Smartraveller site and advertising links a need to register and travel insurance which isn't necessary.

I was quite surprised to see on TV last night an advertisement which implied people needed to register on the government's Smartraveller site with an implied connection to travel insurance. I just felt this was quite misleading.

I consider travel insurance to be a must when travelling overseas. Don't just take what is offered by the travel agent or they'll sting you. You can save hundreds by shopping around. Do check what the insurance offers/covers, because people may be surprised that some of those activities you're looking forward to may not be covered.

I noticed a well known credit card bragging about their travel insurance and shortly after I'd checked the free travel insurance you get with the credit card, I was approached in a shopping centre by a person flogging the card and saying how good their insurance was. However to me the level of cover was totally inadequate. Much to my surprise the credit card I currently have has excellent travel insurance cover so no additional cover may possibly be needed as long as I purchase everything using the credit card. However, before travelling I'll still want to make sure I'm covered to the level I think I'm covered for with the credit card. Insurance companies are always looking for ways to minimise making a payout, so make sure you understand what you are covered for.

As for registering and subscribing to the government's Smartraveller website, I just don't see the need and there is certainly no connection to the travel insurance you decide on.

By the way, don't trust those ads you see for cheap travel insurance when searching on the internet . I checked some out and their cheap offers to find they were nearly double what I could find elsewhere. You'll find after you search for travel insurance, ads keep popping up because that's how Google works. You a tracked for what you search for and as you move from site to site, sites displaying Google advertising will show you ads relating to what you've searched for, often many hours after you performed your search. Many people get freaked by this online tracking. As long as you are aware it's OK, but if you aren't, you may just get tricked with one of those overpriced "cheap" travel insurance offers.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au

Crown Casino offer - Selected main meails for $9.95 plus 5 hours of free carparking.

I noticed the advertisement on TV for the Crown Casino meal offer. As with ads on TV often you miss part of the information or the full details of the offer. I noticed the free parking but didn’t notice the meal part of the offer. To make it easier I decided to find out more information on the offer.

Enjoy a selection of satisfying mains for just $9.95... Read More

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Google reveals the difficult levels 33, 65, 97 and more in Candy Crush

If you think you’re stuck on a level on Candy Crush perhaps it may not just be you. Perhaps it is the designers of Candy Crush have made the level difficult to make you part with your hard earned cash.

Global Candy Crush Addiction Earns Game Maker $670,000 a Day... Read More

Interestingly if you type into Google, “Candy Crush level”, you’ll see a list of suggestions and you may not be surprised to see the level you’re stuck on is the same level as many others enquiring about. You can probably bet that many people will simply pay up to continue playing their game. Rest assured however you don’t need to. With a bit of reading by searching ‘Candy Crush’ on Google you’ll probably find the tip you need to progress to the next level. That’s how I helped one person who was stuck on level 33.

If you find yourself tempted to make a payment you should probably also ask if perhaps you may have become addicted. Those small amounts add up just like playing the pokies, and from what I’ve read, game developers are using the same techniques to make money as used by the pokies.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Approached by the developer of the Fuel Monitor App in Apple Store

I received an email from the developer of the Fuel Monitor App available in the Apple Store. Initially I thought this was simply spam. But the reality is if another business has a legitimate sales pitch should they be treated as a spammer. It is a hard call. Email is treated differently than snail mail. Of course the app developer could avoid the issue of being a spammer by sending a written letter. Then there is no question. Always be careful when approaching others using email that you have not had contact with. Even if you don't consider what you are doing is spam, they may.

I decided the offer of using their database (which contains figures for 60,000 vehicles) is not what the Petrol Cost Calculator is about. As the developer stated the user has to enter their figures manually and they usually don't know their information. However that is the whole point of the Petrol Cost Calculator. Of course you can look up the manufacturers figures. The government also provides such figures. But the reality is I don't believe figures are that useful. They are at best a guide. The problem from what I've read are tests are performed in a laboratory following a serious of test over short time intervals. Yep, that really equates to how we drive out cars – NOT. In addition I've read manufacturers even remove weight from the cars, such as the spare tyre, to improve the fuel consumption figures.

