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How to choose a VPN for your Windows PC

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VPNs for Windows

Confused !! The top 5 best VPNs for Windows in 2020? If you’ve had a Windows computer for any amount of time, you know how important it is to secure your data and make sure you have a stable and secure internet connection at all times, especially if you work from your computer.

Being that almost every VPN caters to Windows users, there are an endless amount of options to choose from all of them may not be the best option for you specifically, that’s why in this guide we’re going to break down the top 5 best VPNs for Windows in 2020 (source).

Top 5 VPNs for Windows PC:

1. Express VPN

Express VPN is second to none when it comes to VPN services. They have a huge global network expanding across 94 countries and their powerful online protection will have your information safer than it’s ever been. The unlimited bandwidth means you won’t suffer decreased connection speeds while the included split tunnelling feature allows for you to stream foreign movies and shows while in other countries. All of the components that make up an amazing VPN service. That makes it best VPNs for Windows.

Pros

  • One of the most secure VPNs available
  • Unlimited geo-restrictions
  • Split tunnelling
  • Kill Switch

Cons

2. NORD VPN

If you’re looking for a VPN with no service restrictions, NORD VPN may be the service for you and the best VPNs for Windows. Nord has an application for every device from Windows to Linux while supporting up to 6 devices at once. With over 5500 servers in 58 countries, there’s no shortage of locations to choose from and their award-winning customer support is available 24/7 through email support, the help centre and live chat ensuring that your needs are met and problems are solved around the clock.

Pros

  • Wide variety of locations
  • Convenient payment methods
  • Easy-to-use
  • Safe content access

Cons

  • Can have client interfacing issues
  • Cannot choose specific servers, just server locations

3. IP Vanish

IP Vanish has a vast amount of features that make it one of the best VPNs for Windows options out there. The 256-bit AES encryption is guaranteed to keep your data protected while the zero traffic logs keep no record of your login data or browsing history. You’re able to switch from one server to another with ease and unlimited restriction while having up to 10 devices on the network at once. IP Vanish also comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee, making this service a no-brainer.

Pros

  • Access to censored websites
  • 10 simultaneous connections on multiple devices
  • 256-bit AES encryption
  • 7-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • No free-trial
  • Servers can have some issues with movie streaming apps

4. Cyber Ghost

Cyber Ghost is a fast and reliable VPN service that has been around for 15 years and has continued to remain one of the top VPN services available. Global coverage lets you choose servers from all over the globe while ensuring maximum security with the military-grade encryption. The no-logs policy means that a record of your browsing history will not be kept and if for any reason you don’t like the service as much as you thought you would, you have a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Pros

  • Access to over 5700 servers worldwide
  • DNS and IP Leak Protection
  • Automatic Kill Switch

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Doesn’t work in China

5. VyprVPN

Vypr VPN has a number of useful features that all serve the purpose of protecting you while online. This VPN has not one but multiple encryption protocols to protect your privacy, along with their zero log policy which means your browsing history is not recorded and sold to third-party providers. You can stream with lightning-fast connections and from a number of global servers. A great VPN service that is sure to have your browsing stress-free in no time.

Pros

  • Unlimited streaming
  • No log policy
  • Kill switch

Cons

  • Not a lot of advanced configuration
  • No ad blocker

3 Important Factors To Consider Before Choosing a VPN

Security

This is the most important attribute of a VPN because if this fails it defeats the entire purpose of investing in a best VPNs for Windows in the first place. Your potential VPN should be strict on security and have certain parameters in places such as a 256-bit AES encryption and a no-log policy as well.

Support

You may encounter an issue or two, especially if you are new to using VPNs, so having a support team in place that can actually help to solve your problems and that you can effortlessly reach, is extremely important. A great VPN service will have multiple touchpoints for support including email and live chat.

Server options

Another great sign of a quality VPN service will be their server options and locations. You should have a vast amount of options to choose from when it comes to location all while still being able to maintain a speedy connection.

Conclusion

There are more options now than ever before in terms of best VPNs for Windows. To make sure you are choosing a great and reliable service you should look for attributes like server options, great customer support, and top-notch security. All of the reviewed VPN services have all three of these components and more and are truly some of the best VPNs for Windows in 2020.

