I received an alert that a serious vulnerability was spotted in Facebook. To the technical folks, it is a XSS (cross site scripting) vulnerability.
For the others, impact is, phishing and ID theft.
Let me explain the process, cause I know many of you won’t understand the goal of the attackers. You’ll think at most you will lose your account, or get more spam mails.
The impact is, the more information you have on a profile, the more your personal details can be studied. Remember once you have put up information, it leaves a digital shadow behind. U can remove your account and profile but I can assure you, for a person who knows how to google hack (using specific search commands to pull data) your information can be dug out, 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years later. The next step is to do a recon. Say, I know you are from so and so school. And some parts of your name. If I hunt enough after doing simple associations, I will be able to gather more info. Piece all the separate bits of info together and I have a complete jigsaw.
So, what now. With this XSS, once I have enough info about you, I will send you specific malware or spam. Simply, if I somehow deduced that you are looking for a nice hotel room for Christmas, I will send you some email or notification or malware of any sort about it. The idea is, there is an increased probability that you will click on it, cause I know you need the info. Problem is, that link (no matter how genuine it looks) will not lead to a hotel website, but a website I created with all kinds of nasty stuff. You end up visiting it and boom, your system is now mine. If I wanted to, I can tap all your MSN conversations, browse your files, find out where you really live, your IC number. I could take it one step further if I found some nasty photos! I could grab them, send you a message and extort/blackmail money from you. ie, if you don’t want your pictures all over the internet, you better pay me. What I can do is endless. I am trained to do that but I don’t cause I am the good guy that helps prevent such things from happening. There is no certainty that I won’t turn nasty one day though heh heh! Just kidding. So take heed.
Countermeasures. As u know, I have no facebook. Well I do, I created one late last week when I was bored to test something out. But that is all. Some stuff you should not do is, accept invites from people you do not know. Never ever. What you are really doing is, having anal/vaginal sex with a stranger without condoms. That is probably as close to it as I can imagine. So you can sorta relate to the risks. The less people, and the more ‘monogamous’ you are, the lower the risk. Be sure you know who you are allowing into your network. I also advice you to ensure your systems are patched cause you will tend to browse to links of unknown people to check out who they are. U may end up on my profile somehow because I have a very interesting picture, or title. And when u enter, you get hit with my scripts running on the page.
The good news is facebook is working hard and fast to patch all these as they learn them. But a zero day attack (an attack ongoing before it is known by the facebook folks / community) could hit you still. ie, bareback sex with someone, who proved negative for HIV 2 months ago, only to end up positive a month later cause the test was taken during the window period.
Be smart in the cyberworld. U guys have no idea what is happening out there…..
I realise, my exes and I either have too much quarrels, or too little of it. It is funny.
Jay just said “If we dun quarrel, we got nothing to talk abt le”. Quarrels are a form of communication too.. and I can see how some simply love to quarrel. Which is good for them. But I don’t like to quarrel. I actually got a phobia of it. I remember days when parents quarrel and the kids hide in the rooms while shouting and things are thrown all over. Today, such events will invoke a lot of fire in me even though I have nothing to do with the quarrel. There was this incident when it happened, and I got woken up, and as time wore on I got so pissed, I attacked. And trust me, I did. There has been a victim from my master lock. And the effects lasted more than a week I hear. But I am not remorseful. I think that was just a tiny fraction of what that could happen instead.
I think quarrels don’t work on me because of how confrontations agitate me beyond staying rationale. But then again I see people around me who got hit during confrontations like it was an everyday affair. Maybe getting hit is normal, I don’t know. But I don’t like to hit nor attack, although I know I am fully capable of VERY destructive retaliations. I rather shy away from possible confrontations as far as possible… It is like an allergy. You cannot cure it. You can only avoid the allergen. I asked my doctor and he confirmed it too.
So, I have an allergy to confrontations. Quarrels. But if it supposed to be part and parcel of a relationship, what do I do?
