Month: November 2020

If Your Password is Listed Here, You Should Consider Changing It

Posted on by Li Pheng

In an age where security and privacy are always a major concern especially online, passwords serve as the only few blockades that stop hackers from infiltrating your social accounts or even your device.

Should we be worried about criminals breaking into our digital life? Maybe we should, as the worst passwords from 2019 seems to make it easier for so much information to be left vulnerable.

As cybercriminals and hackers up their game, maybe it’s time that we up ours too. 

These are just the many passwords that make the list and others include “qwerty”, “Iloveyou” and “admin”. All of these don’t make great passwords as they are easily hackable and offer little to no protection for your data.

The potential for serious security breach would increase if you too use the same weak password for more than one account as if one is compromised, so are all the others. Brett Johnson, a former identity thief who is now a digital security consultant, says about 80 percent of people with online passwords use the same one for multiple websites.

“Criminals know that and take advantage of it,” Johnson told NBC News BETTER. “All they need to do is get the password for one website and they have access to every single one you use … your bank account, credit card, maybe tax return, everything across the board.”

Once compromised and identity stolen, it may take up to weeks or even months to repair the damage that is done and recover what is rightfully yours.

So how you do you ensure a strong password?

1) Strong passwords

The rules for a strong password varies as experts are divided between suggestions of 12 to 20 characters or a series of random words. However, they all agree that common phrases, songs or even your favourite sports team or dog’s name won’t make it secure too.

Utilize password manager apps such as Dashlane, LastPass or KeePass and let it create them for you. You can even use NordPass to check if you’ve chosen to use a good password. For example, “987654321” has been exposed 594,495 times and My1Login estimated that it could be cracked in 0.01 seconds. Take that into thought.

2) The more important the account, the more unique the password

Many of us have more online accounts than to what we can managed. While the practice is to use secure and unique passwords for all of them, most simply won’t do that.

Financial accounts, social media and work email, they are our most sensitive accounts and are the most critical to protect. Let your imagination go wild and allow them to spark ideas into your next password.

3) Password manager

With the way our mind is structured, we surely can’t remember all those long strings of random letters, numbers or characters can’t we?

If you’re not all that into the tech world, writing them down on a piece of paper seems like the only option. However, if you are a tech enthusiast, a password manager remembers all of them for you; although, you do have to remember that one password that lies before all the passwords.

Apple and Google have password managers built into their operating systems, maybe it’s time we check them out.

4) Two, three, four-factor authentication

Certain websites offer two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA), these offers that much-needed extra level of security. Once enabled, it takes more than a password to access that account such as needing fingerprint or facial recognition before hand.

Although not fool proof, Microsoft statistics show that MFA correlates with 99 percent reduction in the rate of compromise; As Alexander Weiner, director of identity security at Microsoft puts it, “The weakest password plus MFA is stronger than the strongest password”.

You are going to be attack regardless

Former identity thief Johnson warns that it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” instead, especially if you’re using a password that is anything but strong. There will always be a next victim and there is no reason to why it won’t be you next.

Selling Homemade Cookies To Raise Funds For a Certain “Uncle Chew”

Posted on by Kai Zheng
Twitter/@Hildasaurus

With the holiday season approaching us and we prepare ourselves for a season of festivities, it is important that we remember those who are less fortunate and unable to enjoy the privileges as we do.

It’s always wholesome for people and businesses to give back, but significantly much more wholesome especially during Christmas. Anyway, what better way to celebrate the holidays by giving help a fellow person out there?

A story of two old friends portrays that exactly and is trending around local social platforms.

“Uncle Chew is one of my father’s school mates. Five years ago, my dad found out that he had gotten into a freak accident which paralysed the lower half of his body. He could not afford to work and lost his income. He was then abandoned by his wife and children” Twitter user, @Hilasaurus, said in a Twitter thread that has over nine thousand retweets and 11 thousand likes so far.

