over.
- Security software: Look into installing additional software that will help protect you against these malicious sites (ESET Smart Security 6 is perfect for this!).
How do you protect yourself from phishing emails? Have you ever had this happen to you?
September 4, 2013
ESET: Protecting Families Online #ESETProtects
My family and their safety is so important. Their security means the world to me. As parents we are constantly striving to protect our children while giving them opportunities to learn and grow.
Every September we send our children off to school and they in turn return with homework, research and projects. There is no denying that we now live in a technological age where most of our work is centred around our computer and the Internet. The computer is the hub of our house! It stores memories, allows us to connect with family overseas as well as research topics and explore. That being said the Internet also brings with it dangers for our children (and ourselves if we are not careful!).
As a parent, I want my children to learn lessons in life for themselves and I want them to know that I trust the decisions that they make. We give them the tools and knowledge that they need to use the Internet safely but sometimes we all still need that extra bit of security and peace of mind! I am very excited to be working with ESET and PTPA over the next two months to bring to you the knowledge of online protection with ESET Smart Security 6.
ESET Smart Security 6 is an award winning antivirus software that works to proactively protect your family online. ESET has over twenty years of experience engineering antivirus software that is highlighted in three main areas: proactive protection, peak performance and usability. They also rank number one with the most virus bulletin awards and advanced awards. As part of this program I was given access to the software to download on our home computer. Downloading the system was easy and painless (something that I was so grateful for!). The software also came with essential information and tools to safeguard my family while using the internet.
Do you know how to keep your children safe online? Or are you like me and know the basics but not quite sure where to start? The online and social media world can be very overwhelming sometimes and a guide is excellent as we face new parenting challenges with technology as it stands today. What I loved when reading through the information on their site was how ESET strives to share important information on how to protect our children online. ESET outlines five main areas to help protect our children online that are so important and sometimes overlooked in our busy days. You can find their detailed tips here.
- Educate your children! This is very important and should be done before allowing your child access to computers, iPads and mobile phones. Our children should be educated in how to identify scams, malware and how to be aware of predators. You should spend time talking with your child and getting to know their patterns online. Let them know that they can come to you when something happens online that they feel uncomfortable with.
- Educate ourselves. I’m not even going to pretend like my eldest son isn’t insanely smarter then me when it comes to computers! He is a little genius! I find myself now re-learning everything I can about social media and it’s platforms and the preferred websites for pre-teens and teens. ESET even has Cyber Security Education as part of their product.
- Set those parental controls! They are there for a reason -use them! It is one further step we can take to ensure the safety of our children.
- Block an entire category of website if you feel strongly against. It will save you a lot of time worrying whether or not your child has listened to you.
- Set parental controls on your network. Go right to the source and block it from there.
Setting up parental controls has always made me nervous. There are so many topics and sites that you can and probably should control but when forced to think about them my mind draws a blank. ESET Smart Security 6 was incredible! Not only was the program easy to install but setting up parental controls was done in seconds. For each user on our desktop you typed in their age and the program broke down each age group and recommended content to control and block! You could pick and choose from these lists.
Pretty incredible right? And this is just touching the surface! Not only is the program an antivirus system but it also functions to:
- Theft protection and location tracking – you can even block files and turn on the webcam remotely if your laptop is stolen
- Powerful firewall to prevent hackers from accessing your computer.
- Anti-phising to protect you from accessing fake websites.
- Customizable settings and parental controls.
- You can even extend your protection to Facebook!
I am very impressed with my new ESET Smart Security 6 software and all the extra protection it extends to my family and I. Even more exciting is that not only has the program received many awards in the past it also has won the PTPA seal!
I am looking forward to sharing more information with you over the next two months as we dive into the world of online security – make sure to follow #ESETProtects for all the latest information!
Don’t forget you can also follow ESET on Twitter and Facebook. Make sure you check out their products for yourself online!
ESET is extending a 15% coupon for their Security Software for the next two months to all of you! Follow this link to take advantage of this great offer!
Disclosure: I received the product to review for this post but as always the opinions expressed are my own.
September 3, 2013
Anniversary Time #WW
This week we are celebrating our wedding anniversary and I wanted to share one of my favourite pictures from our special date – a photo of all three of us!
