Security Tips

1. Safety tips to avoid Identity Theft

Here are some safety tips to protect you from ID theft:--

Never disclose personal information to anyone you do not trust.

Do not provide your information until and unless you are sure about the caller. If in case of doubt you call them using the bank phone number.

Remember that banks always ask for specific characters like last 4 digits of your card or SSN not your entire card number or SSN for verification.

Ensure that your personal documents are always secure. Your personal documents include your bank account details, credit cards, driving license, plastic cards, card receipts, financial statements and even utility bills.

Periodically peruse your bank statements to check for any transactions that have occurred without your knowledge.

Dispose of financial statements, card receipts and other personal documents with utmost care. Tear or cut into pieces any such documents before trashing them.

Keep the authorities informed if you have lost any personal item. For example, report a stolen credit card.

Raise an alarm if you receive a telephone call or letter saying you have beenapproved or denied credit for accounts you know nothing about, or you receive a credit card statement for an account that you never opened.

While paying by credit card, never let it out of your sight. Raise an alarm if the card is being swiped more than required, or if it is being scanned.

In case of a change in address, ensure to notify the correct address to all recipients who send you statements to your address.

2. Safety tips to avoid Phishing

Here are some safety tips to protect you from phishing:--

When you receive emails claiming to be sent by banking institution asking you to enter your account details, DO NOT do so! Your bank already has your details and clearly would not want them again.

Check if the email that you receive has your name spelt correctly. Fraudsters simply try to guess your name by your email address. DO NOT open emails that have your name spelt incorrectly.

Check the email to see if it is addressed to your name. Fraudsters never personalize emails, they will refer you as “Dear Customer” or “Dear Valued Customer” because they send emails randomly to a million email addresses and they even don’t know that you have an account with the bank. Your bank or ecommerce company on the other hand will refer you with your name.

DO NOT respond to emails that seem like they are sent from your bank. Some of the claims made in these emails may be the following:
1. You are to receive a refund,
2. The bank is trying to protect you from a fraud
3. The bank needs some security and maintenance update on your account as asks for your
account details.

If you receive such email always check back with your bank directly or speak to the customer service representative of the bank.

NEVER enter your credit card details and password in a website which you suspect is not genuine.

DO NOT share your account details, password, or credit card details with anyone who you do not know or trust.

DO NOT open unsolicited emails.

It is a good practice to type in the URL of your bank yourself, or bookmark it if the URL is difficult to remember. DO NOT follow links to a banking website from another website or email.

Verify a website’s URL carefully before you provide your login details on any web page.Fraudsters create fake websites that have URLs closely resembling the original.

Log in to your accounts regularly and look for account transactions that you do not recognize.

DO NOT send your account details and/or password over an email to anyone.

3. Safety tips to avoid Card Fraud

Here are some safety tips to protect you from credit card, debit card, and ATM skimming fraud:

Credit Card

Always check your monthly bank statements for any suspicious transactions,

Shred the financial documents with care

Do not store your personal and credit card information on the computer

Do not write the PIN number down.

During the online transactions, check if the web address starts with HTTPS, which ensures the encryption of all important data.

Never delay to report a lost credit card as the repercussions can be highly disastrous.

Close the account that you suspect is being hit by the fraud.

Thoroughly check the authenticity of the firm, the website, or any other transactional society where your money would be flowing through.

Never give away your personal information over the phone unless you are sure of the person the other end.

Take a pause before venturing into any kind of online transaction and decide upon the authenticity of the transaction.

Debit Card:

When you key in your PIN number at an ATM, make sure that you sufficiently obscure the keypad from being viewed by an onlooker.

NEVER let the merchant take your debit card out of your sight. There is no need for him/her to do so, unless he/she intends to do something unlawful.

Secure your debit card physically by storing it at a safe place.

NEVER write your PIN number at a place where it can be seen by someone who you do not intend to show it to.

ALWAYS shred the receipts from merchants that you no longer require, especially when you have paid for using your debit card.

If you do not receive your debit card or PIN number from the bank within a reasonable amount of time after requesting one, check with the bank when it was sent and when you should expect to receive it. It may have been picked up by someone else in transit.

When at an ATM, make sure that no external devices are attached to the ATM machine and no wires are hanging around.

Check your account statements carefully for transactions that you may not have made.


Using ATM machine and Point of Sale:

Safeguard your credit cards and ATM cards at all times.

Never let these cards out of your sight

You swipe a credit card only once, if it’s being swiped more than once, you need to question this action.

If you notice something suspicious about the card slot on an ATM (like an attached device), do not use it and report it to the responsible authorities.

Never trust your ATM card and credit card PIN numbers to strangers.

Beware of your surroundings while withdrawing money at ATM centers. Do not crumple and throw away the transaction slips or credit card memos: read them, make a mental note of the details and then, either tear them or shred them to trash them.

Periodically check your account balances on Internet or by requesting your bank or credit
card company to send you statements to ensure that no transactions are happening behind
your back.

While entering any personal identification numbers, use your discretion to shield the keypad so
that your hand movements are not very visible and you enter your passwords secretly.

4. Safety tips to avoid Online Fraud

Here are some safety tips to protect you from online banking fraud and online auctions fraud:

Online Banking

DO NOT leave your personal documentation at places where it can either be picked up or viewed by anyone who does not need to see them.

DO NOT log in to your online account from an insecure computer network.

When accessing your bank’s Web site, check that the URL is correct and that you are not becoming a victim of phishing.

DO NOT key in your online banking account login details at a website about which you are not sure.

NEVER follow a link in an email which claim is from your bank. Type in your bank’s URL in the browser yourself. DO NOT open any attachments in those emails.

When available, use alternative methods to enter account login details. For example, some banks allow you to click on an on-screen keyboard when logging in and avoid key presses altogether.

DO NOT give your account details over the phone, unless you have initiated the call to a bank’s service center.

Scan your computer periodically to ensure that no spy ware or key logger is installed.

Keep your antivirus software regularly updated

DO NOT respond to emails that ask you to enter your bank account details in any way.

DO NOT send personal information and bank account details over email.

Online Auctions

Be aware of phishing. Verify that you are receiving emails from the correct source and that you are logging in at the correct website.

When making payment, prefer using your credit card over online transfer. Using a credit card give you the opportunity of a chargeback in case the transaction turns out a fraud. Use debit card, wire transfer, or money order only when you trust the seller.

Use reputed escrow services. An escrow service mediates a buyer and a seller. They accept money from buyers and release them to a seller only when the buyer confirms that the product was received to his/her satisfaction. But be wary of sellers or buyers who themselves pose as an escrow service to cheat the other—a buyer posing as an escrow service gets a product released without making payment, or a seller poses as an escrow service to trick the buyer from making a payment.

Check for feedback and rating of the buyer, which most online auction website provide.

