On Inside Edition last week, I took a look at some ways to take advantage of spring sales on technology to get a great deal. Tech gifts are never wrong for moms, dads, and grads and now is the time to save! Want to know more? Check out the video above!
Author: Mario Armstrong
Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi! Here are my tips! (TODAY Show)
Ever wondered how you can stay safe while browsing the web on public Wi-Fi when at a coffee shop, airport, or other unsecured network? I set up a decoy network at a hotel in New York city and see how many people I can trick into signing on to the fake network. You need to be careful because if you connect to a decoy network, all of your passwords, credit card info, and browsing history can be captured! This is called a “man-in-the-middle” attack and it is a real threat out there!
While it can be scary, here are three easy tips to be more safe online:
1. Whenever you connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot, make sure it’s legitimate by asking the establishment for what the correct network is.
2. Be aware of what you’re doing online. If you’re banking, shopping, working with sensitive work data, then you need to take the right precautions to be safe. You can read some of my tips for being safe online for more ideas on how to do this.
3. Try out two-step authentication. This way when you’re logging in to your accounts you need your username, password, and also a special code sent to your phone via text message. Unless a hacker can get access to your phone, your password will be useless to them!
My 5 Tips For Better Meetings to Get You Closer To Your Goals
I’ve had a lot of big meetings lately that have HUGE potential to help me achieve my goals, both in the short term and my bigger goal of getting my own national TV show. So it seemed like a good idea to revisit a video I made awhileback talking about my 5 tips for big meetings and what you should do to make sure you get the most out of that face time you possibly can!
When you get a big meeting with someone that can help you achieve your goals you definitely want it to go smoothly, leave a good impression, and try to get to a place where you have some real, concrete things you can follow-up on, either for yourself or with that person.
My video below is about what you can do to make those meetings work for you. It’s my thoughts from a meeting with Daymond John, but it’s still the tips I live by for every meeting and I think will help you too no matter what your goals are or how you are trying to pursue your passion.
My thoughts on how we can invest in students & technology!
I recently spoke at the first ever student summit for StuVoice! StuVoice strives to create an international network of empowered students by providing them with the tools they need to use their voice in policy discussions. It’s supported by companies like Dell, Microsoft & Intel.
Safe Browsing and Parental Controls (TODAY Show video)
(Having problems with the video above? Click this link and try and view this video directly on NBCnews.com)
Apps Mentioned in this piece:
Private WiFi – Encrypts your data so anything you transmit online (usernames, passwords, credit cards) aren’t visible to anyone else using the same WiFi network.
Private Browsing – A feature on many major browsers tooday, including Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. You can use this to keep your browsing history safe on a public or shared computer.
Parental Controls – No matter what devices your children are using, there are parental controls you need to be using! Here are some instructions for setting them up on Windows, iPhone, Mac, Blackberry, and Kindle Fire.
Entrepreneur Tip: How to Make a Lasting Impression on People That Inspire You
Whenever you meet someone who can help you with your dreams and your goals, how do you handle it? You gotta walk the line between asking too much and not asking at all – and you know you gotta ask! It could be someone who inspires you, who you admire, or just someone you think has some solid advice to give.
One thing I recommend is leaving something behind with that person, so it’s not just about that one moment when you’re standing there in front of them. Like what? Well, I taped a segment for Rachael Ray this week, and I really felt like it was a special opportunity to get in front of somebody that’s amazing. So I took that opportunity to leave her a letter with some of my questions, and a USB flash drive with some of my video clips. It’s way better, and way more personal, than just leaving a business card. Anybody can leave a business card, but how much does that really say about you? You have to get real and personal and make your own case for yourself, because you are your own best advocate.
Rachael was a great person to reach out to, because she has built a media empire for and around herself, and she totally gets it – and I bet she would have great advice on how to achieve my own dreams like getting my own show. But you know it doesn’t have to be TV stars – there are a lot of really successful people out there that can have great advice no matter what, and it’s about looking for inspiration in everything – and everyone – you meet!
So what’s the lesson here? Think about what you can leave behind and how to really make an impression when you get the chance. You only get so many opportunities to get in front of the people that can help you take your dreams and goals to the next level!
Why I Support Maryland First
The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition is happening this weekend, April 12-13, at the Baltimore Convention Center and I’m going to be there to show my support at this free event open to families and the public! As a STEM advocate who’s always looking for ways our children can better connect with science, math and tech, the FIRST competition is a great way to get the little ones excited about robots! PLUS there are college scholarships available for participants—how cool is that?
To learn more about FIRST in Maryland, click here.
WHAT:
Chesapeake Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. FRC is in its 22nd season of inspiring future scientists and engineers.
WHERE:
Baltimore Convention Center
Hall A (Charles Street Entrance)
One West Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
WHEN:
Competition takes place over two days: April 12-13, 2013
Best public viewing both days: 9:00 a.m. – approximately 5 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies at 8:30 a.m. both days
Scheduled to speak at Friday, April 12, Opening Ceremonies at 8:30 a.m.
– Dr. Darryl Pines, Dean of the Clark School of Engineering, University of Maryland
Scheduled to speak at Saturday, April 13, Opening Ceremonies at 8:30 a.m.
– Walt Havenstein, Chairman of the FIRST Board of Directors
CUBED: A home-grown tablet for education, and expanding your office with AT&T
Today I’m headed back to school in my hometown of Baltimore, MD, to meet the people behind the software 1sqbox (One Square Box). 1sqbox created tablet-centric software that connects teachers, students, and even the school administration together so everyone can see what’s going on inside the school all through a single tablet interface. The software works with students of all ages from K-12, but 1sqbox also created the tablet itself so it’s an all-in-one solution! The founders have done all that, and more—they’re also taking on the responsibility of handling all of the training as well and with the business growing its becoming harder and harder to communicate with everyone they’re working with in an efficient way.
The Best Apps for Autism Awareness Month
April is Autism Awareness Month. There are an enormous number of children and their families who are suffering with this condition every day. I want to tell you about a few apps that might make living your life with Autism a little easier.
Mario Armstrong’s CUBED — Pronto Forms
It’s not often I’m told that when visiting a business I need to pack some old boots! But business today isn’t all clean office environments and suits—it’s dirty work too, like Veteran Compost in Aberdeen, Maryland. Justen Garrity, founder of Veteran Compost, is a veteran of the Iraq war who came back after the crash to find there were no jobs and no real sources of employment left for him. Working a day job and on the weekends while going to school at night, Justen built an amazing business collecting food scraps from local businesses and turning them into compost for local farms to purchase.
Like a lot of businesses, Justen tracks almost everything on paper—pickup times, compost temperatures, almost everything is written down and stored in manila envelopes. While this is fine for a business that’s just getting started, as your business grows you have more and more information you’re trying to process and handle. Enter Pronto Forms from AT&T. Pronto Forms is all about eliminating paperwork and digitizing all of the forms your employees fill our so that you can store everything in a single location and access it quickly and easily. Employees can even capture photographs or signatures on the go! If you’re on the fence, the cool thing is that you can try Pronto Forms for free for 30 days and see if it will really work for your business.