Monday, May 29, 2017

Government Plans To Take Over Vetting Of Grab And Uber Drivers


E-hailing services will soon have to look to the government for approval before recruiting new drivers. Land Public Transport Commission chairman Syed Hamid Albar has said that it government agencies like the Road Transport Department and police will take over the screening of drivers for safety purposes.

The recent incident where an Uber driver robbed his passenger at knifepoint has the government concerned about the vetting process of e-hailing services. At the moment, each company is left to screen potential candidates on its own. Both Uber and Grab claim to have thorough screening procedures, but this does not appear to be enough for the government.
“They told us that they have a good screening system in place with background checks done with the police and JPJ. Obviously, this has not been followed accordingly,” said Syed Hamid.
Changes to the Land Transport Act 2010 are set for a follow up discussion in Parliament in July. These new amendments will require services like Uber and Grab to turn over driver databases to SPAD for background checks.
Syed Hamid has said that this will be a necessary step before the drivers will be given their new drivers’ badges. Government issued badges are one of the requirements set for the legalisation of ride-sharing and e-hailing services in Malaysia. However, the final legislation has not yet been approved by Parliament.
At the moment, Uber and Grab use third party services to conduct background checks on all new applications. Grab goes one step further by requiring potential drivers to attend a training course and pass a test.

US Considering Expanding Airline Laptop Ban To All Incoming Flights

The US is looking into the possibility of expanding the existing ban on electronics from airline cabins to all inbound flights. This is part of a hardening of security measures in the country after the deadly attack in the United Kingdom last week.

US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly made the statement in response to a question from Fox News. Kelly said, “Well, there’s a real threat. Numerous threats against aviation, that’s really the thing that they are obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight, particularly if it’s a U.S. carrier, particularly if it’s full of mostly U.S. folks, people.”
At the moment, electronics larger than a smartphone are banned from the cabins of flights originating from 13 Middle Eastern countries. The ban came into effect in late March, and since then there has been talk of the measures being extended even further.
The US is not just stopping at preventing electronics from being carried into the flight cabins. Kelly also spoke about expanding checks on carry-on luggage; expecting travellers to unpack their bags during security inspections at airport terminals.
Security measures have often been cited as being the reason for these measures, despite the fact that Kelly himself admits that there has not been an external-based terrorist attack in the US since 9/11.
It is currently said that US officials have evidence that terrorists are attempting to weaponise laptop batteries in an attempt to attack airlines. Despite this, no attack has actually been carried out as of yet. That is also not to say that a laptop in the cargo hold has less potential to bring down a plane.
For now, travellers into the US are taking extra lengths to ensure that they are able to keep valuable electronics on them. Some transiting through the Middle East have to first flying into Canada in order to avoid checking in work laptops. Airlines, like Emirates, have also been adapting to the ban by offering additional laptop handling services for free.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Apple Posts a Series of Videos to Encourage People to Switch to iPhone

Using a phone that is not an iPhone? Apple wants you to switch. The Cupertino company recently revamped its “Switch from Android to iPhone” website, and is promoting it with several new videos telling why you should do so.
There are a total of five videos. Each of them are about 15 seconds long, focusing on different reasons to switch to an iPhone like the speed, music, privacy, and more.
It’s apple.com/switch website provides even more reasons to switch to an iPhone. While Apple did not reply its own question about whether the camera is as good as they say, they boast that “more pictures are taken on iPhone than any other camera in the world”. Apple also claims that they use second-to-none technology for you to shoot amazing photos, so I guess that’s a “yes” in Apple’s perspective. Apple also says that the iPhone is fast, easy to use, has a great Messages app that is simple and powerful, and that they care about the environment.
This is not a new service from Apple. The company introduced a Move to iOS app back in 2015 that helps Android users easily move their data from an Android device to an iPhone. Needless to say, it has been receiving bad reviews, and to date, the app has an average rating of only 2.8/5.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

The Ugly Truths Behind Investment-Linked Policies


if you have spoken to an insurance agent before, chances are you would have heard of the product, Investment-Linked Policies (ILPs). ILPs are frequently marketed by insurance companies and pushed to consumers by enterprising agents.
Last week, the Life Insurance Association (LIA) reported that ILPs accounted for 20% of all new insurance premiums paid for the first half of 2015. At the same time, new health insurances premium fell by about 34%.
So why are sales of ILPs performing well at a time where demand for new health insurances are falling? Is this a true reflection of the preferred choice of the Singapore consumers? Or simply the result of insurance companies pushing hard for the sales of these products?