A Guide on How to Save Money Using a Smartphone

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save money
PIC: Save Money from a Smartphone

Everyone wants more money. Social networks are filled with advertisements for the training of successful millionaires. Every second learns the business, investment, trading, or mining. But we have other information. To get rich, first, learn how to save money. Your wallet will be thicker if you spend it wisely.

To save money yourself and save for the really necessary thing, you do not have to deny yourself everything and intentionally sew your savings into a mattress. Sometimes it’s enough just to use personal helpers, which fit into a normal smartphone. For example, your smartphone can not only help you conduct money exchange but also give you tips on saving money.

Let’s talk about how mobile apps teach you to handle money correctly & save money too.

Why is it hard to keep a budget?

Psychologists talk about fear. People are afraid to look at their income objectively. When you save, you get the feeling that there’s just no money. But the truth is better than credit and debt. If you learn how to spend money, you’ll learn to increase it and save money too.

In turn, financial experts have identified several reasons for unwillingness to record expenses:

Lack of goals

People don’t know how much to earn and what to budget for. They don’t know how much income is spent on food, rest, clothing, and whether to save.

Incorrect timing

You need to analyze the costs after 2-3 months of recording all data. Usually, patience is lost, as it is difficult to record every purchase.

No analysis

Fixing the data is not enough. It is important to understand where the money is spent and which budget lines to cut. If spending 40% of your income on entertainment, it is more correct to cut spending to 20%.

Negative information

Alas, but budget management causes unpleasant emotions. Many come to the conclusion that they spend money, get upset, and do not want to keep statistics. This is the wrong approach. With a cold head, accept the truth and try to correct the situation.

Negligence

You have to write down all the expenses. Many people do not record small purchases, but in reality, they can take away substantial funds.

Complicated tools

Notebooks, formulas, programs on your computer are tiresome or a person just forgets to write down. So it is better to use mobile applications. Make a purchase in a store, immediately add costs to the application. You don’t have to keep the numbers in mind.

Top 5 budget apps

Monefy

Convenient cost analysis and forecasts of the financial situation. The interface is based on a diagram with a visual representation. Immediately comes an understanding of what you spend the most on. Data are edited and money is transferred between accounts in the application.

CoinKeeper

There is money accounting via bank SMS, i.e. no need to enter data manually. Automatic advice on how to save money. Integration with different devices. One of the most popular applications.

KeepFinance

Interesting breakdown of data. Shows the amount of money in your wallet that’s enough to buy. Convenient charts and reports on expenses and income, as well as information on credit cards, deposits, and debts.

You Need a Budget

All the above budget apps are about what has already been spent. And YNAB offers not only the software but also the methodology of financial management. The difference is that all the emphasis in this application is on planning your expenses and looking into the future. You define in advance what each cent will go for, and then you stick to the budget. And it really works.

Daily Budget

The Daily Budget will make sure that you have enough money to pay for the necessary things. The app keeps track of how much money is available for you to spend here and now. There are no complex statistics or fields that are difficult to fill in the Daily Budget. So the service is easy to use. Create budget targets, keep track of your expenses. Automatic advice on how to save money.

The application also contains tips on how to save money, which will help you spend less. Record monthly income and expenses regularly, so the application can calculate your daily spending limit. The overall balance will always show you how much money is available for purchases now.

Recommendations for use

  1. Test various applications. Read the reviews and create a list of applications. Use every 1-2 days. Choose the handy one and start using it all the time.
  2. Break down expenses into large groups. If you buy food in a supermarket and in the market, create one group “food”. You don’t have to crush the cost of many small folders. It’s easy to get confused and quit counting.
  3. Make the first conclusions after 2-3 months of accounting. There will be an objective picture of expenses before your eyes. It’s easier to understand how to reduce your costs and save money.
  4. Take all costs into account. Even small purchases in a few cents. Do not be lazy and immediately enter data into the application.
  5. Do not be afraid. Many people don’t want to face the truth and realize that they are mishandling money. Why is it always missing? Maybe because you spend 250 rubles a day, and the budget allows 200. Applications will put the budget in order and teach to do without extra credits.

AUTO EXPO 2020 Takeaway: The Dawn Of Electric Vehicles In India?