According to Hilda, her father and his other classmates have been supporting Uncle Chew with his rent and food as Uncle Chew struggles to gather enough money to support himself and resorts to only a meal a day at times. She too wants to play a helping hand in this and has chosen to help with the sales of her baked goods.

Twitter/@Hildasaurus

“This Christmas, we plan to send Uncle Chew a gift. A Christmas gift. I will be fundraising a total amount of RM10,000. I will be selling jars of chocolate chip cookies for RM30 per jar. This is only applicable to those staying in the Klang Valley due to the CMCO restrictions” she said.

“I chose these cookies because they remind me of home and unconditional love.

“My dad and I would spend hours baking these cookies in the kitchen every Christmas only to have them given away to anyone and everyone to enjoy”.

Twitter/@Hildasaurus

Due to the overwhelming response from the public, orders for the cookies have been halted for now as Hilda wants to “focus on the orders placed”. However, those who are willing to go beyond the cookies to can donate as followed and track their donations here.

There is still no word yet as to when Hilda all be reopening orders for the cookies again, but rest assured that this may not be the end of the story.

Feeling Like Time Goes By Faster Lately? Here’s Why?

Posted on by Charles Sim

Do you ever get the realization that time somehow goes by faster as you age? If you do, you’re not alone as physics and the lockdown may have the answer to that.

Our perception of time shifts constantly and also dependent on the activities we partake in and also on how much rest we get. Research done by Duke University mechanical engineering professor, Adrian Bejan, uses physics to explain the changing senses of time and why years seem to go by faster the older we get.

The mind’s eye

Each of us have our own “mind time” that is unrelated to the passing of hours, days, years and clocks, which is all effected by the amount of time we rest and other factors. These changes in factors give us a sense of time’s passage, as he writes:

“The present is different from the past because the mental viewing has changed, not because somebody’s clock rings. The “clock time” that unites all the live flow systems, animate and inanimate, is measurable. The day-night period lasts 24 hours on all watches, wall clocks and bell towers. Yet, physical time is not mind time. The time that you perceive is not the same as the time perceived by another.”

Time goes by with the mind’s eye, it is related to the number of mental images the brain encounters and organizes and the state of our brains as we age. 

The rate of which these images are perceived decreases because of the transforming physical features such as vision, brain complexity and later in life, the degradation of pathways that information is transmitted at. This shift allows us to perceive as if time is sped up.

Time spent in lockdown

Young man wearing pyjamas with feet up on desk using computer

You’ve made fewer memories than usual in a week and time seems to have disappeared. Since most of us spend our lives in one location, time spent at home is different than time spent in the outside world. 

When you take dozens of Zoom calls in a week all from the same setting, everything can start merging into one when compared in real llife where everyone would be meeting with each other at a number of different places. When we look back on the time of coronavirus, it might be hard to delineate different parts of our months in lockdown.

Because of the lack of other markers in time, once lockdown had begun we might find the weeks hard to differentiate, hence, time passing by as if your days didn’t happen.

We create our own subjective experience of time in our minds and it doesn’t always match up with reality and what we read on the clock or the calendar. A 20-minute lunch with a friend goes by in a flash, while a 20-minute wait for a delayed train can feel unending, yet in reality of course the duration is both in fact, 20 minutes.

No, You Don’t Need That Many Pieces of Tissue When Eating

Posted on by Chandra Saachi

We’ve all been there, sitting down at a table in a restaurant only to find out later that the previous customers have left mountains of tissue paper on the table.

A horrifying sight not only for the waiters but also other customers in terms of sanitary issues at a place where most would want to enjoy their meal, it brings the question – do you really need that much tissue paper when having a meal?

On top of being hugely unpleasing to look at, it all comes down to two words – necessity and environment.

Do you really need that many?