What Are Investment-Linked Policies?

ILPs are policies offered by insurance companies that provide policyholders with both insurance and investment components. Overly enthusiastic agents will call it the “best-of-both worlds”. A more accurate phrase to describe it, in our opinion, would be “worst-of-both-worlds”. 
For a regular premium ILPs (policyholders pay a monthly fee), premiums received would be used (after sales charges) to acquire units in a Mutual Fund (or more commonly known in Singapore as Unit Trust) of the policyholder’s choice. Some of these units are then sold off to purchase the insurance component that the policyholder requests for.

Flexibility Of Investment-Linked Policies

We will start with what is “good” about ILPs before going into what is wrong with them, since the latter has a much longer list than the former.
One thing your agent was right about is the flexibility offered by ILPs.
1. ILPs allow you to adjust your coverage.
Units in your mutual funds are sold to purchase insurance coverage. You can adjust your insurance coverage needed as per your discretion. If you want less coverage, you can reduce it and pay less cost for the insurance fee.
2. Premium Holiday
Most ILPs would offer policyholders the option of a “Premium Holiday”. That means you can stop paying the premium of your ILPs for a period of time (e.g. one year). During this time, the units in your mutual funds would still be sold off to pay for insurance coverage.
3. Flexibility of Funds Choice
Unlike a traditional whole life policy, policyholders can decide which mutual funds they would like to be vested into for an ILP.

So what is wrong with an Investment-Linked Product?


Almost everything else. Let us explain.
1. Sales Charges
In our opinion, the sales charges that an individual will incur when buying an ILP is simply too expensive. Here is a breakdown.
Agent Commission:
Buying an ILP is one of the few sure ways of helping an agent friend. An agent has A LOT of incentive to be selling you an ILP. Commission payable to the agent is usually worth at least one-year premium.
So if you were to buy an ILP for about $500 per month, your agent will be enjoying a nice commission of about $6,000 from selling you the policy.
Low Allocation Rates For Buying Units In Early Years:
If you were thinking of getting an ILP, your agent would have given you a document indicating the allocation rate. Here is an example.

Simply put, what this means is that the following premiums are being used to pay for the distribution (i.e. commission payable to agent and profit for insurance company) of the policy.
YearPremiums Paid Annually ($500 per month)Amount Payable To Insurance CompanyAmount Used To Buy Units In Mutual Fund
1$6,000$5,100$900
2$6,000$4,200$1,800
3$6,000$3,000$3,000
4$6,000$6,000
5$6,000$6,000
Total$30,000$12,300$17,200

Based on our illustration, $12,300 will be used to pay for the distribution cost for the policy while only $17,200 would be used to buy actual units in the mutual funds. Is this good for you, or your agent? Go figure.
“Hidden” Ongoing Charges:
When you invest into a mutual fund, you incur management fees as well. This is the fee charged by the fund manager to investors of the fund. A typical annual fee charge would be about 1-1.5%.
We won’t go into the merits of requiring a fund manager when there are other lower cost options such as ETFs available. What you need to remember is that there will always be a fund manager charge involved when using a mutual fund.
On top of that, the ILPs could also charge an account maintenance fee. This could easily be another 1% of the total fund value.
Let’s add more. How about the $10 monthly administrative charges? This translates into another 2%, based on the annual premium of $6,000 that we are using.
In total, you are easily looking at about 4% annual fee charges on an ongoing basis. We won’t be surprised if we are missing out on more hidden charges. You need to check your policies throughly to find out what fees are involved as each policy varies from one to another, even if they are from the same company.

