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Why Game Art Outsourcing Is The Best Choice For Entertainment Product Development

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Video games are now in their prime. Due to recent events, people have begun to spend much more time at home, and games have become one of their main entertainment. Usually, a game is developed from a year to several years, but many developers believe that several years is a sentence. Technology continues to evolve rapidly, and too long development time can lead to the fact that at the time of release, the game will already be outdated in terms of graphics and engine.

Almost everyone knows about art outsourcing now. This is almost the only method to significantly speed up the creation of a game and reduce a large number of operating costs. It has both supporters and opponents. However, it should be noted that even certain risks and possible problems are not able to outweigh its benefits. Let’s look at them again in more detail so that you can be sure that you cannot find the best option for fast and high-quality game creation.

Higher Working Speed

One of the main game art outsourcing advantages, which is always mentioned first, is a significant acceleration of all processes for creating an entertainment product. This is due to the fact that the external team has already been formed and can start any task immediately. You don’t need to post jobs, conduct interviews, and spend time training.

You just have to define the task that you want to entrust the outsourcing company and explain what results you want to see. Everything else is the task of your partner, who is obliged to provide the completed work within the agreed time for a verdict. You can transfer several tasks at once to an external studio, or even select several such studios.

Access to Modern Technologies

Working in the game art and development field requires a huge amount of advanced tools. Without them, it is impossible to create characters, environments, animations and other important aspects of the game. Modern software requires powerful hardware. All of these are large costs that can be easily avoided by seeking help from an external team.

The professionals you hire already have access to their programs in which they work best. There is a lot of such software and each has its own advantages. In your case, your main advantage is that you do not need to purchase additional equipment and licenses. You are only actually purchasing the services of the people who work with it.

Lower Costs

Echoing the previous two points, this one is one of the favorites of developers who advocate video game art outsourcing benefits. Taking into account the above, we can see a decrease in costs in the following areas:

  1. Training. The time that you spent on training and which was a lost profit now goes directly to completing tasks.
  2. Purchase of equipment. An external team has its software, which it pays for independently. You only pay for expert services.
  3. Providing a workplace. The more in-house workers, the more premises and workplaces you need. With an external team, you don’t have to think about the office or preparing the workplace.

Influence Expansion

Few people talk about this, but in addition to the standard benefits of game art outsourcing, there are also more specific ones. For example, working with a foreign game art company, you get not only qualified experts, but also access to new ways of international promotion.

An external team from another country can tell you about the specifics of creating and distributing games in their region, suggest interesting and non-standard ways of solving specific issues and problems, and give an impetus for a larger-scale expansion of your project. Their approach to work will give you a fresh perspective on how to complete tasks, which will positively impact your overall creative environment.

High Flexibility

When assembling an in-house team, you always clearly think over which positions are most important to you at this stage. However, it happens that there is a need for a narrow-profile expert for one project, after which this person is no longer needed. A constant cycle of hiring and firing is not the best option, and neither is working with freelancers. Therefore, here too, an outsourcing studio will come to your aid.

With it, you can easily fill gaps for any project and not worry about what to do with people after its completion. External teams perfectly adapt to specific tasks and select the composition depending on the work to be done. They easily add and remove people when needed. Usually, they have expertise in a huge number of areas: animation, 2D game art, 3D modeling, development on different engines, quality assurance, marketing, etc. You just choose what you need.

Bottom Line

Game art outsourcing advantages are too big to try to ignore. By working with external teams, you get more free time to focus on more important issues within your company and avoid the professional burnout of employees who are forced to work with the same type of tasks.

Outsourcing gives you a competitive edge: you get more time and resources to think through and present fresh, original ideas. At the same time, bringing your product to market becomes much faster and more timely, taking into account the latest technological advances

Cost Of January 2021 Will Be One Of The Heaviest

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The cost of January 2021 will be one of the heaviest, warns the UNAM

Eufemia Basilio, academic and member of the IIE, suggested to the population that if they saved 10 or 15% before, it is best to increase that percentage to 25 or 30%, but only if finances allow it.

xThe next slope of January 2021 will be one of the heaviest that the population will live due to the economic context that is being experienced, warned academics from the Institute for Economic Research (IIE) of the UNAM .