What one would consider a “napkinholic”, a usual sight these days is to see people using up to 20 or even 30 pieces of tissue when eating, resulting in mountains of it that are contaminated with who knows what during this pandemic. The average person would go through an average amount of tissue paper, maybe three of four, but that seems to be rare these days.

The most basic of dining etiquette would involve being seated at a table and going through your meal without having to ask the waiter for more tissue every 10 minutes. If you’re lucky, you won’t leave a pile of used tissue on the dining table for the next customer and waiter to deal with as well; let’s face it nobody likes picking them up especially when someone else have been using them to blow their nose or wipe their mouths.

Even better? If you do in fact end up using more than you need, dispose of the used pieces of tissue yourself like how your mother used to tell you. Fold them up in a proper manner so that you don’t end up as that one person carrying a pile of used tissue paper across the room. Not only will you spare your trash from the waiter and next customer, but you will also maintain the much-needed cleanliness guidelines during a time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yes, it harms the environment

As humble as it may seem, tissue paper clearly has an impact on the environment. Imagine that, destruction of forests around the world in order for you to wipe your mouths or just to blow you nose; aside from the source of the material used for making tissues, some manufacturers also use dangerous and highly toxic bleaching processes; plus fragrances and other additives with dubious origins. 

On top of that, it takes 0.26 litres to produce a 0.0023 kilogram tissue; to put it into larger perspective, 119,240,472 litres of water is needed to make 450,000,000 tissue used in just a day. This is all equivalent to 477 Olympic-sized swimming pools or daily water use for 315,000 to 393,750 people.

If you don’t need it, don’t use it. Some people might not like following this option, but bringing your own handkerchief means that you won’t have to ask for a piece of tissue paper or more from the waiter or those around the table!

Maybe it’s time we go green, but maybe it’s time to go decent instead for a change from mountains of tissue paper.

Malaysia’s Tallest Building Delayed For More Than Six Months, To Be Ready in 2022

Posted on by Hans Ng

The towering Merdeka 118 has stood unfinished for more than a year now as KL-ites still drive-by each time in awe of it even though almost half of it is still very much visible concrete.

So, that brings us the question to many who pass by that have pondered on – when will it be finished? Unfortunately, the tower that is formerly known as KL118, will be delayed for more than six months, according to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) president and group chief executive, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn

Zulqarnain told Bernama that Phase 1 and 2 of the Merdeka 118 precinct are expected to be ready by the second quarter (Q2) of 2022 instead of the end of 2021 as it initially targeted. He also cited that the cause of the delays were none other than the Movement Control Order (MCO) that has been set in place following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Adhering to the requirements of the MCO, he said that the Merdeka 118 construction site was shut down during the first three phases and gradually reopened from May 13, 2020, onwards.

Upon completion, Merdeka 118 will be Malaysia’s tallest building at a height of 656 metres, taller than the 452 metre Petronas Twin Towers.

PNB and its subsidiaries will reportedly take up 42 floors while 14 floors are for amenities. Four other floors will be used as observation decks and 41 floors for office rental.

The upper 17 floors will be home to Park Hyatt Hotel Kuala Lumpur operated by Hyatt Hotels Corps.

The five star hotel will have 232 guest rooms, 28 suites and 30 serviced apartments as well.

In the meantime, phase 3 of the development consisting of three residential towers is due to be completed in 2024/2025, the launch for those residential towers were also rescheduled to 2021 from the supposing the end of this year.

Malaysians’ Face Masks Go from Being Life Savers to Toxic Waste

Posted on by Charles Sim

Face masks are now an essential part of life especially against the coronavirus, but the way that we dispose of them are creating a whole new environmental and litter crisis.

The pandemic is said to have led to a huge surge in the use of single-use face masks, gloves, sanitizer bottles and Personal Protective Equipment, and the concern is about where all these ends up when they’ve fulfilled their one-time purpose.

Sides of the roads, public parking lots, outside restaurants, drains and rivers are just among the many place that these face masks end up and this is a worrying concern not only for us but also the environment, obviously. 