Investment Linked Policies As An Investment

Using an ILP for investment purposes is a pretty bad idea. For an average year, you are already starting at about – 4%. For comparison purposes, the 10 year historical return of the STI ETF is about 9% while the risk-free return offered by CPF Special Account is up to 5%.
In other words, the fund manager that you select would need to earn an average of about 13% annually for a period of 10 years, just to generate the same results that an individual may otherwise get investing directly into ETF. Likewise, to breakeven with the risk-free returns offered by CPF, a fund manager would need to earn about 9% annually over the long run.
If this sounds like a really tall order to you, it’s because it is. And we have not even begun to touch the opportunity costs lost due to the fact that premiums in the earlier years are being used to pay for distribution cost of an ILP instead of being used for investment purposes.

Investment Linked Policies As Insurance

ILPs would fund the insurance coverage required by policyholders by selling units in the mutual fund. This means that when the market is not doing well, the fund is likely to perform poorly as well. With the prices of the fund low, the ILP would need to sell more units to fund the fee of the insurance coverage.
Remember that when you grow older, the cost of your insurance will also be higher which means you will need to sell more units from your mutual funds to fund the same insurance coverage.
In addition, a little known fact is that there is a bid-offer spread when you are buying or selling units in the mutual fund of your choice. You pay more for units when you buy but receive less when you sell.
For example, with all things being equal, the ILP might be paying $500 to purchase 500 units at an offer price of $1 in a mutual fund. Assuming insurance coverage is $50, with the bid price being $0.95, the ILPs would then need to sell 53 units at $0.95 each to pay for the insurance coverage.

Being well informed is your friend

We think it is important for consumers to be well educated before making financial decisions, especially ones that would have long-term impacts such as purchasing an ILP. We know many friends who have bought into ILPs during the early years of their careers and who have since terminated or are contemplating the termination of these policies at significant losses. Some of them have even bought from agents that are no longer in the industry.
Over the past 2 months, we have spoken to at least 5 insurance agents who we know well and who we consider as friends. All of them are in agreement with us that in general, people who are discipline and informed could easily get much better insurance and investment deals out there through other instruments.
We will be expecting for a sizeable group of agents out there who will viciously disagree with us. When someone threatens your livehood, you react.
Ultimately though, it is your own decision whether or not you should buy a new policy or cancel an existing one. So do what is best for yourself. Ask and probe your agent on some of these hard questions about ILPs. If you are not satisfied with the answers you are getting, don’t be afraid to walk away. It is your money at the end of the day.

Interview, What to prepare...


Content
Preparing for an Interview
1) Copies of your resume
2) Copies of your degree, certificates, transcripts, reports, thesis
3) Original documents
4) Passport sized photo & Copies of your MyKad
5) Pen and notebook
6) Bag
What to wear:
What to prepare:
What to do while waiting:
What to do during the interview:
What to do: post interview:
Mistakes Made During the Interview:



Preparing for an Interview

When you receive that call:

So you just got a call from a company requesting you for an interview, what do you say then? Well here are a few tips you can use to help you. Firstly you can ask for the name of the person who called you. Then find out the time and date and place. Next you can ask who your interviewer will be and will it be a single one to one interview or will there be a group of people interviewing you. Next you can also find out more about the interviewing process. 

In case you can't remember what position you applied for (you've just graduated and sent out like 50 applications), you can always ask more about the position you are going to be interviewing for. Sometimes the interview may not be for the position you are applying for. For example you might expect a different type of working environment when applying for a job called "Management Trainee" which in reality could be almost anything. It is good to find out beforehand so that you can properly prepare. 

So here is a list of questions you should ask:
- Time and date of interview
- Location, if unsure ask for a map
- Name of interviewer
- Group or single individual
- More details about position you are interviewing for
- How is the interview process like? IQ Test? 
- How many rounds of interviews required?
- If you are currently working and you would need time to obtain leave, tell the person that you may require a re-schedule.

What to bring:

1) Copies of your resume
Bring a few, because sometimes there might be more than one person interviewing you and you could distribute a copy of your resume to them right before the interview session. I have personally seen three interviewers sharing a copy of my resume and then trying to pass it around to another interviewer.

For more information on resume writing, click on this link.