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Electric Vehicles
PIC:Electric Vehicles

Picture Credits

With carbon emissions attaining new highs each year, humans are compelled to move towards fossil fuel alternatives. Auto Expo 2020, held in Delhi, showed us the glimpses of a ubiquitous electric cars future. 

Electric Vehicles are very significant to get off a century-old fossil fuel addiction, we have to redefine the way we live our daily lives as the majority of our life leisures are somewhere connected to fossil fuels. 

Out of everything we do, our constant need to move around is causing earth a lot more damage than we think. Vehicular emissions are one of the significant contributors (14%) to global carbon emissions.

However, to tackle this severe problem world governments took an oath to reduce their carbon emissions drastically to suppress the visible effects of climate change. 

Due to climate change, global warming has peaked. Global temperature rise has created a hysteria around the world. With each passing year, temperatures around the world are touching new highs.

Indian Economy Reliance On Fossils:

Global temperature rise can be devastating for India and the Indian economy. As our economy and a large part of our population rely on agriculture. To support our Agri economy, Himalayan glaciers are crucial, which feeds us and our river systems.

Therefore we have to start taking extreme measures towards a future without fossil dependence. One of the vital ways to get to a future with carbon emissions under control is to change the way we travel and transport goods. 

Therefore the future of public and private transportation solely depends upon electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. This year’s annual, “Indian Auto Expo 2020,” showcased the electric future and India’s plan to achieve the global carbon emissions goals.     

According to the current dynamics of fossil fuel use over India. Coal and oil are two of the most significant pieces of the whole pie. Thus it’s almost impossible to think of a future without fossil fuels. Instead, we have to increase our reliance on renewable forms of energy.

What Auto Expo 2020 Taught Us About Electric Vehicles?

Electric Vehicles,AUTO EXPO 2020,fossil fuel

Picture Credits    

Bharat Stage VI or BS6 

BS6 is the first dagger the Indian government took to make sure electric vehicle adoption gets a required boost. A BS6 compliant vehicle is said to be 25% cleaner. Thus this is the right step in the right direction towards a cleaner future. 

Bharat stage norms are strictly implemented without any prejudices. After April 2020, vehicle manufacturers are barred from selling BS4 vehicles. Further ahead manufacturers will be penalized if the BS6 compliances are not met. 

How will BS6 help with electric vehicle adoption?

All new vehicles carrying BS6 tags will see a substantial price hike—this is strategically done to decrease the gap between electric and internal combustion engine vehicles.  

Govt. subsidy:

All around the world, to increase the electric vehicle adoption govt subsidies are very common. However, India has a peculiar exception in the EV (electric vehicle) govt subsidy. Indian govt will only provide subsidy on commercial three and four-wheel vehicles.

On the other hand, only a personal electric two-wheeler can avail subsidy. This policy from govt is stringent, which needs further modification to attract price-conscious Indian consumers. Electric vehicles in a world dominated by gasoline vehicles is the last frontier for humankind. Transition won’t be easy but it’s necessary like we went from excel sheets to dedicated payroll software.         

Tax Rebates:

One thing which will further fuel this electric vehicle fire is the tax exemptions and rebates. Here, both the consumer and the manufacturer are the beneficiary. According to a govt statute, an electronic car owner is supposed to get close to 1.5 lakh income tax rebate and a total of 2.5 lakh exemption. 

While the manufacturers face lower custom duties on spare parts and tax breaks. Additionally, govt decreased the custom duty exemption on lithium-ion to 0%. Speaking of numbers, govt also dropped the GST from 12% to 5% to increase the adoption rate. Furthermore, govt also plans to purpose a no registration fee for a mass electric vehicle adoption.  

Electric vehicles efficiency matters:

According to google, efficiency can be defined as maximum productivity achieved with minimum wasted effort. Energy efficiency is one more advantage electric vehicles have over the internal combustion engine is efficiency.

Electric vehicles are fantastic ways to save money on fuel and long term maintenance as electric vehicles are almost three times cheaper than running an internal combustion engine cars. That’s a substantial difference which you can’t ignore, especially if you’re an Indian national. 

Electric vehicle startups

Alternate vehicle startups are popping up everywhere. In the modern world, ignoring the existence of these vehicles is impractical. And with home to the second largest population in the world, India needs electric vehicles more than the world needs them.

