Tag: online privacy
Four Savvy Tips To Find Low-Cost Airfare For Your Next Trip

Four Savvy Tips To Find Low-Cost Airfare For Your Next Trip

Everyone loves a good deal. Almost everyone loves to travel. It only makes sense that the intersection of the two, in good travel deals, would appeal to a very wide audience.

Airlines, however, have made finding a good deal difficult. In 2008, airlines began charging fees on checked baggage. Although they suffered from bad publicity at the time, the airlines knew that if they held their ground, passengers would eventually accept the additional fees. They were right. A generation of travelers has grown up with these fees and now accept them as part of the cost of flying. These baggage fees have turned into a $5 billion profit center for the airlines.

Similarly, shortly after the terrorist attacks and wars in the Middle East caused the price of oil to spike in the early 2000s, airlines imposed “fuel surcharges” on all airline tickets. Even though the price of jet fuel has stabilized and crude oil costs less than a third of what it did at its peak in 2008, the fuel surcharges (now called carrier fees) are still assessed on every airline ticket.

These fees and surcharges make it that much more important to find the best fare possible. Here are some ways to find low-cost airplane tickets:

Be Flexible About When You Fly

Supply and demand dictate the price of airline tickets. Whether an airline sells one ticket or 140 tickets on a flight, that airplane has to fly. The airline has to make sure that flight is as profitable as possible because fuel costs, crew expenses, and taxes must be paid regardless of the number of passengers. Consequently, fares will always be lower on flights that are undersold, and higher on flights that are oversold.

Certain days of the week and times of year are less expensive to fly. These will vary by destination, again according to supply and demand. For example, flights to Chicago for Presidents Day weekend might be cheap, while flights to Miami for the same weekend in February might be very expensive.

Most people who travel for work or pleasure fly at the beginning of the week or the end of the week. As a result, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays usually see fewer travelers (and fewer airline tickets sold) than Mondays and Fridays. Airlines will often cut prices to sell tickets for flights in the middle of the week to try to fill those airplanes. Flying on a holiday, like on Presidents Day, can save money since most people prefer to fly before or after a holiday.

Unfortunately, burglars can also use the popularity of Friday through Monday travel to target your home. A home burglary occurs every 13 seconds in the United States. Many of these burglars case your home and your social media timeline to make sure you are not home when they strike. When you travel, make sure your social media is set to private or that you avoid posting about your travels until you return home.

Use Online Resources

Search sites for airline tickets provide a wealth of information about ticket pricing. Kayak, for example, shows pricing trends so you know whether you should buy or wait to buy based on whether the ticket price has increased or decreased.

Skyscanner provides information on the carbon output of flights, so you can account for the environmental impact of your flight choices in addition to the price. And Travelzoo allows you to search over a range of dates to find those hidden cheap flights on a Tuesday morning that you might otherwise miss.

Be aware, however, of scam sites that are not real travel booking sites. Scam sites collect your personal information and either use your payment card to run up bills or steal your identity to obtain new payment cards and credit accounts. Do your research on these sites and, above all else, be wary. Nearly 50 percent of consumers think that their security habits make them vulnerable to identity theft or other information frauds.

Time Your Purchase

As mentioned above, Kayak offers a feature that allows you to see the price trend for airfares. However, these price trends may be influenced by many factors, such as holidays, travel seasons, natural disasters, and oil prices. Summer, for example, has higher airfares to tourist destinations, while airfare may drop after a hurricane or other natural disaster.

Barring unexpected events, the window for finding good deals on domestic flights is usually one to three months before the flight and two to eight months for international flights. One strategy would be to begin monitoring airfares before this window begins to get an idea of the starting price. This allows you to identify a good deal as you monitor the airfares during the recommended window. But beware of waiting too long. When you see a price you like, you should snap it up because ticket prices can jump suddenly.

Check Regional Airports

Sometimes you will be able to fly into another airport close to your destination and rent a car or take a train for less than flying direct. For example, Sanford Airport, 24 miles from Orlando, is often cheaper to fly into than Orlando International Airport. Likewise, airlines often have less expensive fares to Baltimore than Washington D.C. Since Baltimore and Washington are connected by rail, flying to Baltimore is often a cheap alternative to flying directly to the nation’s capital.