DO NOT entertain emails received from outside of the auction website mentioning that the highest bidder has withdrawn and you are now entitled for a product. They veer you off the auction website and you lose any protection that the website may provide.

NEVER make a deal with a seller outside the auction. Although they sound lucrative, you are at a very high risk of being cheated.

READ the auction website’s terms and conditions, buyer protection policy, refund policy before making a transaction. Here, they list in how many days the order will be fulfilled, what if the product you receive is not the same as what was advertised, and so on. Also check that the policies are fair on both buyers and sellers.

Check if the product you are purchasing has appropriate warranty and documentation with it. If not, make sure that you intend to purchase it without that protection. Check if shipping and delivery is covered by the seller or if you have to bear those costs.

Check that you are not purchasing a product that you are not allowed to possess lawfully.

BE WARY of products that offer revolutionary results. In most cases, they are fraudulent claims.

DO NOT respond to emails that ask for your personal information, such as your log in details or credit card details.

READ the online auction website for feedback on the seller and a rating that they give to sellers and buyers. Most online auctions rate the sellers and buyers based on their transactions’ feedback.

READ the product features and the model number that you intend to purchase. Verify these with what is being advertised by the seller.

When giving your credit card details or your debit account details at a website, check that the

Internet connection you are using is secure. Look for a lock at the bottom or https (an‘s’ appended to ‘http’) in the address field of your browser. These indicate that the connection is a secure one.

Avoid making a transaction if anything in the auction seems suspicious to you.

If you are cheated on any product purchase, be sure to post a note on the online auction website and let them know personally.

Romance Scams:

Fraudsters pose as beautiful girls and enroll themselves in various dating and social networking sites. Novice users not aware of this ploy get attracted to them by seeing some fake pictures/videos and contact them. Fraudsters then exploit them to the maximum extent like:

Claiming that they are in deep financial trouble and would like you to support them with some money.

Claiming that they need money as he/she wants to come to US and marry her/him.

Get bank accounts from them for transferring stolen money making them money mules.

Use their address to send bill pay check (sent from compromised accounts) and asking them to cash the check at their bank account and forward the cash to them.

Using their address to send purchased goods bought by stolen cards and then asks them to forward to their country as most of the online shops do not send goods overseas.

Users need to be careful when comes to dating scams because it is an emotional loss apart from a monetary loss. They might lose trust on the Internet and people altogether.

If you are interested in dating an online partner you need to verify the partner carefully before you begin the relationship. If the partner is based overseas, then make sure to call them and verify the phone number and address of the place given by the partner. Because most of the fraudsters even though use a US or UK phone number, they use the forwarding feature of these numbers and stay overseas.

5. Safety tips to protect your Computer

Here are some safety tips to protect you from Key loggers, Trojans, and spy ware:

As a common practice do not open suspicious or unsolicited emails (spam emails). Delete them from your Inbox.

Even if you do open a spam email, under any circumstances do not click on any links, or open/download any files attached to them.

Make sure that you have very good anti-virus software installed on your computer that not only protects your computer from viruses but also from unwanted programs. And make sure you update any latest versions to that software.

Make sure that you have automatic updates / firewall turned on and regularly download the security patches if you are a windows user.

Be very wary when you access websites that provide free downloads (such as music, serial keys, adult content, games, movies etc). They may install harmful programs without your knowledge.

Do not use software on your computer that auto-completes online forms. This can give internet scammers easy access to your personal and credit card details.

While downloading files from the internet make sure it is from a known or reputed source. If the file is an executable application (for example, if the file name ends with “.exe”), make sure you know exactly what it will do.

If a pop-up screen appears on your screen and prompts you for an action (for example if it asks you to ‘Agree’ or ‘Accept’ something), then be sure to read the text in the pop-up screen and any terms and conditions carefully and only when you are sure of the safety should you take an action.

Tata Motors to introduce Air Car

Tata Motors to introduce Air Car - Nano's not the only awaited one now....

Tata Motors to introduce Air Car - Is it the next big thing?
Tata Motors is taking giant strides and making history for itself. First the Landrover-Jaguar deal, then the world's cheapest car and now it is also set to introduce the car that runs on air, compressed air to be specific..

With fuel prices touching nearly $150 per barrel, it is about time we heard some breakthrough!
India's largest automaker Tata Motors is set to start producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets by August of 2009.

The Air Car, called the MiniCAT could cost around Rs. 3,50,000 ($ 8177) in India and would have a range of around 300 km between refuels.

The cost of a refill would be about Rs. 85 ($ 2). Tata motors also plans to launch the world's cheapest car, Tata Nano priced famously at One Lakh rupees by October.

The MiniCAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fiberglass powered by compressed air. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc.
There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket. According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 105 kmph. Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 100 rupees, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometers.

As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000Km.] The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

See What you inhale every day

Hi All,
Before you smoke kindly see ingredients you inhale.
Decide whether is it worth smoking.

Nicotine
Nicotine is a powerful insecticide and poisonous for the nervous systems. Furthermore, there is enough (50 mg) in four cigarettes to kill a man in just a few minutes if it were injected directly into the bloodstream. Indeed, fatalities have occurred with children after they had swallowed cigarettes or cigarette butts. When diluted in smoke, nicotine reaches the brain in just seven seconds, it stimulates the brain cells and then blocks the nervous impulse. This is where addiction to tobacco arises. Nicotine also causes

accelerated heart rate, but at the same time it leads to contracting and hardening of the arteries: the heart pumps more but receives less blood. The result is twice as many coronary attacks. Nicotine thus also increases the consumption of lipids (which is why it has a weight-loss effect) and induces temporary hyperglycaemia (hence the appetite suppressing effect).

Carbon monoxide (CO)
This is the asphyxiating gas produced by cars, which makes up 1.5% of exhaust fumes. But smokers inhaling cigarette smoke breathe in 3.2% carbon monoxide – and directly from the source. Oxygen is mostly transported in blood by haemoglobin. When we smoke, however, the carbon monoxide attaches itself to the haemoglobin 203 times more quickly than oxygen does, thereby displacing the oxygen; this in turn asphyxiates the organism. This causes the following cardiovascular complaints: narrowing of the arteries, blood clots, arteritis, gangrene, heart attack, etc. . . . but also a loss of reflexes and visual and mental problems. It takes between six and 24 hours for the carbon monoxide to leave the blood system.

Irritants
These substances paralyse and then destroy the cilia of the bronchial tubes, responsible for filtering and cleaning the lungs. They slow down respiratory output and irritate the mucus membranes, causing coughs, infections and chronic bronchitis.