There are a lot of startups around this electric revolution. One such notable startup is Ather Energy. The Bengaluru company is one of the electronic two-wheeler manufacturers with a reliable product. 

Although they are yet to reach the masses. Ather Energy currently only sold its products in limited vicinities pan India. Mass adaptability and availability of the electric vehicle is still an issue which can hopefully change over the end of this year.   

Caveats of sustainable electric vehicles in India:  

  • Removing old internal combustion vehicles from the roads will be an extremely daunting task. Ford Model T world’s first mass-produced car started in the year 1908. That marks more than 100 years of reliance on mass-produced combustion engine vehicles.

Therefore, they will take time to flush out of the society. At this very moment, there are close to a billion cars around the world. While on the other hand, to balance these gasoline cars, there are a mere 3 million electric cars on the road.  

  • Building all new electric vehicle infrastructure will take an ample amount of time. Currently, in an area of 3.287 million km², there are a scanty 150 charging stations available. 

However, this scanty figure can change over this year as govt has planned to deploy a close to 5000 charging station by the end of 2020. Hopefully, govt can pull this off as this is important for the mass adoption of electric vehicles in India.  

  • Most of the known lithium-ion deposits are outside India. Thus we have relied on lithium-ion imports to make our emissions under a control dream come true. China currently fulfills our lithium-ion battery needs.

We need a state of the art battery manufacturing plant to attain feasibility in battery technology for mass production. Battery cell manufacturing will ultimately bring down the prices where battery vehicle is affordable by all.    

  • After this range anxiety will also slow down the EV adoption rate. The range is one of the most common reasons people don’t want to adopt electric vehicles all around the world. And the long-range battery is directly proportional to the cost of the electric car.  
  • Electric vehicle pricing vs. internal combustion vehicle pricing is also a significant caveat for people considering to buy an electric vehicle in the future. To put this point in perspective, let’s compare an electric car to an internal combustion engine. 

Tata Nexon can be bought as electric as well as internal combustion variant. The internal combustion engine, Nexon, starts from 9.66 lacks while, on the other hand, to own Nexon EV, you need an additional seven lakhs. High cost makes EV’s out of reach for the majority of the population. 

Conclusion:

With the clock global warming and climate change clock ticking. The Indian government has set a strenuous goal in mind. They want all the two and three-wheelers running in the country to be electric by 2025. 

Auto expo 2020, which happened in New Delhi, was aligned with this goal. You can see at least one electric vehicle on the floor from all the participating manufacturers. This expo laid a foundation and also diversified the electronic vehicle portfolio for Indian consumers.

Thus considering Auto Expo 2020, the dawn of electric vehicles in India is not wrong. 

About Guest Author

Divyang Metaliya is a Business Consultant at FactoHR, an India based HRMS Software solution provider.  He is a creative business strategist with more than 8 years of experience.

How Do Consumers Feel About Streaming Services and Cable TV

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Cable TV

Since the inception of streaming services, we see a rising trend of consumer’s inclination towards Netflix, Hulu, and other services, as opposed to Cable TV. The Cable TV providers have nothing to worry about yet but as soon as these services get better, we will definitely see a paradigm shift. So, what has contributed to this cord-cutting movement? The answer to that is simple. The ever-increasing monthly charges of Cable TV, the annoying contracts and their early termination fee, frequent power outages, and taxes/surcharges on top are too much to handle. If something goes wrong, there are unbearable wait times for Cox or Spectrum Internet Customer service

Secondly, the streaming services are more convenient. You don’t need any equipment to set them in the first place. A high-speed internet would do it all. However, there is one major downside to this. These streaming services don’t cater to Local channels for sports and news, yet. If you are an NFL fan, you will probably miss a lot of football. Moreover, there are so many options available in the market and honestly, it is quite difficult to pick one. 

Nevertheless, how do consumers feel about streaming services and Cable TV? We created a comprehensive guide on all the common concerns consumers have regarding these streaming services and Cable TV: 

Common concerns:

“Consumers want choice — but only up to a point”

Undoubtedly, the streaming revolution has proven to be a good thing for American consumers. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to companies like Comcast with a fortune of unwatched channels and awful customer service, streaming services like OneTwoStream are affordable and offer better flexibility.

