Savings | College Student Discounts

Secure Your Facebook Connection with HTTPS

March 31, 2011 By Mister Academic

If you’re a Facebook user, and if you access your account through an unsecured Wi-Fi network, your Facebook profile could be vulnerable to session hijacking by a nearby hacker with packet-sniffing tools (like Firesheep). Unsecured wireless connections are convenient (at places like Starbucks, bookstores, or that free wireless network on your college campus) …but they come with serious security risks.

At home, you can (and should) prevent this type of attack on your personal wireless network by using WiFi encryption on your router. We recommend WPA2, which is much more secure than the weak, outdated WEP protocol.

But, when you’re using free public Wi-Fi, you’re probably not using WiFi encryption, so you’re vulnerable. On these networks, you should avoid sending and receiving any personal data (including passwords and email), unless you’re using HTTPS – which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. HTTPS provides an encrypted communication between your browser and the network web server.

HTTPS is the protocol that your browser uses automatically when you are doing online banking, or shopping at major Internet retailers like Amazon. It’s also available for Gmail users. And now it’s available on Facebook as well.

Secure Browsing on Faceboook

Randy Abrams, security expert and blogger at ESET has reported on a number of Facebook security issues in the past. Recently he posted a short tutorial to show how to increase your Facebook privacy settings. You should follow his instructions, so you can use HTTPS automatically when you log into Facebook – then you can update your profile securely when you’re on a public WiFi network.

But be aware that Farmville, Mafia Wars, and other Facebook apps may compromise your secure connection, not to mention your privacy.

Visit the “Threat Center & Blog” at ESET for more information on keeping your data private and your computer secure. ESET is famous for its highly-rated antivirus products: According to PC World it’s “…the best proactive protection by far.”

College Student Discounts
USA jcoverdale@gmail.com

Filed Under: Savings, Security Tagged With: ESET, Facebook, Internet, security

Coupon Codes for eCampus.com

February 19, 2011 By Mister Academic

Do you want to save money on textbooks? Don’t buy books — Rent them!

If you’re a college student who wants to save money by renting textbooks, you can save even if you rent from eCampus.com using coupon code discounts:

Enter code HOHOS to receive $3 off orders over $60 from eCampus.com
Enter code TWINKIES receive $4 off any order over $80 from eCampus.com
Enter code ZINGERS to receive $5 off orders over $100 at eCampus.com
Receive an extra $2 on your buyback with the coupon code EXTRA2

With eCampus.com you have the choice:

Rent textbooks
Buy a new textbook
Buy used textbooks, and
Sell your books back when the semester is over.

For full-time students the cost of books can be as much as $1000 per semester, so book rental can save a lot of money…. and you can have more fun on Spring Break with more cash in your pocket.

Textbook rental is a great option for general-ed classes (when you know you will not need to keep the book to use as a reference in future classes). Renting books also is a great choice for new editions of textbooks, when used copies are expensive, hard to find, or non-existent.

For example, a popular algebra textbook — College Algebra (5th Edition) by Robert F. Blitzer is about $112 at Amazon.com (ISBN: 0321559835):

College Algebra (5th Ed) by Robert Blitzer at Amazon.com

College Algebra (5th Edition, 0321559835) by Robert Blitzer at Amazon.com

The same textbook can be rented for only $32.19 at eCampus.com:

College Algebra (5th Ed) by Robert Blitzer at eCampus.com

College Algebra (5th Edition, 0321559835) by Robert Blitzer at eCampus.com

Visit eCampus, use coupon codes for maximum savings, and have a successful semester — and have a great Spring Break!

Filed Under: Savings, Textbooks Tagged With: college, Coupon, discount, student discount, textbook rental

Which Version of Microsoft Office 2010 is the Best Deal for Students?

October 7, 2010 By Mister Academic

We located Three Great Deals for Office 2010, available only to college and university students:

1.    JourneyEd: Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 for $79.95 (digital download)
2.    JourneyEd: Office Professional Academic 2010 for $99.95 (physical media)
3.    Buy Office Professional Academic 2010 at the Microsoft Store for only $99.95. Students Only! Click Here

If you’re a college student interested in purchasing Microsoft office 2010, you might be bewildered by the different options available to you.

The Many Versions Of Office 2010

With Microsoft’s latest release of their flagship application suite—Office 2010—Microsoft has tried to simplify their office product line; currently they list several editions of Office on their website.

In this article, we’ll tell you which versions of Office students should avoid …and which version of Office to buy— if you want the best value for your money.

Versions of Office 2010 College Students Should Avoid

Office 2010 Home and Student
Includes 4 programs: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010
Suggested Price $149.99

Office 2010 Home and Business
Includes 5 programs: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010
Suggested Price: $279.99

Office 2010 Professional
Includes 7 programs: Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, Access 2010, Publisher 2010
Suggested Price: $499.99

There is nothing wrong with the editions of Office 2010 listed above, except the price. All three of these versions of office are available to the general public, and can be purchased at retail locations or online. For example, here’s a recent snapshot of the most popular Office 2010 products Amazon.com:

The Office 2010 Store at Amazon

As you can see, the prices on Amazon have been discounted… But you can do better!

