ALERT TO WEB USERS

PIC: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus

The picture above is not the computer virus. Guardian.co.uk mentions that computer viruses are going to attack all computers around the world next Monday. To avoid being one of the victims, I will not surf the net on 24 November 2008 (Monday). What other precaution should I take to avoid my computer from being attack by viruses?

Source: berita harian

LONDON: Pengguna internet di seluruh dunia diingatkan berwaspada berikutan ancaman serangan ‘kemuncak’ virus secara besar-besaran pada Isnin depan yang turut disifatkan hari paling buruk bagi serangan virus seumpamanya.Akhbar The Guardian melaporkan semalam, amaran oleh pakar keselamatan komputer itu dibuat berdasarkan analisis maklumat mengenai virus dan cecacing internet merangkumi lebih 500,000 komputer di seluruh dunia.Selain amaran peningkatan ancaman dan serangan virus pada November dan Disember, pakar keselamatan komputer juga mengingatkan ancaman lain.Ini disebabkan pengiklan dan penyangak sudah cuba menggunakan populariti bakal Presiden Amerika, Barack Obama sebagai muslihat memperdaya pengguna memuat turun virus.Berikutan itu, pakar keselamatan daripada syarikat PC Tools menyifatkan tarikh 24 November sebagai berkemungkinan menjadi hari kemuncak serangan dan kemuncak kegiatan virus bagi 2008.Data 2007 menunjukkan kemuncak serangan virus, cecacing dan ancaman lain berlaku tiga hari sebelum cuti umum ‘Thanksgiving’ Amerika Syarikat, yang meramalkan keadaan sama mungkin berulang tahun ini.Syarikat itu mendakwa peningkatan kegiatan virus itu juga berkemungkinan disebabkan meledaknya kegiatan beli-belah menerusi internet menjelang Krismas. – Agensi

source: guardian.co.uk

Computer virus attacks 'to peak next Monday'

Internet users are being warned to stay vigilant by researchers who believe that next Monday could be the worst day the year for computer attacks.
After analysing information on viruses and internet worms taken from more than 500,000 machines around the world, security experts at PC Tools have pinpointed November 24 as the potential peak of malicious software activity for 2008.
Data from 2007 showed that the high point of action from viruses, worms and other internet-based attacks came three days before America's Thanksgiving holiday, leading them to suggest that the same day could prove the bleakest 24 hours of this year.
The company says the increase in virus activity could be the result of internet shopping in the run-up to Christmas, as millions of users begin going online to purchase gifts for their friends and family.
With the chance for criminals to access financial details, online shoppers make an attractive target for the writers of malware.
The number of people shopping online this Christmas is expected to grow again this year, with internet sales in the UK alone predicted to hit £13.16bn – an increase of 15% over 2007.
More people are expected to use the web for their shopping as a way of finding lower prices to help them beat the credit crunch.
But while security experts are expecting the traditional increase of malware over November and December, they have also warned of another source of potential attacks. Spammers and criminals have attempted to use the popularity of American president-elect Barack Obama as a way to trick users into downloading malware.
A flood of emails purporting to link to a video of Obama's acceptance speech were actually connected to a trojan horse program which would compromise the target's PC. Meanwhile, a separate burst of spam messages contained a file called BarackObama.exe, which, when activated, places a rootkit on the victim's machine and opens it up to hackers around the world.

CHEAPER TOLL

PIC: http://www.plus.com.my/

Next year, highway road users will enjoy the benefit of lower toll rates. The website is simply amazing coz anybody able to calculate their toll fares before starting their journey. It means plan ahead and prepare the adequate amount of fares to avoid searching for ringgits and sens when driving. Additional to the PLUS website, the map of the entire journey from north to south are provided. Overall for the sake of the love ones, safety tips are available for reminding motorist before using the highway.

COWSTIK?