Tars
As the cilia are blocked (see paragraph above), the tars in the cigarette smoke are deposited and collect on the walls of the respiratory tract and the lungs, and cause them to turn black. So, just because a smoker is not coughing, it doesn't mean that he or she is healthy! And this fact merely serves to pour water on one of the most common and poorest excuses given by smokers. The carcinogenic action of the tars is well known: they are responsible for 95% of lung cancers. It takes two days at least after cessation of smoking for the cilia to start functioning properly again, albeit only gradually. By smoking one packet of cigarettes every day, a smoker is pouring a cupful of these tars into his or her lungs every year (225 grams on average)!

Chemistry of Tobacco Smoke
No less than 4000 irritating, suffocating, dissolving, inflammable, toxic, poisonous, carcinogenic gases and substances and even radioactive compounds (nickel, polonium, plutonium, etc.) have been identified in tobacco smoke. Some of these are listed hereafter: Benzopyrene, dibenzopyrene, benzene, isoprene, toluene (hydorcarbons) ; naphthylamines; nickel, polonium, plutonium, arsenic, cadmium (metallic constituents) ; carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide,
hydrogen sulphide (gases); methyl alcohol, éthanol, glycerol or glycerine, glycol (alcohols and esters); acetaldehyde, acrolein, acetone (aldehydes and ketones); cyanhydric or prussic acid, carboxyl derivatives (acids); chrysene, pyrrolidine, nicoteine, nicotinine, nicoteline, nornicotine, nitrosamines (alkaloids or bases); cresol (phenols), etc.

New FRAUD strategies - Keyboard

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHENEVER YOU'RE USING A PC AT A PUBLIC PLACE (Like INTERNET CAFES..ETC).
CHECK THE BACK OF THE PC AND SEE IF THE BELOW DEVICE IS THERE..IF SO..DO NOT USE IT!!!!

. New storing device fits at the end of the keyboard cable connecting to the PC specialized to save all typed keys in it… Mostly could be used in net cafes, exhibitions, hotels and airports therefore be careful especially the people who use the internet in these places to enter their bank accounts online or any other important sites. After you enter the bank account and leave the PC it will be easy to open your account again as all what you have typed has been saved in the Black device. Therefore, you should check the PC for any suspicious piece behind it before using the net in public places for important sites

Dangers of Excessive Salt Consumption

Dangers of excessive salt consumption are contributing to diabetes,high blood pressure, cataracts, kidney stones, osteoporosis and stomach cancer.No one challenges that the human body needs salt to function. Sodium is the main component of the body's extracellular fluids and it helps carry nutrients into the cells. Sodium also helps regulate other body functions, such as blood pressure and fluid volume, and sodium works on the lining of blood vessels to keep the pressure balance normal.You cannot exist without sodium, but the amount we need is quite small.The recommended safe minimum daily amount is about 500 milligrams of sodium with an upper limit of 2,400 milligrams. However, lowering sodium intake to 1,800 milligrams would probably be healthier.

Many Americans are consuming much higher amounts of salt, up to 9,000 milligrams a day with harmful effects. Some argue that a healthy kidney can get rid of it [the excess], but in many cases, that happens at the expense of losing calcium. It's likely that the habitual high intake of salt produces physiological changes in the kidney, which increases the risk of high blood pressure. For women, this habitual lack of calcium may eventually be linked to the bone disease of old age, osteoporosis, in which long-term calcium loss causes bones to weaken and break easily.

About 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, our ancestors went from gathering food and hunting to cultivating crops and raising animals. To survive, they needed to preserve and to stockpile foods for the long winter months. You can dry vegetables and dry meats, but the other way to preserve food is to salt it. However, adding salt to food did more than cut bacterial growth. It added a whole new dimension to the pleasures of eating: Salt adds flavor and heightens existing flavors, even in sweets, and salt helps process basic raw ingredients into other food products. Of these, cheese is perhaps one of the most familiar examples, since salt is necessary in its formation.

For Americans today, eating preserved and processed foods has become commonplace. It is almost impossible to prepare a meal without using some processed food. Besides, not only is salt one of the four taste categories-- salty, sweet, sour, and bitter--salt offers certain technical advantages in the kitchen. Salt raises the boiling point of water, which helps heat penetrate into cooking foods, and it helps condition dough in baked products. The biggest advantage of using salt is that it enhances other flavors.

Scientists are concerned about the amount of salt in processed foods. Seventy-five to eighty -five percent of the sodium consumed is in processed foods. What the food industry includes during processing, we can't take out. If we reduce our salt intake [at the table], that won't solve the problem. There's salt in bread, processed meat, cheese, canned vegetables-- these are all hidden sources of salt. Salt in restaurant foods, and that includes pizza, fast-food chains and Chinese restaurants, the sodium levels are very high.

Physicians in China over 4000 years ago warned patients that if they used too much salt in their food, their "pulse" would harden. The higher the salt intake, the higher the prevalence of hypertension. Higher-than- normal blood pressure may lead to heart attacks, kidney disease, and strokes.

Sprinkle salt on a slug and it will shrivel up and die because the salt has dehydrated it, and that is exactly what salt does to the human body.

Too much salt causes 'vasoconstriction' of the blood vessels, which means they shrink in size or constrict because the salt has dehydrated the cells, forcing water out of them and making them narrower.

It's this shrinking or tightening of the blood vessels that pose health risks. When blood vessels become narrower, the heart has to work harder to force the blood around the body and this increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. If you already have high blood pressure or coronary heart disease (when the arteries become narrowed because fatty deposits have formed on the inside wall of the blood vessels), then you are adding to your risk of having a stroke or heart attack by eating excessive salt.

Persistent high blood pressure--conventio nally defined as readings of 140/90 or above--is one of the most common health conditions, affecting nearly 50 million Americans. People at greatest risk for high blood pressure are those with a family history, the elderly, middle-aged men, and middle-aged Black women.

Yet everyone is vulnerable, because blood pressure normally rises with age, a fact corroborated by numerous studies, and high-salt intake contributes to that rise. The fundamental conclusion is that salt relates to high blood pressure independent of other factors affecting blood pressure, like alcohol and obesity. It is believed that too much salt causes the sodium channels (structures that move sodium into and out of cells) to work too hard and gradually the channels begin to fail. This process is irreversible, so that by old age, even if people cut back on salt, their kidneys can no longer flush extra amounts of salt from the body without an increase in blood pressure.

High-salt intake is bad news for other problems ... it induces insulin resistance and increases the risk of stomach and esophageal cancers by damaging the lining of the throat and stomach. Also, salt allows Helicobacter pylori bacteria to thrive, which can increase the risk of stomach cancer. It also aggravates asthma and contributes to kidney stones, osteoporosis and cataracts. In postmenopausal women the consumption of excessive salt has been shown to increase the level of bone minerals excreted through urine.

While many people say they crave salt and use it liberally in their food, restricting salt intake is only really a matter of making some adjustments. If people make a concerted effort to reduce salt intake,initially they notice that things don't taste salty enough. But if they go through a transition period and then go back to foods they used to like, they find them too salty.

