With the launch of their WebSaver 6, British Gas have now earned the title as  being the most competitive  energy supplier in the UK with an average online tariff offer coming in at less than  £900 a year, beating Npower’s online tariff into second place. Replacing their WebSaver 5 online saving scheme, BG’s new WebSaver 6 holds the lead in 10 out of 14 regions energy plan as the most competitive energy supply tariff on the market.

British Gas’s online price cut in prices will take them back to levels where they haven’t been for more than two years.  The average standard energy tariff for a UK home before British Gas price cuts was still   £1,200 annually for those UK consumers who do not settle their energy bills online, and with their recently announced prince cut of 7%, they will now lop of £55, which puts British Gas into the lead of offering that cheapest standard duel fuel tariff, averaging £1,147 annually.  So far, there have been no sign of British Gas’s principal competitor’s in the energy supply sector coming in with an offer that compares, never mind, beats British Gas’s new tariffs.

The  considerable prices savings that settling energy bills online brings are drawing more and more people to this simple alternative and with price differences of more than 20% for the same  service the hope is that hundreds of thousands of UK  houses will follow suit. Energy analysts confirm that, switching to an online plan, using a duel fuel system and settling accounts through direct debit will save around £300 from a typical UK family’s energy costs.

Without a direct connection to the online saving opportunities being offered, the reductions which are effective immediately are due to the recent drop in wholesale gas prices which has enabled British Gas to pass these savings directly on to their customers.

However energy regulator Ofgem issued a warning that household bills are liable to increase steadily over the next decade as UK energy supplier will find it difficult to keep up with increased demand with the existing infrastructure.

Tags: British Gas, electricity and gas, Fuel Bills, gas supplier, WebSaver 6

An average of sixty sex offences against children were recorded every day by police in England and Wales last year the NSPCC reveals today.

The statistics which were obtained under a Freedom of Information request from all 43 forces in England and Wales, show under-18s were victims of sex crimes, including rape, gross indecency and incest, on 21,618 occasions during 2008-091.

One in seven of the children (3035) were younger than ten and 1,000 were five and under. In more than three out of four cases the offences were committed against 10 to 17-year-olds (17,091)2.

The statistics show girls were six times more likely than boys to be the victims of a sex crime. And the number of incidents where the offender knew the victim was four times higher than those involving strangers.3

The Home Office gathers data from police forces for its annual crime report, which shows there was a total of 51,4884 for all sexual offences in 2008-09, including both adults and children and only splits the figure to show those over or under 13.
Combining these statistics blurs the picture and even though detailed age breakdowns of victims are collected by police they are not passed to the Home Office.
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This is the second year5 the NSPCC has collected this data and is again calling on the UK Government to publish these details and to clearly link them with the number of convictions and other penalties resulting from the recorded offences. This information could then feed into a national sex abuse prevention strategy as well as helping the development of local services to treat child victims.

NSPCC director of strategy and development Phillip Noyes said: “These figures show just how many children are still being sexually abused every day. It’s a shocking picture – even more so because these are only offences reported to the police. We believe the true extent of the problem is far worse.

“Some of these children are so young they can’t tell anyone what is happening. So it’s vital that adults look out for them and call the NSPCC helpline or contact police and social services if they are concerned.

“Even when they are older some children don’t speak out about the sexual abuse they have suffered because they’re scared they won’t be believed. But help is always available for them through ChildLine.” (0800 1111)

Media office on 020 7825 2533. Out of hours mobile 07976 206 625.

Notes to editors:

1.     The NSPCC asked each police force in England and Wales via a Freedom of Information request. All forces responded. The questions were: 1. How many children (under18) were victims of sex offences committed in your police force area during the year April 2008 – March 2009. 2. Can you supply a gender and exact age breakdown for these victims? 3. What is the relationship of the alleged offender to the victim, if known?

2.     Not all police forces gave a specific age or gender breakdown. Some only gave age ranges.

3.     Nearly two-thirds of the forces (26) provided details about offender relationships.

4.     Source: Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales 08/09.

The total number of recorded offences for 2007-08 was 20,758 but one force did not provide any statistics.

