A Secret Alternative to Death to Stock Photo

Posted by Jack on October 15, 2019 in Death to Stock Photo, Death to Stock Photo Alternative, Death to the Stock Photo, Photocase, Stock Photo Buyers Guide

As a professional creative, there are times when you need the perfect image – be it for a new marketing project, website design, or any other creative project you might be working on. The problem we all face is finding the right stock photo, that’s not cheesy or overused. There are sites out there, like Death to Stock Photo aka Death to the Stock Photo, that provides such images but their curated collections can be somewhat limited. What you need is an alternative to Death to Stock Photo but perusing through the internet leaves you wondering if there are any.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of stock photo sites providing images that are unique, compelling, and relevant to today’s audience – in other words, anything but cheesy. Photocase is one of our favourite sites for high quality, unique stock images that rise above standard stock photography and provide a great Death to Stock Photo alternative (If you’re not familiar with Photocase, check out our review of them here).

Why Is It Important to Use Good Stock Photos

It really doesn’t matter what type of project you’re working on; high-resolution photos are essential. Imagine what web design without photographic visual design elements would look like, or how interesting would that blog be without the perfect image that ties it all together?

Commercial projects of all types, from social media marketing to content creation and other creative endeavours, all demand compelling, captivating images to capture the audience’s attention and meet the expectations of search engine algorithms. If you’re looking to power up your Google Ad campaign, try reading this article called Choosing Stock Images to Boost Your Google Ad Performance. You see, most of us are highly visual. It’s images, pictures, illustrations, and videos that capture our attention long before the text on a page – no matter how fantastic the font style. Presentation matters for creative digital marketing and graphic design pursuits, and you depend on stock photo sites to deliver the high-quality images you need to bring your creative design projects to life. The problem is that we’ve seen it all. We’re constantly online. Current research says on average, we each spend 6.5 hours online. Obviously, that number is more for some and less for others, but you get the point. We’re plugged and connected, through our Android phones, tablets, laptops, and all the other devices that make up our digital landscape. We’re viewing blog posts, watching videos, browsing websites, and devouring information at every turn. So much information that some estimates indicate we’re consuming 50% more information than we were several decades ago and much of this information is visual. With so much visual stimulation, the brain automatically starts to filter what it wants to see – including filtering out all those images we’ve seen a million times before. Unique images are what rise above the rest and stand out. Have a need for “weird” stock photography? Read where to find them. Professional photography is one road to capturing attention with unique images but it’s also something that really isn’t a priority in the budget of most businesses – especially when stock photography is a more affordable option. The issue is there isn’t a shortage of stock photo sites, and many of them feature the same cheesy, irrelevant images that have been overused to death. This is what promoted the birth of Death to Stock Photo. Built on the platform that their domain could provide the unique visual content that professional creatives were looking for, they soon began to stand out. However, there are some downsides to their platform, and not everyone was as equally impressed with their collection. So, those of us in the industry of compelling visual content began to look at what alternatives to Death to Stock Photo existed. Of all the stock photo sites out there, Photocase rises above as the alternative to flat, cheesy stock images you’re looking for.

Photocase as an Alternative to Death to Stock Photo

If you’ve ever Googled “stock images”, no doubt Photocase made it into the top tier of your search results. This is because the site has been around for over 15 years – basically forever in terms of the average lifespan for today’s digital business. Photocase is a German stock photo site, with a focus on providing images that lean toward the unconventional, with an undeniable authentic flair. In other words, the images that Photocase offers don’t look like stock photography.

Despite the years, Photocase has been dominating the stock image game, their collection has remained relatively small, at least compared to some of the larger sites with literally hundreds of millions of images cluttering the space, making it next to impossible to sort through all of them to find the unique image that stands out.

Photocase’s collection of curated images contains what has been described as a Berlin-style vibe. Each image that you’ll find on the platform offers up the perfect alternative to Death to Stock Photo. Their curated collection is artistic, infused with authenticity, and unlike the stock images that you’re going to find on any other platform – including Death to Stock Photo. To sweeten the pot, Photocase is also one of the more affordable options in unique stock photography – something that really matters to smaller enterprises and entrepreneurs. In contrast to Death to Stock Photo, which offers monthly membership packages based on enterprise size and need, Photocase offers on-demand purchasing. This enables you to purchase images individually or to buy bundles of credits to use toward image purchases, which can be a much more economical solution for businesses and professional creatives with limited budgets. Read more about how Photocase is an affordable alternative to premium stock images.

How Critical Is Photography to Marketing?

Your power to make a visual impact through marketing is pretty much at an all time high. Digital consumers are peruse social media and websites specifically looking for something to stand out and capture their attention. It’s true that you could accomplish this with a variety of visual media. Seemingly little details, like the color or font used in your marketing, have a significant visual impact. Still, your audience craves visual stimulation that’s more relatable. This is where stock photography comes in. Photography, especially stock images that are an alternative to Death to Stock Photo – like the ones you’ll find on Photocase, perform on multiple levels for your marketing strategy. How do unique stock images elevate your visual marketing performance? Here are just a few of the ways.

Accelerated Information Processing: The human brain processes visual information faster than the information it receives through text or auditory means. A compelling image, that captures attention, is a sure way to swiftly deliver your marketing message and help people quickly form a connection with your brand.
Attention-Grabbing: Take a minute and scroll through social media. How many of the images, save the ones of your friends, are cheesy stock photos you’ve seen countless times before? The repetitive use of these images is one of the downfalls to so many marketing campaigns. When we see a familiar image, we automatically think we’ve already read what’s attached to it. Unique stock photos grab attention and generate clicks.
Emotional Connections: Today’s consumer isn’t interested in flat, lifeless brands. With all the digital stimulation, they’re looking to connect on a more personal level, and doing your part to connect with them on an emotional level is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this. Stock images that rise above the ordinary can spark an emotional connection that overused stock photography could only dream of.
Non-Verbal Communication: Do you know that only a small percentage of the way we communicate with each other is verbal? The rest is done through body language, facial expression, touch, and interesting visual cues – like the ones you’ll find on sites that are alternatives to Death to Stock Photo.
Engagement and Sharing: The whole point of a marketing strategy is to get your brand message across to a wider audience and generate more interest in your business. In today’s digital environment, this is accomplished by generating engagement and encouraging social shares. Powerful images, that are unexpected, compelling, and speak to the person on an emotional level encourage these interactions.

Not Sure If a Stock Photo You Choose Has Been Overused to Death?