How you drive and where you drive will significantly affect your fuel consumption. How many passengers you have in the car will affect your fuel consumption. To me the best way to find out realistic figures is to perform some simple tests. Again the result is only a guide because the environment we travel in is quite variable, but they measure 'your' fuel consumption, in 'your' vehicle, as 'you' use it, and to me that is what I want to know. Not what someone else supposedly provides to the government as I simply don't trust that figure. I've seen the energy rating figure for two washing machines differ where in fact the physical machines were identical, except one was labelled 7 litres and the other 7.5. The energy figure used the information as provided by the manufacturer which means one machine was wrong.

It really isn't that hard to record the distance you travel on the back of the receipt for three tanks of petrol, average those figures and you then have a good estimate of your car, in the current condition, for how you drive. Not totally accurate, but a better figure than something determined in a laboratory. If you'd like to have a better estimate of the cost of using petrol in your car use the Petrol Cost Calculator and use the L / 100 km Calculator. If you just want to get a quick idea, check the government site, or even use and estimate and enter the figure into the Petrol Cost Calculator. No need to install yet another app in you mobile device. Just visit the Petrol Cost Calculator which you can find on the JustLocal site www.JustLocal.com.au.

Happy motoring.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Bank of Queensland Bonus Internet Savings account rate drops below special term deposit rates.

A while ago I decided to move funds from Bank Of Queensland's term deposit to the bonus interest savings account they offered. I'd watched the bonus interest savings account for some time and the rate offered exceeded the best term deposit rate. Today I checked and the interest rate offered on the bonus interest savings account has fallen below the lowest special term deposit rate.

I've found in the past you need to watch the rates Bank of Queensland offer. With the term deposits I found they'd vary the best rate so if you simply left your money in a 6 month term you could end up with a significantly lower rate. Every time your term deposit comes up you should review the rates for the various terms. Now with the bonus savings rate having dropped so far it is time to review whether or not you should reconsider using the term deposit if like me you've moved to the bonus interest savings account.

I hope this helps others improve their deposit return in this time of quite low rates.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Search Australia - Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. - Google Custom search blocked by Google.

Today I went to use Search Australia, as I have hundreds of times in the past month and nothing happened. I entered 'g' followed by the search term, which sends the request to Google, and the page just sat there. No results were displayed. Nothing happened at all.

Google for some reason as a result of something I had done decided to see if I was a real human or a robot. Unfortunately I couldn't see Google's message. I decided to use the mobile version of Search Australia (clicked on the link) and then I was presented with the following screen.

I then entered the characters as requested and was able to continue with my searches. If you find when using Search Australia and after pressing Search the page doesn't display any results, suspect that Google may have blocked you. Click on the link for the mobile version of Search Australia, perform a search and you may receive the test to check if you're human.

Alternately if you just want search results, use Bing or Yahoo by entering 'b' or 'y' before your search term.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

Alert: Adobe Customer Care - Important Password Reset Information

I received an email today from Adobe Customer Care regarding resetting the password for use of their site. From what I've recently read, Adobe has been hacked and possibly up to 38 million users may have been affected.

Even though this does appear as a legitimate notification, as is my usual recommendation, do not click on a link to go to a website. Open your browser and then enter the website address you wish to go to. Even though this email may be legitimate, the next could be a fake email from a scammer.

If you do receive an email from Adobe and use the same password across multiple sites, you should reset your password on all sites and where possible and appropriate use different passwords for each site. The reason is if hackers have obtained the password file, there is a possibility it will contain your email address and your password and that combination is now often used across multiple sites.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Welcome to Big Brothers Pizza Bulleen

Looking for an excellent pizza at an excellent price. Check out Big Brothers Pizza in Bulleen. You can now find Big Brother Pizza on the Bulleen page of JustLocal (www.JustLocal.com.au/3105), or view the Big Brothers Pizza menu at http://www.justlocal.com.au/clients/big-brothers-pizza-bulleen/.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

Last in Melbourne Cup 2013

It appears RUSCELLO, number 24 was last in the Melbourne Cup for 2013.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require help with your computer.
No problem too small.