Tags: Child Abuse, child protection, Child Safety, ChildLine, nsppc

Even though the UK summers aren’t quite what they used to be, the days don’t get any shorter.  And anyone who has ever spent a long and pleasant summer evening outside in their garden will tell you that it can be a very soothing experience. That’s why it can be a worthwhile investment in time and money to install a basic lighting system in your garden.  And you don’t need to break the bank to do it.

Contrary to what many people will tell you, installing exterior lighting need not be more expensive than installing interior light fittings. All that you need in order to get the project under way is to have an external outlet, preferably with its own master switch. From this point you can lead wires throughout your garden or patio and have individual switches set up for different areas, meaning that you don’t have to have all your garden lights on at the same time, even though the effect can be quite spectacular.

For obvious safety reasons, any cable that carries electricity to the illuminators should be protected or housed within a special waterproof channel and buried at a sufficient depth to ensure that it won’t be dug up by mistake or struck by a pick or a shovel. When burying your electrical wires, it is always a good idea to cover the wiring with a coating of fine gravel, to prevent any sharp rocks from puncturing it through time. Wherever a join in the wire is to be made to allow outlets, sealed connectors backed up by  additional fuses or circuit breakers to guard against electrocution are a must, to prevent the risk of water seeping into the system and to further prevent the risk, no matter how remote, of electrocution.  It goes without saying that all installation work should be carried out by a qualified technician. If you don’t know of any, contact your electricity provider or your local council for more information.

A popular refinement these days is installing a low voltage adaptor, which will reduce the normal household electrical current into a lower voltage which is more than powerful for a garden setting. Some of the more modern adaptors come with a light sensor that will automatically turn on the lights at dusk and switch them off either at dawn or, if a motion sensor has been installed, when everyone goes to bed. 

Once the foundation of your garden’s electrical system is in place, then the next stage is to decide which style of lighting you prefer, and where to position the fixtures. There is nothing more welcoming than illuminating the pathway to your front and back door, and that should be a must. After that you can let your imagination run riot, and place lights and spots to maximum effect wherever you please in your garden, patio or deck.

Tags: electrical system, exterior wiring, Garden, Lighting

With considerable fanfare and no little self praise and back slapping, the UK Government has now launched their new £400 grant to help the public to those replace their old and increasingly inefficient boilers with new and considerably more efficient carbon friendly models.

And even the most pessimistic public relations expert couldn’t have asked for it happen at a better time with Britain suffering under its coldest and longest running cold snap for almost  thirty years even though nothing can be done at the moment, except to get the paperwork in motion. What makes the good news even better is that British Gas, as befitting their role as the UK leading supplier of natural gas, have matched the Governments offer and will be chipping in a further £400 to make the total subsidies available to those that are eligible to £800.,

When you consider that the estimated cost of replacing the old “G” category boilers to and new, shiny, cost efficient and environmentally friendly “A” category version will cost around  £2400, then the 120,000 families who are due to receive a new boiler subsidy are a third of the way to recovering the cost.

And that’s before taking into account the estimates that the average UK family will save around £240 a year, according to figures released by the Energy Saving Trust.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband on launching the scheme, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown proudly beaming in the background pointed out the advantages of his brainchild by saying “The boiler scrappage scheme will not just save around £200 off heating bills per year for families that are replacing their old boilers, and in total will save the same amount of carbon equivalent to taking around 45,000 cars off the road.”

You can find out more information on Miliband’s baby how to claim if eligible as well details  of the British Gas subsidy  by clicking on the following link http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/replacement-boiler.htm  or dialing  0845 074 5991 .

Tags: Boiler, Boiler Replacement, Boiler Scrappage Scheme, British Gas, Combination Boiler, Condensing Boiler

As social networking sites begin to become increasingly commercialised going into the new decade, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter look like gradually becoming the key target for cyber-criminals. As these sites open their gates to advertising and consequent online transactions, what was possibly being envisioned as a social animal has rapidly become highly commercial.

While the bulk of visitors to these sites are teenagers without the access to a credit card and even a bank account, those lurking in wait looking for a chink in the armour have realised that the bulk of these young people are surfing the web on their family computer. Facebook now has around one quarter of a billion users, then it is no wonder that computer thieves are rubbing their hands in anticipation or rich pickings.  

