Freshmen can avoid money woes College freshmen, listen up. Get your financial life on track this first semester—or you may wind up making mistakes and paying a heavy price later, warned R.D. Norton, author of “Start Here: Getting Your Financial Life on Track.“ Living away from home with your peers is awesome, isn’t it? But, as a freshman, “there are plenty of things that can get you into trouble,“ Norton said in an interview.

Paul and Diane Manning had no family history of Type 1 diabetes until both of their children developed the disease, but they’re making a historic family contribution to fighting it. The Gordonsville couple donated $5 million to diabetes research at the University of Virginia Health System. “My wife and I have been very fortunate in business. We like giving back,“ Paul Manning said. Their company, PBM Products, produces infant formula. A new venture, Beta-Pro LLC, is a biotechnology firm that provides diabetes researchers with custom cellular and consulting services.

If you think gathering connections on LinkedIn is harmless, think again. Say you’re an executive whose connections consist mostly of clients. If a client or colleague recommends someone and you accept them into your network, you could unintentionally grant a competitor access to an unofficial client list, said Terry Gudaitis, vice president of cyber intelligence with the Arlington firm Cyveillance Inc.

For the week that ended Nov. 13. Dividends Quarterly unless noted Increased Allied World Assur .20 from .18 AmeriSourceBergen .08 from .06 Atmos Energy .335 from .33 Automatic Data .34 from .33 Bank Mutual Corp .09 from .07 Baxter Intl .29 from .26 Cliffs Nat Res .0875 from .04 DeVry Inc .20 from .16

Crooks set sights on bank ATMs Stop and look before inserting your card into an ATM machine. Crooks have been tampering with automated teller machines around the world—and in Virginia, striking last summer in Hampton Roads and leaving behind 100 victims including those from Richmond and Chesterfield County. The victims were robbed of about $500,000, according to the Secret Service in Richmond. An investigation is ongoing.

For the week that ended Nov. 6. DIVIDEND Quarterly unless noted Increased Aaron’s Inc .018 from .017 Alliance Res Ptrs .76 from .745 Apollo Invest .28 from .26 Beckman Coulter .18 from .17 Buckeye GP LP .39 from .37 CH Robinson .25 from .24 Meadowbrook Ins .03 from .02 Mercury General .59 from .58

The worst recession in 70 years has ended. But tell that to people trying to find jobs. “The recession is not over until everyone who wants to work is working and working at what they want to do,“ said Walter Courtney of Montpelier. Courtney, 56, is an Internet technology professional who works as a security guard at a retirement home in Hanover County. He was a project manager at a bank, but was laid off early in the economic downturn.

Moseley Architects’ reserved parking spaces aren’t for mothers with young children. They’re for people who drive fuel-efficient cars. The Richmond firm is all about energy efficiency. It used green building techniques to renovate a contaminated garage as long as a football field into its headquarters. The soot was so thick in the barrel-vaulted structure that wood ceilings, 28 feet high at the apex, had to be blasted, but not with sand. Sand would have damaged the wood, so peanut and walnut shells were used.

For the week that ended Oct. 30. DIVIDEND Quarterly unless noted Alliance Hldg GP .44 from .4275 Amcon Distrib .18 from .10 Amer States Water .26 from .25 Brooklyn Fedl Bcp .11 from .10 Digital Realty .45 from .36 EV Energy Ptrs LP .754 from .753 Encore Energy LP .5375 from .5125 Evercore Ptrs LP .15 from .12

Scareware won’t shield computers Thieves in the cyber underworld are making a ton of money pedaling scareware—rogue security software—to unsuspecting consumers, a new Internet report says. Symantec, the California maker of Norton brand security products, IRIS
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said consumers unwittingly are downloading rip-offs of real software. Or they’re downloading downright-fake software that provides no protection, giving users a false sense that their computer is protected, or software loaded with the malware that it purports to protect against.

It may seem an odd time of year to think about your taxes. But taking some steps before Dec. 31 can help minimize the amount you’ll owe or maximize your refund. The tax code has a few new items this year, including the well-publicized first-time homebuyer’s credit and a sales-tax credit for new-car buyers. There’s also time to use more traditional strategies for maximizing deductions and minimizing income to lower your tax bill next April.

WALL STREET For the week that ended Oct. 23. Dividends Quarterly unless noted Increased Artesian Rescs .1873 from .1784 Bank of Marin .15 from .14 Boardwalk Pipeline .495 from .49 Brown & Brown .0775 from .075 Cass Info Sys .14 from .13 Columbia Sportswear .18 from .16 Eaton Vance .16 from .155

Copeland and Christoph Casati love their midcentury modern home in western Henrico County. They love the architecture, the layout, the gorgeous design. They hate the heating bills. “We are paying thousands of dollars a winter to heat this house,“ Copeland Casati said. Worse, she said, “it’s never comfortable, never cozy.“ The Casatis, her husband said, declared war on their heating bill.

Bill and Debbie Sneller of Midlothian tried burning wood in their fireplace, but the hot air went up the chimney. They switched to propane and the draft on that didn’t work so well, either. So, they unhooked the propane, sold the tank and recently installed a wood stove insert in their fireplace. “It could heat the entire house,“ Debbie Sneller said. “We have a beautiful fire, you can smell the wood burning and hear the crackling—and the stove makes me feel safe because the fire is contained in this metal box.“

The state’s Fuel Assistance program helps low-income households offset some of the cost of heating their homes, and the Crisis Assistance program helps when Fuel Assistance and other resources don’t meet the need. To apply for the energy assistance programs, contact your local Department of Social Services. The deadline is Nov. 13 to apply for aid from the Fuel Assistance program. The application period for the Crisis Assistance program starts Nov. 1 and runs through March 15. Go to http://www.dss.virginia.gov.