Man swings on scooter, legs whirl through the air

The very nature of stock photography means that the images are available for anyone and everyone to use. This is a major benefit for those who lack the budget, or even the desire, to work with a professional photographer for their image needs. The downside? The chances of each image being used repeatedly by hoards of other professional creatives are huge. The images and designs used on your website or in your content should say something about your business as an individual. How can you accomplish this with stock photos that have made their way around the internet so many times that they’re associated with multiple industries and numerous marketing messages? The simple answer is that you can’t. Sites like Photocase, which offer an alternative to Death to Stock Photo, feature images that you haven’t seen floating around the web. If you’re curious just how widely used an image is, you can do a reverse image search by uploading the image in Google, and then watch the results pour in. Reverse image searches can also help you find just the right stock photo for your needs. Learn more about our reverse image search to find out how. But we’re really not just talking about the overuse of a specific image here. We’re also referring the overuse of common themes and styles of photography that have been overdone to the point that they all start to blend together. Not sure what we’re talking about? How many images of bland handshakes accompanied by fake smiles have you seen? How about the smiling woman wearing a headset, or the countless images of word tiles have been used to spell out just about anything you can imagine? Images that are staged, too highly focused, or feature people in unnatural situations are all overused, and do nothing to highlight the authenticity and personality of the brand you want to highlight. Instead, you might start by initiating more specific searches for stock photography and viewing the photos you choose through the eyes of the consumer. Remove yourself from the situation and consider what you would think about a brand that used the image you’re looking at. Does it convey the message and emotional appeal you’re looking for? If not, scrap it and start fresh. As far as determining if a photo has made its way around a few too many times, rather than go through all the steps to determine if an image you choose has been overused to death, step away from the standard stock photo platforms in favor of sites that provide images that are removed from the ordinary and offer you the opportunity to breathe new, fresh life into your visual marketing and creative strategies.

Who Says Stock Photography Has to Be Serious and Boring?

Ok, let’s be completely honest here. We’re in the business of stock photography and support those like Photocase who do an exceptional job of providing their user base with authentic, timely, and artistic images. Still, the stock image industry as a whole has a reputation for being a bit boring. Does it really have to be this way? Absolutely not! Stock images don’t have to be stale, serious, or boring. In fact, they should be anything but. In one marketing study, 67% of consumers stated that the quality of an image connected to a brand, or their marketing campaign, was among the biggest influencers in their purchasing decisions. This realization is a big part of the reason why Death to Stock Photo became so well known in the industry, almost from the day they arrived on the scene. Professional creatives were craving something different, off the beaten path – and most importantly, an option to support truly talented photographers who knew how to capture the emotion and make connections through their work. At the time, they filled an important need but there were other sites who had been quietly doing for years, exactly what Death to Stock was becoming so well known for. Photocase is one of those sites that has always focused on quality over quantity in their curated collections andhas always appreciated the value of a true artistic eye behind the camera taking a stock image. Aside from a collection of stock images that are far from boring, Photocase offers both a basic license and an extended license, so once you find an image that stands out from the rest, you have more options as to how its used for your business. If you’ve been a little hesitant to invest in stock photography, it has likely been with good reason. You’ve probably seen some horrendously unflattering stock images – the ones that make you cringe a little in embarrassment for the person or business using them. You’ve also developed a very passive attitude toward bland photography that misses all the marks on standing out. Of course, you don’t want people to feel the same way about you, so you’ve avoided stock photography like the plague.

This exactly why we’re happy to feature stock photography sites like Photocase, who break free of all the stereotypes by supplying images that are far removed from the typical boring, serious photos that line the catalogues of other sites. If you’ve taken a look or two at Death to Stock Photo but wondered what else was out there, Photocase is a breath of fresh air that supplies inspiring, creative, and realistic images for all your stock photo needs.

Learn More About Photocase as an Alternative to Death to Stock Photo

Has your curiosity got the best of you yet? There’s nothing to lose by taking a trip to Photocase and checking out why we think they’re the best alternative to Death to Stock Photo around. Before you begin your next marketing or creative project, take some time to browse the curated collection on the Photocase platform, and you’ll understand exactly what we mean. Photocase has been in the business of providing unconventional stock photography since 2001. Thanks to their quality over quantity moto, and their easy to use the platform, they’re the stock photo site that we look forward to working with for years to come. If you’re someone who has relied heavily on free stock image sites due to budget restrictions, Photocase is not only one of the most affordable platforms that don’t make you buy into a monthly membership, they’re also offering an amazing promo. Check out this link to find out how you can get 5 free credits and 10% of your Photocase order. We promise you’re going to be as enamored with Photocase as we are, and we’re pretty sure they’re going to become your go-to resource for unique, authentic images that are a great alternative to Death to Stock Photo.

Beginners’ Guide to Securing Your Home Network

Posted by Jack on October 14, 2019 in Uncategorized

Your home network is a possible treasure trove for cyber attackers:

You do your online banking on your phone or PC.
You have credit card credentials stored in your smart TV and your video game consoles.
Google Home and Amazon Echo devices are recording the audio in your home and likely have cameras, too.
Your TVs, PCs, phones, stereos, and various “smart” devices contain CPUs that can be exploited to mine cryptocurrency.
They can also be exploited as part of a massive botnet to perform more attacks.

If cyber attackers penetrate your home network, you could lose your privacy, your online identity, and money from your bank account. Your various devices may slow down, but you may notice no indication that the bad guys have compromised your comfortable home.

How to Secure Your Home Network

Popular TV shows like Mr. Robot describe super sophisticated cyber attacks and advanced “hackers.” But most of the attacks that your home entertainment and computing devices face are easy to prevent. More importantly, you don’t need a degree in computer science to improve the security of your home network. I’ll make the knowledge that you need simple to understand and implement.