College Students Get Special Discounts

College students are able to buy through special academic channels, and get all seven components of Office 2010 Professional, for a much lower price than the minimal “Home and Student” version sold in stores.

More Choices. Lower Prices.

Here are three offers, with prices prices ranging from $79.95 – $99.95. Any of these should meet the needs of most students; all of them include Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, Access 2010, Publisher 2010.

Students attending colleges and universities which participate in a special licensing program with Microsoft can purchase Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 for $79.95 – this offer is available through select academic retailers, such as JourneyEd. Visit JourneyEd to see if your school qualifies.

Students attending college or university in the United States can qualify to purchase Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010 for $79.95 (purchasing online from Microsoft and obtaining their software through immediate digital download). View this offer to see if you qualify

Students who wish to have their software on physical media, rather than rely on digital download, may be interested in purchasing Office Professional Academic 2010 for $99.95 from JourneyEd. JourneyEd special pricing: Office Professional Academic 2010 for $99.95

Buying from either Microsoft or JourneyEd will ensure that you are obtaining legitimate, licensed versions of Microsoft Office 2010. Both of these sellers are affiliate sponsors of this site. JourneyEd is one of the oldest and most trusted academic retailers on the Internet.

Sources:
Microsoft.com: “Microsoft Software License Terms for Microsoft Office 2010”
Microsoft.com: “Which suite is right for you?
Microsoft.com: “Office 2010 Frequently Asked Questions”

Filed Under: Office, Savings Tagged With: academic, Coupon, discount, Office 2010, savings, student discount, students, upgrade

The Lowest Academic Price on Microsoft Office 2010

October 2, 2010 By Mister Academic

College students save money on popular software by taking advantage of big academic discounts. In this post, we’ll explain how to get the best deal on Office Professional Academic 2010, for only $79.95.

Microsoft Office 2010 is the leading suite of productivity applications, and the favored choice among students and businesses.

Fact: According to Forrester Research, 80% of enterprise customers use Microsoft Office, and only 8 percent use alternatives (like StarOffice, Google Apps, etc.) Source: PCWorld.com

Student Save Money with Academic Discounts

Student Save up to 85% with Academic Discounts

Many students know that Microsoft Office skills can help them in their job search after graduation. And buying software before graduation saves money. So, students often ask, “Where is the best place to get the lowest academic price on Microsoft Office 2010?”

According to Microsoft, the suggested retail price for Office Professional Academic is $99 — an amazing price for such a powerful software suite. But a lower price is available. For those who just want the link, here it is…

Students Only – Microsoft Office Professional Academic 2010 for $79.95 Buy Now!

$79.95 is best price we have seen is for Professional Grade Office …a price available to any student with an email address from a US college or university. This is a legitimate deal from Microsoft itself (hosted on microsoft.com servers).

Now, if want more facts before you buy, we’ll give you some information about the what you get, the purchase process and your options.

What Office applications are included?

There are a number of versions of Microsoft Office 2010 on the market. Typically, the preferred version is Microsoft Office Professional, which includes:

Word 2010
Excel® 2010
PowerPoint® 2010
Access® 2010
OneNote® 2010
Outlook® 2010
Publisher 2010

The full retail version of this product has a suggested retail price of $499. However, the academic version contains all the same programs, and has a suggested retail price of $99.

However, the best deal available, just for college students, is only $79.95 (for qualifying students who choose instant delivery by digital download).

Will your computer support Office 2010?

Before you buy, you’ll want to make sure that you have a computer capable of supporting the latest version of Microsoft Office. According to Microsoft, Office 2010 requires one of the following operating systems:

Windows XP (must have SP3) (32-bit)
Windows 7
Windows Vista with Service Pack (SP) 1
Windows Server 2003 R2 with MSXML 6.0 (32-bit Office only)
Windows Server 2008

If your computer is relatively new, and you have one of the operating systems listed above, you should have no problem. If your not sure, be sure to check Microsoft’s website for the official Microsoft Office 2010 system requirements

Which students are eligible for the special price?

This offer is available only to college students who attend an educational institution geographically located in the United States.

The easiest way to qualify for the offer is to use a student e-mail account ending in EDU – although students without an official college e-mail account may be eligible if they attend a pre-qualified institution. In addition, students must be actively enrolled in at least 0.5 course credit and be able to provide proof of enrollment upon request. For complete details, please see the official terms and conditions.

When will you get your new Office 2010 software?

How about today! After purchase, the software is available immediately through digital download. You should have a fast Internet connection for the download… DSL or Cable Modem internet are fine, but downloading through a modem connection is not a good idea. You can also obtain the software on optical media for an additional $13.00 — as protection against future hard drive failure.