The World Health Organization (WHO) proposes that population average salt intakes should not exceed 5g per person per day. Salt causes food to absorb more water, adding weight to a product at virtually no extra cost. Examples include processed meat products such as sausages, hot dogs and bacon.

Extra salt is added to snack foods to create thirst in consumers, encouraging them to drink more, often in the form of commercial soft drinks. Many soft drinks companies know this and team up with the salty-snack industry to bolster each other's sales. In 1965, the merger of Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola Company was approved by shareholders of both companies, and a new company called PepsiCo, Inc. was formed.

Tips to reduce salt intake:

Take stock of the sources of salt in your diet, such as restaurant meals, pizza, salt-based condiments, and convenience foods. Some of these are really loaded with salt.Read the labels when shopping. Look for lower sodium in cereals, crackers, pasta sauces, canned vegetables, or any foods with low-salt .

Options

Canned foods, especially soups and baked beans are loaded with excessive salt.If you think your meals are high in sodium, balance them by adding high-potassium foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Ask about salt added to food, especially at restaurants. Most restaurants will omit salt when requested. If you need to salt while cooking, add the salt at the end; you will need to add much less. The longer the food cooks, the more the salty flavor is muted and at the end, the final taste is on the top layer.

HOW TO FORWARD E-MAIL APPROPRIATELY

A friend who is a computer expert received the following directly from a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send e-mails.

Do you really know how to forward e-mails? Most of us DO NOT know how.

Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail? Do you hate it?

Every time you forward an e-mail, there is information left over from the people who got the message before you -- namely their e-mail addresses & names. As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across his computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five cents for each hit. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel!

How do you stop it? Well, there are several easy steps:

(1) When you forward an e-mail, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever you know how to. It only takes a second. You MUST click the 'Forward' button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. If you don't hit the forward button first you won't have full editing functions . I particularly dislike having to scroll through 200 Email addresses before I get to the email.

(2) Whenever you send an e-mail to more than one person, do NOT use the "To:" or "Cc:" fields for adding e-mail addresses.. Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the e-mail addresses. This is the way the people you send to will only see their own e-mail address.
If you don't see your "BCC:" option click on where it says To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC: and that's it, it's that easy. When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say 'Undisclosed Recipients' in the 'TO:' field of the people who receive it.
That way you aren't sharing all those addresses with every Tom, Dick or Harry..

(3) Remove any 'FW:' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.

(4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual e-mail you are reading. Ever get those e-mails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By Forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent. These are the ones that often end up having picked up a virus from somebody. This is really important!

(5) Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position may carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition. (Actually, if you think about it, who's supposed to send the petition in to whatever cause it supports? And don't believe the ones that say that the email is being traced, it just ain't so!)

(6) One of the main ones I hate is the ones that say that something like, 'Send this email to 10 people and you'll see something great run across your screen.' Or, sometimes they'll just tease you by saying something really cute will happen.

IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! (Trust me, I'm still seeing some of the same ones that I waited on 10 years ago!) I don't let the bad luck ones scare me either, they get trashed. (Could this be why I haven't won the lottery??)

(7) Before you forward an Amber Alert, or a Virus Alert, or some of the other ones floating around nowadays, check them out before you forward them. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for Years!

Maruti Suzuki’s 2008 small car - the splash

Based on an all-new platform Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is set to launch NEW MARUTI SPLASH in early 2008.This car is likely to replace their existing Wagon R model. but i wish it should come with its own name splash.

Splash comes with attractive styling, compact dimensions, responsive handling, very good build quality and a high degree of environmental compatibility. Splash concept that was shown at last year’s Paris Motor Show and model debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show

ENGINE- MARUTI Splash will also be available in Two petrol versions - 1litre 1000cc,3 Cyl65bhp and 1.2 litre1200cc, 4 Cyl Petrol 86bhp and 1.3 litre diesel engine 1248cc, 4 Cyl, Multijet 75bhp@4000rpm. All these engines will be mated to a 5-speed gearbox and will be within Europe’s much debated C02 emission cap of 140g/km.

FEATURES- Suzuki Splash The car shall also come with Suzuki’s standard set of safety features like ABS, airbags, brake assist,ASP, etc some of which may be trimmed for India, to keep costs into consideration. Also the engine & transmission options may vary for India for the petrol versions.
DIMENSIONS-
Length: 3214 mm Width: 1468 mm Height: 1382 mm

The premium hatchback Splash be available in between price range of Rs 3.5l(petrol) and 4.5l(diesel) in the Indian market by mid-2008. This one’s going to be yet another winner form Suzuki, after SX4 and Swift.

Migraine Headache

Definition

Migraine is a type of headache marked by severe head pain lasting several hours or more.

Description

Migraine is an intense, often debilitating type of headache. Approximately 18% of women and 6% of men experience at least one migraine attack per year. More than three million women and one million men have one or more severe headaches every month. Migraines often begin in adolescence, and are rare after age 60.

Two types of migraine are recognized. Eighty percent of migraine sufferers experience "migraine without aura," formerly called common migraine. In "migraine with aura," formerly called classic migraine, pain is preceded or accompanied by visual or other sensory disturbances, including hallucinations, partial obstruction of the visual field, numbness or tingling, or a feeling of heaviness. Symptoms are often most prominent on one side of the body, and may begin as early as 72 hours before the onset of pain.

Causes

The physiological basis of migraine has proved difficult to uncover. Genetics appear to play a part for many, but not all, people with migraine. There are a multitude of potential triggers for a migraine attack, and recognizing one's own set of triggers is the key to prevention.

PHYSIOLOGY. The most widely accepted hypothesis of migraine suggests that a migraine attack is precipitated when pain-sensing nerve cells in the brain (called nociceptors) release chemicals called neuropeptides. At least one of the neurotransmitters, substance P, increases the pain sensitivity of other nearby nociceptors.

Other neuropeptides act on the smooth muscle surrounding cranial blood vessels. This smooth muscle regulates blood flow in the brain by relaxing or contracting, thus constricting the enclosed blood vessels and stimulating adjacent pain receptors. At the onset of a migraine headache, neuropeptides are thought to cause muscle relaxation, allowing vessel dilation and increased blood flow. Other neuropeptides increase the leakiness of cranial vessels, allowing fluid leak, and promote inflammation and tissue swelling. The pain of migraine is thought to result from this combination of increased pain sensitivity, tissue and vessel swelling, and inflammation. The aura seen during a migraine may be related to constriction in the blood vessels that dilate in the headache phase.

GENETICS. Susceptibility to migraine may be inherited. A child of a migraine sufferer has as much as a 50% chance of developing migraine. If both parents are affected, the chance rises to 70%. However, the gene or genes responsible have not been identified, and many cases of migraine have no obvious familial basis. It is likely that whatever genes are involved set the stage for migraine, and that full development requires environmental influences as well.

