Hi, My Name is Bernie

In a world ravaged by COVID-19, the reliance on the internet has been magnified. Majority of the workforce who can perform their mundane office tasks remotely are now allowed to work from home. Schools are virtually ghost towns as most of them opt to conduct classes online. Banking and other financial transactions are also mostly done from home. This unexpected "digital transformation" is well and good as it encouraged work from home and distance learning.  However, this also opens up home computers and home networks to more threats than ever.  One sad fact that needs to be addressed is that most home computer users (those who work or study from home) have not taken steps to secure their home computers, home network and their network-connected devices.  Securing all these will take a lot of time and a whole lot more time "researching".  As a public service, I will be writing a series of posts that should address this. What are the particular threats that faces peopl

During this difficult time of "enhanced community quarantine", one of the things I do is muck around my gadgets to play games, research. and yes, blog.  During one of those gaming sessions on my phone, I noticed a simple and unobtrusive ad for a VPN.  The ad was about Tachyon VPN .  My initial reaction is that of indifference because ads for VPN service is a dime a dozen, especially when playing games on either iOS or Android.  A lot of them doesn't even work at all. However, I was strangely compelled to click on the ad and I was redirected to the App store amd since I was already there, I threw caution to the wind and clicked on install, ready to immediately delete the app once my device flags it as suspicious or malicious. I was pleasantly surprised when I was greeted by a rather clean interface and since no alarm bells rang, I decided to try it out and connect.  Upon connection, I was checked if the VPN was working.  I did this by going to https://www.whatismyipaddress

Another news item caught my eyes today.  The news reports that new and sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack has compromised three (3) British Private Equity firms.  The attack involved Phishing for ranking executives of the compromised companies and then actually tampering with the victims' email application.  This enabled the group to intercept and redirect the emails of the executives.  To make a long story short, the hacker group was able to run off with approximately 1.3 MILLION DOLLARS! This type of cyber attack is nothing new.  Phishing attacks had been victimizing people for years now.  I personally handled cases where an unsuspecting victims lost all their savings because they unwittingly opened Phishing emails that redirected them to fake banking websites.  The victims, s thinking that they are on their bank's website, will then attempt to log in and that's it -- their user ID and password has been stolen by hackers. To avoid being vict

I just stumbled upon an alarming news that there is a "zero-day" vulnerability on the iPhone that can me exploited by a malware where a user does not even have to click on the malicious message to get infected.  According to the report: "At the time of writing, only the beta 13.4.5 version of iOS, released just last week, contains security patches for both zero-day vulnerabilities." At this point in time, the only way to protect ourselves from this threat is to avoid using the iPhone's default Mail application and simply access our emails direct from Gmail, Yahoo or other web-based clients. Full article here: Zero-Day Warning: It's Possible to Hack iPhones Just by Sending Mails

In my previous post, I discussed Online Anonymity, its importance and how it is different from Online Privacy. Now that the importance of Online Anonymity has been highlighted, the question my five readers have in mind now is "how do we maintain our Online Anonymity?" First things first: in order to use the internet with Online Privacy in mind will require a paradigm shift -- in order to surf the net anonymously, we must try to relearn some of the things we are used to doing when accessing the internet in the convectional way.  Here are some things that we are all used to doing but should not practice if we want to access the internet Anonymously: use an anonymizing browser such as TOR Brower . when searching for information or anything else, do not use Google, Bing or Yahoo.  These search engines keeps a record of all searches, including which users did the search. never log in to any of your usual social media sites.  Once logged in, these social media sites will s

If you have among the 5 readers who has been taking time to read articles from this site, you may notice that I have been discussing Personal Technology Security and I have been concentrating a lot on personal data privacy.  This is because most of the online scams I have encountered in the practice of my profession stems from either the careless handling or the (un)intentional leakage of personal information. But there is an aspect in Personal Technology Security that is just as important but is often overlooked, even ignored.  I am talking about Online Anonymity .  Internet technology is now so advanced that it can now track the activities of each individual online -- what one purchases, searches for, reads, and even writes in emails/message boards. Majority of people would dismiss the concept of anonymity outright because apparently "they have nothing to hide".  These people cannot be more wrong in their assumption. Let me put it this way: Have you ever searched for

This will be the first of a series of posts I will call "IMOW" or In My Own Words.  The objective of this is to explain tech stuff such that it will be, hopefully, understandable to not-to-technically-inclined users.  Feel free to comment/criticize if you find me going too technical/geeky so I can adjust accordingly. I came across this news item this morning and it is sort of alarming considering that I used to work for a large local bank and it may affect thousands of clients if it reaches our shores.  The news reports of a new malware that infects a computer when a user opens video that is supposed to be about the "Corona Virus".  This video is hosted on a compromised internet server which in turn infects everyone who attempts to open the Corona Virus video.  Security researchers named this malware " Grandoreiro ". Now, it the infected computer happens to be using Google Chrome and visits an internet banking site, the malware will generate an &q

