Sarath Chandra Pandurangi's Blog

Its is astonishing how meritline can offer an ipod cable (and a lot of innovative products) for less than a dollar. They even ship it free. Although it comes all the way from the other side of the world, a country called Honk Kong. It takes 2 weeks, but meritline seems have perfected the job of *getting it there*. However, one catchy (satire) product is Automatic Toothpaste Dispenser/Toothpaste Squeezer . My wife always rants about such tools, how they make people lazy. I think to agree now :)

I really like Citi's Virtual card concept . With this service, you never have to give out your real credit card number online. Citi provides you with a tool that can generate a virtual credit card number. You use it for any merchant online. The card number is totally random. Cannot be traced back to original card number. The Tool is of two types. You can download and install it (a flash based *application* - NOT an air app - WHY?) or your can launch in a browser. The install variant is only available for windows (has a specific installer works only on PC ). For macs and *nix, You have use the launcher. NOTE: Donot use Virtual Account Numbers for purchases that require you to show your credit card at time of pick-up (e.g., movie tickets, etc.). I fell in that trap twice. You can talk to the manager, but hey, why the hassle? Now, Why am I, a developer, taking special interest in promoting this? Apart from the general push for privacy, I want to show how poorly designed is the...

This post is on personal security. Social Security #, Address, Phone number. Even your email address. Most importantly your Credit Card or Bank Account number All these are sensitive personal information you MUST protect at all times. Never tell a person/company you don't know, any of the above. Guard them with your life. Well not exactly, life, but almost. Dont even give out your favorites (colors, pets, movies), names of your aunts, maiden names, etc in websites that look dubious. These sites include, those which promise a free gift, winning odds, love life, sexual content, and dating partner. All sites/games/quizzes in FACEBOOK are solely written to collect and harvest your information. Donot give them ANYTHING. Best advice, treat this data as your child. If you will not give him/her away to a stranger/company/site, you will not give the personal data to them. Look at a related ad from Microsoft