Tag: #cymbeline

Tips for safe internet banking

All through the year, banks and financial institution are taking up innovative measures to protect its customers from such banking frauds. But sometimes it’s our very own negligence that makes us fall prey to such thefts. Whilst, both the banks and financial institutions are doing their part, we should too adopt a cautious attitude to protect ourselves. So, to help you out in this process, we have a gathered a list of some tips for safe internet banking that you can consider doing.

Digital advancements have made our lives much easier, we can now order food or purchase things in the comfort of our homes. These rapidly evolving advancements are also transforming the banking and financial sector in India. Whether someone is transferring funds, paying a bill or applying for such loans such technologies are enabling customers to do it in a more efficient and effective way. The number of users opting for internet banking is expected to double by 2020, making India an important hub for financial innovation. However, internet banking, just like like any other medium if not done with utmost precaution can prove to be risky. There are scams like phishing( fraudulent means for attaining confidential information) associated with internet banking which enables a third-party to access and misuse your personal information.

Banking online has made managing money a lot more convenient than it used to be. We don’t have to visit the bank to transfer our funds, or wait for the next paper statement to know what the balance is. All that information is at our fingertips. But while online banking has made things easier for us, it’s also made things easier for thieves.

Criminals don’t need to plan a heist to rob someone’s bank account anymore. All they need to do is wait for you to let your guard down and expose your personal information, or send out a virus that will collect the information. The only way to avoid becoming a thief’s next victim is to carefully guard your personal information and always practice these online banking safety tips. 

1. Don’t access your bank accounts on public Wi-Fi

When you’re on public Wi-Fi, hackers can more easily access your computer and steal personal information from it. You should never access your bank’s website through a computer, tablet, or mobile phone unless you’re on a secure Wi-Fi network with a password, or using your own cell phone data connection. This is much more difficult for thieves to hack, so it keeps your information safer.

2. Avoid saving your login information

Some websites give you the option to save your login information for future use, but if someone uses your computer or mobile device after you, they could gain access to your bank accounts. To at least help prevent this from happening, many banking sites now time out after a certain number of minutes of inactivity, and do not save your information.

3. Use strong passwords and change them often

Strong passwords have a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Many banks now require your online accounts to carry a password meeting these requirements. You should also change your password every couple of months, and use different passwords for all of your online accounts so that hackers will have a more difficult time gaining access to your information.

4. Use two-factor authentication whenever possible

Two-factor authentication is the next level of security that many banks are now offering. Usually, you give your bank your phone number, and it texts a code when you log in online. Some banks also enable you to request a code via email or a phone call. You must enter this code in addition to your password to log in. This way, even if someone has stolen your password, they cannot access your accounts. It’s another hoop to jump through, but it could help keep your money safe, so set it up if your bank offers it.

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The irrational things about trust

The obvious and rational equation is that being trustworthy plus being transparent will lead you to be trusted. Verification of trustworthiness should lead to trust.

This makes sense. Being trustworthy (acting in a way that’s worthy of trust) plus being transparent so that people can see your trustworthiness—this should be sufficient.

How then, do we explain that brands like Coke and Google are trusted? The recipe is secret, the algorithm is secret, and competitors like DuckDuckGo certainly act in a more trustworthy way.

In fact, trust often comes from something very different. It’s mostly about symbols, expectations and mystery.

Consider the relationship you might enter into if you need surgery. You trust this woman to cut you open, you’re putting your life in her hands… without the transparency of seeing all of her surgical statistics, interviewing all previous patients, evaluating her board scores.

Instead, we leap into surgery on the basis of the recommendation from one doctor, on how the office feels, on a few minutes of bedside manner. We walk away from surgery because of a surly receptionist, or a cold demeanor. 

The same is true for just about all the food we eat. Not only don’t we visit the slaughterhouse or the restaurant kitchen, we make an effort to avoid imagining that they even exist.

