In line with the recent news about the data leak from the COMELEC database, I would like to post these security measures I've read from the net as to help everyone deal with the possible identity theft that may arise from this data breach. As a former employee of Trend Micro (my husband still part of this company as of this writing), we had been very meticulous regarding our internet security. As IT people, we do most of transactions/business online. And for that, we make sure that we share very limited details about us since hackers/identity theft are everywhere now and we should more careful than ever about what particular detail about ourselves we could share online.

Certainly, there is no perfect system. But for a database system as big as a nation's voters' profile, the government should have known that establishing a solid and well-built security system for these records is a necessity. How can we trust that our government is all-out in securing the vote of the people not to tampered when they can even protect our personal details and put in safety?


While I am not an expert on this, here are some useful tips I follow in order not to be easily hacked by millions of strangers in the net. I hope these could help you in a way or two:

1. Make sure your laptops, gadgets have an internet security software. And make sure its always updated.


2. Review all your log in credentials (username and passwords): emails, online bank accounts, and yes even your social network accounts. If your password is somehow related to the information you submitted to COMELEC during registration, make sure you change it. Example, some people have the habit of using the birth date as pins or their street name as passwords. Some people also use their mother's maiden name as answer to security passwords. Though easy to remember, its not very secured at all.

3. If your online accounts have two factor authentication (2FA), please enable it. That is one way to secure your account even if password has been hacked. What is 2fa?

According to secureenvoy.com

Two Factor Authentication, also known as 2FA, two step verification or TFA (as an acronym), is an extra layer of security that is known as "multi factor authentication" that requires not only a password and username but also something that only, and only, that user has on them, i.e. a piece of information only they should know or have immediately to hand - such as a physical token.


In other words, it is a two step verification before you can access your account.


For parents like, please don't treat this as a simple exposure of your personal details. It can have a big impact in your life if your very own identity has been robbed out of you. COMELEC may have downplayed the situation saying all these information are supposed to be public but no, its not that. Its a different thing when you have your data stored in an online portal for the government or any other legal institution to use it and it is definitely another thing when your own personal data are in the hands of hackers.

To conclude, we cannot get back anymore what had been stolen by these cybercriminals from COMELEC but let us all be vigilant with our online transactions and let us try to learn more about our internet security. We should not just go online for the purpose of liking pictures on Facebook and Instagram. Internet is more than just that. If you are willing to learn the things you can do over the web, you will realize how powerful the Internet is. I suggest you do. After all, its already becoming a neccesity.


Please stay positive in spite of all these troubles, and pass the positivity on!

P.S. I'll try to add more to the list of what we can do to protect our online accounts but for now I hope the above suggestions would be helpful.

If you want full details about this, please visit:

http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/55m-registered-voters-risk-philippine-commission-elections-hacked/

Being dedicated to my fitness journey does not only require enrolling in a gym and moving all the time. It also has a lot to do with what I am eating. As a working mom, I literally have little to no time preparing a grand meal for my family (plus the fact that I think cooking is not my forte) but I make sure my family eats on time and they eat healthy homemade meals.

So, enough of the drama. Here are some recipes I came upon researching for some quick, easy and healthy meals on the web, that I've prepared during the Holy Week. Hope you'll enjoy them as well!

Spinach and Tomatoes Omelette

3 Eggs
1 Tomato (cut into small pieces)
Spinach


Scramble the eggs and then mix in the spinach and tomatoes. A pinch of salt and pepper. Fry and that's it!

Finish! dyaraaan!!!

Spinach and Tomatoes Omelette

Tip: You can replace the tomatoes with mushrooms.



Potato Salad

A pack of baby potatoes
A pack of grapes
Cheese
Honey Mustard Dressing
Boiled Egg


Boil the baby potatoes then fry a little. Put in plate, top with grapes and boiled egg, mustard, cheese, salt and pepper. You can squeeze in some lemon juice if you want.

This is what I used for the dressing.

Sorry for the not-so-enticing finish product. I am not really into anything artsy. But this one tastes really good!