Facebook has already experienced a major attack in 2009, when  the KoobFace worm was successfully implanted  succeeded in spreading like wildfire through the site as well as several social networks,  Further evidence of the threats to be faced came in  October when  a huge and highly synchronized  Botnet based  attack, known as the Bredolab, succeeded in  infiltrating the accounts of  three-quarters of a million Facebook users through the guise of sending  unsuspecting account holders a password reset message.

 In order to prevent these social networking sites becoming killing fields in the 2010s, the people who developed these sites as a means of social interaction will surely need to take a more active role in educating their users regarding the threats of Malware in all its formats. .

They will be looking for the cooperation of the Webs leading antivirus software developers to aid them in their struggle to educate the young and the naive to help them. One of the undisputed market leaders in virus protection McAfee Labs have already issued a report that foresees an increase in threats related to social networking sites, generally well planned Botnet attacks that will simultaneously attack social networking sites and the account details of possibly millions of account holders. 

In their annual report MacAfee have adopted an optimistic approach to 2010 in general, stating the public’s increased awareness of the need to fight cyber crime and the need to invest in reliable antivirus programs. They also anticipate increased efforts as well as improved effectiveness of the international law enforcement agencies to win the battle against cybercrime.

Tags: Anti Virus, cyber-criminals, Mcafee, Social networking, Trojan Horses, Viruses

And that is never to switch it on, or at least never connect to the internet, which would kind of defeat the purpose of having a computer in this day and age.  Once a computer has been connected to the net, and it is without virus protection than it is vulnerable to invasion as if it has been online for years.   Viruses and other malware  are lying in wait to invade a computer and it could just a few minutes before they come knocking on the door, to discover that it has been left ajar.

Computer viruses didn’t earn their title because it slipped off someone’s tongue. There are human viruses and there are computer viruses and they bear strong similarities. A person can become really ill from being infected with a virus as a can a computer. The difference is that a human will, in most cases, eventually recover from a virus while a computer will gradually deteriorate into an uncooperative and unfriendly monster if left untreated.

The first signs that a computer has been infected by a virus, is that it begins to operate increasingly slowly. While this is something that can be very frustrating for the operator, but is a small time problem compared to what lies in store. The next tell-tale sign that there are gremlins at work is when your disc drives begin to lock you out. You will find yourself increasingly using your right click button as you battle to retain control of your computer, which is becoming increasingly unfriendly.

Dependant on the strength and the nature  of the virus which is attacking your computer there will eventually be no option but to  take some very radical  steps to get your computer back on the road to health. This will invariably require the services of a computer technician who knows what will be required to get your computer clear of all these viruses. Computer technicians are like doctors and will not be slow to point out that an unprotected computer will only become a sick one again, and in next to no time. 

So like humans take their preventative medicines so you should protect your computer with a dose of what is good for it.  Not that you should pour some cough medicine through the DVD drive, more that you should install a professional and efficient anti-virus program.

Tags: Anti Virus, Digital Download Products, Malware, Mcafee, Trojan Horses, Viruses

After an extended holiday period, RAC predicts that 4 January 2010 will be one of the busiest days in 2010 for vehicle breakdowns as millions of motorists return to work.

The severe weather in the eight days prior to Christmas led to RAC attending almost 80,000 breakdowns. Since then many motorists have not used their cars and, given the ongoing wintry weather conditions, a breakdown is now far more likely.

David Hawes, RAC regional manager, comments: “The combination of a long break and very cold or damp weather can be a recipe for disaster. A car’s electrical system has to work a lot harder at this time of year as drivers are more likely to use their lights, heated windows as well as the heater fan. The starter motor also has to work harder to start the engine on these cold mornings making a battery failure more likely.”

RAC is urging motorists to do some basic preparations, such as simply turning over the car engine as well as allowing extra time, to ensure they’re not caught out on 4 January.

