(BPT) – Out with the old and in with the new is a common theme during the holidays. Couple that with the breakneck pace of technology these days and the old in your home is probably a lot more digital than it has been in the past. Now you’ve got to make some room because your wish list is loaded with tech devices, that next update is right around the corner, and you may just have to buy yourself a Christmas present or two.

But before you bag up all of your old tech and march to it to the trash can, put it in your car instead. There’s a more eco-friendly way to dispose of those old gadgets, rather than simply adding them to a landfill.

You can recycle them. Plus get something back in return.

Support America Recycles Day and Save

Tuesday, November 15 is America Recycles Day, so it’s a great time to clean up and recycle items you no longer use, including your old technology. And for a limited time during the week of America Recycles Day you can get rewarded for recycling. Just take your old technology items to any Staples location until November 19, 2016, and receive one coupon good for $10 off $20 or more on your next purchase anytime during the entire month of December on regular priced items. That makes it a perfect holiday helper for those last-minute gift purchases, whether they’re for you or someone else on your list. To learn more about this recycling offer and exclusions that apply, visit www.staples.com/techrecycling.

Whether you’re looking to recycle technology this week or after the holidays, Staples recycles office technology for free every day, and customers who have newer gently used laptops, smartphones, or tablets can even get paid in the form of a Staples gift card every day. Learn more about the programs and what can and can’t be recycled at www.staples.com/recycle.

Celebrating 10 Years of Recycling Technology

Staples was the first national retailer to offer an everyday technology recycling program in 2007, recycling became totally free in 2012, and 2017 will mark a decade of technology recycling. So far Staples has recycled more than 110 million pounds of electronics brought in by customers across the nation. Printers are the most common item recycled, followed by computers, monitors and then various assorted items like shredders, streaming devices and tech peripherals like keyboards, routers, and computer speakers.

In addition to technology hardware recycling, this year also marks the tenth year that Staples and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have worked together to support ink and toner cartridge recycling. Staples is your immediate collection point to drop off ink and toner cartridges, and Rewards customers earn points for cartridges recycled. HP cartridges are delivered back to HP and recycled through a closed loop process that breaks down the cartridges into their raw materials to use the plastics — along with recycled water bottles and clothes hangers — in manufacturing new ink and toner cartridges. Once the recycling process is finished, the new cartridges are then offered for sale at Staples and other retailers.

To learn more about recycling opportunities at Staples, visit www.staples.com/techrecycling and www.staples.com/recycle or contact your local Staples store. Because when it’s time to go out with the old, don’t pass up the opportunity to make it new again and save money while you’re at it.

(BPT) – Out with the old and in with the new is a common theme during the holidays. Couple that with the breakneck pace of technology these days and the old in your home is probably a lot more digital than it has been in the past. Now you’ve got to make some room because your wish list is loaded with tech devices, that next update is right around the corner, and you may just have to buy yourself a Christmas present or two.

But before you bag up all of your old tech and march to it to the trash can, put it in your car instead. There’s a more eco-friendly way to dispose of those old gadgets, rather than simply adding them to a landfill.

You can recycle them. Plus get something back in return.

Support America Recycles Day and Save

Tuesday, November 15 is America Recycles Day, so it’s a great time to clean up and recycle items you no longer use, including your old technology. And for a limited time during the week of America Recycles Day you can get rewarded for recycling. Just take your old technology items to any Staples location until November 19, 2016, and receive one coupon good for $10 off $20 or more on your next purchase anytime during the entire month of December on regular priced items. That makes it a perfect holiday helper for those last-minute gift purchases, whether they’re for you or someone else on your list. To learn more about this recycling offer and exclusions that apply, visit www.staples.com/techrecycling.

Whether you’re looking to recycle technology this week or after the holidays, Staples recycles office technology for free every day, and customers who have newer gently used laptops, smartphones, or tablets can even get paid in the form of a Staples gift card every day. Learn more about the programs and what can and can’t be recycled at www.staples.com/recycle.

Celebrating 10 Years of Recycling Technology

Staples was the first national retailer to offer an everyday technology recycling program in 2007, recycling became totally free in 2012, and 2017 will mark a decade of technology recycling. So far Staples has recycled more than 110 million pounds of electronics brought in by customers across the nation. Printers are the most common item recycled, followed by computers, monitors and then various assorted items like shredders, streaming devices and tech peripherals like keyboards, routers, and computer speakers.