In most commercial and organizational engagements, trust is something we want and something we seek out, but we use the most basic semiotics and personal interactions to choose where to place our trust. And once the trust is broken, there’s almost no amount of transparency that will help us change our mind.

This is trust from ten thousand years ago, a hangover from a far less complex age when statistical data hadn’t been conceived of, when unearthing history was unheard of. But that’s now hard-wired into how we judge and are judged.

Quick test: Consider how much you trust Trump, or Clinton, Cruz or Sanders, Scalia or RBG. Is that trust based on transparency? On a rational analysis of public statements and private acts? Or is it more hunch-filled than that? What are the signals and tropes you rely on? Tone of voice? Posture? Appearance? Would more transparency change your mind about someone you trust? What about someone you don’t? (Here’s a fascinating story on that topic, reconstructed and revealed).

It turns out that we grab trust when we need it, and that rebuilding trust after it’s been torn is really quite difficult. Because our expectations (which weren’t based on actual data) were shown to be false.

Real trust (even in our modern culture) doesn’t always come from divulging, from providing more transparency, but from the actions that people take (or that we think they take) before our eyes. It comes from people who show up before they have to, who help us when they think no one is watching. It comes from people and organizations that play a role that we need them to play.

‘Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun’ by William Shakespeare.

Will you believe if someone says death can bring happiness and peace? Even the words ‘death’, ’happiness’ and ‘peace’ seem to not fit together. But when we read the extract “Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun”, we probe into what death really is. Is it only capable of giving sadness and heartbreaks?

Starting with, this poem is an extract from Shakespeare’s play ‘Cymbeline’. It is sung by two characters Guiderius and Arviragus to the dead in the play. The characters take turns to sing the stanzas and lines of the poem.

The first stanza addresses the dead and it tells the dead not to dread the summer’s heat and winter’s harshness. The dead are set free from all the worldly responsibilities that weigh down the living. The dead needn’t worry about making ends and other materialistic needs. Only death treats all humans equally. Be it the children of high born stations or the ones who work as chimney sweepers, all return to ashes on their death. 

“Golden lads and girls all must,

As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.”

The dead needn’t fear the anger of the crown (a ruler by differing from him/her) and are free from the clutches of the tyrant. The dead needn’t worry about opposing and are free from all restraints. They needn’t worry about having proper clothes to wear and a proper meal to eat. And to them everything looks equal, be it big or small. All men powerful, intelligent, strong and valiant will meet the same end – they all return to dust. As the dead cannot bring anything along with them that can distinguish them from others, all are treated the same.

“The sceptre, learning, physic, must

All follow this, and come to dust.”

The dead needn’t fear ‘the lightning flash’ and ‘all-dreaded thunder stones’. They needn’t fear such natural elements and can rest in peace. When living are prone to be talked at by the society, the dead can sleep well without fearing to meet the society’s standards. They needn’t heed to the slanders and other harsh criticisms. The dead have completed all laughing and crying. They have nothing more to cry about and so they can rest well after their tiresome journey on the earth. Death doesn’t look at the age of the person it takes with it. Young or old all return to dust.

“All lovers young, all lovers must

Consign to thee, and come to dust.”

Now, the singers wish that no exorciser disturb the dead from their sleep and no sorcery to enchant them. The singers hope that ghosts will restrain themselves from approaching the dead and that no evil shall come near them. Nothing will dare to approach, for death has come and they pray that the grave should be known by all.

“Nothing ill come near thee!

Quiet consummation have;

And renowned be thy grave!”

When we die, we will be relieved of our burdens and worry. We experience a peace we have never experienced. Death comes with heartbreaks but also with relief. Hence, death may need not always be associated with negative feelings.

The repetition of the phrase, “and come to dust” in all the three stanzas, shows the temporal nature of human life. Everything that is material has no value on death. So, instead of running after material prospects, we should focus on eternal prospects. We can take nothing with us on our death but we can always leave something for the world. Thus, we should be kind and happy while living, and so we can leave happy memories for others on leaving.