150,000 social security numbers exposed due to misplaced backup tape

Posted by Joe on January 24th, 2008

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More than 650,000 consumers have had their personal data put at risk as a result of a lost back up tape. 150,000 of those consumers may have had their social security numbers compromised.

GE Money, a company that provides in store credit card services to over 230 retailers, misplaced the consumer data back in November but are just now confirming the breach. In is unclear what retailers may be impacted but JC penney was definitely one of them according to a GE Money spokesman.

GE Money began contacting impacted consumers in late December and has said that there is no direct evidence that any of the misplaced data has been misused at this point.
Given the volume and type of data that was left unaccounted for in this breach we think it is a textbook example as to why consumers should arm themselves with identity theft protection from a reputable provider. You can read more about identity theft protection and compare providers at NextAdvisor.com.

• Data Breach Alert: Western Carolina University exposes hundreds of social security numbers
• Data Breach Alert: Medicade computers stolen in Texas
• Data Breach Alert: Nevada government agency loses personal data of job seekers
• Data Breach Alert: College students receive social security numbers of classmates over email
• Data Breach Alert: HSBC loses hundreds of thousands of customer records

Online backup industry to grow 4x by 2011

Posted by Joe on January 24th, 2008

We launched our online backup comparison guide earlier this week and, it seems, we are on the front end of a growing consumer trend. Industry group IDC is estimating that the overall market of consumers and small business owners that use online backup services will increase four times over between 2008 and 2011.

Sais Doug Chandler, research director for storage services at IDC:

Consumers and small businesses especially are interested in alternative methods of protecting their data, as traditional backup methods fall short regarding efficiency, reliability, and ease-of-use.

We strongly suggest that consumers take steps towards protecting the information stored on their computer’s hard drive by using an online backup service.  You can view our free online reviews of online backup services at NextAdvisor.com.

• NextAdvisor launches new detailed online backup service FAQs
• Carbonite agrees- online backup services are good for the environment
• Top rated online backup service continues international expansion
• Mozy Mac support moves out of Beta
• NextAdvisor reviews new online backup service ElephantDrive

Job hunters may be eligible for bigger tax refunds then they are getting

Posted by Joe on January 23rd, 2008

According to the New York Times, a number of job hunting related expenses are actually tax deductible and could lead to higher tax refunds or lower tax bills.

The article states:

Job hunters may be eligible for can take the following deductions, says Jackie Perlman, a senior tax-research analyst at H&R Block, in Kansas City, Mo.:

• travel expenses

• employment-agency fees

• resume-preparation fees

• career-counseling expenses

• the cost of advertising your services

• newspapers and other periodicals purchased for their help-wanted ads and

• legal fees paid to an attorney to review an employment contract.

We recently published a free online guide that compares online tax services and found that many of these efiling services will actually help you identify even more tax deductions.  Check out our online tax preparation guide at NextAdvisor.com.

• Court decision will keep Vonage subscriber fees low
• Kroll Identity Theft Shield identity theft protection service review
• Best Buy to offer blu-ray rebate to HD DVD owners
• H&R Block offers tax refund loan to the military
• Identity Theft Shield from Kroll and Pre-Paid Legal Review

LifeLock… Now with frequent flier protection!

Posted by Joe on January 23rd, 2008

Members of US Airways Dividend Miles frequent flier program can now protect their identity and earn bonus miles thanks to a new partnership between the airline and id theft protection service LifeLock.

LifeLock has been a leader in offering their identity theft prevention services to the customers of major financial institutions, but this is the first time we have seen them partner with an airline in this way. The new program will allow frequent fliers to receive a special discount and bonus airline miles when they sign up for LifeLock.

LifeLock CEO Todd Davis said:

“Whether you spend a great deal of time traveling or staying at home, identity theft can be crippling,” said Davis. “This partnership with US Airways shows the airline’s commitment to ensuring that their customers’ personal information is kept safe.”

We have reviewed several id theft prevention services and LifeLock is our favorite. Learn more in our free online guide to identity theft prevention services.

• LifeLock selected as preferred identity theft prevention service for Illinois State Bank
• LifeLock selected as exclusive id theft prevention service for a variety financial firms
• WalletLock takes the worry out of losing your wallet
• LifeLock launches grassroots campaign to increase consumer awareness of identity theft
• LifeLock CEO to answer questions and address criticisms in town hall meeting this Friday

Wake up and backup!

Posted by Joe on January 22nd, 2008

It is often said that there are two types of computer users; those that backup their computer’s hard drive and those that will! The point is that everyone should be backing up their computer’s files to prevent losses of import documents, music files, photos, emails and all the other import things that you store on your laptop or desktop computer.

Processing a file backup used to be an arduous, manual task that was better suited to technical professionals and uber geeks. But, a wave of very easy to use and mostly automated backup services have been released into the market over the last few years that make backing up your hard drive easier than ever. Today we are launching our comparison of online backup services that you can view at NextAdvisor.com.