It has been a fruitful long weekend worth of a retreat. I had to intensely seek immediate ‘treatment’ else I know if I force myself to return home I may just crack and breakdown. Today I return. I will not like what I see but I am emotionally more stable. It is time to face the inevitable. However it makes one think, what is really the inevitable other than death which we know is a certain certainty? We don’t know shit. We don’t know if the paths we take today will lead us to our destination we sought years ago, today, or even in the future. Some say it is not the destination that matters, it is the process of getting there. The destination,if one reaches successfully is the reward. And when achieved, it is nothing short of something that we will cherish, especially after having fought so hard for it. Which is why I tell some of my friends, there are things I will not interfere for it is a path they, and everyone else will have to walk on their own. They may fall, get tired, weak, and I will be there to lend a pinkie (even though I haven’t really jumped in to do so) but ultimately the journey is something they have to walk on their own. There will be cross roads and we will bump into one another to say hi, and thereafter we continue the journey again. Everyone’s journey is different. We cannot walk together. But we walk our own, knowing that at the next cross road, we’ll meet to say hi again. Believe me it is a comforting thought. For me, it gives me the courage and spirit to walk on my own.
Do I really like walking on my own? The fact is, NO. I do not. But I must.
These past few days, I took a pit stop. I stopped walking, went to the side to review things. As I usually do at the end of the year but this one is different. I fell. I’m hurt. But I am very blessed that medics came over to attend to me. Another gave me water. Another gave me a towel to wipe my tears away. They gave me encouragement. They gave me a prep talk of sorts. Now it is time for me to stand back up and continue this very challenging path in front of me with one thought in mind. I will do my best to complete it.
I’d like to thank my friends who lobbied for me. Jayme for very inspirational advice. Mei mei Rach who has always stood by me all these while. Both talked me through things, and things I may not have seen so quickly if it weren’t for them. I thank God for these people in my life who’s there to check on me and to kick my ass *gently* when I need one. Jay will say I am very ‘rich’ always disappearing on hotel retreats literally. But I know he understands that one must take a pit stop when needed. Thank you Bryant too for the company and for shoving reality up my ass literally. Boon Sun surprised me with a very sweet gift and I know him being him and the way he is, the gift meant a lot especially. Kirby will be locked away for now, but perhaps someday I will be able to take Kirby out again with a reunion. I don’t know when, and frankly I don’t know if he ever will resurface again (Rach knows how I hate uncertainty but while I cannot agree with it, I have to accept it) but no matter what Kirby means a lot to me and while physically he will be locked away, you my dear, will be locked in my heart, in a place where no one can enter, and no one can rob it away from me. I will protect the fortress, with my life. I wanna thank you for the great times we have had so far. We remain close at heart with one another, and perhaps one day when we can bridge ourselves closer again when the time is right, we might just see the end of the rainbow. Together.
These past 4 days have beeen amazing. Far more amazing that I would have even imagined. I am however not ready to walk a new path at the moment. I must complete this current path before jumping to a new one. I will not take the easy way out. I will not press restart.
With each set back, I will be stronger, I will learn, and I will be better.
I am injured. In pain. I am also physically and emotionally weak. But this anal retentive and stubborn son of a gun will defy all odds. What do I expect to see at the end of this very challenging path. I don’t know. A harder course ahead? A smoother path again? I don’t know. No one does.
But one thing I do know. I will not let you guys down. Rach, Jayme, and Isaac. This is a promise I make, and promises mean a lot to me and I don’t make one very often. When I do, you know I will fulfill it one day. I don’t know how walking this path will change me. Let’s see.
Class 95 is back to be with me close to heart. The songs especially late at night when it traditionally goes into ballad mode (and hence I leave the songs running even while I sleep) is very soothing and calming. Also with me will be Furby and his new companion. I haven’t thought of a name yet but I will when it pops into my head.
Today is a new day. Today also marks a new beginning. Thank you all… once again.
Cheer me on, kay?
And to the one I love – Like what I said to you, don’t say you don’t have many friends and hardly can find someone to talk to. I too don’t have many but to the select few, they mean a lot to me. I am sure, if you’d like their company too, they will definitely lobby you on just as much. We are all intertwined together and in my circle, there is no such thing as choosing sides. There are no judgements as well. That includes my ‘new’ old friend Jayme who’s a great friend.