PIC: www.pempropjambi.go.id/content.php?page=potensi-detail.php&view=potensi-peternakan
PIC: www.pahang-delights.com/ikan-patin-masak-tempoyak.html

PIC: www.flickr.com/photos

PIC: akubye.fotopages.com/?entry=1661241

PIC: blog.irwan.name/?p=259

A few years ago, a friend of mine went for makan-makan at a Malay stall. He came across the word cow chop display at the stall. I do not know where the stall is situated but it is in Temerloh. If you come across it send the picture via email to me. Don't miss out the Patin fish (silver catfish) where is popular in Temerloh. Some cooked using tempoyak method while others prefer steam patin fish.

THE LIFE OF OLIVER TWIST IN MALAYSIA

PIC: www.clipartof.com/details/clipart/5815.html

Times are tough and difficult. Some will be stealing iron bars (including ladders) from house to house. So remember to lock your house gates all the time even for a while. The latest tactic will be begging from every house in a motorcycle. The same face will be seen more than once. To beg one must have a thick skin and 'Please spare me a few bucks' printed on their forehead (not shown) before they open their mouth. Excuses such as 'My dad just passed away and I need some bucks to place him in a coffin' and 'I don't have money to eat' will be heard. Well, find a job. You are in good condition physically and don't expect me to spare any $$ on you!

TOPGEAR IN HIGH GEAR

PIC: www.topgear.com/uk

Good news topgear is aired at 3pm every Sunday on NTV7. Previously I have been hoping NTV7 not to rerun the Topgear episode. If lucky, Topgear will be aired at 3pm or else Topgear will be sitting on a bench.

TEACH THE OWNER FIRST

PIC: thestar.com.my

Pets are lovely and adorable. Pets looked awkward when the owner took them for a stroll and end up doing its business outside their neighbours’ garden or lawn.

ALL ABOUT TESCO

PIC: www.tesco.com.my/index.cfm

II like the concept introduced by Tesco management. The concept includes short queue by introducing Q Buster and a point for each recycle bag. Bravo Tesco.

Source: Tesco
One (1) Green Clubcard Point bears the same value as one (1) Clubcard Point.
Each bag re-used is entitled to 1 Green Clubcard Point. Redemption value of points is the same as the Clubcard Points which is currently 1 point equals to RM 1 sen.
Green Clubcard Points collected will not be shown on the receipt on the day of purchase. Only numbers of bag re-used will be shown e.g 3 bags re-used = 3 Green Clubcard.
Green Clubcard points collected previously will only be updated 1 week later in the receipt as shown in the total accumulated Clubcard Points.
The actual total Green Clubcard Points collected will only be shown in your quarterly Clubcard statement.
Clubcard Members can bring any kind of shopping bags/ carrier bags, including our Bag for Life and even competitors bags to re-use.
To collect Green Clubcard Points for a transaction in store, your Clubcard must be presented at the checkout.

THE PURPOSE OF NUMBERS STATED BOTTOM OF PLASTIC CONTAINERS

PIC: www.terrapass.com/blog/posts/how-to-decipher-the-recycling-numbers-on-plastic-stuff

To read the Resin Identification Codes (Plastic Recycling Codes) here.

NEW PROTON MPV

SOURCE: ENGKABANG.NET

Is this the new Proton MPV? Looks fine to me.

WILL SEAT BELT, ILLEGAL HID HEADLAMPS AND HEAVILY TINTED GLASS RULLING SUCCESSFUL?

PIC: www.jkjr.gov.my

More and more Malaysians driving without safety belt including the driver. Policemen are also included. Their head lamps are also fitted with illegal HID which irritates the eyes of the drivers and passengers from the opposite directions. It exposes danger towards other road users where certain area cannot be seen when heavily tinted windows are not transparent. Can the Ministry of Transportation be able to eradicate the situations? What do you think? Time will tell.

NOT THE RIGHT DECISION

PIC: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employees_Provident_Fund

If the employee's EPF contributions to be reduced from 11% to 8%, the amount after retirement will be lesser. In the long run, it will not help to ease the burden because after the employee's retirement, these folks need to allocate the money for children further education and regular medical aid. Let’s say each employee’s wages roughly about RM1000 monthly, the contributions made by the employees annually will be around:

RM1320 for 11% (then)
RM960 for 8% (now)
Difference between 11% and 8% = RM360 per year

This means employees contribute RM360 lesser per year

If the total working years are 36 years and without increment = RM360 x 36 years
= RM12 960

This means the sum of RM12 960 will not be added on their EPF after retirement. This amount means a lot for low wages earners. Please look at the bigger picture and not the short term solutions. Hope other ways will be used to support and help them.