1. Buy Only the Gadgets You Need

The first step in securing your home network might surprise you. It starts when you browse Amazon or Best Buy for new toys. Smart devices like Amazon Echo, Google Home, Ecobee thermostats, and “smart” toys are all the rage these days. The possibility of getting weather forecasts simply by saying “Okay, Google, what’s the weather like?” or being able to look at your security cameras from your phone when you’re away can be irresistible. But those are all Internet of Things devices, or IoT for short. They introduce new internet-connected interfaces to your home. internet of things definition

Each of those new interfaces expands the cyber attack surface of your home network. The more interfaces you have, the more vectors you have for the bad “hackers” to get in. So consider the risks of new devices before you buy them. I personally have very little in the way of IoT tech in my home. I have a smartphone which, of course, doubles as a device that can be used to spy on me. The cybersecurity risks of my phone are similar to the risks my PC has, but it’s a desktop and it can’t be used to track my movements when I’m not home. I have a “dumb” TV, but it operates as a display for my PS4, PS3, and Raspberry Pi-based Retro Pie console. Those consoles are all internet-connected, and my PS4 also has a PlayStation Camera that could be intercepted to watch me while I’m in my bedroom. Aside from my router, those are all the internet-connected devices that I have. As a cybersecurity professional, you might assume that I want to have all the latest toys. But, in fact, being a cybersecurity professional means that I’m cautious about new toys. You could choose to cover your home in Google Home speakers and deploy internet-connected security cameras or whatever you want. Just keep in mind that those could be new means for cyber attackers to interfere with your life—and for security to harden accordingly.

2. Check Your Router

If you have a typical 21^st century home, you have one account with an ISP (internet service provider.) The ISP transmits an internet signal through your home that you’ve connected a home router to. The home router could be fully wired, but it’s probably wireless. If you have a wireless router, you probably have a WiFi signal broadcast throughout your home that devices can connect to wirelessly, such as phones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles, smart devices, you-name-it. That internet connection through cable, Ethernet, and WiFi connects your home to the rest of the world. But it’s also how cyber attackers get in. The next course of action is to do the basic things you need to do to secure that source. how to secure your home network image showing modem router turned on

how to secure your home network image showing modem router turned on

It’s unlikely that a cyber attacker will intercept your internet connection physically. Chances are if they want access to your internet connection, they’ll look for your WiFi. Go to your router. If you have WiFi, your router assigns an SSID (a way of naming WiFi signals) and password to your account. Your router came with a default SSID and password. If you’re using that default SSID and password, you have a seriously dangerous security vulnerability in your home network and must fix it right away. Wardriving sounds more badass than it actually is. It entails traveling around a neighbourhood with a device that can pick up WiFi signals (such as a phone) and seeing if the WiFi can be easy to break into. The most vulnerable WiFi signals are the ones with no passwords (that’s public, unencrypted WiFi) and the ones with default SSIDs and passwords. wifi on smartphone

The default SSIDs and passwords associated with the device model of your router and your internet service provider are easy to find on the internet. RouterPasswords.com is a great place to start. Try one of those passwords and you can easily break in. Default SSIDs let cyber attackers know what brand of device you have or who your ISP is and let them know which default passwords to try. Your SSID should be unique, and your password should be complex. You may be tempted to change your SSID to “Police Monitoring Van,” but the novelty of those jokes have long worn off. Be more original. My boyfriend’s SSID is related to the name of his record label. My home router SSID is a pun related to my nickname. Try something fun and different. Passwords should be as many characters as possible, with a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. ssid meaning

Source: TechTarget.com Follow the instructions included with your router to change your WiFi SSID and password. If you’ve lost them, don’t worry. Open a web browser on your home PC, and try any of the following in the address bar:

One of those addresses should lead to a console where you can change your router’s settings. Your router may also have some extra features, such as UPnP or WPS. If you aren’t certain that you’re using those features, disable them from the same router settings console you used to change your SSID and password for your WiFi. Those are both extra ways that cyber attackers can maliciously penetrate your home network. Disable them if you don’t have to enable them. Regarding WPS, network security expert Michael Horowitz says:

“This is a huge expletive-deleted security problem. That eight-digit number will get you into the (router) no matter what. So a plumber comes over to your house, turns the router over, takes a picture of the bottom of it, and he can now get on your network forever.”

It’s also pretty easy for a cyber attacker to crack your WPS from an app on their phone. According to Horowitz, UPnP is also terrible.

“UPnP was designed for LANs, and as such, it has no security. In and of itself, it’s not such a big deal. (But) UPnP on the internet is like going in for surgery and having the doctor work on the wrong leg.”

While you’re at your router’s console in your web browser, see if there’s a section where you can check for updates for your router’s firmware. Your router should automatically install new security patches when they become available. It’s quite possible that your router’s firmware isn’t getting updated, which leaves terrifying vulnerabilities that a cyber attacker can exploit. And when you’re looking for a new router, find one that supports the new WPA3 encryption standard. The other WiFi encryption standards (WEP, WPA, and WPA2) are older and have worse security vulnerabilities. Deliver WPA3 encryption for your WiFi, unless you have devices that cannot use WPA3.

3. Get a VPN

If you’re a smart reader of The Best VPN, you probably have a VPN, too. VPN routes your internet traffic through an extra layer of encryption. A good VPN, when properly configured, will greatly improve the security of your home network and make it a lot more difficult for cyber attackers to intercept your internet use.

If you don’t have a VPN set up yet, or if you’re considering changing your VPN provider, The Best VPN is a great source of independent and objective reviews to help you choose the best. The best VPN providers have apps for your PCs, phones, and tablets that make everything easy to use. No computer nerd knowledge necessary.

4. Configure Your Firewalls

A firewall is an interface that controls how internet signals enter and leave your home network. They come in the forms of both hardware and software. Chances are that your router has a firewall, and your Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems have firewalls, too. These firewalls usually work by blocking the internet ports you don’t use and filtering the internet ports that you do use. These ports are what we refer to as the TCP/IP stack. Internet services often have associated TCP/IP ports. For instance, you access the web through ports 80 and 443. Your firewalls aren’t configured for optimal security by default. The most secure firewalls are the ones you configure yourself. tcp/ip definition

HowStuffWorks has an excellent article on how firewalls work with easy-to-understand information that should help you configure your firewalls properly, even if you’re a total layperson. Which ports do you use? You’ll be able to figure it out. As I said, block the ports you don’t use and filter the ports you do use. Remember I mentioned that each new internet-connected device in your home network is a new way that cyber attackers can break in? The same applies to TCP/IP ports.

5. Don’t Forget the Antivirus

Each device in your home network that can have an antivirus installed on it should have an antivirus installed on it. Malware on your phone or PC can be a means for cyber attackers to attack the rest of your home network. Your Android malware could be a way in for a cyber attacker to watch your baby on your baby monitor or control your Ecobee thermostat. av-test.org homepage

I work for an antivirus company, so I won’t recommend anything specific. Instead, I’ll direct you to AV-Test.org. Just as The Best VPN does independent VPN provider reviews, AV-Test is an excellent source for independent third-party reviews of antivirus software. They list their reviews per operating system, such as Windows, Mac, and Android. Use their advice to choose the best antivirus software for all of the PCs, phones, and tablets in your home network.

