Guest Post: Beef Up Your Security and Rip Hackers a New One

This post is by Thomas Frank, a junior at Iowa State University who runs a college blog of his own called College Info Geek. As long as you're not a vacuum salesman, you can connect with him at his website or on Twitter.

As a college student, you're getting to the point in your life when you have a lot to keep track of online. School email accounts, online banking, FAFSA information, social networks... the list goes on. As you get older, your online life just keeps expanding.

Now that you're in college and have this expanding online life to keep track of, your online security becomes ever more important. In high school, most of the people in your network were your age, and you probably didn't have a lot of resources. Therefore, you probably weren't much of a target for malicious attacks. However, now that you're in college and most likely over 18, a lot of sensitive data becomes yours instead of your parents'. You can get things like credit cards, and loans are now in your name. You're also probably a lot more visible on the internet.

I'm going to expose myself to a potential foot-in-mouth situation here and make what's called a "blanket statement": 

 Your online security sucks.

In fact, if we were to somehow personify your online security, it would probably look something like this... Steve RogersOn the other hand, I can tell you that, at the present moment, my online security looks a little more like this. Coincidentally, my dad looks kinda like this too...I say it looks like this at the present moment because, as recently as two weeks ago, I too had terrible online security. What I'm talking about specifically in this article are passwords. Most of us, including me, are or were at some point guilty of using the same password on every site we have an account with. Some of you might even use a really bad password like your name spelled backwards or something with nothing but lowercase letters. In the past, I used to think it was OK to use the same password everywhere as long as it was really secure. Using that line of thinking, I created one really long, complex password, set it on all my accounts, and settled into a false sense of security. It wasn't until I started learning about web security that I knew how stupid of an idea that was. Now that I know, I've fixed my security problems. In this post, I'll show you how to do the same thing easily and painlessly. However, before I do that, I want to give you a short primer on why using the same password is a bad idea, even if it's a really good one. Essentially, there are two potential pitfalls involved with non-diversification in the security world:

• Screw-ups by you, yourself, and thou
• Screw-ups by the owners of the websites you use

Read on to hear Thomas' advice for protecting yourself online.

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Guest Post: Broke, But No Time For a Real Job? Create Your Own!

Zac made a business out of rooting Android Phones, and says you could do the same with almost any skill. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Pittaya and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is from Zac Sweers, a rising junior at the University of Texas in Austin. Zac loves tech, especially Android, and even made a business out of his ability to root Android phones. You can check out his popular how-to videos at his YouTube channel.

So you're in college, and you need cash. Unfortunately, most of your fellow students are in the same boat as you. Enough to safely say your boat is more like an unpleasant cruise ship full of broke people. Jobs are the easy solution, but sometimes you don't have time for a real job with all of your partying and gaming "studying", right?

I was in a similar position coming into the fall of last year. I had the near-obligatory tanked GPA from freshman year, and subsequently no time to get a real part-time job. My parents send me a monthly check for rent and bills, with some extra for food and leisure, and I was essentially living from check to check.

I had an HTC Evo 4G, and around October I researched how to root it, and subsequently ROM's and all that jazz. Now, for those of you that have attempted this yourself, you know researching this is ridiculous kinda hard. After I got the hang of it though, it was easy. I was still an economics major at the time, and so my thought process was:

"Man, this was hard ----> I bet other people have trouble with this too ----> *with arrogance* I'm really tech-savvy, and if I had trouble with this, then most other people probably REALLY have trouble with this ----> I bet people would pay me to do this for them."

Read on to hear about Zac's experience in the rooting business.

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Guest Post: Warning Signs of an Expensive Roommate

 If your roommate pinches pennies at Costco, he may save you money on bills and expenses. Photo courtesy of Flickr user David McKelvey and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is from Kiley Theiring, a student at Chapman University majoring in Film Production and minoring in Japanese. She like to write and play video games in her sapre time. Give her a follow on Twitter at @loveglitterart

As if college tuition wasn’t already high enough, living on campus can mean paying astronomical prices for your sub-par college housing. Even if you like the dorms on campus, you’re definitely not going to want to stay there all four years of your college career. Depending on your school, living off campus can end up being much cheaper, especially if you play your cards right. Finding cheap places to live shouldn’t be too hard, but if you really want to slash costs, carefully consider who you’re going to be living with for the next few months. There are many reasons why choosing good roommates can save you money.

