Are you Tokenized Yet?

Are you Tokenized Yet?

WHY?

When we shop online, say on Amazon / Flipkart, we make payments by using our Debit / Credit Card. We normally enter the card details, including card number, name, expiry date and the three-digit CVV. To make it more convenient for repeat purchases, the seller/merchant asks us for our one-time permission to store the card details on their server. If you give permission, the data is securely stored on their servers, with encryption and masking technology. Now, if their security measures are inadequate or broken-into by a hacker, your entire data, including Card numbers, CVV, etc. is vulnerable and susceptible to misuse, which could lead to a loss upto the value of your card limits.

Tokenization is primarily designed to prevent such online or digital breaches.

HOW?

At the Merchant end:

  • Since October 2022, RBI has mandated that the merchants will not save the customers’ card numbers on their servers. Instead, they will just store a generated Token Number for each Credit Card that they want to be used recurringly on their servers.
  • What it means is that a random Token Number will be generated by the system, which will be stored at the merchant end.
  • This Token Number will be a unique number which is a combination of the Credit Card Number and the Merchant. So, e.g. if you are shopping on Amazon, your Card will be tokenized and a unique Token Number will be generated.
  • This Token Number can only be used to make purchases with that Card on Amazon. It cannot be used on any other merchant website. Hence, a different, unique, Token Number will be generated each for Flipkart, Rediff or any other shopping site.
  • Your actual Card details will be held safe in a secure token vault.
  • This process will eliminate the possibility of hacking at the merchant end and even if the data is hacked, all that the hacker will receive will be a token number which will be unusable anywhere else and hence will be of no use to the hacker.
  • Thus, essentially, your card will have multiple tokens based on the number of Merchants you have tokenized your card with.

For the User:

  • As far as the user is concerned, the next time you pay online for something using your Debit or Credit Card, you will be asked if you wish to “Save Card as per RBI guidelines” or “Secure your Card”. If you respond positively, you will immediately get an OTP on your Mobile Number linked to your Card. Once you enter the OTP on the Merchant site, your card will be automatically Tokenized.  It is as simple as that! 
  • You will not have to remember your Token Number, nor will it be displayed to you.
  • However, you will still see the last 4 digits of your card at the merchant checkout page.
  • You can request tokenization of any number of cards at a merchant website.
  • Whenever your card is renewed, reissued or upgraded, you will have to visit the merchant page and create a fresh token by following the same instructions.
  • Each card that you have, including Add-on cards will need to be tokenized, since each card has a unique card number.
  • If you wish to delete the Token Number already generated at a merchant website, you just need to disable that card at the merchant’s website / app and your token number will be automatically deleted.
  • If your card has not been tokenized, it will be automatically removed from apps and websites and you will be required to fill in all your card details every time you transact on that merchant platform.

Security:

Tokenized transactions are more secure since the generated tokens are normally not reversible. In encrypted transactions, the process is reversible by decryption using a unique key and decryption is mostly necessary to complete each transaction. It is therefore felt that Tokenization is relatively more secure than encryption.

Thus, from now onwards, you can transact online confidently, with the assurance that your transactions are more secure than before.

Happy Shopping for this festive season!

Storage Sense Settings in Windows

If you find your hard disk getting full or your Windows computer getting sluggish, you might like to do some cleanup using Storage Settings in Windows.

Just head to Settings from the Start Button and look for Storage Settings. Once there, you may like to switch on Storage Sense. Having done this, you will be able to automate some cleanup options like:

  1. Uninstall unused or undesired apps and features
  2. Delete temporary files
  3. Manage large folders including videos and images
  4. Keep the clutter off your

PC You can select how often you want the cleanup process to run automatically and then leave it for your Windows Operating System to do the rest!

This relatively hidden feature, which is switched off by default, can go a long way to rid your PC of all unwanted and unnecessary files, and, in some cases, make it faster and more efficient. Do try it and feel the difference!

Numerical

NumericalNumerical presents the universe in numbers. It aspires to bring in an entirely different way for the world to consume, engage and interact with information. It does so by blending the 2 most powerful technologies of our generation – Data and Social Media.