If you have been reading my Personal Technology Security Series posts, you now know that online fraud and cybercrime are mostly done with minimal or even no hacking involved.  A lot of victims' accounts were compromised through social engineering -- the victims were somehow tricked into disclosing enough information so that allowed fraudsters to perform transactions in their name.  I know of a lot of cases where the victims themselves disclosed their passwords through phishing/SMISHING/VISHING and their savings go missing in front of their eyes.  Credit/debit card holders unwittingly disclosing their card numbers and watch as their debts rack up. But social engineering is not the only way cybercriminals and fraudsters gather information that they can use to do their nefarious jobs.  One way they get useful information is through carelessy trashed account statements from banks and credit card companies.  This document contains everything that a cybercriminal needs to start

I recently saw a compelling article on a new webmail service that promises to solve the usual problems we all encounter with email. Onmail promises to solve the problem brought about by spam, junk mail and other email nonsense. If you are interested in having a more secure email address, just follow this link to get your invitation:  https://www.onmail.com/redeem?type=onmail&code=7EptADguqg

A few days ago, a former colleague messaged me asking for a recommendation for Antivirus for his presumably new Windows 10 installation. If this question came my way 5 years ago, I would have recommended a veritable laundry list of reputable anti-virus for him . However, technology moved on and I personally believe that 3rd party anti-virus is no longer necessary for personal PCs.  Let me explain myself.  Nowadays, threats from convetional computer viruses is no longer as dangerous as it was years ago.  Most malicious behaviour of conventional computer virus are automagically detected by most modern Operating Systems, including Windows 10 (as long as it is updated).  Real threats nowadays are not as obvious as computer viruses.  These new threats include Phishing, Ransomware ,  Drive-by Downloads , Malvertising , etc. and most of these are not necessarily detected and "fixed" by antiviruses. So that we have established that conversional antiviruses are no longer a neces

Yesterday, I discussed two most successful and most prevalent social engineering tactics used nowadays. One emerging tactic that may not be as widespread but just as damaging is VISHING.  What is VISHING? According to wikipedia, VISHING is a form of criminal phone fraud, using social engineering over the telephone system to gain access to private personal and financial information for the purpose of financial gains. How does it work? Unsuspecting victims will receive a phone call from someone claiming to work for their bank.  The caller will claim that the victim's credit/debit or ATM card needs to be verified to prevent it from being deactivated.  The caller will then ask for the victim's personal information for "verification".  The caller will also ask for the card's CVV/CVC number (it is the three-digit number at the back of the card). To make the conversation appear legitimate, other questions may be asked but all the fraudster actually need from the

Fun fact: Not all malicious "Hacking" incidents involves actual hacking actiities.  In fact, a large perceentage of so-called "hacking" victims in fact does not involve any computer hacking whatsoever. Before I continue, let me first define what hacking really is. Hacking is a series of activities including surveying target systems and identifying and exploiting any vulnerabilites identified on the target system.  Sounds rather exciting but actual hacking activities invloves a lot of patience and a little bit of luck to be successful.  Depending on the implemented security of the system that is targetted for a hack, the activity will take at least a few hours up to a couple of days even weeks!  Imagine taking weeks in order to compromise accounts. That being said, we can safely say that hacking is not an easy thing to pull off in order to be "profitable". The easier way to steal enough information to compromise accounts.  This is where "Social Eng

In my previous post, I mentioned the dangers posed by "malware".  What is "malware" and do we really need to worry about it? Malware is a portmanteau of "Malicious" and "Software".  it is a piece of computer code that is written specifically to perform malicious actions.  Computer virus , trojan horses , ransomware , keyloggers , etc. are all considered Malware. With that in mind, are we all in danger from Malware?  The short answer is a resounding YES.  Can we do anything to protect ourselves from Malware?  Another short answer to this is another resounding YES. Given this, how do we protect ourselves from the dangers posed by Malware? Preventing damage done by Malware infection can either be simple or complex.  Here are some simple steps from protect ourselves from Malware: Keep your devices updated as much as possible, as soon as possible.  Malware easily penetrate devices (computers, laptops, tablets and cellphones).  Do not b

In my last article, I discussed how wonderful it is to live in a time when technology gives us an unprecedented access to information and services right at the comfort of our homes and even at the palm of our hands. I also discussed how most of this technology becomes accessible to almost everyone. It is no longer a novelty seeing a sidewalk vendor playing mobile games on a smartphone or a security guard watching a videostream of his favorite NBA team. Teenagers often share their OOTDs, foodography and other activities on social media. Busy people often do their banking using the mobile banking application on their cellphones. Free wifi on malls and other public places are a godsend for people who do not have data plans on their mobile devices because it allows them to do all these at virtually no cost at all. As mundane as those activity may appear, each one of them poses a risk to both the users and the device that is in use.  I will enumerate the risks that a person opens hims

We live in such wonderful times.  More and more people are exposed to technology that, years ago, were too expensive a few years ago.  Information is now available to a lot more people thanks to the high adoption rate of smartphones, tablets and laptops.  Students never had it so good because I still remember having to commute to different libraries in order to write research papers. People who need to do banking can do a lot of financial transactions simply by downloading and using the mobile banking applications of their respective banks.  Mobile payment platforms are slowly replacing the need to carry cash in order to pay for their groceries, medicines, monthly bills etc. However, with all these conveniences, comes danger.  Hackers and fraudsters are taking advantage of this to take advantage of people who are not-too-savvy with technology to steal information and even money.  Text messages purporting to come from government agencies, dubious foundations even famous peopl