However, there is one problem, there are so many of them. It was fine when things were simple. We had to choose between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Roku. Right now, everyone is coming with a streaming service of their own. Apple has finally realized the potential and a large influx of consumers towards these services. They have launched Apple TV. Peacock is set to launch this year. The companies are catering to all the needs of this industry by locking popular TV shows. This will generate an audience and take a sum off our pockets. 

At the end of the day, we’ll be left with dozens of streaming services and our monthly bill will resemble that of the Cable TV. This takes away the entire purpose of streaming services. If convenience and affordability were the factors that compelled consumers to get these services, they will not have any reason to stay if these factors are taken away. 

“The Sports content isn’t enough” 

This is true for people watching all the major American Sports Leagues. Cable TV caters every aspect of sports and streaming services are not doing much about it. Even if they get you National Sports channels, how are they supposed to get the local sports channels to watch college football and basketball? Moreover, YouTube Live TV somehow tackles the issue as they get you live coverage from all the popular sports channels at a cost. Then again, this is an additional subscription. 

“We can’t let go of cable TV easily” 

Despite paying more than a hundred dollars every month for cable, some people are still finding it difficult to do away with Cable TV. Firstly, even with the presence of 50 unwatched channels, they get 70 other channels that are difficult to forfeit. With tons of options available in the sports and news corner, no streaming service can replicate the entertainment Cable TV gets you. The NFL and NBA fanatics get ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, NFL RedZone, and other sports channels together in a package. This spares them the inconvenience of signing up for these channels separately. 

“Cable companies should control the ever-increasing prices of their plans” 

Even though the urgency of sticky to cable is hard to let go of, cable companies get to our nerves when the prices go up higher, month after month. There is nothing such as a flat rate. The taxes, fees, and surcharges are added to the monthly bills making it more difficult to cope with these hikes. 

These concerns have created mass confusion among consumers and until a better service pops up that addresses all these concerns or cable TV fixes all the issues, we see no light of hope.

How to keep your kids safe from cyberbullying

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Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is among the most common threats children, especially teenagers, have to face in the digital world. According to a study, 37% of youngsters have experienced cyberbullying, 23% admitted that they bullied someone online, and 60% have witnessed online bullying but chose to do nothing about it. Furthermore, only one in ten youngsters inform their parents or other trusted adults about cyberbullying. An important reason for rising incidents of cyberbullying is that smartphone and social media use has increased significantly over the past few years, especially for younger demographics. For example, more than 70% of teenagers use social media more than twice a day. Furthermore, because of social pressure, youngsters often remain silent if they are experiencing cyberbullying. This can have detrimental effects on their psycho-social development. Cyberbullying can lead to low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. Since smartphones are an integral part of their lives, finding a safe space is also very difficult. Self-harm and increased risk of suicide are major threats of cyberbullying that is not often considered either. In this article, we will identify the top four ways parents and educational institutes can protect youngsters from cyberbullying and control incidents of abusive online behaviour.

Education & Communication

Education and communication lie at the heart of creating a system to ensure that your children are safe from bullying in the digital realm. This requires parents to seek out information related to social media use, its importance for youngsters, the impact of cyberbullying, and other threats associated with an increased digital presence. Besides, youngsters are often more informed about their parents regarding the norms and values that influence their digital behaviour, so communicating with them and learning about it is of paramount importance. There is also a need to recognize that digital and offline lives are one and the same and that distinguishing between the two can be unhelpful. They should feel comfortable enough to discuss with you if they are experiencing online abuse. One angle that is frequently ignored in discussions over the topic revolves around what to do if your child is the one doing the bullying. Schools and parents need to educate and teach children digital manners the same way they teach them about decency and manners in the offline world. Additionally, regularly discuss matters such as privacy, cyberbullying, online frauds, mental health problems, digital safety, or tech-use addiction with children.