2) Copies of your degree, certificates, transcripts, reports, thesis
Bring copies of your degree, certificates and academic transcripts. I would advice that you make a few copies of them and staple them together. Then it would be easy to give it to HR rather than you trying to sort it out in front of them. 

Another option is to bring a copy of your thesis or report from your university days. Most employers may not be bothered with it but you never know. The best I have seen was someone who binded her report nicely with hard leather covers and had gold coloured letterings printed on it. It looked really professional. 

If you are in the media and art line then a portfolio of your work would be more suitable. Maybe even video presentations.

3) Original documents
Do not forget to bring all original documents to allow the HR recruiter to verify the authenticity of your copies. Keep them in a clear folder for easy viewing. Try not to jumble them up together and put them in the same order as the copies you passed to HR. It shows a little bit of organizational skills you might have and a exhibit a little professionalism.

4) Passport sized photo & Copies of your MyKad
Prepare a couple of passport size photos. You will most probably need to give the HR recruiter for your application. Since the proliferation of digital cameras it is quite easy to get passport sized photos so please bring a few just in case. Sometimes they might require two. One for application and one for a company badge if you are selected.

Don't forget to prepare a few copies of your Photostatted MyKad in case the company requires it.

5) Pen and notebook
You would need a pen to fill out the application forms and also a notebook to take simple details or do simple calculations if you were asked IQ questions. Bring a couple of pens in case one runs out of ink. 

6) Bag
With all the items mentioned above, you definitely need a bag to carry your stuff around especially if you do not have your own means of transportation. Believe it, its not easy juggling 3 folders while being cramped up in the LRT at 7.30am in the morning. Bring along a smart looking bag, nothing too fancy and nothing too rugged and out of place. It depends on the environment of the company you are applying to. 

What to wear:

For any interview, an ironed out shirt and tie together with slacks and formal work shoes should do. If you are very particular, make sure that your belt matches with your shoe colours. Refrain from wearing bright colour socks. Oversized clothes are not preferred especially pants. It's good to bring a comb to the interview because you never know when a strong gust of wind might just mess up your hair on the way to the interview. Also try not to wear a jacket or coat as it may be too formal here in Malaysia. If you are attending one overseas, then it might be necessary. 

Here are some tips 

Men

Long-sleeved shirt and dark slacks. White is still the safest and the best color for shirts. The colour is also appropriate for our tropical weather. Also acceptable: pale shades such as beige, blue, and other pastels. Tuck in the shirt and do not roll up the sleeves. Never wear a short-sleeved shirt to an interview or any business purpose. Wearing a short-sleeved shirt will destroy your executive image.

Ties. Optional. But if you do wear one, choose a conservative pattern. Solids, small polka dots, diagonal stripes, small repeating shapes, subtle plaids and paisleys are all acceptable.

Belts. Belts should match your shoes. Those with smaller buckles with squared lines look more professional.

Socks. Black socks are the best, followed by blue or gray, depending on your attire. Never wear white socks! Check your sock length, too--no skin should show when you sit down or cross your legs.

Shoes. Black or burgundy leather shoes with laces on them, because tassel loafers are very casual. Other suitable colors are brown, cordovan and navy.

Hair. Keep neat, short and preferably parted on the side. And shave off all those facial hair.

Jewellery. Wear no or little jewellery. The watch and wedding ring are the only acceptable pieces of jewellery to go with the male attire. Thin gold or leather-strapped watches look professional but not digital watches. Also, avoid political or religious insignias, necklaces or bracelets. Definitely no pierced body parts, and cover up your tattoos!

Accessories. As much as possible, use leather briefcases or folders to hold copies of your resume. Use narrow briefcases and avoid plastic folders and plastic ball pens as they are out of place.


Since I am a guy I would need some feedback in regards to women's clothes worn during interview. I know for sure that smart looking work attire such as a business suit is well suited especially pants and a jacket. You should refrain from wearing those super short mini-skirts. You never know if the interviewer might be a guy or a girlbiggrin.gif 

Ladies, remember not too much make-up. You are not auditioning for a play at the local kabuki theater. 


