Protecting yourself from fraud on Cyber Monday

It's Thanksgiving week and once the turkey induced naps are over many people's thoughts turn to just one thing:  Shopping! But Black Friday isn't the only day to get great deals, in the past few years a new shopping day has become popular - Cyber Monday. This is the new trend of online retailers offering big sales the Monday after Thanksgiving. Many people choose to wait to buy big ticket electronic items on Cyber Monday instead of fighting the crowds in stores on Black Friday. Just like any other time you make an online purchase, it's important to follow a few simple rules to stay safe. 

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Use Credit or PayPal

Most online retailers require a credit card or a credit card endorsed debit card (like a Visa CheckCard) in order to make a purchase. However, some sites will allow you to pay with your checking account. It's best to run transactions as credit. As we covered last week, credit card companies offer more protection against fraud than many banks. 

Use only reputable sites

When buying anything online, it is important to make sure you're buying it from a well known and well respected seller. That means either from the website of a store, preferably one with a location near you in case something goes wrong, or from sites like Amazon and eBay. On any website there should be information on how to contact customer service, and it should be more than just an email address. 
Special Note: When purchasing items on eBay or Amazon, be sure to notice where it is being shipped from if you want to get it in time for Christmas. Some places ship from Hong Kong or Japan and it can take up to 2 months for your item to come in. 


Use Secure Sites

If you're making a purchase online, you should be on a secure site. How can you tell it's a secure site? There are two ways to know if the site you're on is secure. The address will start with https:// with the "s" signifying secure. There will also be a small padlock on the bar. These indicators may only show up when you start to checkout, but if they are not on the page it's best to avoid entering any personal information. 

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Use Common Sense

As we said last week, like most things in life, common sense can be your best defense. 

  • Don't use sites that do not have a good reputation
  • When making purchases, sites should never ask for social security numbers. 
  • Check your bank account before and after you shop and monitor it closely for a few days after.





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Cooking Apps just in time for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away and that means that everyone's mind has turned to one thing - food. And yes, thankfulness. But mostly food. Today we're going to discuss a few cooking related apps that could help your busy Thanksgiving go a little more smoothly.

Paprika 

The Paprika app is one of the most popular recipe apps available, and for good reason. This app allows you to enter your own recipes or use it's built-in browser to save recipes from anywhere on the Internet. It also allows you to make meal plans, and create grocery lists. There is a one time fee for purchasing the app. You can also sync your information on all your devices. That means you can see your recipes and grocery lists on your smartphone, tablet and desktop all at the same time. 

Available on: Apple and Android - including Kindle and Nook
Cost: $5 for the mobile app, $20 for the desktop version. 


            




BigOven - www.bigoven.com

This app is similar to Paprika, in that allows you to input your own recipes or save recipes you find on the Internet. It allows you to plan meals and make grocery lists as well. BigOven also has a feature that allows you to enter up to three foods that you already have around the house and it will give you recipe suggestions using those ingredients. Need an emergency side dish for that office potluck you forgot all about? Big Oven can help you find a recipe for ingredients you already have around the house. 

Available on: Apple , Windows Phone, and Android - including Kindle and Nook. It's also available in a desktop app or via their website. 
Cost: FREE,  allows in-app purchases





Food Network In the Kitchen 

This app is more specific than the others as it focuses on recipes from Food Network stars. If you love Food Network and want to try recipes you've seen, this is the app for you. It allows you to find recipes by Food Network Star, Show or by ingredient. You can also browse recipe categories, like Healthy, Quick & Easy, or for a specific holiday or event. This app, unlike BigOven and Paprika does not allow for meal planning or creating grocery lists. 


Available on: Apple and Android - including Kindle.
Cost: FREE 


                      







Dinner Spinner from AllRecipes


AllRecipes.com is a very popular recipe website and now they have a mobile app available! This app allows users to search for specific recipes from thousands of recipes or use the fun "spin" option to get inspiration in the form of a random recipe. This app, unlike BigOven and Paprika does not allow for meal planning or creating grocery lists. 
Available on: Apple  Windows Phone and Android - including Kindle.
Cost: FREE

 




Find more ideas for great Cooking related apps here on Digital Trends.

What's your favorite cooking app? If you have an idea for blog posts or questions/comments, you can contact us on Facebook or Twitter

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New Tech Tuesday: Hoopla - a new service for borrowing movies, tv shows, audio books and music.

Have you heard about Hoopla? It's the new service from Bossier Parish Library that allows you to check out movies, television shows, audio books and full albums of music on your computer or smartphone. In this edition of New Tech Tuesday, we'll be going over how to borrow materials from Hoopla on your PC, tablet or smart phone.

