Hass and Associates, Rise of the Internet

The rise of the Internet is undeniable, and unrestricted access from multifarious smart gadgets with more rapid 4G connectivity means that consumers’ potential usages of these devices in terms of the tasks they can accomplish online at any time an at any place are growing fast. In this milieu, the subject of online retail and its correlation with personal communication (either face-to-face or via phone) is being fervently discussed in all sectors.

And so it goes for insurance as well. For the past thirty years, personal connections have been dominated by the contact centre, and while not many can question that the Internet has greatly aided in generating quotes, the accepted rule is that phone calls and in-the-flesh visits are still a vital part of the sales cycle and a major force in enhancing conversion rates. While many situations may call for the application of the personal appearance, it is nevertheless the case that a rising share of everyday insurance tasks can be accomplished without it – in so far as the consumer agrees to it.

Mounting demand for self-service

Instances of these cases include online banking or even grocery check-outs show a significant – and increasing – percentage of consumers would rather ‘operate the system’ themselves, especially if it leads to avoiding queues and being able to finish such chores at their most convenient time.

As it applies now to the insurance sector, Junction recently revealed that one million BGL customers now choose to handle their own policies online. In the same manner, Ageas Insurance Solutions’ biggest motor brand, Auto Direct, moved to a self-service website earlier this year and saw 97% of its clients immediately opt for electronic documentation and messaging over paper.

It is certainly counter-intuitive to bypass this need for self-service, especially in insurance, where the advantage of the aggregator brands has produced a largely price-sensitive market.

Source:   Hass and Associates

Hass and Associate blog reviews - America and Europe strengthen their cyber-defense

Within a week of each other, have both the European Commission and the white house put out a number of new rules designed to curb the growing cyber-attacks against public and private offerings. The most dangerous of these is aimed at what is called critical national infrastructure. The dimensions may be physical (e.g. , mains) or virtual, such as computer networks used by the financial system.

Together with his the union message on 11 February, released on Barack Obama Obama an executive order intended to plug hole that is left of the failure of Congress to pass legislation for cyber-security that complies with the growing threat. "We cannot look back years from now", he said, "and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and the economy." President's frustration originates from the fate of two action. One is Cyber intelligence-sharing and Protection Act, known as CISPA, adopted by of the house of Representatives in last year, that is not managed to make it to a vote in the Senate (the white house threatened a veto because of concerns about privacy).  The other is the Cyber security Act, which was supported by management, but fell victim to a Republican filibusters in the Senate.

If all sides agree on seriousness of the threat, can impede Americas biased split agreement even in cyber-security. The majority opinion poll emphasize national security and sharing of information, but want to avoid imposing oppressive government-set safety standards on private companies. Mr Obama's executive order focuses on sharing information about threats between government and the private sector.

Hass and associates internet security information - Google lanserar nya Gmail

Kom ihåg den April Fool skämt där Google sade att de lanserar en ny Blå Gmail? Tja, inte en blå Gmail men Google till lanserar ett helt nytt Gmail versionen. I en större uppdatering Google lägger till några coola funktioner och ändra lite i Gmail layout.

Gmail kommer nu med flikar och ett nytt gränssnitt att låta användarna organisera sin post bättre. Google hade rullat ut de prioriterade Inbox som ett tillägg till den vanliga inkorgen förra året. Men, den nya layouten är mer än skilja mellan din post och framåt regelbunden.

Den nya tabbed layout kommer att sortera ut poster under 5 flikar som standard. De fem flikarna är: Primära, Social, kampanjer, uppdateringar, och forum. De regelbundna, viktigt meddelande kommer att bo i standard- eller den primära Inbox. Medan alla meddelanden från webbplatser för sociala nätverk automatiskt sorteras under sociala fliken, reklammaterial från e-commerce tomter kommer att grupperas under rubriken “Marknadsföring”.  Forum för att posta förteckningar och uppdateringar för bekräftelse post.

Postburken finnas släpat och tappat mellan de olika flikarna och Google Blog sagt att Google kommer att långsamt “lära sig” där du vill att varje post. Var och en av flikarna som separat inkorg där du kan visa olästa meddelanden, förvarar bana av post, svara, etc.

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Hass and Associates internet security warning news - Apple ID logins with compromised sites

The last two weeks have seen a significant spike in the number of phishing sites on the web targeting Apple IDs, according to Trend Micro's Security Intelligence Blog (via The Next Web). The blog pointed out on Tuesday that the newest trend appears to involve compromising a site and adding the phishing pages to a folder named ~flight. The files in the folder display a page designed to look like a login page for Apple's services, encouraging the user to enter an Apple ID, credit card security code, and password.
The second part of the phishing attack relies on spam emails urging the recipient to submit their information for an "audit" lest their account expire in 48 hours. The email, designed to somewhat resemble an actual communication from Apple, links to the phishing page and prepares them to give up their login information.
Trend Micro has identified 110 compromised sites, all hosted at the IP address 70.86.13.17. That address is registered to a Houston-area ISP, and almost none of the sites affected have been cleaned.
As Apple IDs are typically tied to their owners' credit cards, the security surrounding them is quite important. Apple recently gave users the option to enable two-factor authentication for their Apple IDs, making it necessary to verify a user's identity before changing account options, getting Apple ID-related support from Apple, or making purchases from a new device. Trend Micro recommends that users enable this option for added protection.

This newest scam is just the latest in a line of phishing attacks targeting Apple customers. In 2011, another well-crafted phishing scam similarly encouraged users to give up their data, saying that their billing information records were "out of date." 

A 2008 scam targeted MobileMe users, citing an "important" billing problem. Apple for years now has been building anti-phishing measures into its Safari browser, and improving iTunes account security. Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox also have anti-phishing measures built in.

http://blogs.rediff.com/hass-associates/2013/05/03/hass-and-associates-internet-security-warning-news-new-phishing-attack-targets-apple-id-logins/