Women

Three-piece business suits, blouse and skirt or slacks, and cardigan twin-sets. Sleeveless shirts should be rejected. Short-sleeved blouses are okay when they are tailor-cut or have features such as a sports collar or double breast design to create a business-like look. Skirts can either be long provided it does not create a Cinderella or barn-dance look or short where it falls no shorter than two inches from the knee. Nothing too revealing, please!

Panty-hose or stockings. A must for professional grooming, but nothing with overly fussy patterns. Bring an extra pair, just in case the ones you are wearing run.

Shoes. Closed shoes or pumps with at least 1�-inch heels suggest a more professional look. Dark colors are best.

Hair. Hair longer than shoulder length should be worn up or pulled back. Don't let it fall in front of your face and don't keep trying to fix it during the interview. Avoid large hair ornaments and trendy hairstyles.

Make-up. Be subtle; natural is the key word. Light shades of lip coloring and nail polish are recommended."

Jewellery. Be conservative. Studs of gold, silver or pearls are best. Do away with gaudy fashion jewellery, and those that clank and make noise when one moves.

Accessories. Folders and bags should blend well with the total professional look. Women should match their purse with their shoe colour.


For Both Men and Women

Don't wear too much perfume or cologne or it might end up distracting the interviewers. Also don't put on hand cream that is very oily before shaking their hands as well. Make sure that you wash your hands before attending the interview. Imagine that you are the interviewer, you shake the interviewee's hands and your hands get oily. The only thing I will be doing throughout the interview would be thinking that I should wash my hands or not touch anything such as my tie or shirt or blouse or dress. 


What to prepare:

Read up about the company before attending the interview. Find out as much as you can about it, its current financial situation, locations around the world, work culture, company aims and objectives, the company vision, values and more. A good way is to ask people who are currently working in them or another alternative is to use Google. Most companies might have a company website which provides all of that which is good. Try learning and remembering about the company's history, it helps to impress your interviewer that you took the time to learn about the company. Sometimes you can check the company's latest press release and bring it up as a conversation piece with the interviewer.

Usually if you are applying for a technical position, then prepare yourself by reading up some of your past lecture notes and try to recall what you have learned in university. Of course that would be almost impossible to remember everything so just study the ones that are related to the job you are applying for. For example if you are applying for a position that is related to marketing, then reading up on your marketing notes would be the first priority. 

Even if you are applying for a position that is not related to your field of study, there are plenty of libraries out there as well as the internet to learn as much as you can. It's better to be prepared than not to be at all. A good example would be engineering students who are applying for a management trainee position at a bank. You definitely didn't learn any banking skills during lecture so do your research! 

Most interviews would require you to give them a brief explanation about your past experiences in extra curricular activities and this is a great opportunity for you to shine with your previous involvement. Some of the very standard questions would be, "Explain a situation where you were in a tight spot" or "Explain a situation where you showed leadership skills". The answers to these questions should always be ready in your mind and by giving out a detailed account of your experiences, it would greatly help you to show your leadership skills as well as give a good impression to the interview as you had prepared for this interview. 

A good way to answer these types of questions is to first slowly map out the entire situation first and then identifying key incidences such as when you stood up and led the team in certain situations or when you took charge of part of the project or even contributed ideas of change. 

Some interviewers would just ask the question and then let you answer them but I had experienced some who kept asking in detail about the situation. For example, I mentioned that I called a certain someone to discuss about the project. The interviewer then asked me, "How was the guy's reaction when you called him?", "Did you think that he had confidence in your judgment?" and "How long did the conversation last?". It was that detailed. So don't try and bullshit your way through it.

Be honest and always tell the truth, interviewers will know when you are trying to bullshit your way into the job. It is ok if your situation is not as spectacular as how you would imagined it would be, sometimes it just about how you present yourself or how well you can communicate it to your interviewer is what that counts.

Lastly, find out simple things like who is your interviewer, what position does he/she holds, how many interviewers will there be, how many stages would you have to go through in order to obtain the position and ask. Do not be afraid to ask.

