Infographic

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A lot of young people found themselves in debt after they got a credit card and spent money that they didn’t have (and racked up bills that they couldn’t pay off.) Sounds pretty sad, and it probably isn’t what credit companies intended to do (or is it?) when they pushed their credit cards into the hands of young folks who didn’t know any better.

This was why the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act was introduced. Because of the act, companies can no longer set up tables near campuses offering gifts while requiring applicants under 21 to have a co-signer or prove that they have a sufficient income.

What the act doesn’t discount is social media–and that’s what credit card companies are zoning in on right now.

Read more… »

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Viruses. Blech. They’re sneaky, they’re deceiving, but most of all, they’re annoying and potentially dangerous. But humans have been riddled with viruses ever since the stone age–only they just weren’t the digital kind. (Obviously they were millions of times deadlier, given that they actually killed people. But anyway.)

Remember the Black Death? You probably don’t, but it caused up to 200 million deaths the world over. And causing users over 1.5 billion dollars in damages was Nimda, which spread like wildfire in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. ‘Nimda’, which is actually ‘admin’ spelled backwards, is a DDoS attack that infected machines through email, shared files, and compromised sites.

Today’s infographic counts down the deadliest viruses that man has ever faced, both in real life and in the digital world. Here’s a quick rundown of the worst of the worst:

• Most Lives Taken: The Black Death
• Most Complex: Stuxnet
• Most Viral: Nimda
• Most Lethal to Man: Ebola
• Most Lethal to PCs: CIH Virus

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Social media sites have become a dime a dozen. Each one might be different in their own right (as outlined in the Social Media Class of 2011 Yearbook), but their basic premise remains the same: they exist to get you to interact with the people in your network. It’s like socializing, only in a more introverted kind of way.

Because of social media’s popularity, it’s also spawned another purpose and it ain’t for online dating. Research reveals that police officers now use social media for investigative purposes, ranging from identifying suspects to gathering photographic evidence.

No one’s going to be foolish enough to post incriminating stuff!
What do they expect to find on a public Facebook profile? Status updates with intent?
Nobody’s going to be boasting about what they got away with on the Internet!

You might be thinking that their efforts are futile, but you might be surprised. Fact of the matter is, it happens. And it has happened, as history has proven.

Note that social media isn’t being used for investigations per se, just for investigative purposes. Why? Look for the red hand in the gallery to see the reasons why.

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We know there are tons of Egotastic All-Stars who turn you on day in and day out, but we’re not talking about that in today’s infographic. Rather, we’re talking about the mobile gadgets that you use every day and how these devices are turning you on–in the literal sense.

Let’s face it. We’ve all grown increasingly dependent on our smartphones and tablets and laptops because they make communication, gaming, and pleasure surfing (yeah, you know what I mean) easier and extremely convenient.

While this isn’t exactly a bad thing, it isn’t a good thing either. Aside from being dependent on these gadgets, some people are also become too attached to them. In fact, you know it’s already too much when:

• It’s always turned on (48% of users never turn their phones off)
• You sleep with your phone (64% of users have their phones at their bedside)
• You take calls while taking a dump (half of Americans do this!)

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Remember the days when cars used to be simple? When you’ve got the steering wheel and the gear stick right beside you, manual controls for your wiper and side mirrors by your wheel, and windows that you had to manually roll up and down?

Cars are filled with all sorts of modern tech nowadays, from lights that turn on and off (and dim!) automatically to power windows and sensors at the back that tell you if you’re parking too close to the wall.

But aside from added convenience, all this car tech has also made driving more safe. Here are a couple of factoids to back that up:

• In 2006, a brake assisting system was debuted by Mercedes, which enables the car to brake autonomously when a collision is imminent
• Rear-view cameras alert you if a car is approaching or not (and helps while you’re backing up)
• And of course, there’s GPS to make sure that you don’t end up lost when you’re driving in an unknown (and particularly shady) neighborhood

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We’ve been talking about scams, viruses, Trojans, and malware for the past couple of months now, so I’m sure you’re all pretty much aware of the dangers that lurk on the interwebs. One wrong click or a form submitted inadvertently might lead you to lose control of your PC or give away your identity to unscrupulous hackers who are just waiting in the wings.

Despite the many warnings that people are posting about it, cyber crime is still on the rise. Most people who’ve had a taste of it have learned from their mistakes, but those who haven’t are still falling for the same dirty tricks.

Today’s infographic brings us striking statistics of the people who are still being victimized by these lucrative online scams. Here are a couple interesting tidbits that you might not be aware of:

• 80% of the people who experience cyber crime view adult content
• 77% of them also happen to use free WiFi (remember the pitfalls of free WiFi we talked about here?)
• Cyber crime caused people to lose about $388 billion back in 2011

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Now who would’ve thought that this day would come? The day when it’s the gamers who get the girls instead of the nerds or the geeks or the jocks who are still hell-bent on meeting their match using online dating websites?

Sure, dating sites have their uses and you might still be able to meet your match on them, since everyone who signed up is probably looking for a mate. But what if you could meet the girl of your dreams while doing something you actually like–like playing a video game?

The stats are in, and it looks like that’s actually very possible. Here are a couple of factoids that’ll highlight the edge that gaming has over online dating:

• WoW has about 12 million members, while eHarmony has a paltry 1 million
• Gamers spend 34.6 hours a month online, while online daters log on for just 1.4 hours a month
• 42% of women gamers find themselves attracted to other players