Potato Salad with a twist.

Tip again: Instead of boiled eggs, put in bacon! Yum!


Goodluck to all those who will give these recipes a try. I hope you will like it! Lets move forward to our journey of fitness through exercise and proper diet!

Stay positive and pass it on!

Last week, after Palm Sunday's mass, I have decided to go the gym and do some boxing work out as Holy Week approches. For me, Holy Week is my time for self-reflection and I just had to halt whatever I am doing and give time to God. Yes, that includes my work out (or am I just making excuses? haha!). As I hop onto the jeep going to the gym, I was feeling a bit down on the dumps and was thinking maybe I should just go back home. But then again, I need to stick to my plan in order to accomplish my goal. Besides, I'll have the next 6 days without workout so I told myself lets just get this day done.

Looking at myself in the mirror today, I feel a little bit frustrated. Why? Because its been more than a month since I started my fitness journey and I don't think a lot has changed. I am more than afraid of stepping in a weighing scale now because I might just get even more sad. I know one month is too short to be able to see changes in my body. Its just that there are times when I feel like I am waiting for nothing. There was even a time I talked to my husband and uttered, "Daddy, pwede mo ba kong bigyan ng pera pampa-Belo na lang?!" (Daddy, can you just give me some money I can spend for Belo? -- Belo is a cosmetic surgeon, btw). We both just laughed it off at the end.


And so I am posting this fitness quote I got from the Internet:

pic from eboost.com

So whether this quote is a fact or just a plain observation from someone, I thank him for sharing this to the world. Because this just saved me from getting sidetracked again (yeah, for the nth time!) and stopped me from indulging in a tub of ice cream that has long been sitting in my fridge.


The weight of waiting to finally reach a goal is such a burden to take. Your patience will determine if you can make it or break it. And while waiting we just have to keep going. Small steps make a lot of difference. Today, I may not see a thing changed from my body but I can definitely feel a change. I feel more determined and disciplined. I feel stronger after every workout. And most of all, I feel like my body is seeking for physical activities everyday. I feel like I am missing the soreness of my muscles, the body aches I get after every training. I feel like I am taking a step back to being unhealthy and unfit again everytime a day ends without an exercise. And for that, I sense a progress in what I am doing.


I know that my waiting game is still far from the ending, but one thing is for sure: I am never giving up this time! I will gladly carry the weight of this waiting game however long it takes. Because the goal I want to achieve is as equally important as the value I can learn while waiting to reach that goal.

And for that let's end this post with a reminder of my number one goal this year: Be Disciplined.

Let's keep the positivity going around while we are waiting and pursuing our goal. Smile! If you did something to reach your goal today, even the smallest deed to reach that goal... Give yourself a pat in the back, because you are definitely doing a great job! Be positive and pass it on!

Last year, I was not able to reach my goal of reading at least 20 books for the year and I hate myself for that. I am not much of a bookworm but I love reading. And not just books, I read blogs(of course!), newspapers (love the knowing about the current events), magazines (fashion, housekeeping, travel, parenthood), and everything else interesting for me. So to start the year right, I chose one book that really interests me. And that is:




Let me get the description from the site regarding what the book is all about:



I love this book! Why? Because although its mostly one-paragraph stories, all of it are true, genuine and the author a wonderful way of getting across the message each of the Humans of New York want to communicate to whoever would read their stories. You would never get bored because each page tells a new story, some of it, you surely could relate. The only thing I would like to add to this book is to please be fast in releasing the next series. I am also looking forward to a book tackling the immigrants from Syria, wherethere is currently an outbreak of war. Some of these stories are already told in HONY's Facebook page.

Some more feedback for the book would be about the clarity of the photos and the emotions where caught candidly. Brandon Stuart really knows how to capture human portraits in a way that their picture transcends the emotions of a person. And that's what real talent in photography is.


By the way, I always prefer the physical book than the e-book. I just love the smell of paper of a new book!

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton
Price at Full Booked: P 1,470.00