Big Brother to return to UK screens on Channel 5

Reality TV series Big Brother will return to screens in Britain this year after Channel 5 signed a two-year deal with the hit show's production company Endemol UK.

The return of the show, which was ditched by Channel 4 last year amid falling ratings, will be marked with a celebrity version in the summer followed by a regular series.

Big Brother launched in Britain in 2000 and made celebrities out of the likes of Jade Goody and "Nasty" Nick Bateman.

It was at the center of a major broadcasting scandal in 2007, when contestant Goody was accused of racist bullying of Indian housemate Shilpa Shetty, prompting tens of thousands of complaints and dominating media headlines.

Goody was evicted in a public vote and Bollywood actress Shetty went on to win the series.

Some commentators argued Big Brother never fully recovered from the race row, after which they said it was watered down.

Others believed the show had grown stale and failed to win over the "Facebook generation" of young viewers more likely to find their entertainment on the Internet. But Tim Hincks, chief executive officer of Endemol UK, said the show, which has become a hit across the globe, remained "as potent and cutting edge as ever.

"Big Brother has a passionate and loyal fan base in the UK and I'm delighted it has found a new home on Channel 5."

Endemol UK is part of Endemol, the Dutch TV production company behind the Big Brother franchise.

Source: Reuters

Provo, Boracay ranked as top beach resorts

The tiny island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos has been voted the top beach destination in the world, according to the travel website TripAdvisor.

It ranked above such renowned beach destinations as Honolulu and Miami Beach in the report based on travelers' reviews and ratings to select the best destinations around the world.

Myrtle Beach in South Carolina was the only U.S. destination to make the top five.

"A number of factors make these beach destinations stand out as wonderful choices," said TripAdvisor spokesman Brooke Ferencsik. "In addition to featuring remarkable stretches of sand, these hotspots offer a wide variety of quality hotels, restaurants and activities to accommodate virtually any vacation budget, and appeal to any traveler type."

Providenciales, which has experienced a boom in high-end resorts with total visitors tripling since the mid-1990s, was praised for its pristine white-sand beaches, calm, clear water and a healthy barrier reef appealing to snorkelers and divers.

Many reviewers called its Grace Bay Beach the world's best.

Rounding out the top five were Boracay, in the Philippines, Aruba's Palm/Eagle beach, Negril in Jamaica and Tulum, Mexico.

The quaint, Victorian-tinged Cape May, at the southern tip of New Jersey, was the only other U.S. beach among the top 10.

Grand Cayman's famous Seven Mile Beach and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic placed seventh and eighth respectively.

Ayia Napra in Cyprus was the top-rated European beach destination, followed by Skiathos, Greece.

Despite its glamorous, starry reputation, the French Riviera didn't even place among Europe's top 25.

In the South Pacific, synonymous with exotic beach travel for many, Bora Bora topped the list.

The top choice in Central and South America was Santa Teresa in Costa Rica, a country that has developed a reputation for eco-travel.

Other highly rated beach destinations included the Maldives, Panama City, Florida, Miami Beach, Isla Mujeres, Mexico, Florida's Sanibel Island and Playa del Carmen on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Nearly 70 percent of U.S. respondents said they were planning a beach vacation in 2011, and just over half were opting for a U.S. destination and about one-quarter were planning to visit the Caribbean or Mexico, according to recent TripAdvisor survey.

Source: Reuters

Email theft: 5 ways to avoid phishing attacks

With the extraordinary theft of millions of email addresses collected by some of the nation's biggest companies, it's time to think about the likely result — phishing attacks — and how to avoid becoming a victim.

If you have accounts with Citigroup, Capital One, The College Board, Walgreen, HSN or TiVo there's a reasonable chance some con artist is trying to figure out how to get in touch with you — and not to be Facebook friends. They want to dupe you into giving them more information than they have right now.

Here's what they've got: Your name (maybe just your first name) and your email address. Here's what they want: The good stuff like your home address, phone number, Social Security Number and — of course — account numbers. Now they're going to release a hailstorm of somewhat targeted emails intended to get you to believe they're real, perhaps even referencing the theft itself.

Don't just assume you're too smart to become a victim. Thousands of consumers every month fall victim. These are not just people who are gullible or lack web savvy.

All sorts of people fall victim because the crooks have gotten very sophisticated, perfectly (sometimes) mimicking real communications from companies you do business with.

The big difference — and what you need to watch out for — is that the phishing emails are going to be angling for information from you. The real companies would never ask you for that kind of information in an email. Sometimes their attempts to con you will be well masked, like asking you to click on a link to go to their site to "update" your account information or some such rouse. Here are five ways to avoid phishing attacks.

Don't click links in your emails. In most browsers, you can run your mouse over a link to see where it really goes. The crooks will often create URLs intended to confuse you — instead of yourbank.com/accounts they might use yourbank/accounts/and hide the real URL somewhere way over to the right.

Get a good virus protection program installed and then make sure to update it regularly.

DO NOT call phone numbers in the emails and DO NOT click the links in them. If you have a question about a credit card communication, for instance, call the customer service number on your card or bill. If you need to update to account information online, do that only by logging into an established site that you've already used.

NEVER email personal or financial information. Be sure to read your credit card and bank statements immediately. Fraud protections on cards, in particular, are good but are time-limited. So raise a red flag as soon as you see suspicious charges. You've typically got 60 days from the time the fraudulent charge appears on your bill.

If you get a phishing email, notify the company or agency that was being impersonated and forward the email to this federal government email address: spam@uce.gov. That's the Federal Trade Commission, which collects the complaints to determine whether action can be taken, but does not deal with an individual consumer's situation. You should also complain to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, an anti-internet crime venture involving the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Source: Reuters