To activate your new software you will need your personal product key, which you will receive by email at the EDU email address used to verify your eligibility. Be sure to make backups of both the product key and the downloaded setup file, in case you ever need to re-install your software.

Worth a look…

Students who don’t qualify for the offer described above should check out our sponsor JourneyEd, the leading vendor of academic discount software on the Internet, offering Microsoft Office Pro 2010 as low as 79.98.

FYI: JourneyEd’s lowest price may only be available to students who participate in a special licensing program with Microsoft: Student Select and Student Select Plus. Students from schools that don’t participate in that program can buy Office Professional Academic 2010 for a slightly higher price. Benefits of shopping with JourneyEd include a wide selection of software and discounts, the ability to qualify without an official school email address, and customer support by telephone or Internet.

Sources and Notes

PCWorld: “Forrester: Microsoft Office in No Danger From Competitors”
Microsoft: Microsoft Office 2010 system requirements
Wikipedia: Microsoft Office 2010

The special student discount described in this article is made available as an official Microsoft promotion through Digital River. All prices are in US dollars. The terms and conditions of this offer may change at any time. Digital River is an affiliate sponsor of this site.

Filed Under: Office, Savings Tagged With: academic, Best Price, Office 2010, savings, student discount

Protect Your Computer From Rogue Security Software

September 12, 2010 By Mister Academic

One of the biggest threats facing home computer users is Rogue Security Software. Students can be especially vulnerable to this form of malware, because they tend to…

Be heavy users of the World Wide Web
Make extensive use of e-mail, and
Frequent social networking sites.

Any of these legitimate activities has the potential to expose users to Rogue Security Software, either directly or indirectly.

Students depend on their computers for academic work — so it’s important to be able to recognize this threat and take protective action. In this article, we will describe a real-life solution using a popular, free removal tool to remove the fraudulent “Rogue Security Suite.”

What is Rogue Security Software?

Rogue Security Software is a form of malware; usually, it is part of a scam which attempts to deceive users into paying to remove fake or simulated virus infections. In some cases, Rogue Security Software actively installs other malware on the user’s computer.

Rogue Security Software usually relies on some form of social engineering, whereby the user is tricked into installing or authorizing the bogus antivirus application.

Once installed, Rogue Security Software will make false claims about having detected viruses, Trojans, or other malicious software. Frequently Rogue Security Software will interfere with the normal operation of the computer, for example: preventing the user from launching other applications, or blocking access to legitimate antivirus web sites.

How Does Rogue Security Software Get Installed?

According to Symantec, “There are two main ways that rogue security software programs can get onto a user’s computer… either through an intentional download, where the user is persuaded to download and install the program, or via an unintentional [a.k.a.“drive-by”] download, where the download occurs without the user’s permission or knowledge.” (Symantec: Report on Rogue Security Software Whitepaper)

In order to bypass the security features of modern browsers and operating system, Rogue Security Software is often delivered as a Trojan horse, and may be disguised as:

A browser toolbar
An e-mail attachment
A multimedia player codec update
A free online malware scanning service

Often the Rogue Security Software will disguise itself as either a part of the Windows operating system, or a legitimate antivirus application.

Here is an example called Rogue Security Suite that we recently encountered:

With the generic name "Security Suite" this fraudulent application attempts to fool users into thinking it has found urgent security risks. (Click for larger image)

By the time this screenshot was taken, the Rogue Security Software had added a setting to the user’s registry which caused it to be activated whenever the computer was booted.

How To Remove Rogue Security Software

The first step in protecting your computer is to have a reliable antivirus application, with automatic, daily updates, which continually monitors your computer to protect it from malware.

Some of the solutions we have previously featured include Norton from Symantec, ESET NOD32, and Avast! Antivirus.

All three companies offer useful trial versions for evaluation purposes, and avast! Free Antivirus is a fully-functional antivirus solution (for personal, non-business use) that is popular with college students.

Another excellent product that also has a fully-functional free edition is Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware. The free version of this product was able to successfully remove the Rogue Security Software shown in the image above, with the following steps:

When the malware first appeared, the computer was shut down and disconnected from the network before rebooting.
Using a different, uninfected computer, we downloaded the latest free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Because the Rogue Security Software had added itself to the computers auto-runs, we rebooted the computer in Safe mode to prevent it from launching.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware found and eliminated the rogue from the following location: %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\

These steps are presented as an example of the approach to take to remove the threat. More detailed information is available at the sites listed below. Just remember: Don’t pay the companies that create Rogue Security Software! Use legitimate antivirus software.

The entire threat shown above was removed at no cost, using the free version of Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware.

Take advantage of the avast! Try-Before-You-Buy policy…
Most products available on a trial basis for 30 days:
avast! click here to try for 30 days.

Worth A Look:

Save now – 25% off – 2 year license of ESET Smart Security 4
Save now – 25% off – 2 year license of ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4
Save 10% on renewals of ESET NOD32
Save 10% on renewals of ESET Smart Security

Filed Under: Savings Tagged With: antivirus, security, utilities