In addition to technology hardware recycling, this year also marks the tenth year that Staples and Hewlett-Packard (HP) have worked together to support ink and toner cartridge recycling. Staples is your immediate collection point to drop off ink and toner cartridges, and Rewards customers earn points for cartridges recycled. HP cartridges are delivered back to HP and recycled through a closed loop process that breaks down the cartridges into their raw materials to use the plastics — along with recycled water bottles and clothes hangers — in manufacturing new ink and toner cartridges. Once the recycling process is finished, the new cartridges are then offered for sale at Staples and other retailers.

To learn more about recycling opportunities at Staples, visit www.staples.com/techrecycling and www.staples.com/recycle or contact your local Staples store. Because when it’s time to go out with the old, don’t pass up the opportunity to make it new again and save money while you’re at it.

(BPT) – Being considerate of others when you’re sick is one of the first steps to good sick etiquette.For example, you may think you’re going to score points for showing up at work despite feeling under the weather. However, if you were to run this by …

(BPT) – Being considerate of others when you’re sick is one of the first steps to good sick etiquette.For example, you may think you’re going to score points for showing up at work despite feeling under the weather. However, if you were to run this by …

(BPT) – New vehicles are packed full of the latest and greatest technology. Among their many capabilities, today’s vehicles can automatically apply brakes to avoid collisions, maintain a designated following distance behind the car ahead of it and maneuver the vehicle back into its lane if the driver veers out of it. Some cars can even drive and park themselves!

Additionally, in-car Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots allow passengers to connect their computers, tablets and smartphones to the internet from the convenience of the vehicle cabin. Bluetooth allows hands-free use of phones, and infotainment systems let people enjoy their favorite tunes, access apps, navigate and more.

These technological advances provide tremendous benefits for drivers and passengers, but much of this technology can also be used to launch cyberattacks on your vehicle

“Modern cars are essentially rolling computers and, just as your laptop, smartphone or tablet can be hacked, so can these driving machines,” says Craig Smith, author of The Car Hacker’s Handbook and founder of the Open Garages vehicle research lab.

Millions of today’s vehicles possess vulnerabilities that leave them open to new age methods of theft that don’t require a key or Slim Jim or, worse, situations where drivers no longer have control over their vehicles while driving. Mercury Insurance, one of the nation’s leading auto insurance providers, recently connected with Smith to help keep drivers safe and shed some light on this growing problem.

According to Smith, there are several key vulnerable areas consumers should be aware of, including:

* On-board diagnostics-II (OBD-II) ports;
* Key fobs;
* Infotainment systems (including audio files that owners may have synced for in-car entertainment);
* In-car Wi-Fi;
* Mobile hotspots;
* Navigation systems;
* Smartphones (connected to cars via Bluetooth); and
* Tire pressure monitoring systems.

“There are many factors that go into determining a vehicle’s risk of being hacked,” says Smith, who has worked in the security industry for more than 20 years and with the auto industry for five. “Newer vehicles have what we call a higher ‘attack surface,’ meaning there are more areas that are hackable.”

“If you are specifically concerned about remote hackers, as opposed to those who have physical access to your car, then look at the wireless systems your vehicle supports. If your vehicle has telematics, satellite or digital radio, internet, Bluetooth, or wireless key fobs, these wireless services can provide entry points for an attacker over varied distances. This is also true for aftermarket components added to your vehicles, such as dongles plugged into your vehicle to monitor your driving for insurance reasons.”

Local hackers can gain access to a car to unlock it and steal its contents or even start the ignition to steal the vehicle.

To protect against vehicle hacking, Smith recommends disabling wireless services that aren’t being used. Consumers should refer to the information their auto manufacturer provides on vehicle features, decide which ones are important and only enable those options. Those who wish to use a dongle in their vehicle should try to use it sparingly and take it with them when they leave their car.

“The key to protecting your vehicle if it’s deemed at-risk for hacking is to disable the components that have the most risk. For instance, if the radio unit is the culprit you can disable it or replace it,” says Smith. “And while newer vehicles tend to have a larger attack surface, they also have more safety features that can help minimize or avoid injury in a collision, so you should consider that as well.”

Mercury Insurance is helping consumers answer the question “How Hackable is Your Car?” with an infographic that shows the areas of a consumer’s specific vehicle that may be vulnerable to a cyberattack. Visit https://blog.mercuryinsurance.com/how-hackable-is-your-car to learn more.

