Musing 101

Karma

Kalanggaman Clouds

#Selfish

There's a famine of Beauty!

The Biggest Pictionary Evah!

Shameless Self Promotion #001

Learn how to Swim

First suicide attempt

Netspionage: the cost of internet hacking...

Two years ago, a fifteen-year-old boy logged onto the Internet under the alias 'Comrade'. To some of us, our idea of hacking might include breaking into an email account or viewing confidential company information. However, no one expected that 'Comrade' would cause a three-week shutdown at NASA, steal government email passwords, cut off over 3000 emails and download close to $2 million worth of software used to operate the international space station. If that was not shocking enough, he had twice gained access to the computers used by the Pentagon to monitor threats of nuclear and biological warfare.
Millions of programmed information all around the world all went through this way called the cyberspace. And it is never impossible that even the most private information can be illegally accessed or what we termed as being hacked. But the question is; what is hacking, who is at risk and what should we do to avoid this illegal activity?

Hacking can be defined as the process of gaining unauthorized access to a computer or computerized system and the information it contains. Both corporate and home users can be at risk of hacking. Everybody from home internet users to office can be a victim. The risk to home users from hacking is growing. Until recently, the use of conventional dial-up modems meant that users tend to be connected to the Internet for short periods of time. However, broadband and cable connections, which systems are permanently connected to the Internet, make it easier for hackers to be aware that you are online and will attempt to gain access to your system. Faster connections can also make it easier to transfer information from your system very quickly. Some viruses are known as ‘Trojan Horses’ or ‘Trojans’. Once installed these will open a ‘back door’ to your computer and notify the sender. The sender can then accesses your computer and open, delete or copy files from it without your knowledge.

If we can remember way back the year 2000, one computer science student was caught because of an ‘I Love You’ virus that he spreads on the internet. It reached a total of $10,000,000,000 damages that it caused in the United States. The Federal Burue of Investigation or FBI even joined the investigation. But the virus suspect was acquitted, because during that time there is not yet law that imprisons internet criminals.

Crime of the future is the termed used by the authorities on the criminal acts made in the internet. According to Atty. Efren Meneses, the head in the NBI Anti-fraud & Computer Crimes Division, sometime in the year 2000 they already sent a request to the FBI about the investigation of what they termed as white-collared jobs or the crimes of the future which is now the internet fraud or cyber crimes.

Because of the damages made by the ‘I Love You’ virus there is already a law against internet crimes. Atty. Meneses also added that after the ‘I Love You’ virus, there were already eight to ten filed cases with regards to the violation of the law. There is an assigned punishment from 100,000 pesos up and an imprisonment from six months to three years to whomever hackers caught. Even though it is hard and this crime is new for the NBI agents, they are optimistic that they can catch most if not all internet criminals.

According to Jerry, a computer analyst, new virus or computer programs are being born around the world everyday. And within a wink of an eye it can already spread as fast as bullets with the aid of the internet. Jerry believes that it would be better to be careful and be preventive than to regret at the end. In relation to this, he shared some simple yet very useful steps you can take to help protect your computer and the information it contains. First is to use a “firewall”, a piece of hardware or software that blocks unauthorized access to your system. Software versions can be found on the Internet, and many computer magazines feature software in their cover CDs. It is also necessary not to leave any files that contain sensitive information – for example, your bank details - where they could easily be found by someone hacking your system. And make sure you are running the latest versions of any software that acts as a server.

Remember as long as your system is switched on and connected to the Internet, it could be at risk of being hacked. You don’t have to actively be using your system for it to be vulnerable. As with other Internet crimes, the best cure is prevention. If you have been the victim of a hacker you may not realize until any sensitive information stored on your system has been put to use. Still, hackers will gain access. If a fifteen year old can shutdown NASA, should we expect more?

Viruses, shutdowns, crashes and email hacking will be the burden of the user, a company losing money because of internet theft will be the burden of its customer and the government’s money spent on the security system will be our burden, the nation’s citizen.