During the virtual conference “How to organize end-of-year expenses?”, Researchers from the Maximum House of Studies warned that in the face of the crisis that is being experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic; the best thing is to increase savings, be proactive and plan expenses towards the holidays.

Eufemia Basilio, academic and member of the IIE , suggested to the population that if they saved 10 or 15% before, it is best to increase that percentage to 25 or 30%, but only if finances allow it.

“It is important to have that little storage because surely the January cost will be heavier, so it is good to have that savings to face any emergency or expense, saving part of the income is a very good option,” he said.

During the virtual conference “How to organize end-of-year expenses?”, Researchers from the Maximum House of Studies warned that in the face of the crisis that is being experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic; the best thing is to increase savings, be proactive and plan expenses towards the holidays.

Eufemia Basilio, academic and member of the IIE , suggested to the population that if they saved 10 or 15% before, it is best to increase that percentage to 25 or 30%, but only if finances allow it.

“It is important to have that little storage because surely the January cost will be heavier, so it is good to have that savings to face any emergency or expense, saving part of the income is a very good option,” he said.

In turn, Moritz Cruz, also a researcher, pointed out that having a small financial cushion will allow us to get out of any eventuality or only cover unexpected expenses.

He pointed out that although, as an economist, I would recommend that people go out and buy to boost economic activity, unfortunately, this is linked to the consumption and purchasing power of buyers, many of whom at this time, their situation is not the most ideal .

Half Of The SAT Officials Reported To MP Are From Customs

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Of the 88 officials of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) who have been reported to the Public Ministry (MP), more than half worked in the General Administration of Customs, according to the data for the third quarter of this year of the Report of Debt and Public Finance of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).

The data showed that a total of 48 Customs workers were reported to the MP for various crimes. Among them, six were for crimes comparable to smuggling in the North Pacific, Northeast and North Central regions, while five were for crimes comparable to smuggling and the illicit exercise of public service in the Western region.

Other crimes for which the customs personnel were reported to the MP were for the illicit use of attributions and powers; smuggling; concussion; bribery; Documents forgery; crimes against the administration of justice and committed by public servants; Stole; crimes against the administration of justice and committed by public servants; and administrative responsibility.

Other administrations with officials reported to the MP are the General Taxpayer Services Administration, with 22; General Administration of Federal Fiscal Audit, with seven; the General Administration of Communications and Information Technologies, with five; the General Administration of Collection, with three; and the General Administration of Resources and Services, with three.

Among the crimes identified in these areas are the falsification of public documents; illicit access to computer systems and equipment; fraud; illicit access to computer systems and equipment; crimes in electoral matters; illicit exercise of public service; improper modification to systems; and crimes of administrative responsibility.

On the other hand, 563 were presented before the Internal Control Body (OIC) of the SAT for administrative responsibility of government workers.

The OIC is in charge of dealing with complaints or denunciations of public servants made by users of the institution, in addition to applying internal rules and mechanisms that prevent acts or omissions that could constitute administrative misconduct.

Labor close out before social agents freezing minimum wage

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The minister spokesperson aligns herself with Díaz and highlights the Government’s commitment to raise the SMI

The Ministry of Labor and Social Economy has raised to the social agents that in no case will it freeze the SMI in 2021 and has called another meeting next Monday to continue negotiating.

This was announced by the Secretary of State for Employment and Social Economy, Joaquín Pérez Rey, after the first meeting of the Social Dialogue table that addressed the matter. For this reason, he asked the business organizations, which demanded this freeze, to come up with a new proposal next week.

The Government spokesperson and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, highlighted this Tuesday “the commitment” of the Executive with the increase in the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI). But at the same time he appealed “for prudence when approaching it.”

Labor rules out before social agents freezing the minimum wage.

This was indicated during the press conference after the Council of Ministers, in which he said that this Government has a “strong commitment” to improving the labor conditions of workers and “specifically, with the rise in the SMI.”

In this way, the Minister Spokesperson is approaching the positions defended by the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, and against the sectors of the Government that are most favorable to a freeze.

The refusal of the department headed by Yolanda Díez coincides with the position of the UGT. The general secretary of this union, Pepe Álvarez, has warned that he will not accept or increase the period for calculating pensions (an option that the Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá is considering) or freeze the SMI.

