Tech Talk & Innovation

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(ARA) - Small or large, domestic or international, modern businesses run (or fail) on data. If you're a small-business owner, data - from customer email addresses to your bank account numbers - is vital to your company's success. Protecting data is as important as generating sales.

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(ARA) - If you use complex passwords for your online accounts, have a firewall on your PC's Internet connection and only shop at secure websites, you may think you're doing a good job protecting yourself from identity theft. Those precautions are a good start, but don't overlook another important opportunity for identity thieves - your mobile devices.

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There is nothing more frustrating than a slow PC, especially when you're trying to juggle several programs and files at once. When it takes your computer half a minute to save a document - distracting you from efficiently finishing your tasks - then you know something is bogging down your computer.

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(ARA) - As October marks Cyber Security Month, many consumers may be asking themselves, why do I care about cyber security? The truth is ... you should, because it's about protecting your financial, medical and other personal information. Every month the FBI-affiliated Internet Crime Complaint Center receives 25,000 complaints, from identity theft to online scams, and everyone is a potential victim. But you can take action. Financial services companies, top targets for cyber attacks, are fighting back to protect consumers and are encouraging consumers to join in the fight.

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(ARA) - Discussing classic literature and solving equations are still essential components of high school curriculums, but is your child also learning HTML coding or basic computer programming? With more jobs requiring a basic understanding of technology - and an increasing number of jobs available in the field of information technology - it's becoming more and more important for high school students to take advantage of tech training opportunities.

(ARA) - Whether it is in the classroom or dorm room, college students strive to be ahead of the curve.

(ARA) - Cellphones have been around for a long time and many small businesses have them. They're good for phone calls and basic text messaging. Smartphones - more powerful cellphones - were introduced to the business world more recently, and their popularity has grown exponentially ever since.

(ARA) - Gone are the days where a teacher stood at the chalkboard - her back to the classroom - demonstrating a math equation. Technology has taken over elementary, middle and high schools across the country, allowing teachers to interact with and educate students in a more hands-on way.

(ARA) - When Zoe Friend, a student at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, discovered her computer had crashed, she lost a term paper that was due in just a few days. Two months of work had vanished. She told her professor at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute what had happened, but his response was: "This is the new version of 'the dog ate my homework.' It's your responsibility to back up your work." Like most students, Friend had never thought about backing up data, so she had to live with a bad grade.

(ARA) - 'Tis the season to be productive. Summer's over, the kids are back in school, and before you know it, the holiday shopping season will be upon us.

In the past seven years, social media has expanded like wildfire in the United States and across the world. Currently there are more than 750 million users on one social media site alone.

(ARA) - Cellphone users have more options than ever. But with all these options, it can be difficult to determine which cellphone plans work the best for your usage pattern.

(ARA) - As using the Internet becomes an increasingly personalized experience, it is now common practice for users to submit sensitive personal information to unlock access to a wide variety of services. Unfortunately, though most users exercise caution when offering such information in online spaces, there are still countless numbers of people who fall victim to sophisticated phishing scams every day through common email and instant messaging services.

Social media has sparked an Internet revolution. Web users constantly crave the ability to connect with others, consume video and audio and create and share content online.

(ARA) - What have you done today to damage your hearing? You might think that you haven't done anything that would put you at risk, but a surprising number of everyday situations and common actions can have a lasting impact on your ability to hear. Being aware of the damage you can do to your hearing every day is essential - when you know where the risks lie, you can take action to prevent or mitigate further harm.

(ARA) - It's back-to-school time again, which means new teachers, new classrooms and new routines. As the long summer days are coming to an end, fall schedules start and families get back into the swing of the school year. To help kids make the transition, it's important to create a healthy balance of school duties and family time, while maintaining the summer energy and fun.

Think of the countless times when your life has come to a grinding halt due to a slow PC and how frustrating the experience was. Whether you are a CEO, small-business owner, student, or someone at home surfing the Internet, a slow PC can be frustrating and counter-productive. If you are a PC user, slow is going to get you and mess with your life.

(ARA) - Recent headline-grabbing data breaches left the information of millions of people exposed. While having your personal identifiable information compromised in a data breach is disconcerting, it does not necessarily mean that you are or will become a victim of identity theft.

The 82nd edition of Major League Baseball's All-Star Game 2011 in Phoenix brought fan and team favorites from the National and American leagues together for an exciting showcase of baseball talent. The talent on these teams featured rosters of current players, but Pepsi MAX is giving fans the chance to create an All-Star roster of their own with a salute to the living legends of the game.

(ARA) - Seventeen million pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students in the U.S. will get at least some of their education virtually by 2015, according to new research from Ambient Insight. More than four million of these students will get their entire educations virtually, from full-time virtual schools.

What's your definition of high definition? Greener grass, perhaps. Or facial flaws. To some it could be slow-motion eye candy paired with a soothing British voiceover. But the actual definition of high definition is simple: it's an improved lifestyle - the lifestyle of satellite TV.

There was a time when the thought of shopping online seemed untrustworthy and risky. For younger generations, online shopping is second nature - the Web is the first place to go when looking for a specific item. And even for those who were suspicious about entering credit card and other personal information on shopping sites, e-commerce is a part of daily life. But in a tech world that's always looking forward, a new trend - mobile shopping - is set to become the next shopping revolution.

(ARA) - You have an online portfolio, but you aren't sure if it's working for you. Because a good online portfolio is an asset in a job search, it's important to know how to get it in front of the right people.

(ARA) - You have an online portfolio, but you aren't sure if it's working for you. Because a good online portfolio is an asset in a job search, it's important to know how to get it in front of the right people.