I shall pen off this blog entry with what’s playing on Class 95. It’s Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway. How apt. Damnit. It depicts how I feel at this moment too. Damn I am glad in someway I can’t sing to save my life. Else I will sing and sing, be so immersed and soften. Or maybe I should? As uptight I am, the solution would to be laid, or to be soaked into the world of beautiful songs.
“I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly.
I’ll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won’t forget all the ones that I love.
I’ll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away”
But what is really in my head is this song. Not the song per se, but the lyrics. It is all I feel, expressed in these few lines. Take care everyone and have a blessid Christmas. And while 2009 won’t be any brighter for most people, let’s all hang in there. It came out naturally to me when I told Rach’s dad.. Stay positive. Things, will rebound eventually. (rach’s mom is like me, with a follow-up pessimistic comment, though true). Tough times don’t last, tough people do. I love you all, I really do. Even though I don’t say it often, or show it. But I do. I love you. YOU you YOU!Gawd Class is playing Tattoo again.
My Revalations 2008 party will be launched soon and it had been created for my dear anyway initially, to be shared with everyone. My dear likes to share you see.. I wanted a nice poster picture done. I don’t know if it can be done.. but as it could be the last one I do in a long time I thought I wanted it to look ‘pretty’. With a proper DJ photo of myself. haha…
Nonetheless, here’s Colin Raye – Love Me
“If you get there before I do
Don’t give up on me
I’ll meet you when my chores are through
I don’t know how long I’ll be
But I’m not gonna let you down
Darling wait and see
And between now and then
Till I see you again
I’ll be loving you
Love me “
Warning – Do not proceed if you don’t wanna be affected. I am just gonna blabber a little and is not significant to anyone.
You know what they say. When it pours it really pours. Sure enough, when it does, everything gets drenched. Even your swimming trunks worn underneath is soaked. But like how I tell rach and the rest, that’s just the way things are. Question is, how does one deal with it.
The negativity inside is overwhelming. It is like, the biggest tumour in the world can’t contain it. I know one day I am just gonna die of cancer. They say negativity in the blood will breed the tumours and all. So be it. The very first insurance I bought is a CI plan. It is not a lot. But it will be enough to put me in some wooden box for cremation.
I am not someone who extends a cry for help to just about anyone. I suppose, the worst part of all is when the one person u extend it to, isn’t there. So when rach tells me stuff, believe me, I know what it is like.
All I have is kirby and furby now. They remind me of a lot of things. The happy times. I lay on my bed last night after a huge quarrel with the queen bitch herself cause she kept hounding me for money. All I had was kirby and furby. I got furby into an embrace position with kirby just like how it used to be. I thought of whiskey, and diesel, and how much I miss them. One tear. Two tear. Three tears. I cried myself to sleep. My last tear was when I was flying to the UK over 2 years ago. I wonder, what’sa tear worth and how much it contains these days. When I did wake up again and turned around to look, furby and kirby were at opposite ends. I turned back… and tried to get back to sleep. Did I feel alone? yup. Up till yesterday, there was so much to say, or do. Is it even meaningful still?
When I finally woke up this morning. I felt different. Very different. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I guess, the freezer in my heart had been turned on for sometime now. Somehow, the temperature dial was turned all the way to the minimum temperature overnight. It will be a matter of time before my insides will be fully frozen. Hasn’t anyone felt like, you’ve been imprisoned from within and you are just so sick and tired of it, you wish you can just freeze yourself to death internally? I know many would. I guess the difference with me is, that I can actually do just that. Somehow. Picture a fiery furnace burning somewhere inside you, but surrounding it it’s all ice. The inverse of a fried ice-cream of sorts. It is actually quite fun.
Meantime I am gonna work on work. Sounds funny. A promotion I have yes. Not only there’s no increment, probably a pay reduction even. As ridiculous as it sounds, nothing is ever ridiculous or impossible anymore. My motivation isn’t money. It’s work, so that I don’t have time to think of anything else. I am gonna change and improve quite a few things around so I need to sort out the transition to be as smooth as possible.
