Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Race Cars and Automobile Tales on DMAX this January

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This month, watch out as DMAX take you on the ride of your lives with their latest shows on cars and racing!

In Idris Elba: No Limits, witness how Idris Elba is obsessed by speed. Since boyhood he’s wanted to immerse himself in the world of fast machines. This series pushes that ambition - and Idris - to the limit. Idris will take on motorsport professionals at the top of their game. He’ll try his hand at rally driving, drag racing, aerobatics – and even attempt to break a Land Speed Record which has stood firm since 1927. Helping him along the way will be racing legends Jimmy McRae and Ari Vatanan, and modern day sporting stars Antron Brown and Ed Cyster.

He’ll fully immerse himself in the dramatically-different worlds of these four different motorsports. It's his challenge not only to master the skills needed to drive and fly his machines, but also to adapt and understand the engineering behind them. Catch the all-new series, Idris Elba: No Limits this January, airing every Wednesdays at 8:10 PM.

Tune in to the new season of AmeriCarna, a car culture television show hosted by Ray Evernham with guidance from his friend and mentor, Rick Hendrick. They’ll rely on their vast experience as car guys to take viewers back in time and introduce them to a period of history when the automobile heavily influenced American culture. They’ll tell behind-the-scenes stories of lost race cars, barn finds, speed secrets, Hollywood films, historical racetracks and other unique places. Along the way, we’ll meet the cars and characters that have helped shape and preserve this history. AmeriCarna airs every Friday this January at 9 PM.

NTC Sets Minimum Broadband Speed at 256 kbps: The Right Path to the Modern Age .. One Step Back at a Time!

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"The National Telecommunications Commission sets the minimum broadband speed at 256 kbps at least 80% of the time, or 24 days in a month, and orders internet service providers (ISPs) to reveal their average data rates per location. But subscribers say 256 kbps is a throwback to dial-up in the 90s."

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of the Philippines plans to set the minimum speed for those advertised as mobile broadband at 256 kbps. NTC Director Edgardo Cabarios said that "Under the new circular, we will monitor ISPs if they are providing broadband services with at least 256 kbps; if not, they will be penalized."

I highly doubt that the telecom companies will be forced to step up their game with the government's implementation of these so called stricter rules on the sale of broadband services in the Philippines. You have to take note that the 256 kbps mentioned here is 256 kiloBITS per second, 256 kbps as minimum is actually 256/8 which actually means only 32 KB/s.

Good job, NTC. That is the right path to the modern age. One step back at a time! No kidding, NTC....what do you think we are? Oblivious fools?

The crazier part is they had to include a line that says "at least 80% of the time." Who the hell are these guys working at NTC. I believe my children can do better than these stupid idiots.

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Your Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas was recently invited to attend a special block screeing of Lakbay2Love, a romantic coming-of-age movie from Erasto Films. The movie will be publicly show nationwide on February 3 and will have a red-carpet premiere at UP Diliman on January 29.

The movie is directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil who we also had the opportunity to chat with since I was the very first blogger who arrived at the event. Watch out for our video interview of her soon at our YouTube channel. She led the special block screening held at Robinson's Galleria Cinema 10 on January 13, 2016 for the members of the media, the biking community and other friends and families.

Lakbay2Love, aside from the love triangle among Dennis Trillo, Solen Heusaff and Kit Thompson, more than subtly promotes biking and love for nature as a way to promote a better way of living.

Better means healthier, cleaner and lovelier since the use of bicycles, may it be mountain or foldable bikes, metal or bamboo made, vintage or high-tech or whatever kind or design, and the drive against illegal logging, climate change, and other environmental preservation campaigns contribute to a world with less pollution and risk of disasters.

We all know that if more people started using bikes, it would lessen the damage to our world brought about by pollution coming out from motor vehicles. It would also promote a healthier lifestyle for everyone as the much needed exercise from biking would be highly beneficial. I've been biking ever since I was a child and it is surely uplifting for both health and spirit.

Lakbay2Love Teaser Trailer

Meanwhile, the preservation of our forests would reduce flooding so we can avoid disasters like Ondoy and Yolanda that devastated a lot of our countrymen including us. I will never forget the days we were stranded on the 2nd floor of a neighbors house because of Ondoy, and how our first floor containing all of our priced possessions went under water and forever damaged both our property and spirit.