In another case, I heard the government workers or servants are to be given second chance to either select EPF or retirement scheme for those who regretted in selecting EPF's scheme where does not provide half of the month's pay and health assist after retirement. It's unfair for those have select retirement scheme the very first place. Most would select EPF's scheme due to get larger amount after retirement (also as savings purposes) where later felt it was a wrong decision. What really went wrong is when their spouse seeks for divorce where each selected different scheme. To overcome this problem from existing again, time and time should there be seminar and forum to be discussed or provided for government workers or servants before the forms of selections of the schemes are given to them.

The website to EPF sucks. What do I mean by that? Try to surf www.kwsp.gov.my/index.php?tpl_id=994&act=signin and all you will get is this message Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage

Refer to: thestar.com.my

Workers and employers rail against EPF directive

PETALING JAYA: EPF’s move requiring contributors who wish to maintain their existing contribution at 11% to fill up a form has drawn protests from employee and employer associations.
Cuepacs and Fomca regard EPF’s arrangement as tantamount to forcing workers to comply, while the MTUC and Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF) feel it implies that the move was mandatory instead of voluntary.
“This seems like force. Those who are interested to reduce their contribution should fill up the form; not the other way round,” said Cuepacs president Omar Osman.
Omar said he believed the majority of contributors from the private sector were not in favour of the move and called on the EPF to come up with the best arrangement that benefited workers for their long-term investments.
According to an EPF statement on Thurs­day, contributors who wished to maintain their 11% contribution rate were required to fill up Form KWSP 17A (AHL) and hand it to their employers for submission to the EPF.
EPF will automatically adjust employees’ contribution to 8% from January if they failed to fill the form.
On Nov 4, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced a voluntary reduction of employees’ contribution from 11% to 8% as part of the Government’s stimulus package for the economy.
Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said: “Automatic reduction cannot be regarded as voluntary. The principles of justice should be applied as promised because the change is voluntary.
“Those who want to maintain it at 11% should not be required to apply.”
MTUC deputy president Mohd Khalid Atan said EPF’s directive was not practical.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Refer to: thestar.com.my

Teacher by day, bar dancer by night

It occurred last Sunday, when a train commuter refused to give up his seat to a pregnant woman even when he was asked. Instead, he blamed it on the tough life, reported The Straits Times’ news portal.
The episode was photographed by an eyewitness, who quoted him as saying, ‘Life is already full of suffering, why should I reward her (the pregnant woman) for bringing one more life into this world?’

Then the seat should be rewarded to the senior citizens especially old folks. I bet you know why. It's so funny.

GREAT ESCAPE

PIC: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

Everyone's been eager to sign up Facebook even in hand phones except me. Why didn't I sign up? To me it is just another Friendster type. From the article below where I read from the net, pops up in Facebook linking to worm. How bad is that? Read the definition for worms below:

Definition for Worms:
A computer worm is a self-contained (can run by itself) program (or set of programs) that is able to spread functional copies of itself or its segments to other computer systems (usually via network connections). Worms are different from virus because they do not need to attach themselves to a host program in order to work. Examples of famous worms are the Internet worm, Christmas Tree worm and nowadays, Brontok.

Is it a threat to you? It is to me. And also beware when surfing billboard.com. There is also a threat.

Source: www.lowyat.net/v2/latest/dodgy-facebook-messages-link-to-worms.html

Dodgy Facebook Messages Link To Worms

If a dodgy message from a friend pops up in Facebook, chances are that it's a link to a nasty worm. Discovered by the FortiGuard Global Security Research Team, the worm itself doesn't reside in Facebook or any of it's applications. Using the old "click here" hoax, users who click through the links in the said dodgy message will be directed to a Google Reader page. Once there, Google Reader will ask you to download a "codec" in order to view the contents of the page - but surprise, surprise - the "codec" that you're downloading is in actual fact, a worm!