Promote digital safety rules

Electric Vehicles,AUTO EXPO 2020,fossil fuel

An effective way of minimizing the threat of cyberbullying is to make sure it is part of a clear system of rules that are followed by all members of the family or students at school. These rules are based on digital safety and refer to things such as privacy protection, managing, and reporting cyberbullying, limiting access to inappropriate content, and other similar issues. Inside the household, parents need to communicate and discuss with children honestly and openly about these rules and why everyone must follow them. Also, parents need to follow these rules themselves to act as good role models. Besides, it is important for the child’s physical health to create rules regarding device use as well such as limiting screen time at night. Restrictions, digital boundaries, and reasonable limits should ideally be a part of the rules-based system.

Observation

Observing and staying alert to changes in a child’s behavior can not only provide clues that they are experiencing cyberbullying but invite attention to other mental health problems as well. As a parent, it is your responsibility to track your child’s daily activities and recognize the signs that something may be amiss. They may be irritable, sad, show changes in diet or sleep, and demonstrate other behaviors. If you have a good communication system in place, you can approach, discuss, and effectively resolve the problem. Similarly, schools also need to ensure that teachers and other administrative staff can identify behaviors that hint at personal problems. They can go a long way in treating distress, and may even save a life.

Monitoring

Electric Vehicles,AUTO EXPO 2020,fossil fuel

Parental monitoring apps can also be very useful in helping to protect and prevent cyberbullying. However, monitoring apps should be used in conjunction with the other recommendations on this list. A monitoring app such as XNSPY has a slew of sophisticated features that can help both parents and school staff monitor the digital behaviour of a child. For example, monitoring apps can track messages exchanged via apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, Tinder, and others. Similarly, internet browsing history, bookmarks, and emails can be monitored too. Also, the XNSPY monitoring app offers two advanced features such as device remote control and instant alerts. With the remote control feature, you can lock the device, view a list of installed apps, and block those you feel are putting your child at risk of cyberbullying. The instant alert feature is particularly useful. You can add specific terms related to bullying to the app’s watch list, and it will instantly alert you if there is activity related to it. This can include messages and online searches as well.

Schools can also use monitoring app on devices owned by the institution. Monitoring apps for schools typically do not offer advanced features that may impinge upon a child’s privacy, but still offer features such as web browsing history. This can help teachers and staff to know if the child is in distress.

A combination of education, quality communication, clear digital safety rules, observation, and monitoring apps can help to enrich a child’s digital life while protecting against the harms of cyberbullying.

Solve External Hard Drive Not Showing Up Problem Without Data Loss

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After you plug in an external hard drive to a Mac computer, the Mac operating system will detect the device and automatically mount it. After that, you will be able to see and manage the external hard drive through the icon on the desktop, in Finder or in Disk Utility.

If nothing happens after you plug in an external hard drive to a Mac, you will probably worry that your important files on it may get lost. Actually, many reasons can cause a removable hard drive not appear on Mac properly such as bad connection, Mac settings, incompatible file system, disk corruption or physical damages. 

Not every cause will end up with disk replacement and data loss. Read through this post carefully to see how to save your external hard drive and important files. 

Before you can find the most relevant solutions, ask yourself a very simple question:

Are you familiar with the external hard Disk and the Mac

Scenario1: You know this external hard drive and the Mac well

If you have been using the external hard disk and the Mac for a while and the external HDD suddenly stops working on Mac this time you connected it to the computer, the causes should be limited within the bad connection and disk corruption. 

First, reboot the Mac. It is rare but also can happen that your Mac OS is not fully booting up. Click on the Apple logo and choose “Restart” to reboot the Mac into the desktop. Then reattach the external hard disk to the computer to see if it shows up now.

Second, verify the connection. If you have a good spared USB cord and USB port, use them instead. Remember to push the cord all way to the end of the port to ensure a firm connection. Then wait for a few seconds to see if the computer can detect the external hard drive this time.

Third, check the disk in Disk Utility. Disk Utility is the application you should take a look every time you have any problem with your both Macintosh HD and removable disks. The “Erase”, “First Aid”, “Partition”, “Restore”, and “Mount/Unmount” utilities in there are very useful for managing a detected disk. The keyword is “detected”. If your external hard drive is not even showing up in drive list in the left column, how could you manage it and access the files? That will be the worst-case because your external hard disk has physical damages beyond repairing on your own.