Lakbay2Love Full Trailer

Trees also clean the air we breath, "Trees create an ecosystem to provide habitat and food for birds and other animals. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and potentially harmful gasses, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, from the air and release oxygen. One large tree can supply a day's supply of oxygen for four people. Trees help reduce surface water runoff from storms, thus decreasing soil erosion and the accumulation of sediments in streams. They increase ground water recharge and reduce the number of potentially harmful chemicals transported to our streams."

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The statement below is highly controversial....but there is truth in it. Many would not dare to even utter a word referring to these issues because they do not want to irk the guilty parties. They are afraid to get blacklisted or banned from the list. Some would even resort to the undignified and obsequious debasement or ingratiation of oneself to another in the hope of currying favor.

The worst is that this malpractice has apparently been going on for years already, and that many has accepted the fact that it is already an undesirable culture that will forever exist in all sectors of society.

"I was surprised to learn that there are still some people who discriminate bloggers. The worst are those who ignore and do not have the decency to be sincere. I've witnessed so many blatant rigging of raffle draws during events in favor of their selected friends from trad media.

The sad news is that the big names from top media outfits are somehow involved. Don't you find it questionable when the grand raffle prizes were won by the top media men from the top media outfits?

Mind you, these are just the minor anomalies that are happening. The worst are when the organizers would even lie and make up crazy and unbelievable stories when you confront them with the abnormalities. They would easily just bribe you with everything possible just to cover up the irregularities.

One of these days, I would look back at these moments and laugh at them because online media is the future, and the rest will soon be in a museum. They will resent the day they looked down on bloggers."

Sophos Predicts Top Cyber Security Trends for 2016

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In the ever changing and increasingly complex landscape of cyber security, Sophos experts offer their top predictions for 2016.

Android threats will become more than just headline-grabbers

In 2016, an increase in Android exploits becoming weaponised can be expected (as opposed to bugs like Stagefright which was heavily reported in 2015 but was never fully exploited). There are significant vulnerabilities on the Android platform, which can take months to patch. Although Google claims that nobody has actually exploited these vulnerabilities to date, it will ultimately be an invitation that is too tempting for hackers to ignore.

SophosLabs has already seen samples that go to extreme lengths to avoid App Store detection and filtering—giving Apps a better chance of surviving on App stores. For example, some hackers will design an App that loads harmless games if it thinks it is being tested, but then loads the malicious payload when it detects it is ‘safe’ to do so. And more recently, mobile users using third-party app markets were tricked into granting malicious apps from the adware family Shedun with control over the Android Accessibility Service. Once they have handed over control, the app has the ability to display popups that install highly intrusive adware, even if a user has rejected the invitation to install it. Because the apps root the device and embed themselves into the system partition, they cannot be easily uninstalled.

Android malware can be complicated and consumers cannot necessarily trust the App Store to detect these vulnerabilities in every instance.

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The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE) together with Tune Talk, will launch the second event of 2016 in style as the promotion heads back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 29 January for ONE: CLASH OF HEROES. In the main event featuring a Malaysia Warrior Bout, hometown hero Ev “E.T.” Ting squares off with one of the Philippines’ finest in Eric “The Natural” Kelly.

CEO of ONE Championship, Victor Cui stated, “2016 is going to be such a phenomenal year for mixed martial arts in Asia and we’re doing our best to put together the most exciting fights for fans all across the world. Ev Ting has really proven that homegrown Malaysian mixed martial artists can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world and will now face his sternest test against one of the best fighters in his division in Eric Kelly.”

Tickets for ONE: CLASH OF HEROES are available at www.AirAsiaRedTix.com.

26-year-old Ev “E.T.” Ting is one of Malaysia’s most promising young talents. His exceptional 10-3 record has come against solid opposition. Fresh off a Guillotine Choke submission victory in his last bout, Ting is known to be a ferocious striker with a well-rounded ground game making him a complete fighter. Ting will look to play off the energy of his hometown crowd when he takes on the Philippines’ Eric Kelly.

Eric “The Natural” Kelly of Baguio City, Philippines is undoubtedly one of the most talented fighters to come out of the country. With just one defeat on his professional record, Kelly has decimated opponents inside the cage with his ability to secure fight-ending finishes. Of his twelve victories, nine have come by submission. Kelly has long been due for a title shot but will have to get past Malaysia’s Ev Ting first to continue in his quest for ONE Championship gold.