MALAYSIA, 30 October 2008 – Fortinet - the pioneer and leading provider of unified threat management (UTM) solutions - today announced that its FortiGuard Global Security Research Team discovered a Facebook worm that is trying to leverage Google Reader to gain trust in visitors with an intention to download a malicious codec onto their machines.

Since end of July 2008, worms targeting Facebook users have been spotted here and there. The strategy has been simple, yet effective: A malicious message is sent to friends of the infected user, prompting them to visit a page carrying an online video - something utterly common in today's Web 2.0 era. However, should the targeted users follow the link, they would soon find out the video does not start.... unless they install a special codec, as prompted for by the page! As a matter of course, the said codec is nothing else than a Trojan, loading various malware pieces, possibly including a copy of the worm.

Fortinet customers who subscribe to Fortinet’s antivirus and Web content filtering services should be protected against this threat. Fortinet’s IPS service is one component of FortiGuard Subscription Services, which also offer comprehensive solutions such as antivirus, Web content filtering and antispam capabilities. These services enable protection against threats on both application and network layers. FortiGuard Services are continuously updated by the FortiGuard Global Security Research Team, which enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and true zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. These updates are delivered to all FortiGate, FortiMail and FortiClient products. Fortinet strictly follows responsible disclosure guidelines to ensure optimum protection during a threat's lifecycle.

GET YOUR OWN GRAZING SITE

PIC: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle

Imagine every herders in the nation been asking for a grazing site, how many hectors of lands needed to accommodate all of the stray live stocks? If grazing sites are provided, will some of the profit shared? Will herders pick all the dunks left on the road? If not, the herders should clean up all the vehicles which accidently run over the pile of dunks. Let's say a ripped fruit dropped on your neighbour’s grass, is the fruit belongs to you? The answer is no. So, if your cattle went over to other people land it should be confiscated. If to be claimed back for the trouble and the plants destroyed, the owner of the cattle should give a decent sum. Why all the trouble? Better get your own grazing site and do not trouble motorist on the road.

Refer to TheStar.com.my

Grazing site for strays needed

WHERE to find a grazing ground for stray livestock comprising over 700 buffaloes, cattle and goats in Taiping?
This is the poser which an elected representative and the Taiping Municipal Council are grappling with in light of the danger posed by such strays especially to innocent motorcyclists and motorists who were known to have been seriously injured after knocking into such strays.
Aulong assemblyman Yew Tian Hoe said he had discussed the matter with council secretary Shahrom Datuk Abd Malek and the council enforcement officers.
“We need a grazing ground for the animals and I will see the district veterinary officer with the hope of locating a suitable site,” said Yew while accompanying Shahrom and council officers on their weekly site inspections around Taiping on Wednesday.
Although the council could round up such strays, it is learnt that it had decided not to go down hard on the owners of such strays.
Recently a group of cow herders in Kamunting lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency alleging that they were fined by staff members from the Kamunting detention centre in return for the release of their animals which strayed into its compound.
The herders’ spokesman Ranjeet Singh said prison warders had no right to fine the herders or confine the animals as the council was the right enforcement authority to reprimand them.

ACTION PREVENTING TEENAGERS FROM SMOKING

PIC: tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au/site/supersite/resources/docs/gallery_packwarnings.htm

Mostly, cigarettes smokers come from teenagers. First action must be taken is to stop teenagers from buying cigarettes easily. Some shops are still selling in a smaller pack so to be easily available for teenagers where they cannot afford to buy big packs.