“We continuously review the automotive marketplace, so we can provide consumers with important information about how to protect themselves, families and property, whether it’s about the dangers of distracted driving, teen driving safety or, now, vehicle hacking,” says Tom Coyne, auto line lead for Mercury Insurance. “And Mercury doesn’t use dongle technology because we don’t want to increase our customers’ risk of a cyberattack, which we think they appreciate.”

(BPT) – New vehicles are packed full of the latest and greatest technology. Among their many capabilities, today’s vehicles can automatically apply brakes to avoid collisions, maintain a designated following distance behind the car ahead of it and maneuver the vehicle back into its lane if the driver veers out of it. Some cars can even drive and park themselves!

Additionally, in-car Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots allow passengers to connect their computers, tablets and smartphones to the internet from the convenience of the vehicle cabin. Bluetooth allows hands-free use of phones, and infotainment systems let people enjoy their favorite tunes, access apps, navigate and more.

These technological advances provide tremendous benefits for drivers and passengers, but much of this technology can also be used to launch cyberattacks on your vehicle

“Modern cars are essentially rolling computers and, just as your laptop, smartphone or tablet can be hacked, so can these driving machines,” says Craig Smith, author of The Car Hacker’s Handbook and founder of the Open Garages vehicle research lab.

Millions of today’s vehicles possess vulnerabilities that leave them open to new age methods of theft that don’t require a key or Slim Jim or, worse, situations where drivers no longer have control over their vehicles while driving. Mercury Insurance, one of the nation’s leading auto insurance providers, recently connected with Smith to help keep drivers safe and shed some light on this growing problem.

According to Smith, there are several key vulnerable areas consumers should be aware of, including:

* On-board diagnostics-II (OBD-II) ports;
* Key fobs;
* Infotainment systems (including audio files that owners may have synced for in-car entertainment);
* In-car Wi-Fi;
* Mobile hotspots;
* Navigation systems;
* Smartphones (connected to cars via Bluetooth); and
* Tire pressure monitoring systems.

“There are many factors that go into determining a vehicle’s risk of being hacked,” says Smith, who has worked in the security industry for more than 20 years and with the auto industry for five. “Newer vehicles have what we call a higher ‘attack surface,’ meaning there are more areas that are hackable.”

“If you are specifically concerned about remote hackers, as opposed to those who have physical access to your car, then look at the wireless systems your vehicle supports. If your vehicle has telematics, satellite or digital radio, internet, Bluetooth, or wireless key fobs, these wireless services can provide entry points for an attacker over varied distances. This is also true for aftermarket components added to your vehicles, such as dongles plugged into your vehicle to monitor your driving for insurance reasons.”

Local hackers can gain access to a car to unlock it and steal its contents or even start the ignition to steal the vehicle.

To protect against vehicle hacking, Smith recommends disabling wireless services that aren’t being used. Consumers should refer to the information their auto manufacturer provides on vehicle features, decide which ones are important and only enable those options. Those who wish to use a dongle in their vehicle should try to use it sparingly and take it with them when they leave their car.

“The key to protecting your vehicle if it’s deemed at-risk for hacking is to disable the components that have the most risk. For instance, if the radio unit is the culprit you can disable it or replace it,” says Smith. “And while newer vehicles tend to have a larger attack surface, they also have more safety features that can help minimize or avoid injury in a collision, so you should consider that as well.”

Mercury Insurance is helping consumers answer the question “How Hackable is Your Car?” with an infographic that shows the areas of a consumer’s specific vehicle that may be vulnerable to a cyberattack. Visit https://blog.mercuryinsurance.com/how-hackable-is-your-car to learn more.

“We continuously review the automotive marketplace, so we can provide consumers with important information about how to protect themselves, families and property, whether it’s about the dangers of distracted driving, teen driving safety or, now, vehicle hacking,” says Tom Coyne, auto line lead for Mercury Insurance. “And Mercury doesn’t use dongle technology because we don’t want to increase our customers’ risk of a cyberattack, which we think they appreciate.”

Fiverr is made of dreamers. Doers. Risk takers. Those unafraid to build something from the ground up. And thanks to the hard work of people like you, Fiverr is almost one million entrepreneurs strong on Facebook. We wanted to take … Read More

The post One Million Strong: Tell Us Your Story! appeared first on Official Fiverr Blog.

Nicole Leinbach Reyhle is the Founder and Publisher of Retail Minded, the Co-Founder of the Independent Retailer Conference and a regular contributor to various publications. Additionally, Reyhle is the Author of the book “Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and … Read More

The post Why You Should Start Working Smarter with Help from a Virtual Assistant appeared first on Official Fiverr Blog.