Is there anyone affected by internet crime? No one, everyone is affected.

Obssesion du Jour

Emman

Desperate to be a Cover Girl!

Vianneuz for Visage

Viannella for Vandals

Jomvi for Time

Jo Martini for American Vogue

Looky looky on what I've made lately...It's moiself as

the cover image on few of the fabulous and glossy

magazines in the face of the planet. Two of it were actually published

by yours truly. Am I this desperate to be a cover fag?

Not really, no? This is me, then...

Unto the world of Morpheus...

Sleeping has been known to all mankind,

this special phenomenon that leads us to the world of Morpheus...

to the world of vivid or melancholic imagery!

The Trials and Tribulations of being an OFW

The day my mother left us to work abroad was one of the saddest moments of our family life. I pity my two little brothers, they are too upset that our mother will left us for a long time.

In the life of a typical Filipino family, this situation is very common because parents would like to give better future to their loved ones especially for their children. Good opportunities in the Philippines are not abundant to achieve most of their dreams. Working abroad is one way of fulfilling these dreams. In the city of Baybay alone we can see lots of children left in their homes with their parents working abroad.

But working abroad will not always mean a good life for our parents there. Some may be very lucky to have a very kind employer but some may not. Some can get the perfect job that they really wanted, others cannot. Some gets high paying jobs, some do not. Some Overseas Filipino Workers have the opportunity to bring their families with them but some do not.

It is not good for our hardworking OFWs that they would be maltreated on abroad or even here. Take for example the Manila Standard Today columnist Malu Fernandez in her People Asia magazine article “From Boracay to Greece”. It doesn’t really necessarily mean that even though you are well-off here in the Phillipines and that you have an easy access to travel abroad then you can already maltreat them even with acerbic wit. Well anyway, there is even no wit on what she wrote. In her column, it is the OFW community in which she put into great shame, families, relatives and friends were also affected. Malu’s case is just one among many Filipinos who bigoted their own brothers and sisters. But this should not be tolerated by anyone. Filipinos who worked abroad are decent shedding their sweat and blood to raise one’s family and at the same time the whole country. The Philippine economy is kept afloat because of the big revenues of our fellows working abroad. Being away from our loved ones is not an easy thing to carry on ourselves, so think about them away from us in the colds. Well this is another thing that we should ponder on upon, instead of maltreating our overseas Filipino workers they should be praised and the ones we can be proud of.

Many trials are surrounding our Filipinos abroad and as mentioned earlier is being far from the family. Being far from our loved ones can often lead to the foundation of this relationship to become weak. Usual contractual jobs would last for two or more years. There are cases that an OFW who left his wife and children in the Philippines would be weak enough to give in to having an illegal relationship with others. But this does not happen only abroad, it could also happen with the spouse who was left behind.

Children were not guided properly. Sometimes, both parents are working abroad and children would only be left under the guidance of one of their relatives. Sometimes the guardian cannot fully discipline them that can cause children to be stubborn. Long separation also creates gaps between the parents and children; closeness with each other is not firm or strong anymore.

As a Filipino working abroad it is a must to save for the entire year but some of our relatives there earns nothing, and this is the common mistake. This is the reason why many Overseas Filipino Workers are coming back to the country for retirement but are not successful. Finding local jobs after working abroad is also a problem for the Ex-Overseas Filipino Workers. Some companies are choosy and don’t want to accept applicants whose job experience is outside Philippines. You can be accepted in a local job sometimes, but the salary would not be the same as when working abroad. That is why, although they would like to stay at home, they are forced to leave the country again and bear the hardships of being alone and far from loved ones….and so the cycle goes on.