Refer to TheStar.com.my

Pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs by Jan 1

PUTRAJAYA: Cigarette packs must carry pictorial health warnings by Jan 1 in the Government’s latest blitz against smokers.
Besides these warnings, the Health Ministry has also embarked on a series of moves targeting smokers including setting a minimum RM6 for a 20-cigarette pack by year-end, extending the list of non-smoking premises, and banning manufacturers from using words such as “low tar”, “light”, “ultra-light” and “mild” in their brand packaging with immediate effect.
Its minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said 21 cigarette manufacturers and importers in the country had agreed to this latest ruling.
“By Jan 1, each cigarette brand must have at least two of its products carry these warnings. However, there may still be old stock in the country with the old packaging.
“By next June, all cigarette packs must carry the warnings. Besides these warnings, the packs must print on the side an advisory against selling cigarettes to those aged 18 years and below, and the warning that cigarette smoke contains 4,000 types of chemicals,” he told reporters Wednesday at his office here.
There are six sets of pictorial warnings, advising people against smoking by featuring graphic images of mouth cancer, throat cancer and deformed foetuses. There is also an infoline number for smokers who wish to give up smoking.
The pictures on the front of the cigarette packs must cover 40% of the surface, while the ones shown on the back must be 60% in size.
In a survey by the ministry, 21.5% of the adult population or three million adults smoke and among teenagers, some 15% have indicated they have tried smoking and another 8% confessed to being regular smokers.
Liow said with this latest ruling, Malaysia joins another 15 countries which have complied with the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“In Canada, these warnings have caused half of the smokers to want to quit and in Thailand, 80% of the smokers think these pictures are effective.
“Over the past 10 years, we have managed to reduce the number of smokers in Malaysia by 2% through our various campaigns. We are definitely not happy with that,” he said.
Liow said national service camps would be made non-smoking premises immediately while smokers would no longer be allowed to indulge their habit along the corridors surrounding shopping malls and complexes.
On setting the minimum price for a 20-cigarette pack, the minister said the price would be adjusted each time the Government announced additional taxes and charges in the Budget. “The Attorney-General’s office is now in the process of gazetting the minimum price,” he said, adding that anyone who failed to comply with the latest rulings could be fined up to RM10,000 or jailed two years or both.
Liow also said for this year alone, the ministry had compounded 2,622 smokers with fines totalling RM564,000 and charged another 1,946 smokers in court for various offences.

SAME OPINION

PIC: www.kennysia.com

Advertorial: 5% Tax, 10% Service Charge, 100% Stupidity

http://www.kennysia.com/archives/2008/10/advertorial_5_t.php#comments

Refer to my previous post, malaysiarealitybites.blogspot.com/2008/08/service-and-government-tax-imposed-on.html

SOMETIMES U EARN, SOMETIMES WE EARN TOO!

PIC: www.yahoo.com

"Petrol kiosk dealer in Johor, said dealers could lose between RM13,000 and RM25,000 each time petrol is reduced by 15 sen per litre." Did they complain when the petrol prices gone up overnight? Did they question the minister for the announcement for raising the petrol prices the next day where all the motorist queueing up as long as Perlis to Johor Bahru from petrol stations? The word 'RISK' plays a part in this situation. It does not meant by investing in Petrol Kiosk = earn big $$. There must be a profit and deficit. When times are good = profit. When times are bad = deficit. Always think of consumers. Without consumers = no profit.

Reference from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/29/nation/2385591&sec=nation

Shahrir wants petrol priced not lower than RM1.92

PETALING JAYA: The minimum price of petrol should be RM1.92 per litre even if the global oil price continues to fall, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said.
He said this would bring some stability to the retail price of petrol and minimise losses by petrol station owners.
Setting a minimum price would also enable the Government to reduce its subsidy on petrol if the global price fell further.
“The upper limit will be RM2.70 and it is my feeling that this is the optimal range,” Shahrir said when commenting on the losses petrol station dealers face whenever the price of petrol is reduced.
Ahmad Sarpur, a dealer in Johor, said dealers could lose between RM13,000 and RM25,000 each time petrol is reduced by 15 sen per litre.
“This is because there is a minimum order quantity of 21,000 litres that we must pay for immediately. There is no credit,” he said.
“If the petrol is delivered in the morning and the price is reduced at night, we have to sell petrol 15 sen cheaper than what we had paid for it.”
However, Shahrir said the Govern­ment had been fair to the dealers saying: “We have not reduced their margin of 12 sen per litre after it was increased in June and we will try as much as we can to keep upcoming price reductions to 15 sen at a time.”
Shahrir said this meant a minimal loss of three sen per litre.
Ahmad pointed out that it was difficult for dealers to hedge on prices as they were not given prior notice of price changes. He said the dealers should be given three days’ warning before a price change to carry their optimal amount of stock.