6. Tie Up All the Loose Ends

Remember how I mentioned that my PS4 has a PlayStation Camera? I use it with my PSVR device. When I’m not playing a VR video game, I disconnect my Camera from my PS4. google home device beside smartphone

Laptops often have built-in webcams, and you may also have cameras for your Google Home or Amazon Echo, or as a separate peripheral connected to your desktop PC. Disconnect all cameras or cover them with duct tape when you’re not using them. It’s also a good idea to disconnect your Google Home or Amazon Echo speakers when you’re not at home. By disconnecting or covering cameras and speakers in your home network when you’re not using them, you’re making it more difficult for cyber attackers to watch or listen to you in a space that should be private. There are lots of malware and man-in-the-middle cyber attacks that can grant the bad guys a way to violate your privacy. My advice is to limit your “cyber attack surface” as much as possible by reducing it in ways that are feasible. Credit card and personal banking credentials are also highly attractive to cyber attackers. Sometimes people store this sort of data in their smart TVs and video game consoles. My advice is to use your credit card as infrequently as possible. If you have services that you pay for, such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, or Spotify, you can often pay for them using gift cards. credit cards in back pocket of jeans

Alternatively, there are credit card gift cards you can use to pay for most online services. Use gift cards as much as possible. The worst-case scenario with a gift card is that a cyber attacker steals its value from you, whether it’s $100 or whatever. The worst-case scenario with a conventional credit card is much more expensive than $100. If a cyber attacker acquires that data, they could access your personal banking and wipe your bank accounts dry or engage in identity fraud where they pretend to be you online.

Protect Your Home Network, Safeguard Your Security

These tips are all simple ways to greatly improve the security of your home network. It’s surprising how many people don’t do these things. Most cyber attacks aren’t complex, sophisticated, or Hollywood-movie-worthy. Most of the time, cyber attackers will try easier ways to engage in cyber crime, and by following my guide, you have now made their lives much more difficult. Give yourself a pat on the back!

Putting a Price on Privacy

Posted by Jack on October 7, 2019 in Uncategorized

For many, the way we live our lives has moved online. As a result, our information is constantly being processed through sign-up forms, submissions, online quizzes, and even sensitive documents. Companies must manage this data to keep it safe and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, but issues related to leaks are still prevalent. Massive data breaches such as the Equifax leak and Cambridge Analytica scandal have even made national news, the latter of which involved the mining of personal information on Facebook. In light of these events, online privacy is becoming increasingly important, so we surveyed over 1,000 people about how much they valued their data and even asked them to assign a monetary value to different pieces of personal information. How safe is our data, and what are we doing to protect ourselves? Read on to find out more.

Digital Security Measures

Top Precautions Taken to Protect Online Privacy

Nearly all respondents (94%) took some effort to protect themselves online, with only 6% admitting to taking no precautions to protect their online privacy. For anyone who is in the minority and wants to know where to start, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suggests an array of tips such as proper electronic disposal methods and internet best practices. Changing passwords regularly proved to be the most used approach to data protection (63.5%). This practice, while tried and true, is evolving thanks to password-generating tools and two-factor authentication, the latter being a method favored by almost half of all respondents. Some options, such as VPNs, succeed in creating a strong line of defense against potential data mining. In fact, 19.6% of people reported using a VPN to connect to public Wi-Fi to protect their privacy online. Virtual private networking is on the rise globally, allowing users to anonymize their internet activity under one server. This helps quell concerns among people who are wary about using public Wi-Fi (56% of respondents felt this way) and other vulnerable areas on the web. Other methods, however, have wide public appeal but don’t do much in the way of data protection, including the use of incognito mode. Around 44% of people surveyed reported using incognito mode to protect their online privacy, even though incognito tabs clearly state no relation to online data protection; they only edit viewing permissions for browsing history and cookies. For a while, covering your webcam with a slider or piece of tape was thought to be largely ineffective. That is, until FBI Director James Comey recommended the practice publicly, possibly causing 44% of people surveyed to use this precaution.

Which Data Do We Care About Most?

What Types of Data Are You Most Protective Of?

Nearly half of people said they were most protective of identification, such as a driver’s license and passport. Billions of people worldwide have been affected by data breaches at some point, putting identity protection at the forefront of the minds of many. Similarly, respondents were likely to keep financial information under lock and key, with over one-third citing this type of data as the most valuable. Employing protection services like LifeLock can be a good strategy, but even the world’s largest banks and financial institutions are not immune to breaches. Photos seem to be innocuous enough, especially if they don’t show any sensitive information. Less than 1% of respondents reported having concerns over this type of data. However, our faces could be digitally hijacked for deepfakes, a digital means of recreating someone’s voice, image, or video footage to alter and manipulate it. Although they are mostly used to target celebrities and political figures right now, experts say this technology is closer than we may think.

Cost of Personal Data

Here, we asked survey respondents to tell us which types of information were up for grabs for the right price. However, people were the most likely to protect data indicating someone’s identity. Unfortunately, nearly 22% of survey participants were still likely to surrender their Social Security number for a quick buck. Relinquishing this important number to a questionable source can result in identity theft, and this statistic is concerning when coupled with the government’s slow response time, with some recent years capping out at fewer than 250 new social security numbers that were processed. On the other hand, shopping data has become popular with apps that offer discounts in exchange for access to receipts and spending history. In fact, Ibotta boasted over $627 million in cash-back savings and rebates as of this writing. A majority of respondents were willing to offer both a month’s worth (61%) and year’s worth (56%) of their shopping data, indicating comfortability when approaching this type of data sharing. Many hesitate at the idea of “selling” their data, but we give our data away every day. Besides shopping programs, we use our email addresses to sign into apps and software all the time. Over 40% of respondents refused to sell their email addresses, but many don’t bat an eye when websites ask someone to create an account by signing in with their email.

Putting a Price on Data

Median Price People Would Charge for Their Personal Information

We found that people tended to greatly overestimate the value of their data. Comparing the fact that Social Security numbers go for as low as $2 apiece on the black market, most respondents radically overestimated the worth of even the most sensitive of data. Across the board, the valuations were high, especially for information that we commonly use to sign into a variety of apps and platforms, such as email addresses ($50) and birthdates ($50). Similarly, respondents valued one month of location data at $150 and one year of location data for $750, yet we use location-tracking apps such as ride-hailing services (Uber and Lyft) and delivery apps (DoorDash and Postmates) that already store our data. Some of the priciest types of data that are up for grabs are medical records and passports, one-stop shops for collecting a wide variety of information. Even then, however, respondents still aimed their prices well above the going rate.

