What Real Christmas Demands From You!

What is Christmas? Why do we celebrate it? What is its importance? These are just some of the questions that come into our minds during the month of December. If you have thought about Christmas just as I do, then this article is for you. 😊 If you haven't thought about the meaning of Christmas and have no interest whatsoever, I hope and pray that after reading this simple article, your interest will be kindled and eventually will be blessed.

Reminder: Old Peso Bills Demonetized By 2017

The end for year 2016 is fast approaching and with less than 15 days to go, 2017 will be a fresh new year to start with. And speaking of fresh start, I am reminding everyone that next year, our old Peso Bills which were launched more than 25 years ago will have no more value by 2017. Yes, this information is not new you might say, however, being familiar with humanity’s weaknesses, we easily tend to forget. 😉

By 2017, the Old Banknote Series have no more monetary value.

Last 2015, it was announced by the Central Bank of the Philippines that starting January 2016, the old series of banknotes launched in 1985 will no longer be used for day-to-day transactions. By 2016, these old bills can only be exchanged in commercial banks for new generation of banknotes which was launched last 2010.

With that said, better check your alkansyas or piggy banks for you might have kept some old peso bills. You might want to exchange them before the New Year arrives. Else, it won’t have any monetary value by January 1.

Yahoo Discovered New Information Theft! Encourages Its Users to Change Passwords Immediately!

Earlier this afternoon I received a very important email coming from Yahoo. I am currently using a yahoo email address for most of my personal accounts and so I took some precautions before opening it. The email turned out to be an authentic email coming from Yahoo. If you have an email account in Yahoo, then you might want to check this very important notice.

Yahoo logo taken from Wikipedia

Based on the said email, Yahoo is informing its users that they have found out (with the help of forensic experts) that more than 1 billion yahoo user accounts data were stolen by hackers. This cyber attack actually even happened last August 2013. Yahoo has said that this security breach is distinct from what the company has disclosed last September 22, 2016.

According to Yahoo, information such as names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and some encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers were stolen. The company then is encouraging its users to:

1. Immediately change passwords, security questions and answers. This includes any other accounts (emails other than Yahoo) on which the same or similar information were used.
2. Always review all accounts for suspicious activity.
3. Be cautious of any unsolicited communications that may ask for personal information or may refer a web page asking for personal information.
4. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails.

Yahoo is also encouraging the use of a Yahoo Account Key, which is a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahoo altogether. 

For more information about this issue and to know Yahoo’s security resources, you may visit Yahoo Security Issues FAQs page in https://yahoo.com/security-update.

Sources:

1. Yahoo Security Notice December 14, 2016

2. http://www.reuters.com