From Agriculture, Art and Business to Science, Technology and Travel, everything in Numerical is expressed as a Number. They call it the ‘Numeron’  – a Number, text to describe the number, and optionally images, audio or video to further enrich the number.

Their basic philosophy is that numbers matter and bring objectivity in explaining and understanding time, space, proportion, value and impact.

The other distinguishing feature is the ability to engage and interact with each Numeron, through hooks called Actions – such as sharing emailing and comparing them with each other.

Numerical does not contain ads – and is free for now.  Future releases of the platform will support subscription models though. They still have a long way to go, but in my opinion, they have made a good start.

So, if you wish to analyse, compare, understand, and digest information in Numeric form, Numerical may just be the right prescription for you!

https://numerical.co.in

Android : https://bit.ly/3Ajqt1i

File-Converter

There are loads of file converters available online. Zamzar.com is one of the popular options which allows you to convert files from one format to the other. For using the online file-converter, you must upload your file to their servers and then specify to which format you wish to convert your file to. It takes a few seconds to perform the conversion and you can then download the file back to your computer when it is ready. Since this involves uploading your file to their server, many times users are worried about the privacy of their data.
Enter File-Converter – a very simple and light utility that will change the way you convert files on a day to day basis. Just head to https://file-converter.org and download and install the file converter. Don’t worry if you don’t see anything on your screen yet. Once installed, go to any folder, and right click on the file which you wish to convert. You will see the File Converter option in There are loads of file converters available online. Zamzar.com is one of the popular options which allows you to convert files from one format to the other. For using the online file-converter, you must upload your file to their servers and then specify to which format you wish to convert your file to. It takes a few seconds to perform the conversion and you can then download the file back to your computer when it is ready. Since this involves uploading your file to their server, many times users are worried about the privacy of their data.Enter File-Converter – a very simple and light utility that will change the way you convert files on a day to day basis. Just head to https://file-converter.org and download and install the file converter. Don’t worry if you don’t see anything on your screen yet. Once installed, go to any folder, and right click on the file which you wish to convert. You will see the File Converter option in There are loads of file converters available online. Zamzar.com is one of the popular options which allows you to convert files from one format to the other. For using the online file-converter, you must upload your file to their servers and then specify to which format you wish to convert your file to. It takes a few seconds to perform the conversion and you can then download the file back to your computer when it is ready. Since this involves uploading your file to their server, many times users are worried about the privacy of their data.Enter File-Converter – a very simple and light utility that will change the way you convert files on a day to day basis. Just head to https://file-converter.org and download and install the file converter. Don’t worry if you don’t see anything on your screen yet. Once installed, go to any folder, and right click on the file which you wish to convert. You will see the File Converter option in your context menu. When you hover over it, you will be able to see the types of files to which you can convert your original file. For example, if you right click on a pdf file, it will show you the option to convert it to a png file! Just click on your option and the conversion begins. It is as simple as that. No need to upload any files or install any more programs.
You also have the option to configure the presets and set your choices and the conversions are instant and free. You may choose to convert multiple files at once and either retain or delete the original files after conversion.
You may find some limitations in case of certain types of files or files which have very complex formatting, but for a major part of daily usage, this is a very sleek, swift and light utility.

So now, open up windows and let your productivity soar by using these tips on a daily basis. Good luck!

Everything

This is a very simple and extremely fast utility which allows you to search all areas on your computer in a jiffy.
Very often, we just remember the name of the file, but just can’t remember where it is buried in the plethora of folders and multiple sub-folders on our hard disk. For all you know, it may be lying on the external drive of our computer or even on a data card, inserted into our computer. Sometimes, we may not even remember the file name accurately, but we may just remember that it is a document file or an image file.
Windows 10 provides native search across the entire eco-system. But if you have ever tried it, it could get very tardy and time-consuming, especially if you have a large hard disk with multiple levels of folders.
This is where Everything steps in. Once you download and install Everything, just enter the name or part name of the file you are searching, and you will be amazed at the speed of the results. You can even search for part of the file name or for a type of file in combination with its name. The Advanced Search option allows you to specify matching case, any or all words in the file name and much more.
From the list of files displayed, you may double click any file to open it up.
You can download Everything from https://www.voidtools.com/ Try it once, you will never use Windows Search ever again.