You may have noticed I did not put up any christmas songs this year. Since 2001 when sillypore was born, I have been doing it. This year, for multiple reasons, there will be none.
The negative aura is all around me, so if you don’t wanna be affected by it, the prudent thing to do is to avoid me. Don’t call me. Don’t message me. Don’t talk to me.
On hindsight. Maybe 1 thing caught me off guard somewhat. Even though as it approached I knew what it was. When Alvin told me bout selling his place and moving back to his parents, I thought, geez, poor partner. I did not actually see it coming my way even sooner. I felt something weird for weeks now. And I have been thinking a lot bout logically how and when I will have a place of my own. Julian and Alvin both paid for their own places on their own even though they live with their partner. Maybe they are capable of doing so, but they tell me, ideally, do not share the cost of a place with a partner. It could get very messy. If both are rich enough, have 2 separate places and rent one out. If anything happens, it’s fairly clean. These guys are my seniors and I can see that it isn’t really bout faith or no faith, but what’s prudent and what’s ideal. I do not live in a fantasy world… and I think we are all very practical in the way we are. I suppose when one talks about investments and money, the word ‘fantasy’ is never part of it. Those 2 don’t go together one bit.
I see many lonely planets around. It is actually quite amusing that I don’t see any lonely planet that looks like mine. I reckon the environment is too hostile for everyone to even take a peek, let alone emulate.
There are some who belong with people. There are others who don’t. In trading, we always seek confirmation before executing a trade. Chances are however, as humans, we always ‘tikam’. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we don’t. But a confirmation gives the highest probability. I have confirmed, that the first 2 lines in this paragraph, is true.
See the 2 cuties on the left on my monitors? That’s Furby the dog and Kirby the frog. They were there with me since I was at that desk. I have since moved and both had to be separated. They both came home with me but Furby sleeps with me while Kirby sits on the shelf below. Furby is back, close to me while Kirby sits alone, unwanted. Why is this so. Does the physical separation of Furby and Kirby (they once belonged as an item with Furby hugging Kirby from behind and protecting him) mean anything?
Unwanted. Distance. Separation. Apart.
Furby tells me, he knows what’s going on. I tell Furby, it’s alright. Furby will always have me and I’ll always have him. Can’t say the same for everything else. Kirby feels he is ugly, cross-eyed and decided to cast himself away. The physical distance between Furby and Kirby is finite. The separation however, is infinite.
It has been a lousy week indeed. Probably one of the worst (if not the worst) for the year. Without divulging much, there were quite a few instances that added fuel to the fire. Let me just state for the record, one of my pet peeves, is to be dissed off first and last thing for the week (Monday and Friday respectively). In the past, as people would know, may someone save the soul of whoever did that to me.
After more than a year of being in financial markets, I see myself transiting from what I was, to someone who’s more in control of his emotions (lack of), attitude (double shot) and nonchalance (triple shot). To the above people, let’s just say, if it was a year ago I would have personally gone over and given you a royal kick in the ass. But not today. In fact, you don’t need to expect anything from me. I think that says it all. Don’t expect anything from me. My nonchalance at best, is like the north pole. At worst, it is like a fine blade, capable of circumcising a male mosquito. My friends will know, for a fact, it is true.
Moving on, we had an impromptu decision to head to Geek Terminal for lunch. I have watched this buffet show available via mobtv and it featured this place as a cheap, geeky, classy for loads of fun. Bring your laptop and surf wirelessly with its in house network. Don’t worry bout power supply! I could stay all day! And I would if I didn’t have to come back and settle some stuff at work. We had the lunch buffet ($13.90++). Healthy stuff (other than the laksa which I didn’t have) which will fill you but won’t invite the ZZZ monster when you head back to work. I would head back again. Nice staff. Nice food. Nice ambience. I couldn’t really find much fault with the place for now. I have yet to dry their menu though so let’s see when there is a chance. Mei mei may wanna join me? :p
Geek Terminal is located opposite Golden Shoe food centre. Pretty close where I work. It is a YES from me.