TRIGGERS. A wide variety of foods, drugs, environmental cues, and personal events are known to trigger migraines. It is not known how most triggers set off the events of migraine, nor why individual migraine sufferers are affected by particular triggers but not others.

Common food triggers include:

* cheese
* alcohol
* caffeine products, and caffeine withdrawal
* chocolate
* intensely sweet foods
* dairy products
* fermented or pickled foods
* citrus fruits
* nuts
* processed foods, especially those containing nitrites, sulfites, or monosodium glutamate (msg)

Environmental and event-related triggers include:

* stress or time pressure
* menstrual periods, menopause
* sleep changes or disturbances, oversleeping
* prolonged overexertion or uncomfortable posture
* hunger or fasting
* odors, smoke, or perfume
* strong glare or flashing lights

Symptoms

Migraine without aura may be preceded by elevations in mood or energy level for up to 24 hours before the attack. Other pre-migraine symptoms may include fatigue, depression, and excessive yawning.

Aura most often begins with shimmering, jagged arcs of white or colored light progressing over the visual field in the course of 10-20 minutes. This may be preceded or replaced by dark areas or other visual disturbances. Numbness and tingling is common, especially of the face and hands. These sensations may spread, and may be accompanied by a sensation of weakness or heaviness in the affected limb.

The pain of migraine is often present only on one side of the head, although it may involve both, or switch sides during attacks. The pain is usually throbbing, and may range from mild to incapacitating. It is often accompanied by nausea or vomiting, painful sensitivity to light and sound, and intolerance of food or odors. Blurred vision is common.

Migraine pain tends to intensify over the first 30 minutes to several hours, and may last from several hours to a day or longer. Afterward, the affected person is usually weary, and sensitive to sudden head movements.

Diagnosis

Migraine is diagnosed by a careful medical history. Lab tests and imaging studies such as computed tomography (CT scan) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans have not been useful for identifying migraine. However, for some patients, those tests may be needed to rule out a brain tumor or other structural causes of migraine headache.

Treatment

Once a migraine begins, the person will usually seek out a dark, quiet room to lessen painful stimuli. Several drugs may be used to reduce the pain and severity of the attack.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are helpful for early and mild headache. NSAIDs include acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, and others. A recent study concluded that a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine could effectively relieve symptoms for many migraine patients. One such over-the-counter preparation is available as Exedrin Migraine.

More severe or unresponsive attacks may be treated with drugs that act on serotonin receptors in the smooth muscle surrounding cranial blood vessels. Serotonin, also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine , constricts these vessels, relieving migraine pain. Drugs that mimic serotonin and bind to these receptors have the same effect. The oldest of them is ergotamine, a derivative of a common grain fungus. Ergotamine and dihydroergotamine are used for both acute and preventive treatment. Derivatives with fewer side effects have come onto the market in the past decade, including sumatriptan (Imitrex). Some of these drugs are available as nasal sprays, intramuscular injections, or rectal suppositories for patients in whom vomiting precludes oral administration. Other drugs used for acute attacks include meperidine and metoclopramide.


Continued use of some anti-migraine drugs can lead to "rebound headache," marked by frequent or chronic headaches, especially in the early morning hours. Rebound headache is avoided by using anti-migraine drugs under a doctor's supervision, with the minimum dose necessary to treat symptoms. Patients with frequent migraines may need preventive therapy.

Alternative treatment

Alternative treatments are aimed at prevention of migraine. Migraine headaches are often linked with food allergies or intolerances. Identification and elimination of the offending food or foods can decrease the frequency of migraines and/or alleviate these headaches altogether. Herbal therapy with feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium) may lessen the frequency of attacks. Learning to increase the flow of blood to the extremities through biofeedback training may allow a patient to prevent some of the vascular changes once a migraine begins. During a migraine, keep the lights low; put the feet in a tub of hot water and place a cold cloth on the occipital region (the back of the head). This draws the blood to the feet and decreases the pressure in the head.

Prognosis

Most people with migraines can bring their attacks under control through recognizing and avoiding triggers, and by use of appropriate drugs when migraine occurs. Some people with severe migraines do not respond to preventive or drug therapy. Migraines usually wane in intensity by age 60 and beyond.

Prevention

The frequency of migraine may be lessened by avoiding triggers. It is useful to keep a headache journal, recording the particulars and noting possible triggers for each attack. Specific measures which may help include:

* eating at regular times, and not skipping meals
* reducing the use of caffeine and pain relievers
* restricting physical exertion, especially on hot days
* keeping regular sleep hours, but not oversleeping
* managing time to avoid stress at work and home

For most patients, preventive drug therapy is not an appropriate option, since it requires continued use of powerful drugs. However, for women whose migraines coincide with the menstrual period, limited preventive treatment may be effective. Since these drugs are appropriate for patients with other medical conditions, the decision to prescribe them for migraine may be influenced by expected benefit elsewhere.

Facts about the human body

The human body is a machine that is full of wonder. This collection of human body facts will leave you wondering why in the heck we were designed the way we were.

1.. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.

2.. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.

3.. The smallest is the male sperm.

4.. You use 200 muscles to take one step.

5.. The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.

6.. Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

7.. A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.

8.. A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

9.. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.

10.. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

11.. It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

12.. The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

13.. Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.

14.. At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.

15.. There is about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

16.. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

17.. The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.

18.. Your teeth start developing (in your gums) 6 months before you are born.

19.. When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

20.. Blondes have more hair than dark-haired people.

21.. Your thumb is the same length as your nose.

At this very moment I know full well you are putting this last fact to the test ... now remove your thumb from your nose and pass this on to the friends you think might be interested in comparing their thumbs to their noses as well

Vitamin Supplements 'may shorten your life'

Research has suggested vitamin supplements do not extend life and could even lead to a premature death.

A review of 67 studies found "no convincing evidence" that antioxidant
supplements cut the risk of dying. Scientists at Copenhagen University said vitamins A and E could interfere with the body's natural defenses.

"Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase
mortality," according to the review by the respected Cochrane Collaboration.

The research involved selecting various studies from 817 on beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium which the team felt were the most likely to fairly reflect the benefits of the supplements. It has been thought that these supplements may be able to prevent damage to the body's tissues called "oxidative stress" by eliminating the molecules called "free radicals" which are said to cause it. This damage has been implicated in several major diseases including cancer and heart disease.

'Just eat well'

The trials involved 233,000 people who were either sick or were healthy and taking supplements for disease prevention. After various factors were taken into account and a further 20 studies excluded, the researchers linked vitamin A supplements to a 16% increased risk of dying, beta-carotene to a 7% increased risk and vitamin E to a 4% increased risk. Vitamin C did not appear to have any effect one way or the other, and the team said more work was needed into this supplement - as well as into selenium.