Night Light Settings

All computer monitors emanate light which hits our eyes all the time. Prolonged usage could tire our eyes. Besides, after sunset, the blue light emanating from the monitor could even hurt our eyes adversely. Windows 10 allows us to change our display settings to reduce the strain on our eyes.
On any blank area of the desktop, right click with your mouse and then select Display Settings. In the Find a Setting box on the top left, just type Night Light and select the item displayed for Night Light. The Night Light Settings will be displayed. Here, you can turn Night Light on or off manually. You may also select the strength or intensity of the light when the Night Light is on, based on your comfort level.
If you wish to automate the process, you could set the time when Night Light comes on and when it would be turned off. Further, if you switch on your location settings for Windows, the system will automatically turn it on at Sunset Time and turn it off at Sunrise.
Pretty cool and comfy!

Sticky Notes

We have all used Sticky Notes some time or the other at the workplace. Windows 10 offers us digital Sticky Notes right on your desktop. Just press the Windows Key and type Sticky Notes and you will be presented with the Sticky Notes App. You may create as many Sticky Notes as you desire and paste them at your desired location on your desktop. You can format the Sticky Notes, add pictures, create bulleted lists, and assign some basic colours to your Sticky Notes based on your preferences and categorization of each or a group of notes.
If you are using a Microsoft Launcher on your Android phone, you will be able to sync the notes to your phone automatically and effortlessly.
This is a very simple tool to boost your productivity and comes in-built with Windows 10. Try it and use it – it is free, right on your desktop

Inbox when ready

inboxOur Gmail inbox is a great distraction. Mail keeps flowing in all day and all night. So, what if we could pause the inbox and receive emails only when we are ready for them?

Inbox when Ready does just that. It is a Chrome Extension which hides your Inbox by default and allows you to see it only when you are ready! You can selectively hide category tab-wise notifications e.g. you can block all notifications for your Promotions category as long as you wish to avoid them.

You can even set an Inbox budget for yourself and decide how many times and how often you would like to scan your Inbox. Then, get a visual feedback on how you did, versus your intention.

This app will go a long way to reducing email anxiety and inbox distraction while you are concentrating on things which you need to get done. If you are good at it, you can reclaim about an hour from your inbox every week!

CrystalDiskInfo

All our Hard disks have finite lives – some perform very well over their rated life-span and some will die even before they reach there. This nifty utility analyses your hard disk and reports on its health.
The life and efficiency of the hard disk depends on the number of times it is switched on and off, the extent of usage and the temperature of the disk during extended use, based on ambient temperature also. CrystalDiskInfo can analyse HDDs and SSDs and gives a quick report on the health of the hard disk. It gives an overall health status based on multiple parameters. Checking the parameters gives you an early warning of the status of your hard disk instantly. The status, if blue, there is nothing to worry, if yellow, there is an element of caution and if it shows red, it is time to replace your hard disk!
It’s a good idea to periodically check the health of your hard disk, so that you do not have a disaster when the hard disk actually fails.
crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo

TextExpander

textIf you want to drag up your productivity to several notches above your current level, TextExpander is for you. Work faster and smarter by using its powerful shortcuts and abbreviations to streamline and speed up everything you type. Create powerful snippets to save you time so that all you type is a short abbreviation, and TextExpander does the rest of the typing for you.
Once installed, you can create shortcuts of your choice. The shortcuts that you define can be used anywhere on your computer – on emails, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more. A shortcut maybe a character or a phrase and it can expand to a word, a sentence or an entire paragraph. You can use your shortcuts across your Windows devices – your desktop, your laptop, your work machine or your home machine. And if you forget to use a particular shortcut, it identifies the same and reminds you to use the shortcut!
You can collaborate efficiently across the organization by sharing your shortcuts. You can share your shortcuts to newcomers and make them super-productive from day one. TextExpander is available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese Russian, Spanish and Portuguese languages. It works with Windows, Mac, Chrome, iPhone and iPad.
You may try it for free and if you like it, you may continue at a nominal price. A small price to pay for improved productivity and peace of mind!
http://www.textexpander.com