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3 Tips to Keep Your Accounts Safe While Traveling #GearUp #VZWBuzz #MoreSeattle

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Keep your Account Safe during Travel

1. clip_image002Add security info, and keep it up-to-date – One of the most important things you can do to help protect your account is to add security information, i.e. a mobile phone number or alternative email addresses. Attempts to enter your account with an incorrect password, or from an unknown location, will require you to verify ownership; something that’s likely to occur while you’re traveling. With security info in place, you simply need to verify ownership using the unique code sent to your mobile phone or email account. This helps keep you in control of your account, while keeping the bad guys out. Go ahead and add multiple phone numbers and email accounts if you’d like, and if you’ve already added security information to your account, just make sure it’s up-to-date.

2. Install an identity verification app before you travel – For those times when you’re traveling out of cell phone range or set your device to airplane mode, you can use an identity verification app to access your account. Identity verification apps use industry-standard security code generation, and work with various other services and providers. To get the app, go to your Microsoft account security settings page at account.live.com/proofs/manage, and click ‘Set up’ under “Identity Verification Apps.” Details can be found here.

3. Travel with your own device – In today’s digital world, it’s pretty common to use technology while traveling. It’s a great way to stay connected, watch movies, play games, check-in for flights, and more. If this sounds familiar, and if you use services attached to your Microsoft account while away from home, then we recommend traveling with a personal device whenever possible. It’s more secure than a public computer, and Microsoft is far more likely to recognize the device, greatly reducing the chances of you having to verify you’re the rightful account owner.

Top 5 Tips for Back to School on a Budget #GearUp #BackToSchool

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Gear Up for back to school with Microsoft’s money saving tips.

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  2. Get Office 365 University: $79.99 USD for a four-year subscription
    At just $1.67 per month, college and university students can’t afford not to get Office 365 University. Get the latest Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook) for two devices, including PCs, Macs, iPads, or Windows tablets. A subscription also includes 1 TB of OneDrive storage, and 60 minutes of Skype PC-to-phone world calling per month.
    1. Download OneNote: Free app for most popular computers, tablets, and phones and on the web
      This year, make OneNote the single place for all your notes and information. With this digital notebook you can type, handwrite, paste and insert class notes and research anywhere, and organize them in notebooks and sections that are automatically saved and searchable. Additionally, it’s easy to share and collaborate with classmates for team projects and group assignments.
    1. Keep it in OneDrive: Free app for most popular computers, tablets, and phones and on the web
      Here are five reasons to cross that USB-drive off your shopping list and use OneDrive:  1) You get 15 GB of cloud storage for free; 2) You can’t lose OneDrive; 3) You can easily store and share photos, videos, documents, and more; 4) You can access OneDrive on any device; 5) You get 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage with an Office 365 Home or University subscription. 1 TB is the equivalent to approximately 50,000 trees made into paper and printed. That’s a lot of trees!
    1. Use Office Online: Free on the web
      Who said nothing in life is free? Office Online offers free web versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote that let you create, view, edit, and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations and notes. The best part is, no one needs an Office 365 subscription to work together on a team projects. With Office Online, students can collaborate on group assignments more easily, and parents can share the carpool schedule without having to send bulky attachments.
    1. Take the Acer Aspire Switch 10 to class: $379 USD
      Not only does this device save you some serious cash, it’s the ultimate convertible of PCs. Rain or shine, it can be used in four modes – use it as a tablet, notebook or put it in tent mode to watch movies, or give a presentation. Not to mention, it’s compact and sleek so you can rest assured you got good looking device at a screaming deal.

    Why You Should Get a Windows 8 Surface RT

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    The Microsoft Surface RT – What do I REALLY think?