Data Brokering: The Way of the Future?

Experiences With and Perceptions of Selling Personal Data

Although still small, the number of people looking to sell their personal data is growing, due in part to companies that base their profit model on the acquisition, buying, and selling of large hoards of personal data. These businesses are called data brokerage firms, and they gain data through public records and information from other companies. These groups are not well-regulated, and data brokers can even deny requests to remove information they’ve acquired. To reclaim personal data, many are selling their data to AI groups and think tanks rather than having their data leaked or processed without their consent. However, just over 1 in 4 people would consider selling their personal data, with people in their 20s the most likely candidates. Only 7.5% of respondents were familiar with the practice, and the median payout after selling data was $100, a far cry from the valuations that respondents cited. So this begs the question: Is selling our data really better than having it leaked? That’s up for you to decide.

The High (or Low) Value of Privacy

Turns out, some personal data is off limits while others can be bought (and subsequently sold without consent) to the highest bidder. One of the most important things we can protect is our personal and intellectual security. Many people we surveyed admit to not doing enough to protect themselves and their identities in the digital age. Are you looking to add the next line of defense to your digital data? Consider setting up a VPN to ensure your browsing history and data are concealed against would-be hackers and companies looking to mine your information. Head over to TheBestVPN.com to read comparison guides and resources to learn which VPN is the best for you.

Methodology

We surveyed 1,002 people about their online privacy. Respondents were 51.1% women and 48.9% men. An additional two respondents reported being nonbinary, and two others did not disclose their gender identity. The average age of respondents was 38.1 with a standard deviation of 11.9. Respondents were asked what precautions they took to protect their online privacy as a check-all-that-apply question. Therefore, percentages will not add to 100 for that data. Respondents were asked to realistically report what price they would consider selling various pieces of data for. If they were unwilling to sell a piece of data at any price, they were told to put N/A. The median amounts presented in the final visualization of the data are based on respondents who were willing to sell their personal data.

Limitations

The data presented are based on self-reporting. Common issues with self-reported data include exaggeration and selective memory. It’s possible that respondents purposefully exaggerated the prices they would put on their personal data and skewed the dataset. No statistical testing was performed, so the claims presented are based on means alone. This is purely exploratory content, and future studies on this topic should be more rigorous.

Fair Use Statement

Data privacy is not something to be taken lightly. If someone you know would benefit from this study’s findings, you are free to share for any noncommercial uses. Our only request is that you link back here so that people can view our findings in their entirety. This also gives credit to our hardworking contributors.

CVE-2019-17059: Preauth-RCE in Sophos’ Cyberoam Explained

Posted by Jack on October 7, 2019 in Uncategorized

We’ve been working hard with internal and external security researchers to uncover serious remotely exploitable loopholes in SSL VPNs and Firewalls like Cyberoam, Fortigate and Cisco VPNs. This article is a technical go-to about a patched critical vulnerability affecting Cyberoam SSL VPN also known as CyberoamOS. This Cyberoam exploit, dubbed CVE-2019-17059 is a critical vulnerability that lets attackers access your Cyberoam device without providing any username or password. On top of that, the access granted is the highest level (root), which essentially gives an attacker unlimited rights on your Cyberoam device. In most network environments, Cyberoam devices are used as firewalls and SSL VPN gateways. This gives a potential attacker a strong foothold in a network. It makes it easier to attack hosts inside the network, and since Cyberoam devices are usually trusted in most environments, this gives a would-be attacker extra edge. According to Shodan (a search engine for internet-connected devices), there are more than 96,000 internet-facing Cyberoam devices from all over the world. Most of these devices are installed in enterprises, universities and some in world-renowned banks. This leads to the attacks having huge impacts on these environments. Working with Sophos security team has been a large delight as they acted quickly by acknowledging and rolling out patches only a few days after our initial report to them. Kudos to them! (pun-intended!)

And since most of these entities are attractive targets for attackers, it makes the bugs all that more critical.

CyberoamOS Remote Unauthenticated Root Command Execution

The CyberoamOS is a modified Linux-based operating system for Cyberoam devices. This OS has a web-based configuration interface and an SSLVPN portal. The web interface is divided into two main parts:

A frontend written in Java
A backend that uses a combination of C and Perl

We will not dive deep into the internals of the front- or back-end code, mainly to save time and limit the amount of information revealed. But we will discuss briefly how the bug is triggered. Both the configuration and SSLVPN interfaces have a servlet that handles main operations. These operations are defined using a parameter named “mode”. Most of these are authenticated. But there are a few ops we can access without authentication (like login). The bugs we have found lie in the email antivirus/antispam module. The request mode for this endpoint (module, op) is 458. One thing to note is the opcodes are mapped to their names in the Cyberoam database (internal database Postgres). By looking up 458, we can find out what the name of this opcode is. Here is a line from the database initialization SQL script showing the name opcode 458:

insert into tblcrevent(opcode,description,mode,requesttype) 
values('RELEASEQUARANTINEMAILFROMMAIL','RELEASE QUARANTINE MAIL FROM MAIL','458',2);

The opcode functions are stored in the directory /_conf/csc/cscconf/. We will not be revealing the whole code of the vulnerable function, but we will provide a few snippets showing where and how the bug occurs. A code from the Java frontend that handles the opcode 458:

if ((jsonObject.getString("hdnSender").equals("") ||
validateEmail(jsonObject.getString("hdnSender"))) &&
validateEmail(jsonObject.getString("hdnRecipient")) &&
isSafeFilePath(jsonObject.getString("hdnFilePath")) && b) {
    httpServletResponse.setContentType("text/html");
    CyberoamLogger.debug("Antivirus/AntiSpam", "CSC Constant value " + 
CSCConstants.isCCC);

As you can see above, a few parameters are checked for validity. If they are valid values, the following happens:

final EventBean eventByMode = EventBean.getEventByMode(363);
...redacted.
final int sendWizardEvent = cscClient.sendWizardEvent(eventByMode, hashMap, sqlReader);

As we can see above, we have a new event code (363) that will be sent to the backend. The bug we have discovered is in the code that handles this in the backend. The opcode is named sendmail, and to avoid exploitation of this bug, we will be redacting most of the code from the following code. The opcode handler for send_mail.

...redacted...