The sacrifices of Overseas Filipino Workers cannot be avoided as they need to struggle to fulfill their dreams and to achieve success in life. Those hardships and sacrifices should bear sweet fruits rather than a bitter one. In the case of our OFW citizens living far away from the land where you really belong would definitely be a burden for anyone to carry. Let me share this to my fellow Filipino, OFWs worked hard not just for their selves, for their family but for the whole nation. Filipinos outside unite for the common goal, and maltreating them by foreign or even co-Filipinos should not be tolerated. We should proud of them rather than be ashamed of.

LOLed at Bohol

Bugs Bunny!

in Sagbayan Peak

with my co-DT memebers

I die I die and I die when i stepped the land of magnificent Bohol.
Just recently went there a couple of weeks ago with mu co-VSU folkoloric dance troupe members.
It was a fun and exhilarating experience

Out of Sheer Boredom

I found this pic that I edit a not so funny one. Well, ugly things usually would came up to my mind out of sheer bordome. And the result? A horrible thing.

So tell me tell me who these guys are?

Bi the Way: A Case of the Hidden Identity

“There is beauty in diversity,” says one of my favorite authors John Brown in his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. In fact the many facets of our personality make us unique and special among any other being. And one of the special traits that make us different is our sexuality.

People learned that there are only two genders of human sexuality. However, in this modern society, the existence of the third sex just broke out. Now another sexuality came-about. Bisexuality is considered the most complex of all human sexuality because it has the tendency to love both sexes- male and female.

Some considered bisexuality as a state of confusion. But what is really bisexuality? How does it differ from homosexuality? How do we know if a person is bisexual?

The Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia in the internet, defined bisexuality as the sexual orientation which refers to the aesthetic, romantic, or sexual desire for individuals of either gender or of either sex. Although observed in a variety of forms in human societies and in the animal kingdom throughout recorded history, the term "bisexuality" was only coined in the 19th century.

Loosely interpreted, bisexuality is not only the possession of attraction for members of more than one sex, but also the potential to feel so. For some individuals, bisexuality is a life-long commitment. For others, it is a step on the continuum between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Recent research is even suggesting the intriguing idea that heterosexuality and homosexuality are phases on the way to bisexuality.

Many myths surrounding bisexuality exist. A commonly perceived notion is that bisexuality mandates equal attraction to both sexes. Most bis assert an inclination toward one sex versus the other. However, in some cases of attraction the sex of the individual is deemed irrelevant. The main factors involved are the appealing qualities of the other individual, with little attention given to gender.

Many misconceptions about bisexuality are perpetuated in movies, television, and magazines. The media has a tendency to trivialize bisexuality, presenting it like the cheap pornographic fantasy of a man having two women. This is related to the myth that bisexuals are fiendishly focused on sex and must have lovers of both sexes to feel completely fulfilled. Many bisexuals remain celibate. Other bisexuals are very capable of maintaining monogamous relationships. These individuals are not choosing to be gay or straight. They are still bi no matter who they commit to spend their lives with. As with people who are gay and straight, the decision to be celibate, monogamous, or polygamous rests with every individual.

Along with the myths of bisexuality can come other complications. The difficulty of calling oneself bi is sometimes exacerbated by a fear of stigmatization and discrimination from both the homosexual and heterosexual communities. Bisexuals are sometimes viewed by members of the homosexual community as blurring the issues and weakening the lesbian and gay movement. Attitudes are changing, though, and the communities are learning to live in harmony.
Mainstream society also seems to be taking the cue about changing attitudes. The new Bisexual Chic is taking over as America realizes the emergence of this "new" sexual identity. The mention of bisexuality in written publications has tripled this decade in comparison to the previous as the changing American society develops a love affair with this take on sexuality.

It seems now that with the changing values of our society, more and more people are open to sexual experimentation and exploring their long suppressed bisexual feelings. The orientation which once proposed a serious challenge to the gender polarity involved in sexuality is now coming into its own, disputing former boundaries and causing the more "established" views on sexual preference to redefine themselves.

A New Day, A New Age, a New World...

So today's my birthday, well nothing's so special...