There are two types of online backup services that we have reviewed. The first are services that will process automated backups of your computer’s hard drive everyday, or at whatever schedule you set, by taking advantage of downtime on your computers processors- this largely occurs anytime your computer’s screen saver would be turned on. These services, including Mozy, Carbonite and BeInSync, are all very easy to set up and maintain. Each of them stores a secure copy of all your important files and allows you to access them in case of file loss or, in some cases, if you want to get your hands on files but are away from your computer.

Mozy is our favorite of these services because it is extremely flexible and has lots of great features including access to your files anywhere and support for both Windows and Mac machines (all the other services we reviewed only support Windows based PCs). While each of these services have a free trial component, Mozy actually gives you 2GB of free storage that you can use forever. Although, it is likely that you will eventually need to upgrade over time as your files grow.

Carbonite is a great Mozy alternative in that it is slightly easier to set up and truly “set it and forget it”. The downside to Carbonite is that it is fairly “no frills”. For example, you can only access your stored files when you need to restore your computer’s hard drive as a result of data loss.

Edit: Len from Carbonite was nice enough to stop by with some additional information to clarify the original post. You CAN access individual files through Carbonite by processing a restore of just the files or folders that you would like to access. Additionally, according to Len, Carbonite will be releasing the next generation of their product later this year which will include some key expanded functionality. They also have plans to provide Mac support in 2008. Check out Len’s comment below for more detail.

The second type of service we came across in our review were those that allo wyou to store certain important files online and access them from anywhere. Box.net is a great example of this type of service.

Box.net is not a great tool for storing all of your computer’s files because their file storage limits are much lower than Mozy or Carbonite (each of which offer unlimited storage). But, you could use Box.net as a tool to store some files, such as financial documents or photso, that you want to be able to have remote access to and share with others. Box.net’s collaborative features are much more robust than those of Mozy or Carbonite.

Ultimately, our research found that today’s online backup solutions are truly made for all consumers so there is really not any excuse not to be using one. We would strongly suggest Mozy to most consumers and Carbonite is a very close second. As always, we encourage our readers to read our full free online guide to online backup services to find the service that is right for them.

• Is online data storage the secret to eliminating many data breaches?
• NextAdvisor launches new detailed online backup service FAQs
• 5 reasons why online backup services are superior to offline home storage solutions
• Mozy Mac support moves out of Beta
• Users report bugs on Apple’s backup solution

Save time, money and hassle with online tax preparation

Posted by Joe on January 16th, 2008

Nothing is certain except death and taxes, but thanks to online tax preparation and filing services we are certain that preparing your tax 2007 tax returns and filing them with the IRS can be easier than it ever has been. We just launched a new comparison of online tax preparation and filing services just in time for tax season as a resource for our readers.
The IRS electronic filing service, or efile, was launched in 1986 but really took off in the late 1990’s. Now over 60 million individual tax returns are efiled each year. What do some many people efile their taxes? There are several reasons:

• Those that efile typical receive their tax returns quicker than those that use traditional methods. This is because efiled tax returns are submitted immediately to the IRS versus having to spend days in the mail and then having to be sorted through upon receipt by the government.
• Online tax services are typically much cheaper than using an accountant for filing your tax returns.
• For those that complete their own federal and state tax returns and online tax preparation service gives access to hundreds of potential deductions that will maximize their refund or decrease their overall tax payment.
• Online tax preparation and efile services offer the convienence of the Internet, so your returns can be completed and filed anywhere and anytime.

There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of online tax preparation services available and we have found that the quality and features of this services vary widely. Check our our free online tax guide and see how we compare online tax preparation services.

• Top ten reasons to prepare your taxes online and efile in 2008
• Early filers prefer efile says IRS
• USA Today selects TurboTax as top online tax preparation service
• $800 million in tax benefits go unclaimed
• Data Breach Alert: Thousands of California students at risk for identity theft

NetFlix beats Apple to the unlimited download punch

Posted by Joe on January 14th, 2008

NetFlix announced today that they will allow unlimited streaming of movie and TV downloads as part of a revamp of their Watch Now streaming service.  This is likely a preemptive response to the new iTunes movie rental download service that is expected to be announced this week.

Said NetFlix CEO and Founder Reed Hastings:

We named our company Netflix in 1998 because we believed Internet-based movie rental represented the future, first as a means of improving service and selection, and then as a means of movie delivery.  While mainstream consumer adoption of online movie watching will take a number of years due to content and technology hurdles, the time is right for Netflix to take the first step.

NetFlix plans to roll the new functionality out over the next six months and eventually moving beyond computer screens to portable devices and television sets.  Later this year they will begin selling a set-top box built by LG that will allow for streaming directly to the TV.

In the meantime, NetFlix is our favorite overall online movie rental service and we strongly believe it represents a great value in its current form but will only get better as these new features get released.

Read our free online guide to movie rental services to learn more.

• Netflix continues to innovate, explores movie streaming over Xbox Live
• Our review of Apple’s new movie download service - Stick with NetFlix!
• Netflix to invest in expanding Blu-ray movie inventory
• Best Buy to offer blu-ray rebate to HD DVD owners
• Netflix streaming set top box review

Keep your credit purring like the engine of your car

Posted by Joe on January 11th, 2008

Keeping on top of the contents of your credit report is like performing maintenance on your car. It will prevent long term problems and, while some people may be qualified to do it themselves, for most of us it is probably best left to professionals.
Thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (or FACT Act) you can request one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com.

