Network and Security

Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Every year businesses give away thousands of dollars in free money and gift cards as a way of promoting their websites/products. We’ve put together a list of 16 of them who will give you a ridiculous $1,935.20 in free cash right now. Some of them are as simple as filling out a form and some of them take a bit more effort, but you can easily knock out all of them in a couple of hours. Without further ado, here are the 16 companies giving out free money right now…. 1. Try Banking at Capital One 360 – FREE $50.00 About a year ago, Capital One took over ING Direct and started offering free online checking accounts. What’s even cooler is that they’ll give you $50 just to open one. I’ve already got a checking account that I’m pretty happy with, but I don’t mind opening a second one for some free cash. Here’s how to do it: 1. Open a free checking account with Capital One 360. 2. There’s no minimum deposit with this account, but you’ve got to mak

How much do you pay for apps on your iOS or Android device? Do you know that you can earn real cash and rewards from using certain apps? Granted that you will have to work for it by carrying out tasks like grocery shopping or checking out a new line of clothing, watching trailers, taking photos, and meeting new people. Sound interesting? Then, you really should check out these 10 apps that will earn you real cash and rewards (gift cards and redeemables). We’ve split the tasks from the rewards to help you figure out which app to try out first., but something tells us that you’d probably be checking all of them out. Some even help you to get in shape and to do your part for charity. 1. Field Agent What to do: You turn into a field agent for some field work, carrying out small missions in your neighborhood. You’ll get instructions of what to do and where to go, places like your local shopping mall, grocery store, or any landmark. The jobs must be completed within 2 hours, and is on a firs

Beyond the Golden Age of Content Marketing We’re living in the Golden Age of content marketing. What was once a stealth tactic that select brands were adopting a few years ago has grown into a full blown heyday with everyone from American Express to Red Bull extolling the virtues of content marketing. And with good reason! Content marketing remains one of the most authentic, useful ways for brands to reach their consumers. Contently Summit Searchshots recently attend the Contently Summit on Content Marketing in New York. Over 200 brands, agencies and journalists came together to discuss trends, changes and the new frontiers in content marketing. What struck us was that while branded content has become a widely accepted practice, content marketing still faces an uphill climb to prove out its reach, ROI and secure its place as an effective marketing tactic. While content marketing is experiencing its boon, it will be interesting to see what the next few years in the field bring in the wa

Four apps that give you free money When you take your phone to the bathroom (don’t lie, everybody does it), or when you’re standing in line fiddling with it at Starbucks, what are you doing? Are you checking email? Sending a SnapChat? Playing Words With Friends? Or are you using it to make money? That’s right—you’re wasting precious time playing Candy Crush when you could be earning cold, hard cash! (For the purpose of this rhetorical question, using your phone for work email doesn’t count as making money.) Here are four free, awesome, easy-to-use apps that will pay you in cash—sometimes gift cards—just for using your phone in everyday situations. So what are you waiting for? The only thing stopping you from making money is the fact that you haven’t downloaded these apps yet. Swagbucks Swagbucks is a popular online rebate site that asks its users to do a variety of tasks, like shopping online, taking surveys, voting in polls, watching videos, and searching the Web—to earn virtual curre

Over the last few years I’ve been gotten nearly a hundred emails asking me what I thought of survey sites and why I’ve never listed any survey sites on The Penny Hoarder. Well, the truth is…. it’s just not my favorite way to earn extra money. Personally, I get really bored filling out online forms and I often find that with survey companies, I’m working for only $7-8/hour. But, it is easy work and if you’re interested in this type of work, I’ve finally put together a list of the best survey sites. Also, when you first sign up for a survey site they are going to ask you a number of questions about your background/household. And that’s because they need to know your demographics before matching you up with the correct surveys. It can be a little time consuming, but my recommendation is to signup for all 9 survey sites at once. And that’s because each survey site is probably only going to be able to match you up with 1 or 2 surveys a month. This way you get a ton of surveys to choose from

It seems like everyday I see a larger charge from iTunes on my credit card. Between mobile apps and music purchases, my phone ends up costing me quite a bit more than my monthly plan. So…I’ve found a way to balance it out by downloading mobile apps that actually PAY ME to use them. I’ve put together a list of some of my favorites. Enjoy. 1. Nielsen Homescan This app will pay you to scan your groceries. Crazy, right? Once you sign up to become a Nielsen Homescan family (yep, the same company that tracks TV ratings), the company will send you a free scanner or you can use your smartphone. Every time you go shopping, you simply scan the barcodes on the back of each product and send your data off to Nielsen. If you want to give it a try, you can fill out the application here: Nielsen Homescan Application (you can’t download this one from the app store; you’ll need to visit their website first). As an active participant, you earn gift points which you can redeem for different types of merch