<code>$param = $request->{release};</code>
        param = DLOPEN(base64_decode,param)
        LOG applog " Decode values :: $param \n"
        <code>%requestData = split(/[&=]/, $param);
            $mailServerHost = $requestData{hdnDestDomain};
            $mailFrom = $requestData{hdnSender};
            $mailTo   = $requestData{hdnRecipient};
            $file = $QUARANTINE_PATH."/".$requestData{hdnFilePath};

    $mailfile=$requestData{hdnFilePath};
    $validate_email="false";
    my $email_regex='^([\.]?[_\-\!\#\{\}\$\%\^\&\*\+\=\|\?\'\\\\\\/a-zA-Z0-9])*@([a-zA-Z0-9]([-]?[a-zA-Z0-9]+)*\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{0,6})

As we can see above, the pseudo-Perl code shows us how the backend receives input from the frontend ($requestData) and how it attempts to verify some of the parameters we send. After the verification, if our parameters are valid, the following code is executed:

%mailreq=("mailaction"=>"$MAIL_FORWARD","subject"=>"$strSubject","toEmail"=>"$mailTo","attachmentfile"=>"$file","smtpserverhost"=>"$mailServerHost","fromaddress"=>"$mailFrom");
    </code>

  out = OPCODE mail_sender json %mailreq

The code above sets our request parameters into mailreq variable and calls the mail_sender function (OPCODE). We will see how this opcode is executed and where exactly the RCE happens:

    <code>
        #mailaction 0=mail_with_var,1=mail_forward,2=mail_attachment
        $mailaction=$request->{mailaction};
        $subject=$request->{subject};
        $mailbody='';
        $attachmentfile=$request->{attachmentfile};
        $toEmail=$request->{toEmail};
    </code>
    #mail body
    IF("defined $request->{mailbody} && '' ne $request->{mailbody}"){
        <code>$mailbody=$request->{mailbody};</code>
    }
    #SMTP server host
    IF("defined $request->{smtpserverhost} && '' ne $request->{smtpserverhost}"){
        <code>$smtpserverhost=$request->{smtpserverhost};</code>
    }ELSE{
        result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey='MailServer'"
        IF("defined $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0] && '' ne $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0]"){
            <code>$smtpserverhost=$result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
        }ELSE{
            <code>$smtpserverhost="127.0.0.1";</code>
        }
    }

    #SMTP server port
    IF("defined $request->{smtpserverport} && '' ne $request->{smtpserverport}"){
        <code>$smtpserverport=$request->{smtpserverport};</code>
    }ELSE{
        result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey='MailServerPort'"
        IF("defined $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0] && '' ne $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0]"){
            <code>$smtpserverport=$result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
        }ELSE{
            <code>$smtpserverport="25";</code>
        }
    }

    #SMTP auth flag
    <code>$smtpauthflag="0";</code>
    IF("defined $request->{smtpauthflag} && '' ne $request->{smtpauthflag}"){
        <code>$smtpauthflag=$request->{smtpauthflag};</code>
    }ELSE{
        result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey='SMTPAuthenticationFlag'"
        IF("defined $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0] && '' ne $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0]"){
            <code>$smtpauthflag=$result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
        }
    }

    IF("$smtpauthflag == 1"){
        IF("defined $request->{mailusername} && '' ne $request->{mailusername}"){
            <code>
                $mailusername=$request->{mailusername};  
                $mailpassword=$request->{mailpassword};
            </code>
        }ELSE{
            result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey = 'MailServerUsername'"
            <code>$mailusername = $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
            result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey = 'MailServerPassword'"
            <code>$mailpassword = $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
        }
    }ELSE{
        <code>
            $mailusername = "";
            $mailpassword = "";
        </code>
    }
    IF("defined $request->{fromaddress} && '' ne $request->{fromaddress}"){
        <code>$fromaddress=$request->{fromaddress};</code>
    }ELSE{
        result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey = 'FromAddress'"
        <code>$fromaddress = $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
    }

    #Security Mode
    IF("defined $request->{smtpsecurity} && '' ne $request->{smtpsecurity}"){
        <code>$smtpsecurity=$request->{smtpsecurity};</code>
    }ELSE{
        result = QUERY "select servicevalue from tblclientservices where servicekey = 'smtpsecurity'"
        <code>$smtpsecurity = $result->{output}->{servicevalue}[0];</code>
    }

    <code>$smtpsecuritymode=0;</code>
    IF("$smtpsecurity eq 'STARTTLS'"){
        <code>$smtpsecuritymode=1;</code>
    }ELSE IF("$smtpsecurity eq 'SSL/TLS'"){
        <code>$smtpsecuritymode=2;</code>
    }

    #SMTP Certificate
    <code>
        $smtpcertificate = '';
        $certpassword='';
    </code>
    IF("$smtpsecuritymode!=0"){
        IF("defined $request->{smtpcertificate} && '' ne $request->{smtpcertificate}"){
            result = QUERY "select certname,password from tblvpncertificate where certid=$request->{smtpcertificate}"
        }ELSE{
            result = QUERY "select certname,password from tblvpncertificate where certid=(select servicevalue::int from tblclientservices where servicekey = 'smtpcertificate')"
        }
        <code>
            $smtpcertificate = $result->{output}->{certname}[0];
            $certpassword=$result->{output}->{password}[0];
        </code>
    }

    #From Address with Name
    IF("defined $request->{fromaddresswithname} && '' ne $request->{fromaddresswithname}"){
        <code>$fromaddresswithname=$request->{fromaddresswithname};</code>
    }ELSE{
        <code>$fromaddresswithname = $OEMNAME . " <" . $fromaddress . ">";</code>
    }

The code above does the same thing the other opcode did when it starts. It initializes variables (some from us or from the device if not specified). After the variables are assigned, the following code block is executed.

out = EXECSH "/bin/cschelper mail_send '$fromaddress' '$fromaddresswithname' '$toEmail' '$toEmail' '$subject' '$mailbody' '$smtpserverhost' '$smtpserverport' '$mailusername' '$mailpassword' '$mailaction' '$smtpsecuritymode' '$smtpcertificate' '$certpassword' '1' '$attachmentfile'"

And there it is, the command execution. Now the call here is EXECSH which calls /bin/sh -c “ARGUMENTS”. With the execution happening using values we control, we can easily attain remote command execution, all without authentication. We will be releasing a full report and the Proof of Concept with proper outlines in a few months. Update: This research was covered first on TechCrunch, read more here. The post CVE-2019-17059: Preauth-RCE in Sophos’ Cyberoam Explained appeared first on TheBestVPN.com.