There's a new Food Hall in town and it is called "My South Hall".  It is tucked in a small nondescript corner of S'Maison. The place itself is so nondescript that I didn't even noticed it while walking around the mall. My South Hall is actually composed of several separate stalls offering a variety of food and drink choices. The stalls that caught my attention are: ROAST'D - the stall that offers various traditional Chinese roasts (chicken, duck & pork). Seoul Hotpot - for Korean-inspired hotpot Golden Treasures - offers dimsum and noodles. Tabemashou - for diners craving for Japanese dishes. They also have a juice bar and a milk tea place. I haven't tried any of places there but I'm sure it won't be long before I do.

I had lunch at Mala Sichuan Cuisine and ordered their Beef Ramen.  The broth is quite flavorful but the chef may have ignored my request for a mild dish. The beef topping is not "advertised" since all I got was a few bits of meat (see pic below). Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The soup was so spicy that I felt the "need" to get something sweet to cap off the meal.  I went to the Yamato Bakery Cafe to get a Raspberry Danish and coffee.  What a way to end a lunchtime! Till the next meal!

This place has recently opened at the MET Live mall.  The original Persia Grill in the area was located at a the Blue Bay mall across the street but I guess that location was less than ideal because it was hidden from the usual crowd.  a This time, I ordered their Beef Kebab Kubideh and Shakshuka as appetizer.  The Shakshuka is served with one Pita Bread which, in my opinion, is not enough for the serving.  The tomato sauce base of the Shakshuka is really nice, not as sour as other Shakshukas I had in other similar restaurants.  The Kubideh was served with buttered rice and was as good as any other Kubideh.  Special mention on their White (garlic) and Red (chili) sauce -- they go really well with all the dishes served in this restaurant. I'm so glad that there is another lunch option for me at work and I see myself coming back to Persia Grill in the coming weeks.

Originally posted December 30, 2019 Long weekends often gives me a bad case of cabin fever.  So right smack in the middle of the Holiday break, I brought my wifey and kiddo to the Powerplan Mall Rockwell for a quick lunch.  I originally planned to have our meal at The Grid Food Market but I was overwhelmed by the number of choices there, We instead opted to lunch at Mighty Quinn's .  We all ordered their "Meat Pairings" which is a choice of two mains plus two side dishes,  The choice for the mains are brisket, burnt ends, spare ribs, roast chicken, pork belly and pulled pork..  The choice for the sides are broccoli salad, loaded baked potato, sweet potato casserole, potato salad and brisket chilli. Sad to say, the mains and the sides all tasted unremarkable except for the Burnt Ends.  The sides are actually tastier than the meats.  I guess that will be the last time that I'll be dining at Mighty Quinn's.

Originally posted October 17, 2019 I visit Meat Plus Cafe at MOA whenever I feel the need to rejuvenate myself with a big slab of quality meat.  The one pictured above came straight from Meat Plus' freezer and cooked with a special instruction for the chefto trim off the fat from the steak and cook it well done while keeping the rest of the steak Medium Rare.  The end result is a mouth-watering tender steak that is both tender and juicy.  The well-done fat at the side was sinfully glorious and provided a great counterpoint to the crispy fries that came with the meal.  The best part of the meal?  It costs dramatically less than what I would've been charged if I order the same thing at either Outback or Fridays. Overall verdict: Makes it worth the effort to visit Mall of Asia.

My friend Debbie, a classmate from way back in Elementrary and High School invited me again to their town fiesta at Mataas na Kahoy, Batangas City.  Having previously visited their place, I promptly brought wifey and kiddo with me and had lunch there. The visit was capped by a sumptuous lunch and the main highlight of the meal was a boneless lechon by Dante's Lechon de Kahoy . As with our other visits, I was still in awe at the place, the beauty of which is accentuated by the cool Tagaytay-level cool wind. To get a feel of the place, just click on the video above. A day well spent with my family and friend at a very relaxing place.

Originally reviewed on September 4, 2019 I have no great love for the recent influx of Chinese POGO workers in the country today. However, there is one side effect of their diaspora that I am crazy for. MALA! A restaurant recently opened and its specialty is the Szechuan Hotpot. It is called Sichu Malatang Hotpot . Being the adventurous eater that I am, I tried it and despite its thermonuclear heat, it was absolutely delicious! Diners choose the contents of their hotpot and gives it to the cashier where it is weighed. Cost of hte hotpot will depend on the weight of the ingredients. Then the cashier will ask if it will be cooked as “dry” or as a soup. The “dry” version is quite spicy by default. However the soup's spicinesss level can be adjusted. They always end up serving a flavorful bowl of freshly cooked soup the taste of which is reminiscent of the Tantanmen broth of popular ramen shops. Overall taste of the dish will depend on what meat, seafood and vegetable you choo