Forth, recover data and format the external hard drive. If your external hard drive just shows grey and can’t be mounted even after you manually mount it, there still is hope. Believe it or not, formatting a disk is the best way to fix nearly all logical problems on a disk. It will get rid of any malware, virus, file system errors or partition table damages, as well as saved files on a disk. If you don’t have a copy of the important files, it is highly recommended that you recover data from the failed external hard disk first using professional data recovery software for Mac.

Steps to recover data from an external hard drive using iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac:

  1. Download and install this data recovery application on Mac.
  2. Launch the software and select the external hard disk in the home window.
  3. Check “Deep scan” and hit “Scan”. (Deep scan will take up to hours to finish if you have a lot of files)
  4. Preview the recoverable files in case you saved them in similar names or versions.
  5. Select the files you want to recover and click on “Recover”. Do not save the recovered file on the troubled external hard drive.
External Hard Drive

After all files have been retrieved, use the “Erase” utility, which is “formatting” in macOS, in Disk Utility. If you are using the external hard drive cross Windows and macOS platforms, remember to choose ExFAT or FAT as the file system. 

Scenario 2: You just got this external hard drive and you are not using your own Mac 

If you are not familiar with the external hard disk and the Mac, it is very possible that the external hard disk is formatted with an unrecognizable file system or Mac’s settings are not proper. 

First, verify if the external hard drive is formatted with NTFS or Linux file systems on a Windows PC. Latest macOS or earlier OS X is not fully compatible with Windows NTFS file system and Linux EXT file systems. The external hard disk with incompatible file system may not be able to be mounted and shown up correctly on Mac. Right-click the icon of the external hard drive on a PC and choose Disk Manage to verify its file system.

Second, check if the external hard drive is APFS formatted and the Mac is running macOS 10.12 and earlier. APFS file system is the default file system in macOS 10.13 and later, so any Mac running macOS 10.12 and earlier can’t read and write to the APFS-formatted disks. Go to Disk Utility and select the external HDD. The file system information will be displayed on the right window. 

Tip: If you want to use the external HDD on the Mac, you will have to format it as instructed aforementioned. 

Third, change the settings on Mac’s desktop and Finder. This issue is very common when you are using another person’s Mac. Some people like to change the default settings to make the desktop and Finder more organized. Click on the “Finder” in the top menu bar and select “Preferences…”. The tick the box saying “External disk” under the “General” and under “Sidebar”. Then you can see the icon of the external hard drive on the desktop and on the left side of Finder. 

Conclusion

External hard drives are popular and useful portable storage devices nowadays. People use them to save and share family photos, favourite movies, downloaded music, working documents, etc. If you don’t see the external drive on Mac, it doesn’t necessarily mean your external hard disk is broken and your data is lost. Be sure to use the reliable data recovery software to get back those files, so that you can fix the problem without any data loss.

Top 5 ways Artificial Intelligence Supports Human Intelligence in Business?

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Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence is disrupting our life in general, by accommodating to our needs and paving way for more. The data-driven technology is all set to create more opportunities and improve our lifestyle. Artificial Intelligence has transformed businesses to make it more efficient and capable of offering more by increasing the agility of the processes and improving their capabilities. 

Businesses have been efficiently managing customers and supporting their needs in real-time with the help of Artificial Intelligence. 

At this moment, only 23% of the businesses have ably incorporated AI technology into their business processes. 

63% of the businesses claim that the need to reduce costs will require them to turn to AI. 

83% of businesses say AI companies is a strategic priority for their businesses today. 

Considering this, you would realize the AI is definitely very important to businesses & AI companies. 

Here, we will talk about all the different ways in which AI supports businesses to improve their effectiveness and manage the people.

#1 Supports your Customer Engagement Needs

For a long time, customer support has been connected with business efficiency and also with experience. If your business can answer the customer queries within minutes of their asking the question or can support them in their endeavours to use your service or product in real-time, then you have their ears. You will find that the customer who gets maximum support from the business stays on the business page longer and identifies with being the brand’s advocate.

AI technology can help businesses reduce the cost of hiring extra hands to be present with the customer in real-time. instead of hiring resources, training them for the support needs and then extending the engagement, you can incorporate chatbots into your business. These bots will have real conversations with the people, and offer support whenever needed.

In fact, with bots, you can introduce the right algorithm, which will allow them to understand what to answer and how to answer. So, every question asked will get a factual and human-like response, which will get you maximum engagement. 