In conclusion, "we found no evidence to support antioxidant supplements for primary or secondary prevention," they said. It was unclear exactly why the supplements could have this effect, but the team speculated that they could interfere with how the body works: beta-carotene, for instance, is thought to change the way a body uses fats.

The Department of Health said people should try to get the vitamins they need from their diet, and avoid taking large doses of supplements - a market which is worth over £330m in the UK . "There is a need to exercise caution in the use of high doses of purified supplements of vitamins, including antioxidant vitamins, and minerals," a spokesperson said. "Their impact on long-term health may not have been fully established and they cannot be assumed to be without risk."

A 'stitch-up'

But the Health Supplements Information Service, which is funded by the association which represents those who sell supplements, said many people were simply not able to get everything they needed from their diet. "For the millions who are not able to do that, vitamins can be a useful supplement and they should not stop taking them," said spokeswoman Pamela Mason.

Another nutritionist who has formulated supplements described the review as a "stitch-up" and only reviewed studies which examined the effect they had on reducing mortality, rather than other advantages. "Antioxidants are not meant to be magic bullets and should not be expected to undo a lifetime of unhealthy habits," said Patrick Holford. "But when used properly, in combination with eating a healthy diet full of fruit and vegetables, getting plenty of exercise and not smoking, antioxidant supplements can play an important role in maintaining and promoting overall health."

Safe Peer-to-Peer Sharing

Being part of a peer-to-peer network poses several security threats. Here are some ways of steering clear of them.

Whether it is or BitTorrent, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks are a popular way of sharing files among users. Music, videos, movies people pick them all from P2P networks.

Many offices also use P2P networking to connect users PCs with each other and with common office resources such as the printer or scanner. But P2P networking has some inherent security threats, which you need to beware of, whether you are a user of a P2P application or a workplace user.

Connecting PCs to each other

In P2P networking, PCs are connected to each other and each user sets permissions on what content on the PC should be shared with other users on the network. This is different from a client-server architecture where all PCs (called clients) are connected to a central server the server hosts all the applications that the users on the network need, such as mail, printing, and file-sharing applications. In a P2P network, on the other hand, each PC acts as both client and server.

The advantage of a P2P network is that the computing resources, hard drives, and bandwidth of computers on the network are used by all the users. There is no need to install, configure, and manage an expensive server for this task. P2P networks also make it easier and more convenient for you to collaborate and share information. Some companies use P2P networks to share assets and information among users in separate locations. Workgroup collaboration using instant messaging and other collaboration software is one of the most popular uses of P2P networks.

Many P2P networks use the Internet for file sharing; users on these networks are in different regions of the world. If you want to become part of such a network, such as Kazaa or Gnutella, you would need to run an application every time you want to connect to the network.

Where security issues arise

The architecture of a P2P network holds some security threats.

Improper authentication: A client-server network has fairly strong authentication procedures, which are not there in P2P networks. Especially in the case of corporate P2P networks, if users share their passwords with people who are not part of the corporate setup, it could lead to loss of intellectual property and confidential data.

Bypassing firewalls: To enable file-sharing on some P2P networks, you have to bypass any firewall that you may have installed on your PC or corporate network. Once this happens, you are open to the dangers of downloading malicious code unknowingly.

Unsafe downloads: When you download any file or utility from a P2P network, you effectively accept it from someone who's a stranger to you. In fact, the user who has shared the file with you may not even be who he/she purports to be. Therefore, such downloaded files could potentially contain spyware, adware, viruses, Trojans and other such malicious software.

P2P application threat: In some public P2P networks, the application you use to connect to the network could lead to security issues. The application itself could be improperly written or buggy, which could harm your PC's performance. Secondly, since the application is hosted on other users machines, there is no way of knowing whether the genuine application has been substituted with a malicious file, such as a Trojan, which could lead to more serious security issues for your system and the confidential information in it. This, however, is usually difficult to do.

Playing safe on P2P networks

There are several steps you can take to ensure that you use P2P networks safely.

Use good P2P products: If you are setting up a corporate P2P network, use products that have integrated security features. There are several products from different vendors available for this. One of these is Microsoft Groove.

Scan each download: If you use Internet file-sharing on a P2P network, scan everything you download using anti-virus software, before you install and use it. This will ensure that you don't install any malicious software on your PC.

Scan your PC: Use software such as Ad-Aware and other anti-virus software to scan your PC periodically, to ensure that you haven't unwittingly installed any adware or malicious software.

Be careful of what you share: When you use a P2P network, a default folder is usually created, where you can store files that you want to share with other users. Ensure that you have shared only that folder with other users, and not the entire hard drive or other confidential folders.

Have a security policy: P2P networks need you to create a separate security policy and train everyone to use it.

Make users aware of the risks: On a corporate P2P network, all users should be made aware of the risks of sharing their passwords and other security risks of sharing information over P2P networks.

Avoid Internet P2P file-sharing on corporate networks: Internet P2P file-sharing should be avoided on office networks. It clogs bandwidth and puts the security of all the network users at risk. The implications of some malicious software getting installed on the network would be very dangerous and far-reaching for the company.

Protect your Company from Cyber squatters

Cyber squatters are increasingly becoming clever in usurping names because there is big money.

What is the official website address of Amitabh Bachchan? You are wrong if you thought it is www. AmitabhBachchan. com. You are again wrong if you thought it is www. AmitabhBachchan. in or .net. All these domain names are booked by someone else. Most top stars are guilty as well. Salman Khan, Rajinikanth, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan don't own their own domain names. It's not just film stars who are dumb when it comes to online brand consciousness.

Top companies like Tata, State Bank of India, The Hindu newspaper, Satyam Computers have had their domain names booked by opportunistic miscreants. They all had to fight painful court battles to regain their online identities.

Cyber squatting is the habit of booking domain names for which you don't have trademark rights. There are people who book domain names for the sole purpose of profiting from the domain by either selling advertisements or selling the domain name at a later date for a higher amount. Or worse, they may use it for pornography or criminal activities such as phishing for passwords and bank account details.

State Bank of India learnt it the hard way. An Australian had booked www.sbicards. com and made the website look so authentic that he managed to fool big companies like Chase Manhattan bank into advertising on his site.

Cyber squatters are now getting into a new medium called typo squatting' , meaning that they also book names that are commonly mis-spell. For example, www.cococola. com, www.huyundai. com, www.pespi.com. Such domain name offer cyber squatters an opportunity to put pay-per-click ads and profit from them.

Incidentally, one of the most popular domain extensions is ".CM". This domain extension belongs to Cameroon and the cyber-squatters. For example, www.google.cm takes to a page which has many fraud links. Some companies have been careful and booked .cm which redirects to their main website.