This was announced by the Secretary of State for Employment and Social Economy, Joaquín Pérez Rey, after the first meeting of the Social Dialogue table that addressed the matter. For this reason, he asked the business organizations, which demanded this freeze, to come up with a new proposal next week.

Álvarez has asked that the SMI reaches 1,000 euros per month next year, compared to 950 euros today. And that at the end of the legislature it is around 60% of the average salary, about 1,200 euros per month.

Speed Of Covid Transmission Shoots Up Again In Catalonia

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The epidemic curve rises again in Catalonia. In just a couple of days, the speed of transmission of the virus (the Rt, which measures how many people infects, on average, one positive) has skyrocketed: from 0.91 to 1.11.

That is, out of every 100 positives, another 111 people are infected. The rate of expansion of the virus is already above the threshold (more than 1) recommended by health authorities to keep the pandemic at bay and the incidence of infections continues to rise: 211 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days.

The change in trend occurs one week before Christmas, when more trips and social interactions are expected, and puts at risk the plan to relax restrictions designed by the Generalitat for these dates.

The second wave of infections plunges air traffic by 84.1% in November Europe closes for fear of the rebound in cases after Christmas

“The data is getting complicated. They are telling us that there may be a change in trend. We are evaluating it. We see an increase in positivity and it makes us alert ”, admitted the Government spokesperson, Meritxell Budó, after the Executiu Council on Tuesday.

Budó has slipped that they will need two or three days to analyze whether the trend is confirmed or not and, in principle, if it is ratified, the current limitations -30% in restaurants will be maintained; increase in capacity to a thousand people in cultural centers – but it will not be possible to move forward from the reopening phase.

“From there we will see if we have to make adjustments to the Christmas plan once we analyze the data. We would communicate it as far in advance as possible ”, he stressed.

Budó has suggested that the spread of infections may be linked to the increase in social relations during the Constitution Bridge.

“It is important to raise awareness that increased mobility and social interaction lead to an increase in cases. These data could be a consequence of the increase in mobility and social interaction that was seen during the bridge ”, pointed out Budó.

After the peak of the second wave at the end of October, Catalonia began a vertical decline in transmission in November, sponsored by the harsh social restrictions applied to curb the pandemic.

The community began the de-escalation on November 23 with the reopening of bars and restaurants , although it had to slow down the pace of reopening when the indicators stopped falling .

Amid the pressure from the economic sectors and the fear of an upturn in infections in the coming days , the Government chose to reopen, from this Monday, the shopping centers, expand the capacity of large cultural spaces (such as the Liceu de Barcelona ) and go from a weekend municipal confinement to a regional one.

Heading into ChristmasThe Generalitat proposed expanding social gatherings from six to 10 people and making the curfew more flexible (now at 10 p.m.) until 1.30 a.m. With the data on the table, however, all reopening plans are hanging by a thread.

“There will be Christmas, sure, but depending on how the data is, we will have to adjust some measures or others. We will have to see if the trend is confirmed or not ”, insisted Budó. The Procicat, the government body that coordinates the response to the pandemic, will meet this Tuesday.

The leadership of the Department of Health has repeated several times that, with the current hospital pressure, they cannot allow a rebound in cases or enter, de facto, a third wave . There are 1,511 people hospitalized, 351 of them in intensive care.

Occupancy figures too high to face another acceleration of infections. Especially, taking into account the antecedents in the behavior of the virus: ICU admissions went from 179 on October 10 to 594 on November 10. Assuming a growth in intensive care occupation when the baseline level exceeds 350, double that of October, would put the health system in check.

The Minister of Health, Alba Vergés, avoided pronouncing this Monday, when the epidemic curve was already beginning to rise, about how her de-escalation plans were and whether her project for the Christmas holidays was in danger.

The Health Minister limited herself to saying that they will “analyze the data” and recalled that “you have to be very strict in complying with the protection measures” and the restrictions applied. He did emphasize, however, that they do not rule out any scenario, including stopping the plans if the epidemic curve worsens.

For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Miquel Sàmper, went further and admitted that the Mossos d’Esquadra and the local police will not be able to control that during the holidays the prohibition of not meeting more than ten people from two bubbles is observed.