Some airfare booking sites allow you to search for alternative airports. Checking the box to include regional airports in your search can save tens, and sometimes hundreds, of dollars on airline tickets.

Finding good deals on airfares is facilitated by good online tools. Moreover, knowledge about the days of the week and times of the year to travel, as well as alternative airports available for travel, can save you money the next time you fly. You might even save enough to stay an extra day at your destination.

Five Smart Ways To Become An Ethical Hacking Pro—All At Over 90% Off

Five Smart Ways To Become An Ethical Hacking Pro—All At Over 90% Off

Professional penetration testers (better known as ethical hackers) usually come from one of two ranks: those who learned the ways of hacking on their own; and those who took classes to amass those talents. While there’s a world of knowledge to be gained from self-taught skills, it’s often those with formal education — and certification to prove it — that are more ready to bag a high-paying job with a reputable, security-minded company.

As the U.S.-Russia scandal and other headline-grabbing stories can attest, ethical hacking is a career that’s never been more vital. Take a look at this collection of ethical hacking instruction courses (all at over 90 percent off) from The National Memo Store and get in the game. Plus, you can take an extra 50% off all e-learning bundles with code BUNDLE50 (valid thru 10/22).

Ethical Hacking A to Z Bundle

Over eight classes and more than 20 hours of content, this ethical hacking bootcamp examines both the theories and tools a working hacker uses to be an accomplished pen tester. If you want to know what the day-to-day responsibilities of a pro hacker entail, this is the course to find out.

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The Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle

Another great way to get all your hacker training covered in one extensive package. From learning how to use powerful hacking tools like Kali Linux to CompTIA certification training to monetizing your hacking skills, this nine-course bundle takes your learning beyond the theoretical into reality.

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2017 IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training

Prove you’ve got the hacking chops needed to get employed with this top-flight IT security training. As you secure networks, manage risk factors and spot and fix vulnerabilities, you’ll be learning the critical skills needed to pass some of the IT industry’s top certification exams.

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IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training

Do you want CompTIA Security+ certification? Done. Cisco CCNA Security exam credentials? You got it. This package including over 50 hours of advanced training and more than 48 hours of coursework will put you in position to earn the most valuable IT certifications available. Just study up for 2 to 3 hours a week and you’ll be set to pass all the exams you’ll need in up to six weeks.

Buy now:$29.99 gets you all this training at a price hundreds of dollars less than its regular price.

Become an Ethical Hacker Bonus Bundle

One of the best-selling hacker training bundles around will get you employed as an IT security pro in no time. In nine courses, you’ll learn pen testing, mobile security, Linux, cross site scripting…the works. There’s even a course to put you on track for an annual salary of $120,000 a year.

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This sponsored post is brought to you by StackCommerce. 

Browse In True Privacy For Less Than $1 A Week

Browse In True Privacy For Less Than $1 A Week

HBO is currently embroiled in headaches after hackers assaulted their systems and swiped Game of Thrones scripts, unaired TV episodes, and scads of internal company documents. If an entertainment giant like HBO isn’t safe, how does a little guy like you protect yourself against cyber-predators stalking across the interwebs?

With rock solid, battle-tested security coverage, of course. In the virtual private network (VPN) arena, few names are as trusted as industry leader Private Internet Access — so defend your online activities with a two-year PIA subscription for only $59.95 (63 percent off its regular price) from The National Memo Store.

PC Magazine has PIA among its elite Editors’ Choice picks for good reason. Whether you’re connected through a home network or on a sketchy public WiFi hub, PIA offers an iron-clad secure connection that holds any cyberthieves, government snoops, or intrusive friends and family from getting into your private information.

With more than 3,300 servers in 31 regions around the globe, you’ll always have access to fast service speeds and data encryption based on the ultra-secure Blowfish CBC algorithm. Your service will block unwanted connections, get around geo-locking content restrictions and crush ads, trackers and other malware through its cool new MACE feature on up to five devices.

The price breaks down to a ridiculously low $2.50 per month, so jump on this limited time offer now.

This sponsored post is brought to you by StackCommerce.