A vast majority of online banking customers use their login credentials to access other websites, sharply increasing risk of attack to their bank account, Internet security firm Trusteer said on Tuesday.

About 73 percent of Internet bank clients share online banking password with non-financial sites, and 47 percent re-use both, their online banking user name and password, British firm Trusteer said, citing a sample of more than four million users.

So, whatever you do

DO NOT USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR INTERNET BANKING THAT YOU USE TO LOG INTO OTHER WEBSITES (like GMail, HotMail, etc)

And, if you DO, change your password NOW!

This safety advisory brought to you by the fine folks at… oh, wait, it wasn’t, it was just brought to you by me

Be safe!

via: IOL Technology

Here it is for YOUR benefit:

Activate your Vitality Clicks ClubCard benefit today and win a personal trainer package worth R6 000

Would you like to get the best of both worlds with Vitality and Clicks? Well, five lucky Vitality members could stand a chance of winning a personal trainer package worth R6 000 by activating the Vitality Clicks ClubCard benefit today!

You’ll also get up to 18% Cash-back at Clicks!

If you’re a Vitality member, you’ll qualify for Gold Clicks ClubCard status and get between 8% and 18% Cash-back, depending on your Vitality status. As you interact with Vitality by getting active and making healthier choices, you’ll earn Vitality points. The more points you earn, the higher your Vitality status and the greater the rewards you qualify for.

Join today!

If you do not have a Clicks ClubCard, call 0860 254 257 (Clicks) or collect an enrolment form in-store to activate this benefit. If you already have a Clicks ClubCard activate your benefit here.

If you activate your Clicks ClubCard before 31 March 2010, you could stand a chance of winning one of the personal trainer packages. Click here to find out more.

Go for a Vitality Check at a Clicks pharmacy and earn Vitality points

You can also go for a Vitality Check at a Clicks pharmacy in the Vitality Wellness Network. The Vitality Check is a range of screening tests that help you identify your risk for lifestyle-related chronic conditions. The Vitality Check costs R105 and this amount is paid for you from the Discovery Health Screening Benefit.

Kind regards
The Vitality Team

Vitality HealthStyle (Pty) Ltd is an authorised financial services provider. Terms and Conditions apply.

I thought it might benefit everybody to share it.

Pay your DiscoveryCard by debit order and never miss a payment

You can choose to pay a set amount into your DiscoveryCard by debit order every month. This way you don’t need to worry about making your payments every month or your account going into arrears because you miss a payment.

How a direct debit order payment works

Your selected bank account is automatically debited every month with a set amount and your DiscoveryCard is credited with that amount.

You can select if you want to pay the minimum, full or fixed amount each month.

• Full: the full amount is the total amount outstanding on your DiscoveryCard.
• Minimum: this is the minimum amount you need to pay on your DiscoveryCard – it is shown on your DiscoveryCard statement every month. This amount varies from month to month.
• Fixed: you can choose a certain amount to be debited from your account. The fixed amount must be more than your minimum payment required.

Your debit order will go through on the payment due date on your DiscoveryCard statement.

How to set up a direct debit order

All you have to do to get the debit order form is to log on to www.discovery.co.za and select ‘Your DiscoveryCard‘, ‘Pay your account‘, and ‘Direct debit order”.

You can then select ‘request form‘ and we will send it to you. Please fax the completed form to 011 539 2273.

After we receive your completed form, your debit order will be active within 14 days.

You can use ANY Credit Card!

What’s so awesome about this gift? Well, you can buy it at the last minute for one.

Audiobooks are the best thing I’ve EVER bought myself. PLEASE do yourself a favour and read why here:

Audiobooks Make Traffic Enjoyable

The best thing is, you can try it out for free, just signing up on Audible.com. You get 2 free audiobooks to keep forever. (I must warn you though, it takes a special/gifted person who can listen and enjoy an audiobook while driving without getting too distracted).

Anyway, if you’re looking for other ideas, go pay this page a visit:

Christmas Gift Ideas

And maybe contribute some of your own.

Merry Christmas and happy shopping!

Next time you go there, and you have a DiscoveryCard, make sure you hand it to the cashier FIRST!