Step One: Getting to Hoopla

The first step to checking out items on Hoopla is, of course, getting to the Hoopla site. On your computer this means going to http://www.hoopladigital.com. On your tablet or smart phone, you'd download the Hoopla Digital app. 

Step Two: Signing up 

The first time you visit to Hoopla site or app, you'll be asked to sign up for an account. This is free and only takes a few minutes to complete. We'll walk through each step below. The first screen shows you an Overview of the Hoopla service and lets you know what is required to use it. You'll need your library card number and PIN, and a valid email address. 


After the Overview, you'll be taken to a screen that will allow you to choose your library. Most of the time, this will automatically show you all of the libraries in your area that use Hoopla. Choose Bossier Parish Library and click Next. 



After choosing Bossier Parish Library, you'll be asked for your library card number and PIN. Bossier Parish Library does require a PIN, so make sure not to leave this blank. 
(Hint: The PIN is the last 4 digits of your library card number)



The final step in creating an account is entering your email address and creating a Hoopla password. This password is for Hoopla only so Bossier Parish Library staff won't be able to access or reset this password for you. If you do happen to forget this password, you can reset it through the Hoopla website. 


That was the final step! You should now see a Welcome to Hoopla page that gives you basic information on your Hoopla account, including the number of titles you can borrow every month. 


Step Three: Borrowing Materials

Now that you're signed up with an account you're ready to start borrowing titles! You can browse by type or search for a specific title or artist. When browsing you can switch between types at the top. There are several categories including New titles, Top titles and genres. Click on the cover picture to find more info or to borrow the item. 



When you've decided what you'd like to borrow, click on the cover picture. This will take you to a screen that will show you more details, including how long you'll be able to borrow the item. Click the borrow button to add the item to your account. 


Once you've borrowed the item, it can be found under the My Titles. This page also shows you how many more titles you can borrow in the month. 



Using Hoopla on your mobile device or tablet

Using Hoopla on a mobile device is exactly the same as the steps laid out above, though the appearance of the screens may be slightly different. 


Are you excited to start using Hoopla? We are. We're even listening to the album pictured above while typing this! 

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Question of the Week Answers

We have had a few requests that we post the answers to the Question of the Week contest. Below you can find the questions and answers in the order in which they were posted. 
Thank you to everyone who participated! The winner will be announced on Friday, November 7th. 



Bossier Parish Library has many databases that cover several different subjects and services – from resumes to literary articles. Name any three of the databases available at Bossier Parish Library.
Answer: Auto Repair Reference Center, Cypress Resume, GALE, LearningExpress, LegalForms, Literature Criticism Online

Bossier Parish Library has been a big part of the community for several decades, but how many exactly? What year was the Bossier Parish Library first proposed?
Answer: 1940

Meeting rooms are available for public use at all but two of our library branches. Which two branches do not currently have meeting rooms available? 
Answer: Koran and Haughton

The online catalog at BPL gives much more detailed information than card catalogs of the past. You’ll need those details to answer this week’s question. What is the total running time of The Lego Movie (2014)?
Answer: 101 minutes

BPL Reference librarians are available by text. What is the keyword  that you should include in your text?
Answer: bossparlib

What is the name of the service that allows Bossier Parish Library Patrons to download free music?
Answer: Freegal

BPL’s DVD collection includes several TV series – both new and classic. How many discs are included in the Castle Season 1 DVD?
Answer: 3

BPL patrons have access to several genealogy websites and databases. Name two of these. 
Answer: Ancestry.com, Collections Database, Footnote/Fold3, HeritageQuest, Names & Place Index

Bossier Parish Library has several free online services available for our patrons! What is the name of the service that can help you learn a foreign language?
Answer: Mango

The Historical Center houses artifacts and records relating to the history of Bossier Parish. It is an important part of our library and our community. What year was the Historical Center added on to Bossier Central branch? (We’ll give you a hint. This week’s answer can be found under the ABOUT tab on the library homepage.)
Answer: 1999

According to the BPL catalog, what is the page count the large print edition of David Baldacci’s King and Maxwell  (2013)?
Answer: 422

Bossier Parish Library now has a brand new way to learn a new language online! What is the name of that service?
Answer: Pronunciator

BPL patrons have access to eBooks and audio books online using their computer, eReader, tablet or Smartphone. What is the name of the service that provides access to these books?
Answer: Overdrive. Will also accept GreenGold

Bossier Parish Library offers library cards to people of all ages. How old do you have to be to get an adult library card?
Answer: 18

Bossier Parish Library offers many exciting and helpful books, DVDs, programs, and resources at no cost to our patrons. Where does the library get its funding?
Answer: a millage tax