How many times have you sat down to eat dinner with your family only to be interrupted by the telephone ringing? You answer and all you get is a sales pitch from some telemarketer trying to sell you insurance, vinyl siding, or some other product you don't really need. By the time you get off the phone your dinner is cold and your temper is hot. It's enough to drive you crazy!

Fortunately, there is a way to stop telemarketers from bugging you all night and day. It's called the "Do Not Call" List.

The Do Not Call list is operated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It's basically a huge list of phone numbers that telemarketers are not allowed to call. You can add your number to the list at DoNotCall.gov.

Now there are some exceptions to the rules that will allow some phone calls to get through. Calls on behalf of charities, political organizations, and surveyors are still permitted, as are calls from companies with which you already have an existing relationship. Also allowed are calls from companies that receive your permission to call. That means read the fine print carefully before signing anything or you may be unknowingly giving them permission to bug you.

Once you add your number to the Do Not Call list, you should stop receiving unwanted calls within 31 days. However, some shady telemarketers can't take a hint and continue to harass you even after you join the list. To stop telemarketers like this, you can file an official complaint with the FTC and they will be subject to serious fines. This should stop nuisance calls for good.

In order to file a complaint, you'll need the name and phone number of the organization calling you. You can get the number right from your caller ID. Getting the name can be a bit tricky, since the number will often come up "unlisted" or "unavailable". In this case, you can run a reverse number lookup right online to find out exactly who owns the number.

Close circuit television, or CCTV, is defined as the use of video cameras to transmit video to a limited set of monitors. This type of system differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, but is transmitted only to specific television monitors programmed or wired to receive a signal from those cameras.

CCTV is often used for surveillance. Businesses, offices, schools, and even residences may employ CCTV. The most common businesses and offices that utilize CCTV are banks, airports, casinos, military installations, schools, convenience stores, grocery stores and hospitals. The more public access that is available, the more CCTV is typically utilized.

There are many benefits to employing a closed circuit television system in your facility. Many large buildings that have several nooks on the exterior will utilize these systems. This is due to the fact that there are several areas around the building in which a person could hide and attack an unsuspecting person or break into. If the home has gated access, CCTV can be utilized so that people inside the building can see who is trying to enter and prevent allowing access to someone they do not want on the property.

These systems are generally placed throughout all active public areas such as waiting rooms, hallways, entrances and parking lots. These systems are used to not only prevent criminal activity, but should something occur there is a greater chance that the perpetrator can be caught on video to assist police in finding that person.

CCTV systems are designed to operate continuously. They can be as simplified or complicated as you wish. Either way, you're able to protect your facility and monitor activity in and around it. Continental Access provides CCTV access control options to all types of business no matter what industry they are involved in.

Prepaid phone cards are items that provide consumers quicker access to making domestic or international long distance calls.

These cards serve as alternative method of making calls when one is away from home or the office. These cards compete with traditional telephone service providers, collect calls, third party billing and using coins on local pay phones. One of the major benefits of using these call cards for consumers is that using such cards generally costs less than utilizing traditional services.

The lower price these phone cards offer, unlike the other methods, is that there are no surcharges made on the first minute of calling. A second major savings factor is that the charge for a prepaid card call is already inclusive of taxes, while taxes are added to the charges for traditional phone calls, collect and third party calls.

Consumers Get Significant Savings On These Cards

It's a fact for consumers today, that the cost savings from using prepaid phone cards can be significant, particularly for shorter calls. However, the longer a call lasts, the less the savings on gets. There are a number of factors for the increasing popularity of these devices.

First, the charges for making calls using these cards are generally lower than those for traditional methods of making calls away from home or office, and using these devices affords consumers more convenient methods aside from carrying around coins for use on pay phones. In addition, these communication tools are used in large numbers by consumers who don't have telephone service in their homes, as even today, a large number of U.S. households do not have access to regular telephone service.

Moreover, these calling cards offer more security than traditional telephone company cards, since if a prepaid card is stolen or lost, the loss is limited to the value remaining on the card, while traditional telephone company cards can be used to make hundreds, or even thousands of dollars worth of illegal calls.

A Call Card's Value Depends on Many Factors

The general value of a prepaid call card is dependent on several factors, especially beginning with whether the card works at all. If the card works well, the next most significant aspect is the amount charged when the card is used.

Among the local, domestic long distance and international rates that government regulators are reviewing, some cards like Coast to Coast Plus ( cents - 38 cents per minute) , these charge domestic rates that vary with the distance called, while others like the Hello Card (19 cents per minute for the $5 card and 26 cents per minute for the $10 card) levy the same rates no matter where a consumer calls within the continental US.

For consumers to take full advantage of these rate differences, this would be best served by purchasing both a variable rate card and a fixed rate card.

The problem with picking prepaid phone cards for their rates, is that very few cards disclose rate information. To find out what a specific call card charges, a buyer has to purchase a card, time his or her calls, record where a call goes, as well as keep track of the amount deducted from the card's account. This may sound too much of an effort, however it is a necessary action if consumers wish to locate the phone cards that offer the most competitive rates.