    By: Ashley

    clip_image002Let me start off by reminding you, like I do with every tech post I do, that I am not a techy person. I don’t know about RAM or video cards, and I’m usually pretty laid back with what I expect my technology to be able to do. I’m first and foremost a mom, followed by a wife, woman, and then blogger. So from my point of view, what is the Surface RT all about? I’ve got a couple of things I wish I could change about the Surface, and a few things a really love. Let’s check it out!

    The Surface RT is small, and light (10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37in 1.5lbs ). As far as weight goes, I really can’t tell much difference at all between it and my iPad. In regards to size, the Surface is a little more rectangular than the iPad. The display is really nice though at 10.6” (ClearType HD Display, 1366X768 pixels). When you’re looking at the screen of the Surface RT, it doesn’t feel like the screen of a tablet. You really get the clear crisp look of an actual PC. Add the kick stand which allows you to open it like a small laptop (think ultra-thin and light netbook) and it’s a pretty cool set up.

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    Another plus to the Surface RT that I think makes it better than the iPad, is the availability of outlets built into the tablet. There is a separate outlet for power, a full size USB port, a mini USB port, and an audio outlet and an SD slot. While the Surface makes it easy to save (and share) documents using SkyDrive, you can still plug your flash drive in or increase your memory with SD.

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    The Microsoft Surface RT comes with Student Office Home and Student 2013 RT Preview. As someone who does a lot of work in Word and Excel, this works out great for me. These touch-enhanced versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are easy to use and so far have worked for me pretty glitch free, though they do run a little slower than I’m used to on my regular PC. Having the option to use actual Microsoft Office programs on a tablet though is something I REALLY like.

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    Speaking of work and functionality, you can have 2 things running at the same time on your screen using the snap feature. For example, I can pull up the episode of GLEE I missed on TV and have it running on one side of the screen while I check Facebook on the other.

    The biggest challenge facing the Windows Surface RT is the lack of apps. I really expected there to be certain applications available for the Surface RT and they’re simply not there. This is a problem that typically faces Microsoft fans, but I was surprised to see that I can’t even get the same selection of apps for the Surface RT as I can on my Windows 7 phone. I’m really hoping this changes in the future. I typically love Microsoft, but the lack of apps really is a downfall.

    Using the Microsoft Surface RT really hasn’t been that hard of a transition. Windows 8 (even this RT version) is very touch friendly. In fact, I much prefer Windows 8 on something with a touch screen than your normal PC. The Surface RT still seems to have a few hang ups here and there (taking a little while for an app to load or for IE to find your webpage), but overall the Surface is something I could really use. I’m pretty interested and excited to see how the Windows 8 Pro Surface compares to the Surface RT. Can the Surface RT replace your home or office PC? Probably not… but then that’s not what it’s meant to do. Can it be a backup for you when you travel, are on the go, or sitting on the couch? That’s what this Surface RT is doing for me!

    To Summarize:

    Windows lets you personalize your content. The lock screen acts as your entry into the OS. 
    Picture password allows you to personalize your story and you can touch on various areas of the photo to unlock your screen.
    The Start screen allows you to organize apps and content by category. You can create your own unique personalized experience through the lock screen, picture password and the start screen.
    Search: You can easily search Windows via the Search charm, Search the apps in the app store and Search for programs you are used to using with Windows 7. 
    Apps/Windows Store: Pepperplate app is a really easy way to stay organized in the kitchen and create your own cookbook. When you purchase an app, you can use that app on up to 5 devices. The AllRecipes app is also a great cooking app.
    Snap: Snap lets you multitask on your Windows 8 device. You can get more done when you snap a second app to the left or right side of your screen.
    SkyDrive: You can store your music, photos, video etc. Has great integration with OneNote

     

     

    MomStart is a Windows Champion, we receive perks from time to time for sharing information with you. We did not receive a Surface through this program, but have had the chance to use one extensively.

    About Ashley (Managing Editor at MomStart): Ashley is a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and former teacher working to navigate through the mysterious world of Mommyia. Read more about her adventures at Momicles and follow her @Momicles2010