What to do while waiting:

Arriving around 15minutes earlier should be enough time for you to settle down and relax a little. Some HR recruiters will then ask you to fill out some application forms or even provide you with some questionnaires or tests. Another time the interviewer might be late because he/she could be caught up with some important work. 

How you spend your time right now is crucial before the interview. The first thing you can do right now is to calm your mind and relax. A calm mind allows you for quick thinking and answering. Another thing is to be as observant as you can. Look around to see if there are any company posters or posters that try to encourage people. These posters, believe it or not, can help give you that extra edge in the interview. 

For example, I sit in the HR waiting room waiting for my interviewer to arrive. I see posters such as "Company Motto: To strive for excellence" or "There is no I in Team" or even the company vision or tag-lines such as "Excellence, Performance, Efficiency" and more. Instead of just looking at them, I can use them in my interview. I could tell my interviewer that I work hard and strive to excel in anything I undertake. Also I could say that team work is extremely important and that it brings out high performance and efficiency. 

Another thing you can do is try to evaluate the working environment and observe as much as you can. Another example is that I noticed one company was using VoIP phones and I started a conversation with the interviewer about that after the interview session and we had a few good laughs and thoughts regarding the technology and all. 

While waiting for the interviewer to arrive or if you are waiting in the hall or at the reception, take this time to go to the toilet to relieve yourself as well as check your outward appearance. You can also practice your smile while checking your teeth to see if there are any unwanted stains or food leftovers lingering about those gaps. Take a breath check as well, it is good to have some gum or mint candy handy especially before interviews. 

This is also a good time for you to turn off your mobile phone.

What to do during the interview:

During the interview, you should always remember to shake your interviewer's hand when entering and always have a smile on your face. Creating a pleasant outlook of you is important. If there is more than one interviewer, take the time to shake hands with each of them and introduce yourself to them. Always give a firm handshake as it shows that you are confident and secure. A weak handshake can be misconstrued as someone who lacks confidence in themselves or indecisive. Then again, don't break their hands while shaking it. 

Do not sit down until the interviewers tell you so or ask them politely whether if you could take a seat. Most probably the interviewers will ask you to have a seat upon entering the room. 

Always keep eye contact, sit up straight and be attentive. Eye contact is very important and for those of you who cannot talk to a person and look them straight in the eye, you better start practicing. Make eye contacts not stares. 

It is also important to switch between the interviewers (>1 interviewers) so that none will feel offended. When making eye contact, try to focus on one eye, switching between eyes of that same person gives a nervous impression. If you are the type that is afraid to look someone in the eyes, you can always look at the areas near the eyes, such as the nose. Practice with friends before the interview.

On the hand shaking part, gives firm and powerful grip. However on some occasions, initiating a hand shake with a future employer might be bad by giving an aggressive impression.

QUOTE
If you look away when speaking to someone, you're viewed as lacking confidence or interest.


When answering questions, answer in a clear and easily understandable manner. Try not to beat around the bush, get to the point straight. For example, you can take about 2-3 minutes describing a certain scenario, once explaining the key points you can always ask, "would you like to hear more?" or "Did I give you enough detail?". Good interview sessions are all about giving and taking. It's never easy to just constantly talk about yourself all the time while the interviewer is busy doing something else. Asking questions will draw the interviewer out to speak a little which is good.

Its good to ask questions, ask about the company, ask about the interviewer and how his view of the company is, ask about the job position, ask about the work environment, just ask. It shows that you are very curious about the company and that you have the initiative to ask questions. Most employers would prefer employees that ask a lot of questions and not the type that just sit down quietly being dumb.

When taking the time to think about an answer, try not to just keep quiet and still. Instead portray an appearance that shows you are thinking and trying to remember. Observe how your interviewer carries himself/herself and try to pick up a few good points from it.

Think of the interview as if it were your first date. Sometimes it is human nature to defend ourselves and during interviews, when bombarded with "killer" questions, we might come up and be all defensive about ourselves which could cost you the job itself. On your first date, you would never want to offend your date would you? Instead you are trying to sell yourself, about how good you can be in a relationship. This works the same for an interview.

Remember, be natural. When you perform unnaturally, it gives the interviewer a feeling that you're nervous and not confident.