; if($requestData{hdnRecipient} =~ /$email_regex/ && ((defined $requestData{hdnSender} && $requestData{hdnSender} eq '') || $requestData{hdnSender} =~ /$email_regex/) && index($requestData{hdnFilePath},'../') == -1){ $validate_email="true"; } ....redacted....

The code above sets our request parameters into mailreq variable and calls the mail_sender function (OPCODE). We will see how this opcode is executed and where exactly the RCE happens:

Websites Like Canva for Amazing Graphic Designs

Posted by Jack on October 3, 2019 in ad banners, canva, Crello, Free Image Editor, Graphic Design, Image Editor, infographics, shirt design, social media images, Stock Photo Questions & Answers

Technology has opened up many solutions and tools that allow the average to dabble in graphic design. Many would agree there is one online design tool that is increasingly more popular than the rest – Canva. And with multiple Canva alternatives, creating beautiful designs is not just for the professionals. According to Adobe research, 59% of global consumers prefer beautiful design over the simple elementary design before they choose to engage with a brand. This has driven up the demand for graphic design cloud-based software and the need to have it readily available. Canva’s graphic design platform has revolutionised how we create various types of creative content, such as social media images, infographics, shirt design templates, media images, and more. Canva’s mobile app for iPhone, iPad and mobile phones with Android are also available for download via the Apple Store and Google Play, letting users create free artwork even without access to their computers. You don’t even need to be an expert or study graphic design to get stunning results. Many graphic professionals, business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs are raving about this graphic tool including Candy Bigwood, Mobile Art Director at The Huffington Post. Giving a user’s perspective, she said, “There are no design skills required or costly program downloads that have to go through approvals. Results are instantaneous.” However, Canva has a number of limitations that tend to be an issue to some of its users. Image editing options are still limited compared to other editors. Its resize feature is only available for premium users and if you want to use some of the better-looking images in their library, you have to pay for them. So if you are a fan of this free image creator, but are looking for websites like Canva online with better or comparable features, Stock Photo Secrets have compiled 18 of the top graphic design websites Canva alternatives and apps like Canva.

19 of the Top Graphic Design Websites Canva Alternatives:

Crello

With 60 million photos, 11,000 templates and 33 design formats, Crello boasts a large gallery of design elements to help graphic designers create beautiful images for social media images, ad banners, email headers, posters, and other graphic tasks. Launched by Depositphotos, this visual editor makes graphic design easy even for beginners who need design software for their creative projects. Its free and ready-made templates can help users create stunning images for all sorts of use. Plus, Crello has recently launched a free iOS app for an easy and intuitive graphic design experience on the go, especially if you’re looking for apps like canva. The Canva support is also very good. Start today and use Crello´s free version. Ideal for: digital marketers and bloggers who need inspiration when creating posts for social networks.

Fotor

Whether you need to edit a photo, create a collage or design an image for a blog post, Fotor will provide you with an easy-to-use platform and with their drag and drop feature taking just a few clicks. For newbies and experts alike, Fotor also provides a library of short video tutorials and articles and a collage maker. There are also thousands of professionally-designed templates ideal for various social media channels, like Instagram posts, Facebook covers, Youtube banners and more. For creating designs on the go, Fotor’s mobile graphics design app is also available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play. Ideal for: photographers who need to do some photo editing, this online design tool features HDR photography technology and photo retouching kit.

RelayThat

No need for artistic skills here. With RelayThat, you can make use of thousands of auto-generated visuals using their library, all of which you are free to resize and remix. This top-rated digital asset management (DAM) and design platform lets you collaborate with your team and clients to create the perfect graphic designs for your needs. You can also work with their concierge team to import brand assets and send messages through a custom portal. Using RelayThat’s smart layouts, you can create different designs that stick to your brand and are optimised to suit various channels. Ideal for: startup businesses and small business owner who don’t have graphic designers inhouse to help with their projects.

Easel.ly

Easily convert and visualise various ideas by turning them into stunning infographics with Easel.ly. This simple infographic maker can help you turn any wordy content or complex process into a beautiful and easy-to-understand graphics. This tool is perfect for agencies who regularly create reports for their clients. It offers a wide selection of pre-made templates for creating infographics for timelines, processes, resumes, comparisons, reports and more. Easelly has a free version with a few basic features. Ideal for: creating reports, presentations, resumes or even as an image for your blogs, this graphic design software will make it easy for you to capture your audience’s attention.

Visme

offers more than 500 beautiful templates and colour schemes, millions of photos, hundreds of custom fonts and thousands of icons to help you create presentations, infographics, social media posts, and more. You can also add interactive charts, maps, videos and audios to your designs to help you get your message across to your audience. Ideal for: SMBs and startups who are pitching new projects.

BeFunky

This all-in-one graphic design software provides its users with a seamless workflow for editing photos, making collages and designing graphics. With BeFunky, you can turn photos into art, edit photos by batch, create transparent backgrounds, and retouch portraits. Its suite of powerful graphic design tools include loads of customizable design templates, over a million free stock images and thousands of icons and vector graphics. The BeFunky mobile app also provides a selection of editing tools such as photo effects and collage templates. Available for both iOS and Android mobile users. Ideal for: amateur photographers who need to edit their photos.

Adobe Spark

For impactful designs that are made effortlessly, Adobe Spark is another easy to use platform that lets you create images in a matter of minutes. This is ideal for graphic designers who are already familiar with the Adobe suite of tools. Available on the web or on mobile, this platform offers three mobile apps: Spark Post for creating social images, Spark Page for designing web pages, and Spark Video for creating short videos in minutes. These mobile apps are available on Google Play and Apple Store. Adobe Spark offers a free plan that allows you to use some free templates.

Pixlr

offers users a faster and smarter platform for editing photos. It features easy-to-navigate photo editing tools that let you adjust, draw, retouch, apply filters and other elements on your images for a more artistic take on sharing photos. You can easily crop or resize photos and even remove background easily. Pixlr is available both on the web or mobile, with the mobile app available for download via Google Play and Apple Store. Ideal for: pro and amateur photographers who need to add a bit of TLC to their photos.

