Long distance today is getting cheaper and cheaper. You should no longer be paying those expensive monthly fees or outrageous per minute billing rates. The secret to slashing your long distance bill is to use a discount long distance rate, pretty simple right?

Here are some tips to be sure you choose the right provider:

Figure out what fits your needs. Look at the details of each long distance calling plan you are considering. What are the in-state (intrastate) rates and what are the state-to-state (inter-state) rates for each plan. Often you will find in-state rates are more expensive then state-to-state so keep that in mind if you make a lot of in-state calls. It is possible to use a different provider for each type of call if you use a dial-around or calling card.

Be aware of any monthly recurring fees. Some carriers charge a monthly access fee in order to make long distance calls at a discount rate. This is ok if you make a lot of calls however if you are not careful, you could actually lose money if you don’t make any calls at all. For example if you talk an average 20 minutes per month at 2.9 cents per minute and there is a $4.95 monthly fee then in reality this means you have paid an outrageous 27.65 cents per minute. This is highly overlooked so be aware when you are evaluating providers.

Check to see if there are connection fees. Some calling plans have a connection fee in order to connect your long distance call. This is especially true when making an international calls or when using a calling card. Be sure you read the fine print on this one.

Check if there a minimum per minute charge. Be sure there isn’t a minimum charge when connecting your call. For instance, some companies will connect your call and it may only last 3 minutes however they charge a minimum of 5 or 10 minutes. This is especially true when making international calls or using a calling card.

International Calls. This can be tricky if you call more than one country. You may have the cheapest rate calling one country and pay a higher rate to call another. Take the time and be sure you are getting the best rate you can possibly get; this can really save you a ton of money. Calling cards are usually much cheaper than making calls from a standard telephone as long as you use all of the above criteria when selecting a provider.

Check USF Fee. The universal service fund fee is a fee paid to the government and cannot be avoided. The average is about 9% today however most phone companies charge much more than this. It cannot be applied to in-state calls however if you make a lot of state-to-state calls you will be subject to this tax.

If you follow this guide you should rest assured that you have chosen the best possible provider. Be sure to check back with your provider frequently and be sure your rates are still the best. As technology continues to change it will drive competition and make prices cheaper. I would check at least once every six months to ensure you are still getting the best rate you possibly can.

The perils of failing to properly dispose of computer hard drives, raids or other digital storage mediums was brought into sharp focus over the past week after media reports disclosed that a top secret plans for a US military missile was found on a secondhand hard drive.

Computer forensics, the discipline of recovering data from a hard disk drive or other digital medium, has become better known in recent years as highly sensitive data such as photos or personal details have been lifted by the authorities, researchers or criminals. Cyber crime and data misuse has become a real threat to individuals and corporations as their sensitive data is exposed whenever a hard disk drive is improperly disposed of.

In this most recent example of this issue, media reports featured an ongoing research project conducted by three universities – Longwood University in the USA, Glamorgan University in the UK and Edith Cowan University in Western Australia plus BT [British Telecom] and Sims Recycling Solutions.

The project is in its fourth year and the purpose is to create public attention as to the risk to personal and corporate data posed by carelessly discarded computer equipment which often contains massive amounts of unsecured personal and commercial data. The technicians involved in the study used applications and tools that are available from the internet and can be used by someone with simple knowledge of computers to recover the data left on the drives. The technicians often found that the data was readily readable as it had not even been deleted or wiped using basic instructions.

Probably the most startling result from the project was the retrieval of sensitive details of a US military missile air defence system located on a second-hand hard drive bought in an eBay auction. The data related to test launch procedures for the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defence) ground to air missile defence system, used to shoot down Scud missiles in Iraq. The same disk also apparently had security policies, blueprints of facilities and personnel information belonging to technology company Lockheed Martin – the company which designed and built the system.

The project analyzed data recovered from more than 300 hard disks bought at computer auctions, computer fairs and eBay. In addition to the missile plans, the project also uncovered other sensitive information including bank account details, personal medical records, confidential business plans, financial and accounting company data, personal PINs and job requirements. The disk drives were bought from the UK, USA, Germany, France and Australia.

The project found that just over a third of the hard disks scrutinised contained ‘information of either personal data that could be identified to an individual or commercial data identifying a company or organisation’. The project researchers commented that many of the disks examined contained sufficient information to expose both individuals and companies to a range of potential crimes such as fraud, blackmail and identity theft. Many businesses were probably unaware that they could be acting illegally by not disposing of this kind of data properly.

According to a spokesperson for Sims [which runs the largest electrical recycling plant in Europe] around 90% of the PCs received by them for recycling have already had had their hard drives removed. However, there was uncertainty as to who had actually removed the disk drives, the original owner, the recycling agent or a third party. A worrying trend is the report that in Nigeria discarded phones now sell for 50% more if they have data left on them by the user.