Apart from being realistic in their responses, the chatbots tend to understand the human-like emotions and are also present in real-time. immediate responses can get you, maximum customers.

As a result, your human resources can intervene just when needed, which allows them to relax a bit while taking taxing calls, and they can even continue with the core tasks they are given. It will also reduce the hiring costs and improve the profits of your business. 

#2 Better Hiring Abilities within the Company

For a company, actively involved in ensuring that their hiring hands are skilled and can manage the tasks, it becomes quite a deal to scan through the resumes, shortlist someone who is capable, and identify the right people for the job.

It takes a lot of people and some amount of time away from the core to complete these tasks. However, things can improve if you have incorporated AI technology into your company. It can even help you with your HR-related activities, especially recruitments. 

You can add an algorithm into the machine that will help them understand the qualities and specifications you are looking for. The more human-like machine will also understand the core essence that you need from the resource you are looking to hire.

You can introduce these candidates to an AI technology influenced video interview where they have to pass through psychoanalysis and biometric testing. This in collaboration with your ideas and the defined algorithm will help the machine understand the capabilities of the person, and the capabilities you are looking for. It will help identify the opportune person for your company.

With the incorporation of AI, you will be able to meet the production demands of the HR department of your company and will be able to have a happier workforce.

#3 Better Decision Making with AI technology:

The one area where most people in the business sector fail is decision making. They are never sure what kind of decisions will help boost their business, and how to further their graph.

AI can analyze volumes of data and speed up the task of reporting with accuracy. You can get reports on all aspects of the business, and gain more visibility and control on the different data machines. This allows you to understand what is happening at a larger level. 

Artificial Intelligence, based on the algorithm fed into the machine and the defined data that is available in real-time, will analyze and forecast the future for the businesses. It will relay the information on the sales forecast, predictions for demand and supply and will eventually let you know how to move forward.

Essentially having Artificial Intelligence is like having someone tell you how your business is going to move ahead, and help you plan for the future. If you have effectively incorporated Artificial Intelligence into your business, you will know how much to stock, how prepared you need to stay, and what you need to do for better profits.

#4 Increased Supply Chain Efficiency

The supply chain is at the core of most businesses, and it is important for them to work through this process to make it more agile and transparent. The focus is on understanding the process from the start to finish, and attempt to get a better idea into how the supply chain works. It will help diligently work towards warehouse management, inventory management and drive the supply chain towards efficiency.

Artificial Intelligence can help attain this with the right directives and a good foundation for their supply chain. The inventory taking drones are just one example of how Artificial Intelligence can handle the data that they receive from the drone, and forecast the demand for the product. This will work in collaboration with other defining technologies.

Feeding the inventory list and making a smart device manage it will ensure that all the items on the inventory have been received, and the inventory is up to date. Data analytics will help manage the supply chain efficiently. 

#5 Assisting with Cybersecurity

The biggest concern for businesses that are automated and are digitally progressing would be fighting cybercrime and incorporating more security within their system. 

The main reason why businesses are concerned could be because there is no way to understand what could cause a particular fraud or how to detect the next cybercrime.

Artificial Intelligence will potentially build algorithms which are fed with the past data and the present conditions, and help detect the possibility of a cybersecurity fault including fraud detection, hacking possibility etc. the opportunities are endless, and artificial intelligence will keep upping the game to identify the ways to make the cyber world in business segment more powerful and secure.

Summing Up

Artificial Intelligence is causing the business world to be more operative, efficient, dominating and experiential. It will help the end-users gain more knowledge and improve their work efficiency with the systems. The progressive and predictive abilities of the technology will help businesses stay in full control of the processes, manage it efficiently and take key decisions in real-time, thus offering better experiences to the end-users.

At this moment, Artificial intelligence is still in the growing stage, and there is a lot to come from the way it will be incorporated. With time, Artificial Intelligence can help reduce repetition in the systems and boost productivity. 

About Guest Author:

Pradeep Makhija is a Digital Marketing Executive at Space-O Technologies, a mobile app development company. He likes to share his knowledge and experience with people around by writing articles related to the mobile app and the healthcare industry. In his spare time, Pradeep likes to explore and read more about the trends and needs of mobile apps in different sectors.