Infogram

This intuitive visualisation tool lets individual users and teams create beautiful infographics, reports, charts, maps and more. Infogram gives its users access to a large collection of designer templates. They also provide custom templates to help brands stick to their design guidelines that meet the (brand) colours, fonts and logos defined for a specific brand. Object animations, interactive charts and maps will help you create better visual content that your audience will admire. With Infogram, you can also collaborate with your team and view or restore previous versions without the stress. And if you want to keep track of the performance of your content, Infogram will make that easy for you with its analytics feature. Also Infogram offers a free plan with some 37+ interactive charts types among other things. Ideal for: must-have for startups and digital marketers who are promoting blog content online.

FotoJet

For powerful design and editing tools for creating photo collages, Instagram stories and email headers, FotoJet is the way to go. Its template-based approach to creating various graphic designs will help even a beginner level designer to create professional-looking images. This simple photo editor also lets you add text or effects to photos, as well as crop, resize, and enhance images for a more artistic image that is worth sharing with the world. Also FotoJet has a free basic version with features such as editing tools, fonts, photo effects among others. Ideal for: Fotojet is perfect for amateur graphic designers who need a helping hand.

11. Pablo by Buffer

Pablo

is a quick and easy-to-use online design tool that provides users with the ability to add text or logo to social media images. Its simple editing interface is very easy to use but only offers limited options in terms of effects, formats, and fonts and font sizes and colours. This gives its users fewer choices to concern themselves about and therefore spend less time creating social media graphics. Ideal for: a fan favourite with startups, this tool is great for teams who have limited graphic design resources.

Easil

Let your graphic arts come to life with this easy to use graphic design software. Easil offers thousands of fully customisable templates for creating social web posts, posters, infographics, banners, business cards, menus and more. These high-quality templates can be resized to suit your needs. Its text effect tools allow you to be more creative with text to help make your images pop! Easil Plus Plan lets you save custom colour palettes, logos, fonts, and images with Brand Kit. Brand Kit also provides users with the opportunity to create exclusive brand templates that can be shared with your team. Ideal for: Perfect for digital marketers and social web marketing teams who collaborate.

Stencil

If you are looking for online graphic design cloud based software that provides users with flexibility and a large selection of features, then Stencil is a great choice. With more than 2 million photos, icons and graphics to use, you can create a variety of images for different purposes. This platform will let you upload your own fonts and logos to give you more opportunities to personalise your designs. If you want to create quotes to share online, you can browse through more 100,000 quotes in Stencil’s library. Improve your images using image filters, resize them instantly, share directly to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, or schedule your posts via Buffer. This free image creator is fast and easy to use and can also be used as a Chrome or Safari extension and a Firefox Add-on. Ideal for: a must-have for digital marketing and social media agencies who are creating and posting social media content on behalf of their clients. Stencil is an important player.

Snappa

Perfect for creating images for social media and blog posts, Snappa is an easy-to-use online design tool that also gives you the option to instantly share your freshly designed graphics to various social web platforms or connect your Snappa account with Buffer and easily schedule your posts. You have free access to more than 1 million stock images, 200+ fonts and more than 100,000 vectors and shapes available in Snappa’s library to create beautiful images. With Snappa’s preset dimensions and thousands of pre-made templates, you can easily create impactful posts images that are sure to gain your audience’s attention. Ideal for: Another awesome tool for amateur graphic designers and social media marketers, especially in SMBs and startups.

DesignBold

Incorporating the simplicity of the drag-and-drop interface and the ease of using keyboard shortcuts, DesignBold lets you create stunning images effortlessly and in no time at all. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert graphic designer, DesignBold will give you the opportunity to create share-worthy photos using preset filters or by using the platform’s advanced photo editing tools. You are free to use DesignBold’s growing resources including millions of images, hundreds of fonts, a vast collection of layouts and more than 50 document formats. This platform also makes it easy for users to save designs to Dropbox. Ideal for: graphic designers of all skill levels.

PiktoChart

With a wide selection of professionally-designed templates, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor and a platform that’s designed for team collaborations, PiktoChart makes collaborative graphic design easy. With more than 800 templates to choose from, you can easily create infographics, presentations, posters and flyers for different purposes. You can add images, animated icons, interactive charts, and videos for more eye-catching designs that you can simply print or directly share online. Ideal for: A perfect solution for graphic design teams with limited resources.

Desygner

No matter how inexperienced you are in creating artwork, this online design tool will let you create beautiful images for your social media posts, presentations, ads, flyers, and more. With Desygner’s iOS and Android apps, you can create graphics anytime, anywhere. You can simply change images, fonts, colours and texts, as well as work with layers, effects and multiple-page files. With millions of images, thousands of icons and shapes, and hundreds of pre-made banners and fonts, all royalty-free, you won’t have to worry about finding the right elements for your designs. Once your design is ready, you can share it via email and various social media platforms, use it for your presentation, or download a high-resolution copy of the design for printing. Ideal for: amateur graphic designers who have limited resources

Placeit

Whether you need shirt design mockups, logo or video templates, text animations or social web posts, Placeit has you covered. With a choice of monthly or annual membership, you get to have access to the vast selection of design resources that they have available. Apart from having the biggest library of mockups online, they also provide users with an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop platform for creating beautiful designs for all sorts of prints and posts. Placeit also provides flexible templates for video slideshows, ads and social media posts to help you create unique visual content for sharing and printing. Looking for the perfect logo for your brand? Placeit can help you with that! With thousands of options available, and more designs being added each week, you are sure to find the logo that is right for your business. Ideal for: ecommerce brands who sell creative designs or personalised prints.

PixTeller

This free online photo and animation maker will let you easily create various designs and animations that will suit your needs. With more than 1.5 million photos, 134,000 templates, 100,000+ shapes, and 158+ animations, you are sure to find the perfect elements for any type of design. You can easily create images with different gradients and transparent backgrounds, create quick animations using the PixTeller Animation Timeline, or even automatically create images and video layouts through PixBot. Ideal for: This is a perfect solution for social media marketers that want to spice up their social media posts. In conclusion, no matter what your purpose is in creating graphic designs, there is more than one way for you to achieve the design goals that you have in mind. With the design sites like Canva listed above, you will soon find the perfect online design tool that suits your needs and preferences. If you’re not sure where to start here are some of our go-to best Canva alternatives: Crello is the perfect solution for anyone who isn’t confident with graphic arts, and has the power to make amateur work look professional. Fotor has a user-friendly platform with lots of helpful tutorial videos. Relaythat is great for teams that need to collaborate either internally or with their clients. Looking for images to use in Canva projects or alternative sites, use our discount codes to get massive reductions in your stock photo purchases from world-class stock agencies.

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Month: October 2019