Book Country Specific Domain Names: With businesses going global, its important to see if your company owns country specific domain names. Unfortunately, many multinational companies haven't booked the ".in" domain. They only think of it when they want to establish their business in India, but by then someone else has already booked it. For example, the Indian domain of TechCrunch, the famed web 2.0 blog, (www.TechCrunch. in) is owned by a software guy in Chennai.

If you want to protect your company's names, you should also pro-actively book domain names that has negative connotation. For example, if you are the brand manger of Reliance, you are better off blocking domains like RelianceSucks. com and RelianceCheats. com because they could so easily be misused by others.

There are online services to help you. For instance, www.CitizenHawk. com suggests possible misspelling for your brand names and helps book them for you. If the names are already taken by others, they help in retrieving them through legal process. The best fight back of course, is you being proactively cautious.

Make Online Banking Secure

There is no greater feeling than receiving your paycheque, is there? After an arduous month at work, the number of zeros on the cheque makes it all worthwhile. But what if one day you get up and log on to the Net and realise that your money - your hard-earned money - is reduced to nothing but zeros! This is not fiction anymore. It could happen to any of us.

Internet Banking become an easy and convenient way to conduct financial transactions. But like most things on the Internet, the onus of a safe and secure banking experience is on you, the user.

To make sure that you can sleep soundly at night, here are some steps to follow:

Never access your bank account from a public computer - Always use your own PC to log in to your account. Public computers may have programs running on them that monitor your keystrokes, which can be used by people to obtain your account password.

Don't fall for phishing - Sometimes you might get an innocent email, apparently from your bank, requesting you for your account details. It's a trap. Do not fall for it. A bank will never ask you for your Internet banking password, your debit card PIN number, or credit card or CVV number.

Log off - Always. Never just close your browser. Follow the instructions on your bank website to securely log off after each session.

Protect your password - Passwords are the key to accessing your account. Do not disclose them to anyone, not even bank employees. Frame a password that is hard to crack , let it not be your nick name, birthday, your spouse's or kid's name. Use a combination of letters and numbers, uppercase and lowercase. Also, change your password often.

Be wary of fake websites - Always check whether the website at which you log in your account details is genuine. There are fake websites out there that parade themselves as well-known bank websites to procure your account details. Some of them are very convincing. Check the address of the website carefully before typing in your password. Also check for the 128-bit encryption seal (VeriSign) on the home page that loads up.

Close all other websites - Before you access your account, close other sites. This ensures that your personal information is not accessed by any other websites which could be running some malware.

Install a firewall - Firewalls can go a long way in ensuring that your computer is not subject to unauthorized access. Install the latest anti-virus programs and update your computer's security patches regularly as well.

Look for the padlock symbol - On your bank's website, look for the padlock symbol on the bottom right of the page to ensure that the site is in secure mode before entering your personal details.

Always remember that there could be people out there who are just looking for one slip up from you to get your account details. Stay alert and your money will be safe.

How to Maintain Not-Quite-Daily Habits

Have you ever fallen off track while trying to install or maintain a not-quite-daily habit such as exercising 3-4 days a week or getting up at 5am on weekdays? This article will share some simple ideas to help you maintain such habits more easily.

If you perform a certain task every day for weeks on end, it’s usually pretty easy to maintain. However, once you take a day or two off, it can be harder to start up again on your next “on” day. For example, if you get up early every weekday and then sleep in late on Saturday and Sunday, waking up Monday morning often feels harder, and you’re more likely to oversleep. Before you know it, you’ve blown your positive habit completely, and somehow every day has become an off day.

1. Make it daily anyway.
The first solution is to turn almost-daily habits into daily habits. Sometimes it’s no big deal to continue the habit even when it isn’t necessary, and the upside is that you’ll have a stronger habit with less risk of losing ground.

For example, I like to get up early 7 days a week. I find this much easier to maintain than getting up early 5-6 days per week. If I get up at 5am every single morning, it’s really no big deal. But if I stay out late one night and sleep in until 7am, it’s always harder to get up at 5am the following morning. Every once in a while I’ll stay out past midnight and sleep in late, but my default is to get up with the alarm at the same time every morning.

Even though I don’t need to get up early every day, the habit is beneficial for me every day, so there’s no reason to limit it to weekdays. Although it might seem harder to do it 7 days instead of 5-6 days, it’s actually easier to be consistent.

With close to 100% daily consistency, a habit will typically maintain itself on autopilot, so you don’t even have to think about it anymore. But with 80-90% consistency, the contrast between your on and off days is always in the back of your mind. Do I have to get up early tomorrow, or can I sleep in late? Do I need to exercise tomorrow, or can I skip it? If you have a lot of almost-daily habits, this can be a big cognitive burden and quite a distraction. Maintaining good habits becomes much more difficult than necessary.

2. Use placeholder habits.
Another option is to create an alternative, placeholder habit for your off days.

Suppose you want to exercise 5 days a week, and you really want to keep those off days. Instead of doing your regular exercise, you could schedule an an alternative activity for the same time.

Instead of doing your usual workout, you could use your off days to go for a walk, read, meditate, write in your journal, etc.

I recommend that you use placeholder habits that are similar in some way to the original habit. For example, on your off days for exercise, you could still do something physical like walking, stretching, or yoga. This turns your physical development into an everyday practice, even though you’re doing different activities each day.

3. Chain Habits.
When you chain a series of habits together, they become easier to maintain. As soon as you begin the first habit in the chain, the rest of the sequence will tend to take care of itself.

My usual morning routine involves getting up, hitting the gym, showering, getting dressed, eating breakfast, etc. It’s a pretty stable pattern. But sometimes when I feel I’m at risk of overtraining, I’ll skip my workout without substituting anything. When this happens I can just jump to the next link in my morning habit chain, which means I’ll get up and then shower.

I find that when I occasionally skip habits that are part of a longer daily chain, it’s fairly easy to put them back in again as long as I continue to maintain the first and last links in the chain. As long as I get up early and go to the gym or get up early and then shower, my not-quite-daily exercise habit remains pretty solid. But if I mess with the first link in the chain and don’t get up at my usual time, the whole sequence is more likely to be blown.

So the idea is to put your not-quite-daily habits in the middle of a chain of daily habits. If you maintain the overall chain, you’ll probably find it easier to maintain the middle links as well, even though you sometimes skip them.

4. Make specific commitments.
If there are certain habits you won’t perform every day, decide exactly when you will perform them.

“I’m going to exercise 3-4 days per week” is too vague and wishy-washy. “I’ll do a 30-minute workout at the gym every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday morning at 6:30am, alternating between weight training and aerobic conditioning” is much better. The more specific your commitment, the better.

Block out time on your schedule, and add these commitments to your calendar. Be sure not to schedule anything else for those times.

