Tag: Smartphone

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Ridgewood Parents Rally for “No Smartphones Through 9th Grade” Initiative

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, a group of concerned parents has launched a new organization dedicated to promoting the idea of “No Smartphones Through 9th.” Their mission is simple yet powerful: to educate parents about the risks associated with smartphone use among tweens and teens. With growing evidence linking smartphones to mental health issues, this initiative aims to delay smartphone access until children are mature enough to handle the responsibilities that come with it.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/nosmartphonesthrough9th

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Stopping Your “Smart TV” From Spying on you

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, during the holiday season, many individuals will be gifted a connected or Internet of Things (IoT) device – such as a smart TV, camera, home security system, gaming system, smartphone, tablet, or one of many household items that have become internet-capable in the last several years, such as doorbells, thermostats, coffee pots, refrigerators, toaster ovens, and even meat thermometers. Many of these devices lend a level of convenience to users by making controls available on the go via a smartphone app or website. While convenient, connected devices also transmit and store data and could be exploited by cyber threat actors to compromise networks, devices, or accounts. Compromised connected devices, combined with vulnerable home routers, increase the risk of cybercriminal activity and cyberattacks. Additionally, devices routinely connected to a home network can have further implications when subsequently connected to corporate networks and may introduce additional vulnerabilities and risks. Therefore, it is vital for users to employ cybersecurity best practices for the new gadgets they receive this holiday season and ensure devices and networks currently in use are properly secured.

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Transit Police Warn Thieves Target Commuters Smartphones

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, NJ Transit Police warn that  your smartphone is a valuable target for thieves. Although smartphone thefts continue throughout the country, we want you aware and protected on the system. Put these 3 steps into action to help keep your device secure.⁣⁣

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The three best WordPress Instagram Plugins to use for showcasing interactive feeds

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Currently, Instagram has over a billion users and is ranked as one of the fastest expanding social networking platforms worldwide. Today, brands of several verticals create their business profile on Instagram, which spans from fitness, cooking, fashion, music, and many more. Different organizations today switch to Instagram for vibrant images that better promote their brand and marketing message.

The reason why most brands prefer Instagram over other social networking channels is its simple application and use. Users can select an image from their Smartphone, edit it with a creative filter, and share the same online without getting connected to the computer. This format is quicker than other social networking channels. Also, the images used in the brand post look creative and classy. If your brand has a business Instagram account, you should leverage its features. Furthermore, if you have a WordPress site for your company, it is easy to use Instagram plugins to integrate both platforms.

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School apps put important info at North Jersey parents’ fingertips

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DECEMBER 10, 2015, 11:58 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015, 12:04 AM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

With so many parents and students virtually inseparable from their cellphones, North Jersey school districts are increasingly turning to smartphone applications as the most efficient means of sharing information about school closings, delayed openings and emergencies.

The Wood-Ridge school system launched a mobile app in late October.

Wood-Ridge and East Rutherford were among the districts that introduced free apps for mobile devices this fall, using them not only as a way of sharing time-sensitive notifications, but also to put announcements, lunch menus, staff directories and other useful information at parents’ fingertips, district officials said.

And for urban districts — such as Paterson, which was among the first in New Jersey to introduce an app — the technology has the added appeal of being capable of translating school messages into dozens of languages for students and families of many nationalities, many of them at the lower end of the income scale.

“School districts need to provide equity of access, and speak to communities of all socioeconomic levels,” said Nate Brogan, senior vice president of SchoolMessenger, a company based in Scotts Valley, Calif., that has developed apps for about 30 districts in New Jersey, including Paterson, and 400 nationally. “And often the most disadvantaged among us are actually where you have the greatest adoption of smartphones because it’s often a lifeline. It may be someone doesn’t have the Internet at home, but they have a smartphone. So many school districts use this as a way to involve their entire educational community.”

And in an era of deadly school shootings, parents have been quick to embrace school district apps as a communications system that can swiftly catch their attention and transmit information.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/school-apps-put-important-info-at-north-jersey-parents-fingertips-1.1471987

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Ridgewood rolling out smartphone service for drivers to pay for spaces in municipal lots

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APRIL 30, 2015, 8:41 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015, 8:47 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD —Starting next week, village officials keen on averting potential parking revenue theft after a former employee stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in meter quarters will begin urging motorists who park in municipal lots to begin using their smartphones to pay for spaces.

Next week marks the official launching of Ridgewood’s recent partnership with Parkmobile, the Atlanta-based company behind the popular parking app that links directly to a credit card, debit card or PayPal account.

Mayor Paul Aronsohn called next week’s rollout of the app a “soft launch,” adding that only the meters in Ridgewood’s parking lots would be affixed with Parkmobile stickers.

In most instances, users are asked to input information from each meter’s sticker as well as their car’s license plate number.

Plate readers — like the two the village already owns — will be used for enforcement.

Additionally, Parkmobile operates a toll-free number motorists can call to pay for parking.

In two weeks, village officials will actively promote the app’s availability in the town’s lots, Aronsohn said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-rolling-out-smartphone-service-for-drivers-to-pay-for-spaces-in-municipal-lots-1.1322913

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To combat fraud, Visa wants to track your smartphone

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To combat fraud, Visa wants to track your smartphone

FEBRUARY 16, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY KEN SWEET
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS |
WIRE SERVICE

* Tracking could cut fraud, experts say

NEW YORK — Those days of calling your bank to let it know that, yes, you really are in Thailand and, yes, you really did use your credit card to buy $200 in sarongs may be coming to an end.

The payment processing company Visa is rolling out a feature this spring that will allow its cardholders to inform their banks where they are automatically — using the location function found in nearly every smartphone.

Having your bank and Visa know where you are at all times may sound a little like “Big Brother.” But privacy experts are actually applauding the feature, saying that, if used correctly, it could protect cardholders and cut down on credit card fraud.

Credit and debit card fraud costs consumers and banks billions of dollars each year, and that figure has been growing as data breaches have become more common. The banking industry had $1.57 billion in debit card fraud in 2013 and $4 billion in credit card fraud in 2012, the latest years for which data are available, according to the Federal Reserve.

Facing these high costs, banks and the payment processors have been stepping up their efforts to cut down on fraud, and Visa’s announcement is just one small piece of this drive. JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon has said repeatedly that his bank spends $250 million overall on cybersecurity every year, and plans to double that spending.

Here’s how it works: Starting in April, banks will update their smartphone apps to include Visa’s new location-tracking software. If the consumer opts in, the Visa software will, over a period of time, establish a customer’s home territory of roughly a 50-mile radius. If the person uses his or her Visa card at stores in that area, those transactions will be considered low risk for fraud.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/technology/new-apps-can-let-banks-know-it-s-really-you-1.1272256