I’m not sure why the system works this way, but they seem to need to swipe the card BEFORE ringing up the purchases for them to be counted as a Vitality Purchase.

Why Vitality and Pick n Pay?

Looks like any time you purchase a healthy food item from Pick n Pay they will give you a refunded discount on that item.

I haven’t quite figured out what items count towards this because either we eat REALLY healthily in our house, or almost every food item gives you the discount. I’m obviously not complaining.

So, what types of purchases have you made recently where you got a good discount?

I’m sure you’re still wanting to spend BIG time at the Vitality Mall with your Discovery Miles.

If I can just remind you of one thing: SHOP AROUND!!!

Just because there are discounts at the Vitality Mall doesn’t mean that the items are cheaper. They tend to be more expensive to begin with. At least, that’s what I’ve found when shopping around.

The other reason these products are being sold on Vitality Mall is because they’re a little too old to sell in the shops. Take a look at the Sony items. Every time I get tempted to buy one, I notice that there are much newer (and improved) models in the stores.

Here are the items they’re promoting for mothers day:

• Buy the Vivienne Tam notebook for the fantastic price of R7199 (71 990 Discovery Miles),  save R300.
• Get the Sony W170 camera for the outstanding price of R2199 (21 990 Discovery Miles),  save R400
• Get the pink iPod nano 8G for R2299 (22 990 Discovery Miles) plus get a free wave cover. (I must admit, this is quite a cool gift. Would go well with an audiobook subscription)
• Get 10% off Yuppie Chef vouchers and equip your kitchen with the finest culinary tools.
• Save money by printing your own photo’s with the HP A526 Photosmart printer for only R949.(9 490 Discovery Miles)
• Order flower’s for your mom this Mother’s day and stand a chance to win flowers for her once a month for a whole year.

If you’re looking for other ideas, take a look at the article on Gifts for Mothers Day.

You better hurry, 2009′s mothers day is only a few days away!

The title says it all! And the excitement is just bubbling up inside me.

So, let’s see what’s on offer from the romantic people at Discovery Vitality…

Notebooks @ Cost

Wow, isn’t that the most romantic thing you’ve heard?

Maybe it’s so that you can use Instant Messaging to communicate with your loved ones. Or, write them emails?

Ah well, let’s see how they’re enticing us with this romantic deal:

Save, save, save with notebooks @ cost. Limited stock, so don’t miss out!

Prices seem to range from R6,500 to R15,000… Doesn’t sound too special to me.

Sony Camera

Capture those special moments with the Sony DSC- W130/S + 7’’ digital photo frame + camera case for the unbelievable price of R3 899 (38 990 Discovery miles).

Hmmm…. Great camera, not so cheap though.

Price on Kalahari.net: R1,999

Price on SA Camera: R2,199

Price on Discovery Vitality: R3,899

YOU do the maths!

Red iPod Nano 4GB

Get the Ipod nano 4G in red for R1 599, (15 990 Discovery Miles) save R300 plus get free tunebuds

Red is romantic. But this is no special deal. It’s the same price at Kalahari.net…

Oprah O Magazine

Subscribe to O, The Oprah magazine for only R194 (1 940 Discovery Miles) and receive a free Clinique product. Stocks are limited so subscribe today!

ANYBODY who thinks an Oprah magazine is a romantic gift needs their head tested.

Unless it’s you. I can’t stand the woman, but that’s just my opinion. What’s yours?!

HP Printer, Fax, Scanner

Make life easier with this HP J4660 all in one printer at the fabulous price of R1699 (16 990 Discovery Miles).

Personally I would rather get the more expensive version of this. But maybe that’s just me…

Roses and Ferrerro Rocher Chocolates

Order Red Roses from our NetFlorist range before the 10th of February and receive a free box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

FINALLY! Something a LITTLE bit romantic!

This is at least something I would recommend. Though take a look at some REAL Valentines ideas, and you’ll see some better deals and ideas:

Valentines Gift Ideas for Men

Some Valentines Day ideas

Good luck this Valentines Day!

A LOOOOOOOONG while!

But, here’s how you can apply for your DiscoveryCard.