In the case where you have more than one interviewer, make sure you direct your comments to all of them. You never know who's the one who actually makes the hiring decision. So treat them all as equally important even though they may be the one sitting quietly but observing you. There are instances where technical people will always ask the questions while HR might just sit quietly behind observing you. 

Do not be a know-it-all during the interview. Learn when to quit bragging or talking too much. Take time to listen to the interview/s as well. If your skills are really good, what you share (those with true and proper substance) will be able to help you do the job in impressing the interviewer. 

What to do: post interview:
After some comments by people and my friend who works in the HR line, it is good to leave a thank you message either by email or maybe a simple message to your interviewer. Its the same as a smile, a simple gesture could really make someone's day and wouldn't you want your interviewer to be happy when evaluating your application? 

Mistakes Made During the Interview:

1. This happened during my interview with a semiconductor company based outside of KL. They asked if I applied to other companies based in KL and they asked if I were offered a job in KL would I take it. Being my first interview and being naive and honest, I said yes. Thanks to that I didn't get the job. 

2. Some interviews are in a few stages, 2-3 interviews. I didn't really give a good answer during my first interview but although I managed to get a second one, I answered the 2nd interviewer differently to the same generic question (Why this particular company?). I didn't get the job and I have a big feeling its due to the fact that my answers were not consistent.


Wednesday, May 17, 2017

PSA: Viral WhatsApp Message on WannaCry Ransomware is Not True


For the past few days now, a WhatsApp message has been spreading like wildfire regarding the WannaCry ransomware. If you receive such forwarded messages (the contents which we’ll describe below), DO NOT FORWARD THEM TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
The message reads as below:
Latest update on the Ransomware Cyber Attack
The Wannacry Cyber Attack has reached Online Banking, Online Purchases and Online Marketing.
Please do not perform any transactions such as below:
1) Online Transaction (CIMB Clicks, Maybank2U, RHB Now and etc.) Please prefer to go to ATM or CDM direct.
2) Avoid online purchase (Lazada, Zalora, Shoppu, Carousell, McDonald’s, KFC Delivery, Pizza Hut Deliver and etc.)
3) Avoid downloading unknown messages in your whatsapp which requires you to enter any URL with passwords.
Stay Aware, Stay Secured!
To make the message look authentic, the message also contains a URL from The Star Onlinecontaining a report claiming that WannaCry has also affected Malaysians. The report quotes that Malaysia was one of the 100 or so countries mentioned by cyber security blog MalwareTech that have been hit by WannaCry.
Let’s debunk this message. The WannaCry ransomware takes advantage of a vulnerability on Windows, not Android or iOS – so your smartphone (or WhatsApp) will not be affected by WannaCry.
There remains mixed reports on WannaCry’s spread in Malaysia. On the other hand, both the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and CyberSecurity Malaysia have gone to state that no reports have yet been received.
On top of that, the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) has also gone on record to confirm that there are no disruptions on internet banking and ATM services due to WannaCry nationwide. Besides the normal maintenance downtimes, there is nothing out of the ordinary that Malaysians should be wary about.
The viral message has clearly reached new heights, as yesterday (Wednesday), the Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Wilfried Madius Tangau held a press conference to address the issue – a highly unusual move, but an important one when tackling the spread of fake news.



Apple Store Orchard Road To Open Its Doors On 27 May

 Apple has revealed that its new store at Orchard Road in Singapore will indeed be opened to customers later this month. It is not only the first Apple Store in the country but also the first such establishment in South East Asia.
The date was revealed through a front-page banner on Apple Singapore’s official website. Additionally, the opening date has also been shown at its storefront as well.
Apple Singapore’s website has also revealed a long list of activities that will take place during the store’s opening week. This include the performance by Singapore Idol’s winner, Sezairi as well as iPhone photo walk with local photographer, Aik Beng Chia.
Also included in the list are tons of tutorials that related to Apple’s products and ecosystem. Do head on to Apple Singapore’s website to learn more about the its new store which no doubt will be flocked by Apple fans from throughout the region very soon.
(Source: Apple Singapore)

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