Permata Greenland Organisation chairman Dr Sharifah Mazlina Syed Abdul Kadir described the phenomenon as the “new unhealthy norm” that is damaging to the environment.

“It is sickening to see people throwing used face masks. It’s as if they have no civic-mindedness.” she told the New Straits Times.

“You can see discarded face masks anywhere and everywhere and people ignore them.”

She also said that irresponsible disposal of these facemasks cause the same damage as other plastic products. It is also estimated that 10 million face masks are being discarded daily in Malaysia and that’s just the least of it. 

Landasan Lumayan managing director Syaiful Azmen Nordin told Malay Mail in April that new types of waste such as face masks, hand sanitiser bottles, and gloves were being found in the Klang River.

Syaiful, who oversees cleaning and rehabilitation operations along the river, warned that face masks that are littered on the ground can get washed into the drains during rainy weather and end up choking our rivers.

Surgical face masks are partly made of a plastic material known as polypropylene which means it takes up to 450 years for to decompose, hence, it will stay in the environment for some time. This all spells trouble, especially if these face masks are ingested by an animal.

“If a sea creature digested a contaminated face mask, then it will spread the virus in the ocean too. Imagine if the seafood we eat is infected by a virus from a used face mask.” said Sharifah.

“We know the virus (Covid-19) can survive in water too.”

Malaysian Nature Society president ,Professor Dr Ahmad Ismail says that education on the matter is essential.

“Public attitude and concerns about irresponsible disposal of single-use plastics, including face masks, are worrying.” he said.

“Environmental problems linked to plastic waste have become a major concern.

“The country is ranked eighth in the world for the worst managed public waste, with China ranking No. 1.”

There are many common practices for properly disposing off a used face mask and that Malaysians should learn about them while adhering to the instructions given by the authorities on disposal of face masks and other plastics.

IKEA Releases Instructions for 6 Kinds of Forts You can Build at Home

Posted on by Chandra Saachi

With many of us being stuck at home since March, some are channeling their inner creativity to make time spent at home worthwhile. 

We’ve seen a rise in baking, cooking and also the much weirder trends such as the dalgona coffee craze; if you find yourself getting short of ideas for yourself and the kids, fear no more, as IKEA has released a new campaign with instructions on how to build 6 different types of furniture forts.

We loved them as kids, so there isn’t a reason to why furniture forts shouldn’t make a comeback this year, especially during quarantine year. 

These designs were created by an ad agency called instinct and they consist of detailed instructions on how to build castles, forts or any furniture forts your imagination can conjure up of.

1) Cave

One of the simplest designs here, this fort requires only a chair, a sheet or blanket and some some sort of heavy object to hold it down to the floor. Lights are optional too if you want some light while reading in your own fort.

2) Camping tent

If you’ve watched the Conjuring 2, you’d recognize this as the home of the “crooked man”. Safe to say, IKEA’s version of it is less scary and contains no “crooked man” of any sorts. Using a clothing rack and some pins, this fort allows for infinite head space.

3) House

As mentioned in its name, here’s where things can get real as the forts now get sturdier. All you need is a table and some sheets or blankets.

4) Wigwam

Here’s where things get creative as you would only need a light stand and of course some sheets. Optional lights too can be added for that aesthetic or ambience that you are looking for.

5) Fortress

We’ve all seen this one, heck, we might’ve even built one of this before. The most simplest of forts, you would only need couch cushions with a sheet over the top and you’re all set.

6) Castle

The best of them all, this fort requires four chairs and some kind of stand in the middle to give it the iconic castle pointed roof.

Italian Baker Who Fed Neighbourhood During Covid-19 Pandemic Dies

Posted on by Nurul Aisha

When the coronavirus hit, the north of Italy saw an economic crash and also hardship among many; in a time where many would ponder on where to get their next meal from, Gianni Bernardinello, an Italian baker, saw this as an opportunity to provide.