1.  More roommates mean less rent. Sometimes, it pays to dish out extra money for a larger two bedroom apartment. While it may be pricey to upgrade to a more spacious living area, a large two bedroom floor plan can easily house four people, which means you can potentially save more than the upgrade costs. Right now I’m living comfortably with three other roommates in a two bedroom apartment, and we’re all only paying $370 a month each!
2. Find a roommate who frequents Costco. Keeping enough food in the house for four people is much more challenging than just shopping for yourself. Initially when I moved in with my new roommates, we would find our entire pantry empty after just refilling it a few days before. I soon found out that one of my roommates had a Costco membership, and we have been saving money ever since. Buying in bulk at Costco is much more cost effective than trying to make frequent, inexpensive trips to the local grocery store. With four people footing the bill, our wallets can escape our shopping trips relatively unscathed.
3. Don’t live with party hosts. Everyone can appreciate a good college party, but make sure you don’t live with the person who loves to host them. Frequent crazy college parties at your place will inevitably lead to damages to your house or apartment. Damages could result in pricey fixes, especially if it’s something your landlord will have to take care of. Not to mention, your landlord may not let you sign the contract next year/month if they get fed up with your constant parties and repairs.
4. Room with busy people. If your roommates are constantly out at school, work, or whatever it is they do, it means that they won’t be sitting at home racking up utility bills. Choosing a roommate that is prone to sit around and play video games all day long will undoubtedly drive up your electricity bill. You can’t just let your apartment climb to 100 degrees or drop to 60, so whoever stays home will end up cranking the AC or the heater. To avoid paying big bucks for things you aren’t even using, try finding roommates with busy schedules or at least schedules similar to yours so you won’t be paying for nothing.
5. Find out what you need, and then find a roommate that has it. When you move in to your own place, you quickly discover lots of things that you need that you didn’t even know about. Some apartments don’t come with fridges, microwaves, or even lighting. Other things you’ll need - whether you think you will or not - are things like tools, cleaners, and storage. Costs for all this stuff can add up quick. Buying these items by pooling everyone’s money isn’t a good idea either because when you move out, there will certainly be fights about who gets what. The best thing to do is try to figure out who has what and choose your roommates based on who will bring the most diverse selection of stuff you’ll need.
6. Financially responsible roommates save you from headaches. Finding roommates who are very money conscious can help you save a ton. Late fees can put a huge dent in your monthly budget, but financially responsible people are much more likely to make their payments in time. They’ll be more careful about spending too when you are out on shopping trips, which makes it even easier for you to keep your spending down.
7. Eco-friendly roommates are your friends too. Eco-friendly roommates are great to have around. They love recycling, so they can help keep you from having to buy things new over and over again. They probably won’t want to waste electricity or water either, so they can help keep your utility bills low. Chances are, if they’re that concerned with the environment, they are probably also more responsible fiscally as well.

Guest Post: 8 Mobile Apps To Help You Save Money Anywhere

Feeling broke? Ironically, your expensive smartphone can help! Image courtesy of Flickr userDanielMoyle and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is from our old friend, Lior Levin, a student from Tel-Aviv University, and employee in their MA in Political Science and MBA Abroad Programs. You may remember his previous guest post detailing five social sites that every student should try. Take it away, Lior.

Who doesn’t love saving money? Whether it’s due to the economy, budgeting, job loss or just wanting to save up, everyone is trying to cut costs somewhere. One of the best things about technology and smartphones in particular, are the thousands of apps out there available; there are apps for just about everything including apps to help you save money. The 8 mobile apps listed here will show you how to save money everywhere on things like gas, telephone calls, text messages, music, TV, movies and more.

Groupon 

If you’re not familiar with Groupon, it’s a great site that posts daily local deals. Each deal is only available for a certain amount of time. The catch is that in order to get the deal, that is a minimum number of people (group) that need to buy in order to get the coupon (hence the name Groupon - group coupons). You can often find savings of up to 95% and save money shopping, eating, events, entertainment and much more.

With the mobile app you can browse, purchase, and redeem Groupons right from your device. The app will search for deals in your local area (via GPS). You can also keep track of deals that you’ve purchased in the past and keep an eye on when they’ll expire.

Availability: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Mobile Website

GasBuddy

With gas prices rising by the day, it’s definitely something we could all afford to save money on. GasBuddy helps you find the cheapest gas at stations near your current location. They have over 200 websites that are used to help find the lowest gas prices around. If you find a lower price, you can report it to them and earn points toward a grand prize giveaway.

Availability: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Mobile Website

Read on for the other six!

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Guest Post: How to Handle Collegiate Introversion

Introversion can be tough to deal with, but certainly not impossible. Image courtesy of Flickr user Schleickmeister and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is by Shahzad Saeed, an Indian Engineering student and founder of the blog Tech and Project. His site is geared toward students hoping to participate in international science fairs and student project programs, like the Google Summer of Code.

The best thing about college life is we get to meet all types of people on campus, both introverts and extroverts. Recently, I came  across an article explaining why introverts can make best leaders. The article says 40% of the executives and leaders are introverts like Bill Gates and Barack Obama, and it also describes the characteristics that help introverted leaders build on their quiet strength and succeed. Despite these success stories, many introverted college students worry about their ability to adapt and do well in college, and in life.