To help motorists avoid a breakdown, RAC has put together the following tips:

Don’t leave your vehicle un-used for the whole period between Christmas and New Year. It’s a good idea to start the engine to ensure everything is working as it should be and allow the engine to reach operating temperatures – taking care that it doesn’t overheat

If you have a garage, use it, or try to leave your vehicle undercover

Check oil and water levels. Ensure they are topped up correctly. Pay particular attention to the anti-freeze content of the cooling system. Check your owner’s handbook for information on the recommended anti freeze or consult your local dealer

In cold weather avoid frozen locks by using lock de-icer

Avoid queues at petrol stations by filling up the tank before the morning you go back to work

If the weather is icy, use a windscreen scraper or a de-icer to remove all the frost from your vehicle before setting off. Don’t use hot water from a kettle, as this may crack the windscreen. Also use a windscreen additive to prevent washer bottle freezing and ensure clear vision of the road

Check the battery connections ensuring that they are tight and free from any corrosion

Have your battery and charging system checked before it is too late

Wrap up warm and take a blanket, waterproof clothing, sensible footwear and a fully charged mobile phone in case of breakdown

If travelling a long distance, allow extra time for your journey, ensure you have enough fuel for the journey as not all fuel stations will be open over the festive period. Let friends and relatives know of your expected journey routes and times of arrival if travelling in remote areas

In case of a breakdown, visit www.rac.co.uk

Notes to editors

About RAC

With around seven million members, RAC is one of the UK’s most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists. Whether it’s roadside assistance, insurance, vehicle inspections and checks, legal services or up-to-the-minute traffic and travel information – RAC is able to meet motorists’ needs.

RAC is committed to providing the very highest levels of service to its members and was the top named service organisation in the July 2009 UK Customer Satisfaction Index from the Institute of Customer Service.

Aviva bought RAC in May 2005. The acquisition brings together RAC’s powerful brand and customer base with the expertise and leading position in motor insurance of Aviva UK Insurance. Aviva is the UK’s largest insurer with a market share of around 15 per cent.

RAC is part of Aviva, the world’s fifth largest insurance group which operates in 28 countries.

RAC’s news releases and a selection of images are available from the internet press centre at www.rac.co.uk/press-centre/

Tags: Car Breakdown, Car Maintenance, Cars, RAC

We live in the internet age and those who choose to avoid this glaring fact do so at their peril. Cutting household bills should be everyone’s priority these days and there is no doubt that by paying your gas and electricity bills through the internet save money and a fair chunk at that. Not only that, but you can use the power of the internet to compare various utility supply companies’ tariffs, and get the best deal. In the long term, loyalty isn’t always the best policy.  

Another way to whittle down your gas and electricity bills is to be analytical by understanding how your account is prepared. How is this done? Every month your gas and electricity supplier takes a little amount of money from you for the pleasure of having you as their customer.  This loyalty charge covers the cost of maintaining you as customer, even if you didn’t use a single drop of electricity or gas. All companies have fixed charges on their bills, but they can vary. So it pays to compare! The rest of the charges on your account will be variable, depending upon how much gas or electricity you use. Again, take your time to calculate how much you are using, and take physical meter readings if you suspect that you might be paying too much.

Take your time online and look for the best deals, and if you don’t already know how to do so, learn now to pay these your gas and electricity accounts through your credit card online or set up a direct debit to pay them.  It’s difficult to argue with the facts, and the facts are that the cheapest gas and electricity deals are now being found online. The cost for these national bodies to physically raise an account, fold it, post it and then making sure that it has been paid, is considerable. These are costs that the gas and electricity supply companies are interested in saving. It’s a known fact that in the past few years, the power companies now work on a dual pricing structure, with customers who insist on paying their bills in the “traditional” way paying up to a third more than those who pay online.  British Gas dual fuel standard customers can save up to £300 a year by adopting the company’s Websaver 5 tariff billing programme. 

If that alternative doesn’t suit you, another attractive proposal is to pay by direct debit. This payment method not only saves time it also saves money, estimated to be around £70 annually for an average UK family, calculated at 6% of the typical consumption of a UK family for both gas and electricity.

Every penny saved is a penny earned, and these days every penny counts.

Tags: electricity and gas, electricity bills, electricity suppliers, Energy Bills, energy companies, Energy Efficiency Advice, energy prices, gas supplier

Winter is here and with a vengeance this year. These are the times when we need to extract the maximum from our central heating systems and hot water boilers. It doesn’t mean, however, that we need to commit financial hari-kari in the process. Most UK families are just recovering from the financial outlay of Christmas when, round about the end of January, a massive gas and electricity bill falls on their doorstep, and it can be a whopper. Not only that, but they still have February and March to get through, which can often be very cold months too.