While the development of AnnualCreditReport.com has brought a lot of awareness to the general public on the importance of staying on top of their credit report and score, we think that most consumers need more protection than just a once per year review of their credit health. Think about what would happen if you only changed the oil in your car once per year!
Luckily, all the major credit bureaus offer credit report and monitoring services that make it easy to monitor changes in your credit as they happen. This is much better than just relying on your free annual credit report because changes can post at anytime to your credit. If you are only checking your credit report once per year you could be letting negative items or errors sit on your report for months before you identify them. This can cost you in both time and money in the long run.

Each of these credit report monitoring services will give you access to credit reports and scores as well as email alerts in the case that any suspect activity or negative items appear on your credit file. The type of reports and the frequency at which you can access them vary by provider. We strongly suggest that our readers sign up for a credit report service that offers access to reports and scores from all three credit bureaus.

Our top picks are Equifax and CreditCheck Total because they offer both access to and monitoring of all three of your credit reports for a single, low monthly payment.
If you would like to learn more about credit report monitoring services you can read our free credit report guide and reviews at NextAdvisor.com.

• Reader Question: Am I entitled to a free credit report each year?
• Reader Question: How do I order my free credit report?
• Equifax offers free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 bureau credit report monitoring
• Reader Question: Which credit report monitoring services provide ongoing credit report and score data?
• Unlimited credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus with CreditCheck Total

FreeCreditReport.com offers 30 day trial of the cheapest three bureau credit monitoring service

Posted by Joe on January 10th, 2008

You’ve probably seen the commercials or heard the jingles - FreeCreditReport.com does a lot of advertising and has beome the most popular way to get your free credit report and score and is the most popular credit monitoring service out there. A subsidiary of Experian, they are marketed heavily online as well as offline with both television and radio ads. But it’s not just the advertising - FreeCreditReport.com is a great service. Their credit monitoring service, Triple Advantage, monitors all 3 bureaus and for signing up for the free 30 day trial you get a free Experian credit report and Experian credit score. For the price, $12 per month, this is the best 3-bureau monitoring solution you will find. Others give more data but at a higher price so if your main goal is to monitor all 3 credit bureaus, you can’t be FreeCreditReport.com. Since Triple Advantage constantly monitors all 3 bureaus you receive an e-mail alert whenever there is a change or inquiry to your credit. Should you discover an identity theft problem, Triple Advantage has a nice added feature in that they assign a fraud resolution specialist to your account to help you fix the problem. They also provide more identity theft insurance than other monitoring services ($50k), although in general we don’t think this type of insurance is really that valuable. Freecreditreport.com gives you access to unlimited Experian credit reports and scores once you join. This gives you the option to get a credit report and credit score for any reason any time you want, and the best part, at no additional charge. Having a free 30 day trial is also a great feature. You can check out the service, get a free report and score, and if you don’t like it for any reason or really just wanted your score and report, you can cancel and be charged nothing. Like most of the other services that offer a free trial you are charged the monthly fee once your free trial ends if you haven’t already cancelled. The main downside we see to this service is that the free credit report and score is from Experian only. Although the monitoring service monitors all 3 bureaus, you don’t get all 3 credit reports or all 3 credit scores. Also, the free credit score uses the Experian scoring system, which is slightly different than the FICO score used by most lenders when making credit decisions, although the two scores are usually very close. Overall, we highly recommend FreeCreditReport.com’s Triple Advantage service With a 30 day free trial, a price of $12 per month, free Experian credit report and credit score, and unlimited credit reports and scores after the free trial, this service is the best value at its price point.

• Equifax offers free 3-in-1 credit report and 3 bureau credit report monitoring
• Reader Question: How much do credit report monitoring services cost?
• Reader Question: Am I entitled to a free credit report each year?
• Unlimited credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus with CreditCheck Total
• Reader Question: How do I get my FICO score for free?

Our review of Apple’s new movie download service - Stick with NetFlix!

Posted by Joe on January 9th, 2008

Apple is preparing to announce a new online movie rental service later this month that will allow consumers to download movies through itunes and view them on their personal computers and apple devices such as iPhone, IPod and Apple TV.

Both new releases and older titles will cost $3.99 to rent and can be viewed for a 24 hour period.  Warner Bros and Fox will be providing movie titles and several other studios are rumored to be involved but have not yet been publicly confirmed by Apple.  The overall number of movie titles that will be available at launch is unknown at this time.
While this new service is a great step forward in the online movie rental space, it seems extremely restrictive and likely won’t offer a significant convenience or value over dvd rental services such as Blockbuster or NetFlix.  Check out our free online DVD rental guide for more information on these providers and more.

• NetFlix beats Apple to the unlimited download punch
• Netflix continues to innovate, explores movie streaming over Xbox Live
• Netflix to invest in expanding Blu-ray movie inventory
• Best Buy to offer blu-ray rebate to HD DVD owners
• Netflix streaming set top box review