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Twitter and Periscope today show users what is going on in the world, right now — whether that’s outside the window or across the globe. Since Periscope launched last year, people have created over 100 million live broadcasts. Today, Twitter is making it easier to see what is happening by bringing Periscope broadcasts — both live and replays — directly into Tweets.

Starting with the iOS app, Periscope broadcasts in Twitter timelines offer a new way to experience the world, giving Periscope broadcasters a window to a massive new audience.

Since launch, there have been over 100 million broadcasts created on Periscope. Whenever a broadcast was shared on Twitter, users could simply tap the link to open the Periscope app. Today, Twitter is replacing those links with the broadcast itself, autoplaying right within the Tweet. And when users tap the video, it goes full-screen and shows Periscope comments and hearts from other viewers. Twitter users do not need the Periscope app or even a Periscope account.

Imagine scrolling through Twitter, reading about Mitch Oates’ underwater adventures. Users will suddenly find themselves peering through a hole in their timeline out into his world, via his live broadcast. This adds a whole new dimension to Twitter.

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ONE Championship, Asia's largest mixed martial arts promotion, will kick off 2016 with a bang, as it brings its world-class MMA event to Changsha, China on 23 January. ONE Championship has set the stage for another thrilling night of world-class mixed martial arts action.

Taking place at the Changsha Stadium in Changsha, China, ONE Championship will delight fans with an electrifying lineup of exciting fights headlined by a main event which will see ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano "The Flash" Fernandes defend his title against challenger Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon of the Philippines.

"ONE Championship continues its dedication to cultivating the sport of mixed martial arts in China with another adrenaline-filled night of fights," said CEO Victor Cui, in a statement released to the media.

"This is a great way to start 2016 and is just the tip of the iceberg of what's to come. Our success in Beijing sets the stage for an even better event in Changsha."

ONE Bantamweight World Champion, Bibiano Fernandes of Brazil is one of the most dominant title holders in ONE Championship.

Considered one of the best fighters in the world and is ranked as one of the top bantamweights, Fernandes has amassed a stellar professional record which hasn't seen him lose a bout in the last five years. His technical ground game paired with his fluid striking and well-rounded skills have brought him to the top of his division.

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Sony Channel rolls out ‘ROFLing’ Sundays with a trio of comedies this January: Bad Judge, Odd Mom Out and Younger, all premiering this January 17. All showcasing a fun and fierce female lead, these shows take Hollywood entertainment to even greater heights.

ODD MOM OUT STARS NOVELIST-FASHIONISTA IN HER OWN TV SERIES

Odd Mom Out stars its creator, Jill Kargman as a fictional character based on herself, Jill Webber. Set in the wealthy, cosmopolitan jungle of New York’s Upper East Side, Jill sets out to navigate the good, the bad, and the ugly of the elite mommy clique. Finding herself sticking out like a sore thumb in a bevy of shiny, seemingly perfect and ultra trendy mommies, Jill sees the world around her through a different lens.

The comedy satire is based on her novel published in 2007, Momzillas. It also stars Andy Buckley (The Office), Joanna Cassidy (Six Feet Under), Sean Kleier (Madam Secretary), and Abby Elliot (Saturday Night Live).

Sony Channel unveils this witty, tongue-in-cheek series in Asia on January 17, Sunday at 7:00pm.

Battling the Enemy Within

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The world moves swiftly; the IT security world even more so. Just a couple of years ago, securing the enterprise would basically consist of protecting an organization from external intruders. Today, the battle has changed ground.

Education efforts from industry players have created higher levels of IT security awareness in the business world, and more firms have implemented basic security measures that can thwart direct attacks effectively.

This development is forcing hackers to up their game by figuring out alternative ways to get their hands on valuable enterprise assets. One new strategy that is becoming more common across the world is for hackers to gain entry to a corporate network by targeting its weakest points. Such points can include an unsecured employee mobile phone, or a workstation with limited access to corporate data. These weak points typically reside in low value segments of the corporate network. Once the hacker breaks in and gets a toehold, however, he can often navigate to other more valuable parts of the network − which tend to be much more rigorously protected from external attackers − quite easily.

This "lateral movement" modus operandi proves to be effective most of the time because many organizations do not isolate different segments of the network from one another. Moving from segment to segment is usually a breeze once hackers get into the network.