So while we need to keep ourselves warm, the best way keep energy cost at a realistic level during the winter, is to maximize the efficiency of the conversion of gas or electricity used to heat water and operate heaters and heating systems.

The first step is to make every effort to reduce the central heating boiler or water heater’s temperature by making sure that the thermostat never rises above the manufacturer’s recommended setting, which is usually around 120°F. (48.89° C). During these really cold winter nights, homeowners make the mistake of pushing their hot water heater’s thermostat way past this standard set point, and pay a heavy financial price for the privilege.

Even though it has not always been a popular move, it can be worthwhile for a homeowner to consider installing low-flow shower heads to cut back on the amount of hot water used in showers, baths and washing dishes. These days, and at a minimal investment, you can buy heads which retain water pressure, while cutting back on water use by up to 50%.

Washing machines are notoriously large consumers of energy, and should be examined very closely when looking to reduce energy costs. It should be a rule in every energy- and budget- conscious households to only wash full loads in your washing machine. Washing machines use loads of hot water, between 5-30 gallons per load, providing serious demand on your home’s water heater. Every load should be made to pay for itself, and if it can be done at off-peak hours, even better.

Even though winter has now set in, it is still not too late to consider replacing the heating elements of your electric water heater. Although it may appear that your heater is still functioning well, build-ups of lime/calcium significantly reduces their efficiency. Changing the element is a simple task, and can be carried out by any handy man, or by a local plumber or electrician. If you use a natural gas water heater to heat your water, contacting a gas heating engineer to carry out a routine cleaning and tuning of the burner will provide you with an immediate return, in terms of energy savings.

All these things and more are what should make Christmas warm and comfortable, and even more so if they are saving you some money!

For more information on how to reduce heating costs visit http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/

Tags: Boiler, Boiler Replacement, British Gas, Central Heating, Combination Boiler, Condensing Boiler, Heating, heating bills

People who earn their living in the software industry probably comprise the most innovative group of people in the world with, sadly, some of them working on the “wrong side of the tracks”.

There is a constant war going on against cybercrime, which seems to pop up in the most original of formats, with one of the latest to rear its ugly head being “rogueware” which, for the common man, means scam anti-virus products.

It’s a funny thing about anti-virus programs, where so money people are prepared to spend hundreds of pounds on upgrading their computer, increased bandwidth and all the latest accessories yet are very reluctant to spend more than £50 to protect their computer, with all the data contained in it, as well as that of their friends, family and colleagues. 

Those who lurk in the shadows of cyberspace are well aware of this characteristic and have found yet another way of exploiting it, with the launch of a never-ending stream of Rogueware, with which they tempt the less responsible and easily influenced, with prices of between thirty to fifty pounds for full “anti-virus” protection. Sounds cheap enough, till you discover that these programs at best do nothing and, in most cases, invite all kinds of malware into the innocent victim’s computer. The unbelievable truth is that  a large number of computer owners have had no form of virus protection on their computer till recently, They only become aware of the need for anti-virus protection when a pop up appears on their computer, advising them to immediately purchase a rogueware product.

Statistics show that there are now 200 different versions of rogueware available online, some of which are very sophisticated. Unfortunately, not in virus protection, but by creating variants programmed to make detection by anti-virus vendors difficult, and also stubbornly refuse to be removed from a computer system, using background processes to protect un-installation or tampering.  To date, Windows has introduced an uninstall set-up to deal with just 27 of the 200 rogue anti-virus software programs from the computer system, through their Malicious Software Removal Tool which is updated every second Tuesday of the month, as part of  the Patch Tuesday set up.

Rogueware is becoming a serious problem for the innocent and an increasingly big earner for cyber criminals, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimating that fake anti-virus programs have raked in more than $150 million (£100 million) for scammers so far in 2009.

Tags: Anti Virus, Digital Download Products, FBI, Fraud, Malicious Software, Mcafee, Rogueware, Trojan Horses, Viruses