“It is very difficult, if we already have difficulties to control the weekend confinement because we have the troops that we have, it would be wrong to say that we can control the families, it is impossible that we can control if it is fulfilled.”

For this reason, he called for the co-responsibility of families: “We call for co-responsibility. We have the responsibility of setting the measures, but that of their exercise belongs to everyone. Let’s not forget that we politicians and the police can be fooled, but the virus cannot ”.

Health voices inside and outside the Government show their concern. “It looks bad. Even with the oscillations of the weekend, the increase in transmission speed is sharp. The number of cases has also skyrocketed and in the ICU there are some more admissions.

If, as possible, they stabilize or go up, bad plan for Christmas. We are not doing well, ”laments Toni Trilla, head of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.

And while the health wing of the Government holds its breath in the face of the rebound in the epidemic curve, the Minister of Business, Ramon Tremosa, points to the restoration union’s campaign to promote consumption in bars and restaurants this Christmas.

The owner of the Company will participate in an event, tomorrow Wednesday, which has the support of renowned figures from radio and television. “Within the restoration there are certain measures: reduced capacity indoors and distance between tables outside. Catering is safe and people must be encouraged to go. Now, let’s do it responsibly ”, has defended Budó.

Despite the poor evolution of the epidemic curve, the Government spokesperson has assured that, for the moment, the bars will remain open. “As long as we have the data we have, there is nothing that makes us think that we are not going to the bars to boost the economy. We are not considering any contrary measure, ”he said.

Impacts Of COVID-19 On The Management Of Crimes

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) is the disease produced by the SARS-CoV2 virus whose impact has gone beyond its health condition and the high increase in mortality rates of the population worldwide, surpassing in Panama the date, according to reports from the Ministry of Health (Minsa), the 140,000 confirmed cases and around 3,000 deaths.

However, these are not the only consequences that have accompanied this health crisis.

The economic impacts that have been seen due to the pandemic, declared in this way at the beginning of March of this year, have been high and since the main focus of governments and organizations on these events is currently, many others have taken the opportunity to carry out numerous criminal acts.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “criminal groups have also rapidly adapted to the opportunities arising from the pandemic to exploit vulnerabilities and gaps in the health and criminal justice systems.”

During this time, the money laundering figures have continued to be recorded, however, the means for this to occur have been partly modified. According to the website of the International Police (Interpol): “The fight against money laundering is closely associated with investigations into the crimes to which it is linked.”

New sources of illicit money have emerged during this crisis, including cybercrime, misdirection or exploitation of government funds, and counterfeiting of medical products in the face of high demand, even misleading many governments.

According to the United Nations (UN): “Health and life are at risk with criminals who exploit the COVID-19 crisis to take advantage of public anxiety and the increased demand for personal protective equipment and medicines.”

In this way, a large amount of personal protective equipment and other false health products have been seen, which are not effective and that on the contrary affect the health of the population.

What’s happening? We are facing a very vulnerable time, the low control that is being seen by governments and the private sector against money laundering and terrorist financing puts us at risk of increasing these situations.

In this context, it is easier for criminals to find ways to disguise their true finances by misusing online services, increasing the unregulated financial sector and the opportunity to do more and more fraudulent negotiations or activities.

Speaking of the vulnerability in which we are living, during the month of July of this year, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, mentioned that “the psychosocial, economic and political tensions associated with COVID-19 increased dramatically.

Terrorists must not be allowed to exploit these fissures and weaknesses.

However, in a report by the same organization during the month of November, it is reported that non-state violent groups, including terrorists, right-wing extremists and organized crime such as Mexican cartels, have maliciously used social networks to reinforce their agendas during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to generate conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus that promote violence by these groups.

In addition, it says the pandemic d e COVID-19 was an opportunity for Mexican cartels and other countries where we have tried to disguise their true criminal intent with an alleged social aid.

There, criminal groups have distributed aid boxes, taking advantage of the difficult economic situation that the population is going through, distributing them with the name or logo of the organization and, later, promoting their actions in the media and / or social networks, representing the latter an important instrument for its dissemination.

In this way, what they seek is to promote their ideologies to the population, also managing to penetrate and infiltrate the legal economy.

What’s better to change: btc vs eth vs btc

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Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization, which is popular and in demand in the crypto industry today. The release of the first coin to the network took place in January 2009.