Applying for the DiscoveryCard

Applying for your Discovery Credit Card is pretty easy, especially if you’re already a member of the Discovery Medical Aid.

Here are the 6 steps to apply for your card (taken from the Discovery Website):

Step 1: Call 0860 11 CARD (2273).

Step 2: Apply telephonically for your DiscoveryCard.

Step 3: We’ll check your credit rating real-time and send you a quote, which tells you which DiscoveryCard you qualify for, how much your limit is and how much your fees are. All applications are subject to credit and affordability assessments.

Step 4: Accept the quote by signing and faxing it back to us. Don’t forget to attach a copy of your ID and proof of income.

Step 5: Receive your DiscoveryCard and get your great benefits! You’ll get your card within 14 days after you accept the quote. You need to contact us to activate your DiscoveryCard once you receive it.

Step 6: Get your PIN in the post two weeks later so you can withdraw cash from your DiscoveryCard.

Nice and easy isn’t it. Next I’ll write about how to know what DiscoveryCard you qualify for. Whether it’s the Blue, Gold or Platinum!

If you log onto Discovery’s website you can go to the Vitality Mall (if you’re a member of Vitality) to use your Discovery Miles and purchase certain products.

This month’s “Specials” are as follows:

HP 550 Notebook for R8429

Not sure if this is a bargain or not, but according to Discovery that’s a saving of R300. WOW!!! Oh my word, R300!!! Quick, go buy it now! NOT!

Read until the end of this article to see why I’m so skeptical about the savings to be made.

Sony Handycam plus free bag for R4489

Apparently that’s a saving of R500. I suppose a 10% saving is not too shabby, but not really great.

10% off Occhiali Vouchers

OK, a 10% discount on sunglasses.

HP Deskjet for R389

Printers are a rip-off to begin with, considering you have to buy ink cartridges for the price of the printer afterwards.

This “special” has a saving of R120, which is over 20%. But once you have a printer, you have to pay for ink, and the lowest priced ink on the Vitality Mall is R170. And it goes up to R410… Not so cheap now!

Weber One Touch Silver for R1579

Save R200. I personally prefer Cadac and not JUST because it’s proudly South African. I mean, who better to make a braai than a country that invented the braai! Everybody else just plain old barbecues.

Nintendo Wii with Sports Pack for R3499

I think this is a saving of R100 on the previous Vitality Mall price. I know this because I was looking to buy one from the Vitality Mall, and decided not to.

Good thing too, because I bought one 1 week later at a toy shop in Sandton (Johannesburg) for R3299! And I had it the same day, with no delivery charges (unless you start to complain about the petrol I used, but I was in the area for something else).

Worth It?!?!

So, are these specials worth it? Not sure, it depends on if you need to waste your Discovery Miles or not.

Discovery Membership Card

You Discovery Credit Card also acts as you Discovery membership card (or Discovery Medical Aid card) all in one.

This is cool because you no longer have to carry around 2 cards.

Partner Store Cash Back

You get discounts (acting as cash-backs) from certain stores.

Depending on your membership level (i.e.: Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum) you get a percentage of your purchase deposited back onto your credit card, ranging from 8% to 20%.

Example stores that participate:

• Nandos
• Pick ‘n Pay
• Reggies toy store
• Stuttafords
• Exclusive Books

Travel Discounts

Not only do you get discounts when you shop, but you can also get up to 22% discount on international travel, depending on your status. AND, on top of that, if you have Discovery Miles, you can use those to get further discounts on your travel.

Home Loan Discounts

If you migrate your home loan over to First National Bank, you can get up to 10% of your monthly payments deposited back onto your Credit Card.

Motor DiscoveryCard

You can have a Garage Card linked to your DiscoveryCard, and this card has it’s own benefits:

• Flat tyre. International SOS will arrange to have the spare tyre put on the car<\li>
• Flat battery. International SOS will help you get the vehicle started, if possible<\li>
• You lock your keys in the car. International SOS will pay for a locksmith to retrieve the keys<\li>
• You run out of fuel. International SOS will come to your rescue, but you’ll pay the cost of the fuel.<\li>

Other DiscoveryCard Benefits

If you can think of any other benefits that I’ve missed, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.