Outside his shop in Milan’s Chinatown, Bernardinello would leave baskets full of bread, pizza and sweets for anybody who needs it.

A sign above the basket would read “to give a hand to those in need, help yourself and think of others too”.

After leaving out the baked goods and goodies, he would then immediately disappear as he didn’t want to embarrass anyone he might kno who would be waiting in line for the hand out.

“He said he was putting out leftovers at night but I also saw him putting out fresh bread in the middle of the day,” Alessandra De Luca, 56, a client and a friend said, “He was really worried.”

Unfortunately, Bernardinello died on Nov. 9 due to Covid-19 at a hospital in Milan, his daughter, Samuela Bernardinello, said. He was 76.

Before falling in, he would be at his bakery everyday even though his daughters begged him to stay at home.

“Between these walls there wasn’t a day in 130 years that they stopped making bread,” he used to say, “even under the bombings in 1943.”

Bernardinello was born in 1943 December 22nd in Montù Becaria near Milan. He started working at 12 as a goldsmith apprentice and then later on in life as a fashion photographer and starting a yarn business. A crisis in the 1980s led him to wanting to sell a “product that the people always need,” he told his daughters.

He bought Macchi Bakery in 1989 and never looked back, learning the art of bread making as the years went.

The bakery today is renamed “Berni”, Bernadinello’s nickname, and is a meeting place in the neighborhood where locals would stop by for coffee or listen to Berni talk about drones that he built or jazz festivals.

Madonna Trends Online After People Mistake Her for Maradona and Thought She Died

Posted on by Li Pheng

Argentine footballing icon, Diego Maradona, has died at aged 60, but certain social media users went through a case of mistaken identity as they were seen mourning for pop star, Madonna instead.

Madonna started trending on Twitter last night and this caused confusion among some netizens who were questioning the story at first. Although, some were quick to post their tributes for the Like A Prayer singer, who is very much alive.

Maradona, the former World Cup winner with Argentina died of a heart attack, having undergone brain surgery earlier this month. Twitter was quickly lit up with tributes and RIP messages for the singer instead, Twitter users then corrected their own mistakes by pointing out the facts of Maradona from Madonna. 


To put this frenzy to an end, Madonna is alive, well and of course, singing; Diego Maradona on the other hand, has sadly passed away and is fortunately remembered many in the footballing community, there’s a difference.

Scotland Becomes 1st Country to Make Period Products Free

Posted on by Nurul Aisha

Scotland has recently made history by being the first country in the world to provide free and universal access to period products, a move that has shifted the public discussion around menstruation.

After four years of campaigning, The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act passed unanimously on Tuesday and will officially place a legal note on all local authorities to make period products available for all who need them, amplifying on the work done by councils like North Ayrshire which has been doing so since 2018.

Monica Lennon

Spearheaded by Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, Monica Lennon, she told the Guardian in an interview that this was “a proud day for Scotland”.

“This will make a massive difference to the lives of women and girls and everyone who menstruates.” Lennon said.

“There has already been great progress at a community level and through local authorities in giving everyone the chance of period dignity.

“There has been a massive change in the way that periods are discussed in public life. 

“A few years ago there had never been an open discussion of menstruation in the Holyrood chamber and now it is mainstream. 

“MSPs have enjoyed being a part of that, and it has encompassed the menopause, endometriosis, as well as the types of products we use and their sustainability.”

The scheme would cost an estimated £8.7m a year and the legislation will require schools, colleges and universities to provides the products for free which was announced by first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in 2017.

In the meantime, a number of individual business such as restaurants, pubs and even football clubs – started providing free products independently which has made common for women in Scotland to walk into a women’s toilet and find free period products by the sinks, or with an honesty box.

“It’s an important message in the middle of a global pandemic that we can still put the rights of women and girls high up the political agenda.” said Lennon.