In general, the innovative digital payment system itself, which uses the unit of the same name to record transactions and provide access to its services, was the first and most successful, the launch of which influenced a lot, in particular, the popularization of blockchain technology.

The Bitcoin payment system is used to buy goods and services, as well as to store a valuable monetary resource.

BTC can be obtained for free: through mining and bitcoin faucets. This digital currency has a limited emission. It is equal to 0.00000001 BTC. 

Ethereum

The world’s second largest cryptocurrency and a platform for creating decentralized applications. The first release of cryptocurrency to the network took place in July 2015. The type of issue is inflationary. That is, just like the fiat currency, Ethereum coin can get more done over time.

Just like Bitcoin, Ethereum has two concepts: the first, as already mentioned, is a platform for creating decentralized services that operate on blockchain and smart contracts. And, secondly, inside the platform crypto coin, which has a memorable name – ETH. 

Ethereum vs Bitcoin: Price

News resources about cryptocurrencies are simply “burning” from oversaturation with news about the first two leaders. Most of all, the world is watching their price indicator. But, you can not wait for the next news release to find out about the price of any cryptocurrency. Just use the monitoring service any. There you can see the value of any cryptocurrency in any fiat currency or any other digital currency. Also, price fluctuations are shown in charts, on which you can set any period of time to see how the price curve has changed over a certain period of time.

What pair to choose?

A simple and convenient converter exchange allows you to instantly exchange two of the most popular cryptocurrencies today. Bitcoin and Ethereum are leaders in terms of capitalization, consistently occupying the first lines of the global coin rating.

The BTC to ETH pair or ETH to BTC is one of the most demanded exchange options. Despite the fact that both cryptocurrencies are incredibly popular, they work on fundamentally different technologies. The main difference is that if the entire Bitcoin system is only a mechanism for making transactions with their recording on the blockchain platform with the ability to generate new coins, then Ether allows you to perform any operations of any kind. At the same time, the exchange and all other actions are also performed without certification by any central authority or any other third party. In terms of transparency and anonymity, currency exchange and transfers are also almost identical.

To choose the pair depends on your goals. If to analyse the numbers, we can see that 1 ETH = 0.02931385 BTC and 1 BTC = 32.27539910 ETH

Experienced traders always work with several cryptocurrencies, among which there are certainly market leaders. Therefore, the exchange of Bitcoin for Ethereum is performed much more often than other operations. On the exchange, you can buy Ethereum with BTC quickly, easily and securely. When exchanging cryptocurrencies, you can get the following benefits:

  • Low fees. 
  • High speed of operations
  • Simple intuitive interface. 
  • Wide range of trading pairs. 
  • Reliable cryptocurrency wallet. 
  • Favorable exchange rate. 

Assessment of fractures

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X-rays and their classification

After the stabilization, patient’s clinical status should be established. Then to identify the type of fracture, minimum two x-rays of the glenohumeral joint should be taken at right angles to each other are required.  Three x-rays of the trauma-series will be better particularly for preoperative planning of B and C fractures.

 If there is any susceptibility of tuberosity fractures, x-rays in external and internal rotation of the humerus may be useful. If these standardized x-rays do not help in proper assessment of the features of main fracture, displacement of fragments, of articular damage, and soft-tissue involvement then CT will be useful. To classify the fracture, and to decide the surgical procedure or prognosis, it will be necessary to determine whether the fracture runs through the anatomical or surgical neck.

Objective indications for surgery

Surgical intervention is determined by some specific factors such as: the type and stability of the fracture, general and local concomitant injuries, the age of patient and general condition and the quality of the bone (osteoporosis). Generally, the stability and displacement are interdependent. If the damage to the adjacent soft tissues and the periosteum is greater, the requirement of internal fixation and early functional post-operative treatment will also be more. Generally, in case of elderly patients, conservative treatment is given as in about 80% of cases the fracture fragments are held together by muscles, tendons, the attachment of the rotator cuff, and the periosteum. In remaining 20% reduction andoperative fixation may be required. This mainly includes cases of young patients with fractures in which more than 5 mm tuberosities are displaced and more than 2 cm shaft fragments are displaced or in which displacement of head fragment is more than 40°.