It’s very easy to fail when you give yourself too many outs and don’t really commit. On any given day, there should be no question as to whether you will or won’t perform your habitual activity. Ditch the mights, maybes, and shoulds. Either you will or you won’t. Decide in advance what it will be.

5. Turn habits into appointments.
If you have a hard time maintaining irregular habits, find a way to turn them into appointments that involve someone else. It’s easier to ditch a habit if you’re only accountable to yourself, but most people are less willing to skip appointments that would leave someone else hanging.

Get a workout buddy. Schedule early AM phone calls with another early riser. Plan home organizing time with your roommate(s) at the same time every week. Schedule regular babysitting for date nights with your spouse.

Your accountability will be greater when you involve others in your not-quite-daily habits.

Regular Health Mistakes

All of us make little health mistakes that cause damage to our bodies in the long run - simply because we are unaware we are doing something wrong. Here are some of the most common mistakes made by many of us.

Crossing our legs

Do you cross your legs at your knees when sitting? Although we may believe that this is the lady-like elegant way to sit and sitting this way cuts down circulation to your legs. If you don"t want varicose veins to mar the beauty of your legs and compromise your health uncross your legs every time you realize you have one knee on top of the other. The best way to sit is to simply place both legs together on the floor balancing your weight equally. If you feel like changing position instead of crossing your legs simply move both legs together to one side. As an alternative you could also consider crossing your legs loosely at the ankles. This is a classically elegant way to sit and is far better for your legs and your health than sitting with your legs crossed at your knees.

Not changing our toothbrush

How often do you change your toothbrush? Most of us wait until most of the bristles have either fallen off or are in such bad shape that we"d be embarrassed to pull out our brush in public. However since not many of us need to pull out our brush in public we carry on with our frayed one until we lose it. Replace your toothbrush often. Damaged bristles can harm the enamel and don"t massage your gums well. If you find brushing your teeth a pain like I do but know you must do it you might as well be doing it right. Imagine going through the annoyance of brushing your teeth twice a day only to find out that you"re damaging your enamel every time you clean your teeth. Also use a brush with soft bristles unless your dentist has advised otherwise.

Eating out often

There are oils that are high in cholesterol and oils that cause little harm and are better for your heart. However no matter how light the oil is it is never a good idea to eat too much of it. Avoid fried foods.Remember that in all probability your favourite Indian food restaurant throws a huge-HUGE chunk of butter in a tiny bowl of dal. Rita who worked in the kitchen of a 5 star hotel was shocked when she saw the cook chop a 500gm butter slab in half and throw half into a Paneer Makhani dish. No wonder the customers left licking their fingers. And no wonder they felt so stuffed and heavy afterwards. Limit outdoor eating unless you know that you"re getting served light and healthy food.

Skipping breakfast

Never ever skip breakfast. Remember when you wake up in the morning it"s been around 10-12 hours since your last meal. Your body needs food now more than at any other time. Eat a heavy breakfast. You will then be busy through the day and the calories will get expended quickly. If you are trying to diet at a light dinner. Here are some more common health mistakes we make. Being informed and making a few changes can help make us feel a whole lot better.

High heels

High heels sure look great but they're murder for your back. This however doesn't mean you should steer clear of stilettos. Wear them but not when you know you will be walking around a lot. Wear them when going out for lunch or dinner - when the only walking you will be doing is to your car to the table and back. Avoid high heels when you are going somewhere on foot. If you are constantly tempted to wear your heels take a good look at your flats. Is there something about them you dislike? Invest in a new pair of beautiful flats or shoes with a low heel. Buy something you love that you will enjoy wearing. If possible get a matching bag. You will then enjoy your flats as much as you do your heels.

Sleeping on a soft bed

You don't have to sleep on the floor be kind to your back but do make sure you have a firm mattress. Although a mattress on springs is soft and lovely to sink into it's bad for your back. If you already have an old bed with springs you don't need to invest in a new one - simply get a thick wooden plank put over the springs and place the mattress on the plank. Similarly if your mattress is old and lumpy throw it out and get a new one. Your neck and your back will thank you. The same rule applies to sofas. If you will be spending hours on a sofa get a firm yet comfortable one. Sofas you completely sink into are not the best idea.

Pillows

No matter how comfortable sleeping with ten cushions is have pity on your neck and resist. Sleep with one pillow and make sure it is not too thick. If your pillow gets lumpy discard it and go for a new one. Get a thin pillow if you sleep on your stomach and something a little thicker if you sleep on your back to give your neck adequate support

Not exercising

So all of us know we should exercise more but many of us don't. This is a health mistake we consciously make! And why is that? Simply because we refuse to admit the damage we are causing to our bodies by not working out. A number of people only start working out once they've experienced a warning signal. Don't wait for a heart attack to strike before you decide to opt for a lifestyle change. Make the change now. You don't need to train for the marathon to be in top shape. Half an hour of brisk walking three to four times a week will make a world of difference to your health. You could then increase this to forty minutesfour times a week - and you're all set. If you haven't exercised for a weekyou're making a mistake.

IMPORTANCE OF TONGUE CLEANING

BRUSHING TEETH REDUCES MOUTH ODOR BY 25%
TONGUE CLEANING REDUCES MOUTH ODOR BY 75%
CLEANING THE TONGUE AND BRUSHING TEETH TOGETHER WILL REDUCE MOUTH ODOR BY 85%

The surface of the tongue is one of the main breeding grounds for bacteria that attack teeth and gums.
The total bacteria count on the dorsum of the tongue can be reduced as much as 50% after only ONE DAY of TONGUE SCRAPING in comparison to one week of tongue brushing to achieve the same results.
Tongue scraping significantly reduces dental plaque by 33% without causing any deleterious tissue changes in the tongue.
Tongue scraping is an especially important procedure for heavy smokers, mouth breathers, or those who do not use their dentures due to unduly coated tongues.
Tongue scraping reduces a source of halitosis, root caries, and improves taste acuity and interest in different varieties of food in the elderly.
The toothbrush is designed specifically to remove plaque from teeth. It is not designed to clean the tongue's histological structure effectively.
Daily hygiene of the tongue is an important part of "Total Mouth Care" in addition to brushing and flossing.

ADVANTAGES OF TONGUE CLEANERS

Obvious removal of thick gelatinous tongue coating (plaque).

No deleterious tissue changes in the tongue.

Convenient, safe, effective, and easy to use!

Improves confidence and taste!

WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA

1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.

2. India invented the numerical system. Aryabhatta invented 'zero.'

3. The world's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

4. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.

5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.

6. Although western media portrays modern images of India as poverty stricken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.

7. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word "Navigation" is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.

8. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have last year (1999) officially published that Budhayan's works date back to the 6th Century, which is long before the European mathematicians.

9. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 1053.

10. According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.

11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.

12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.

13. Chess was invented in India .

14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India .

15. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization) .

16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India dating back to at least 100 BC.