Archive: Business & Technology

Buffalo, NY — Credit card transactions are changing. As of October 1st, businesses without a Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) processing device, or chip card payment processing, could face an unexpected financial burden. Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York urges all businesses that accept credit cards as a form of payment to act quickly if haven't done so already.

Next week, American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa will no longer accept liability for fraudulent credit card charges. Instead, that responsibility will fall with either banks or businesses — whichever party is the least compliant. Many big retailers switched credit card terminals to reduce the risk of fraud. Many credit card companies and banks have been issuing the chip credit cards for the past several months. BBB and experts confirm that many small and independent businesses remain exposed, which could result in thousands of dollars in penalties. A recent survey conducted by Wells Fargo and Gallup found that 49 percent of small business owners in the U.S were unaware of the pending liability shift.

I always feel like downloading a major operating system (OS) release is like getting a new phone or computer.  Sure the hardware is the same, but it looks and acts differently.  Lately the major updates in the Apple stable have not looked or acted particularly differently, but they add features and capabilities that soon grow on you.  That was how I viewed the iOS 9 upgrade on my phone a couple of weeks ago, and that is my first impression of El Capitan, the new OS X for the Mac.

On the heels of the iOS 9 release, El Capitan was released Wednesday.  El Capitan is the latest version of OS X, the operating system that is used on the Mac.  Like iOS 9, this free upgrade for Mac users strives to make computing experiences on both mobile devices and computers similar and compatible.  Don't start installing El Capitan unless you have a lot of time.  Even if I hadn't misunderstood a black screen and waited over an unnecessary extra half hour, the download and install took well over two hours.

Clarity Eye Care of Cayuga Heights and Ithaca Primary Care of the Village of Lansing held a 'Back to School Bash' September 22.  The neighborhood event was geared at families, offering pizza and cold drinks, face painting, temporary tattoos, a bounce house for kids, and eye-themed music.  Visitors were treated to a free retinal scan and blood pressure screenings.

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If you’re a football fan, chances are you’ll see commercials for ‘daily fantasy sports,’ or DFS during this Sunday’s games. Two popular DFS businesses, DraftKings, Inc. and FanDuel, advertised heavily last weekend, prompting inquiries to Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York. BBB says fans who want to play DFS should check the fine print on any website before signing up or risk losses they didn’t expect.

The concept seems simple enough: You pick a team of players that you think will do well that day and submit your lineup to the website. Players are awarded points based on performance. Some commercials claim that people are winning thousands of dollars playing with these websites, but recent news articles show some players end up leaving empty handed.

O-Neh-Da Vineyard, maker of O-Neh-Da Authentic Sacramental Wine and premium Finger Lakes Vinifera wines, will be the wine of choice for use by Pope Francis during his two day visit to New York City on September 24-25th 2015.

O-Neh-Da Vineyard is America's oldest dedicated sacramental winery, founded by the first Bishop of Rochester, NY Bernard J. McQuaid in 1872.  Now celebrating 143 years of service to Catholic, Orthodox, Episcopal and Lutheran churches, O-Neh-Da produces only 100% pure grape wine for the Altar and dinner table.

Wednesday was the big day for iPhone users.  A new leaner, meaner iOS was promised, and if you checked for updates after 1pm you found that iOS 9 was ready for download.  This was big news for many iPhone users, because Apple promised the new system would help speed up all models of iPhone back to the 4S, and iPads going back to the iPad 2 and iPad Mini 2.  It would improve battery life and include a new low power mode.  The operating system itself would be almost 1/4 the size (1.3GB) of iOS 8 (4.58GB), making the upgrade faster and requiring significantly less free space on your device than previous upgrades.

So promptly at 1:02pm Wednesday I initiated the upgrade.  I expected it to take longer than normal to download, because... well... everyone was downloading it.  But the smaller size mattered, and it finished downloading after just over ten minutes, significantly less time than when I upgraded to iOS 8 last year.  But it was obvious that everybody was rushing to get the new operating system right away, because when I tried to initiate the upgrade on an iPad at five past one, Apple's servers were already so busy that the upgrade failed multiple times.  About an hour later I was able to get it to work.

Buffalo, NY -- Rochester-based Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and related companies (Lifetime Benefit Solutions, Lifetime Care, Lifetime Health Medical Group, The MedAmerica Companies and Univera Healthcare) announced it was the target of a data breach that may have compromised the personal information of over 10 million people. Many of those people who could be affected are in Upstate New York.

Excellus is starting the process of mailing letters to people who may be affected. Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York has advice for those who may have been compromised by the Excellus data breach:

Batavia, NY– Tompkins Insurance Agencies has been ranked as the 82nd largest independent property/casualty agency by Insurance Journal. This is Tompkins Insurance Agencies premier appearance on Insurance Journal’s list.
 
Agencies included on Insurance Journal’s top 100 list are ranked by total property/casualty agency revenue for 2014 and comprises only those agencies whose business is primarily retail, not wholesale.  This year’s report was published in the August 3 issue.
 

Buffalo, NY  – The financial decisions college students make now can affect their credit for years to come. Their age and life stage make them susceptible to identity theft and other financial ploys. However, knowing how to fight fraud on campus may not be at the top of their priority list. Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York urges parents to help their children take simple steps toward protecting themselves on campus.

“Young people are tech savvy, but may not know how technology lends itself to fraud,” said Warren Clark, BBB of Upstate New York president. “It’s critical for college students to understand that they are a target for identity theft, scams and credit card offers. If they make a wrong move, these financial matters can affect their credit for years to come.”

A new national study by the Economic Policy Institute ranks the greater Ithaca area (Ithaca MSA) as the 8th most expensive metropolitan area in the country for a two-parent, two-child household (more expensive than San Francisco and only a few notches below New York City).

EPI's Family Budget Calculator, which includes data for 618 communities throughout the country and is updated through 2014, estimates that a two-parent, two-child household would need $92,603 to attain a modest standard of living in the Ithaca MSA.  Both of the adults in this household would have to be fully employed and earn over $22/hour each to manage this family budget. The Calculator also estimates basic family budgets for seven other family types.

Cyber crime and cyber terrorism continue to be the fastest growing threats to individuals in the United States.  The latest cyber attack involving the Joint Chiefs of Staff at what was thought to be the ironclad Pentagon, changes the game and should have us all deeply concerned for the National Security of the United States.

With our digital infrastructure so vulnerable to attack, it is more vital than ever that we protect ourselves and our personal information from the very real danger of hackers. Recent high profile breaches have been emblazoned on our television and computer screens only to have those in power reassure us that the breaches have been dealt with and our information is again protected.

Upscale Remodeling Corp. of Ithaca has been awarded 'Best Of Houzz' for Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design, for the second year in a row. The 23-year old full-service remodeling company owned and operated by lifetime resident Stephen L. Nash, Jr., was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction. Design award winners' work was the most popular among the more than 25 million monthly users on Houzz, known as "Houzzers." Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a 'Best Of Houzz 2015' badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional's work to learn even more about that business' popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community.