DOUBLE PARKING NOT ONLY IN KLANG VALLEY

PIC: thestar.com.my

Inconsiderate behaviour also happens in Taiping especially in Prima Restaurant and Jalan Panggung Wayang. Take a look from day to dawn. The condition from bad becoming worse during peak hours. The parking lots exist are enough to accommodate the customers. The problem lies on the 'tidak apa' attitude where the common lines 'Sekejap saja, 'Everyone park like that' and 'Who cares? Police does not care. Why you care?'

Reference from thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/10/29/central/2360382&sec=central

Disorderly parking causing daily traffic chaos in the Klang Valley

THE most critical problem concerning parking in the Klang Valley seems to be the lack of parking space in busy commercial areas. This has snowballed into issues like illegal parking and double or triple parking, which causes massive traffic congestion.
Illegal parking is perhaps the biggest headache contributing to chaotic traffic congestion motorists endure every day.
The problem persists because of inconsiderate motorists wanting to save some money on parking and poor enforcement by the police and local authorities.
It is compounded by a lack of parking bays especially in commercial areas.
Even if there are parking facilities available at such areas, the charges are quite exorbitant which explains why many motorists to resort to double-park, even at the risk of getting parking summonses.
A nightmare: Cars double-parked in Desa Sri Hartamas and being a nuisance to road users.
A survey of the various busy areas by StarMetro uncovered some interesting facts.
There are several multi-storey parking complexes for the public in congested areas such as PJ New Town, Damansara Uptown and Tai Pan in USJ Subang.
StarMetro checked out some of these parking facilities in Petaling Jaya and found that motorists are not using the indoor parking facilities available as they are not willing to pay the high parking charges.
At about 10.30am on the day of the StarMetro survey, the ground floor and first floor of the MBPJ parking complex A in PJ State were full with cars parked there, but there were still some empty parking lots on the second and third floors while the top floor was almost empty.
At the same time, many cars were spotted double parking along the road in front of the shop lots, causing a bottleneck on the road. Motorists had to squeeze through.
Shop owner Jeff Wong admitted that there were times where he had to resort to double parking.
No takers: Vacant bays available in a multi-storey car park in Damansara Uptown while motorists park illegally on the streets (below).
“There’s just not enough parking space in PJ. The fee at the parking complexes is too expensive at RM1.50 per hour. For those who work during the 9-to-5 office hours it would mean a fee of RM12 per day,” he said.
“We pay road tax so why do we still have to pay for parking? It’s a burden to us,” he said.
Wong said the MBPJ parking complexes should not charge such a high fee as it is owned and operated by the local government.
“The parking fee should be cheaper, if not free. I would not mind parking there if the charge is 60 sen per hour like the metered parking bays,” he said.
“Plus, there’s the security problem at the parking lots. One of my customers who pays for a monthly pass to park at the parking complex was robbed when she went to get her car after working till late at night. Fortunately, she escaped unharmed,” Wong said.
A bookshop owner who wanted to be only known as Din said that the relevant authorities should increase the parking lots to accommodate more cars.
“Even the multi-storey parking complex is sometimes full. Many of those who park illegally are in a hurry and they have no choice but to do so. They park for just a while and hurry off to run errands such as banking or paying bills,” he said.

AUGUST PTK RESULT ON 30 OCTOBER 2008

PIC: www.mpm.edu.my/ptk/loginfrm.aspx

Attention to government officers!. To check your PTK result, click here or sms to PTK IC No.(Example : 020202135000)send to 39003.(RM 0.30 per sms) However the result will be out on 30 August 2008(thursday). The day before for March result.

INTERNATIONAL ARTIST

Pic: http://www.chenelle-world.com/

Heard of Che'Nelle? She's from Malaysia.