Subjective indications for surgery

One of the most important things in future decision-making is patient’s expectations. In case of elderly patients, some expects to resume sporting activities such as swimming, golf, sailing or skiing; however, others just want to be able to resume their work of everyday lives. While, restoration of preinjury levels of function must be the goal of treatment in case of younger patients.

Implants like Locking Proximal Plates and hand fracture plates are proving helpful for a surgeon to fix complex injuries in a stable manner.

 Surgical Anatomy

However, differentiation of the anatomical and surgical neck fractures is difficult. Usually, the blood supply to the main head fragment in anatomical neck fractures gets disrupted and there is possibility of avascular necrosis (AVN). On the other hand, the blood supply to the head is normally preserved in surgical neck fractures.

As far as orientation between the greater and lesser tuberosities is concerned, the tendon of the long head biceps has vital role. Additionally, in displaced proximal humeral fractures or epiphysiolysis, it may be trapped between bony fragments which can make the closed reduction unattainable. In the end, a few millimeters posterior which is parallel to the tendon runs the lateral ascending branch of the anterior circumflex humeral artery which carries the most essential blood supply for the upper part of the humeral head therefore its damage can result in AVNto this particular part of the head.

Anastomosis of the anterior and posterior circumflex humeral arteries occurs on the lateral side of the surgical neck. If these vessels ruptured, the medial aspect of the capsule is the most essential remaining blood supply, mainly to the lower part of the head. When a larger medial spike of the head-fragment is present or there are no soft-tissue connections in head fragment, AVN takes place. But then, usually within 5 years, it can collapse and deformed.

An arch is formed by the acromion, along with the coracoacromial ligament and the coracoid process.  The humeral head passes and rotates under this arch. This arch limits the upwards, downwards, or sideways movement of the humeral head. Infra-spinatus, sub-scapularis, supraspinatus, and teres minor muscles are attached to the tuberosities and, in conjunction with the other surrounding muscles, thus dynamic glenohumeral function is maintained by them. Reduction and fixation of the tuberosities with their muscle insertions to their original anatomical sites as closely as possible is very important to avoid impingement

Learning How Tech Companies Recruit So You Can Get Seen

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To say that there is competitiveness within the tech sector would be an understatement. If you work in IT development at any level, you’ll be all too familiar with going onto Stack Overflow to find answers for common tech conundrums. As a programmer hub, the site did a short survey in 2019 to see how many developers visiting the site would classify themselves as unemployed or looking for a job. In most industries, you tend to find somewhere between 15-20% is a good indicator, but for developers, that number was only 6.4%.

That’s a shockingly low number for an industry, but when you look at how competitive it is out there, and just how big turnover is for companies always expanding, any developer looking to progress might feel the easiest solution is to bury their head in the sand and hope something comes along.

Trying to find the right job can be daunting, but not if you know how tech companies find talent in the first place. If you’re on the outside looking in and don’t necessarily have great connections in your field, here is what you need to know about how tech companies recruit so that it can help you get seen in all the right places.

Firstly, location doesn’t matter as much as you’d be led to believe. 2020 has inadvertently become one giant experiment of seeing if home working works, with a general consensus that it doesn’t really change how people work. When looking at tech and development, that means companies based in the likes of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Reading & Edinburgh (all quite tech-heavy) may start casting the net wider to attract talent from further afield. So start looking at companies in other cities to see what opportunities exist.

You’ll also want to find recruiters who speak the language. I’m a firm believer that anyone who you want to sell your skills to should be able to know those skills themselves, so look for local recruiters who know the difference between a data engineer & data scientist; otherwise, you’ll find yourself being recommended for jobs which don’t fit your skillset at all.

The same goes for looking at job listings online. You’ll always be able to quickly tell the difference between whether a non-specialist agency and tech company have written a job ad. The company will usually use specific language and highlight examples of existing technology they use.

Any prevalent company that isn’t hiring in-house won’t want to waste their resources on hunting for talent. That’s why they tend to look for recruitment companies to do it on their behalf. When you’re looking for unique opportunities, it is better to sign up with a recruiter for your chosen niche rather than leave it big sites like Monster & Indeed which churn out any old job they can advertise. The more precise you can be when talking with a recruiter that knows their stuff, the more chance you’ll be shown better job vacancies suited to your skills.