Am I introverted?

If you aren’t sure whether you’re introverted or not, try this this test to check. It also describes the top signs of introversion, and the results may surprise you. In this extroverted world there are a lot of myths about introverts. Many think that introverts hate people, they are shy and don’t talk too much. As an introvert I can say that these are completely false. Talk me about blogging or something I am really interested in, and I will keep talking for hours. That is why most of my friends never consider me as an introvert. For tips on dealing with your own introversion, or the introverts in your life, read on.

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Guest Post: In Trouble with the Administration? Be Prepared.

Found yourself afoul of campus police? Stay calm and be prepared for your appeal. Image courtesy of Flickr user Mskogley and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post comes from Stephanie Buscema, a recent graduate of Wagner College who will be attending NYU in the Fall to pursue a Master's in publishing. At Wagner, she was a part of the Community Standards Review Board, where she heard cases from fellow students who found themselves on the wrong side of school policy.

College is the environment where students are trying to find themselves, as well as trying to fit in with their new peers.  However, oftentimes students don’t know their limits and find themselves in trouble with administration.  While no longer living under their parents’ roofs, students have the freedom to explore all possibilities, even it means disregarding school policy. 

After attending college for four years, I have seen many of my peers fall in and out of trouble.  While serving on a disciplinary board, I have seen and heard many cases involving drug and alcohol abuse and violations of school conduct codes.  However, what I have noticed, is that without the guidance of a parent or mentor, some students fall through the cracks and find themselves not knowing what to do and how to prepare to deal with the consequences of their actions.

Students should have the opportunity to review helpful tips in preparation of an appeal.  The question that arises is, “How can I prepare?”  To be honest, it’s quite simple.  Here are some helpful tips to prepare for your appeal.

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Guest Post: 5 Social Sites that Students Need to Try

Grab your friends and check out these sites that can help you with homework, registration, or even finding a job. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Nic's Events and licensed under CC by SA 2.0

Today's guest post is fom Lior Levin, a student at Tel-Aviv University and marketing consultatnt at the MA in Israel Security Studies and Political Science programs. He has some great sites for students, many of which you may not have heard of yet.

Every student could use a little help to make it through college. In this connected world, there's no better place to look for that help an online. Luckily, there are dozens of social media sites geared specifically to students. Here are our picks for the five social media sites every student should join.

1. RateMyProfessors

Rate My Professors provides a great way to check out the classes you plan to take, the books you will use and, most importantly, the professors who will teach you. It is the internet's largest listing of college professors. There are more than 1 million professors in the database and they have received more than 11 million student ratings. Best of all, it's absolutely free. Students always checking professors with other students -- this site just make the process easier. It's a wonderful way to make sure that you have a smooth ride through college with only the best classes and professors.

2. CampusBug

CampusBug provides homework help for students. It calls itself a social learning network which combines educational and social networking tools. It's a huge information sharing community where you can meet students from all over the world, share photos, upload blog posts as well as get help with tests. While the site has its fair share of spam, there is also a lot of useful information in the wiki categorized by tags and labels.

Read on for the rest of the list!

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Guest Post: Communicating Your Crisis

Not feeling up to class? Be sure you communicate well with your professors. Image courtesy of Flickr user Alicia Nijdam and licensed under CC by 2.0Erin Breedlove is back again with a follow-up to her last guest post about surviving college when you're sick, be it a cold or chronic illness.  Remember to check her out at her blog: Healthy, Unwealthy, and Becoming Wise.

Last week, we discussed surviving school in the face of sickness, but what happens if you are really just too sick to go to class? What do you do?

For me, and I’m sure many other college students, communication with professors has always been crucial when I’ve got what seems like a crisis situation. But how do I write that e-mail, make that phone call, or show up at that office door confident that the professor will understand the situation? Here are four simple steps that may help you to easily communicate with your professors to, in essence, avert your “crisis”.

Keep in mind whether or not the “crisis” is a recurring issue. If the situation you’re dealing with causes you, or will cause you, to miss class frequently or regularly, be prepared with background information for your professor. Expect to give some anecdotal information and recount experiences where the current issue has previously affected your academic performance. Ask about ways that you can compensate and make the “crisis” work for you, despite academic requirements set forth by the professor in the syllabus or otherwise? For example, if a class meets Monday and Wednesday, and you’ve got an assignment due Tuesday, it may be possible for you to turn in the assignment on Wednesday at the beginning of class if that works for you and for the professor.  The key here is to simply be as flexible as possible. Understand that any accommodation your professor allows is, in most cases, in concordance with the law, but often, it’s an act of generosity.

Read on for more tips!

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