If you are interested in learning more about tech recruitment, I recommend visiting MBN Solutions’ website here. They are a UK based tech recruiter who specialises in helping those in data science, analytics & digital find jobs which suit their skill level. If you’re looking at roles like Scrum Master, Web Analyst & Data Engineer, it is a good place to start.

What is a VPN and why do you need one?

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2020 has been a momentous year for plenty of reasons and whilst we all struggle with the effects of Covid cybercriminals have been stepping up their attacks.

One of the ways to protect your computers and devices against attack is by using a VPN but that begs the question – what is a VPN and why do you need one?

In this post, we’re going to look at why ordinary users really need to consider investing in a small piece of technology that could make a massive change to their security.

What’s the problem?

Unfortunately, there are too many people out there who are only too happy to take advantage of security lapses and with most companies using professional anti-virus or anti-malware software, the attention of the cybercriminals has moved to personal devices.

Back in the day life was simple, phones used the phone network and that was that but today with smartphones in every pocket and public wifi networks to connect to in every street there are some serious issues that need confronting.

Cybercriminals can cause problems for you by;

  • Intercepting your connection with public Wifi
  • Loading malware onto your device
  • Setting up ‘middle man’ web browsers
  • Using your device to access work computers

Some malware will constantly serve ads on your device but others will have much more sinister motives and with most people doing pretty much everything on their phone from banking to booking doctors appointments the potential for harm is clear.

This means that it is vital that your devices are secure and that you are able to surf safely.

How criminals can access your device

Imagine the scene; you are sitting in your favourite coffee shop. Maybe you are working on your laptop or tablet or perhaps you are just surfing the web on your phone.

You like this cafe because they offer free public wifi and it is fast and easy to access.

The problem is that it is the speed and easy access that provides vulnerability.

The first issue is that in many cases the connection isn’t encrypted at all, meaning that someone can effectively ‘eavesdrop’ on everything sent to and from the wireless access point.

Called ‘snooping’ or ‘sniffing’ this allows cybercriminals to log all of the information you send and receive from the internet and this can include bank details, passwords and emails.

Secondly, it is easy for someone with the technical knowhow to set up what is known as an ‘ad-hoc’ attack. This is where a device that has an open and unencrypted connection method is connected to by the criminal’s computer, allowing the download of information and uploads of worms, trojans and malware.

A ‘man in the middle’ attack is where the user logs on to the network and accesses what they think is a legitimate website but is, in fact, a spoof site cleverly designed to mimic the real site.

If you think of accessing a site that looks exactly like your bank and entering all your connection details then this gives you an idea of how this can be used.

 An  ‘evil twin’ attack is where the wifi at a particular location also has a twin that has a name that looks very similar to the wifi that the user is expecting to see. 

For example “Joes_cafe_Wifi” may become “Joes-cafe-Wifi” with the user connecting unwittingly to the suspect twin.

Once connected they are then at risk of a variety of attacks including malware, worms and man-in-the-middle.

VPN – the way to secure all of your devices

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and is a method of securely accessing the internet using an encrypted connection.

This means that it is impossible for cybercriminals to break into your connection or read what you are doing.

Protection is provided through end to end encryption, meaning that the data is encoded before it leaves you machine and can only be decoded by someone who has the legitimate key, in other words, your VPN provider.

The benefits are clear, protection from snooping, sniffing and evil twins.

For a business, it makes complete sense to have their people using VPN at all times, especially if they allow Bring Your Own Device on their network.

And for private users, the small cost of a VPN makes subscribing a real no-brainer.

VPN gives you web anonymity

Over the years we seem to have become used to the fact that we are being tracked across the web and that companies we visit and even our own internet provider can track, use and sell our data as they see fit.

One of the key benefits of a VPN is that it restores our anonymity, making sure that our information stays secure and is only given to people we trust.

When you link to a VPN service you are accessing the web not directly through your device but through the provider’s servers. This means that to the website you are visiting you could be anywhere in the world.

This is helpful if you want to access geo-blocked services where information and videos aren’t available in your country. This gives you a much wider range of content on your favourite streaming service!

The main benefit though of VPN is to provide device users with much-needed security and if you value your information and want to continue to use public wifi then you absolutely need to subscribe.

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