Boracay, Penang & 44 Places to Go in 2009

This piece of news is a tad too old, but am retelling it here because I don’t think too many local bloggers made mention of the fact that Boracay Island made it to the New York Times list of “44 Places to Go in 2009.” (January 11 issue, ugh.)

In fact, I just stumbled upon this a few weeks ago while researching about Penang, Malaysia - the other Asian country in the list, along with Phuket, Thailand and India. It does make we wonder if they made the list before the security situation in the latter two countries.

Not to be a killjoy about it, but don’t you think listing Boracay JUST NOW is too late in the day? Boracay as one of the “44 Places to Go in 1999 ” would have been more apt, as all my friends rave about how a gem it was back then in the early days, without all the overcrowding, pollution and high prices.

Still, some news is better than no news. We all know that our dear Boracay deserves it, because it is more naturally beautiful than Bali or Phuket! All other underrated Philippine islands deserve it too, but I bet international publications will mention them 10 years too late :(

I do agree that Penang is the culinary destination it is touted to be. That place just reeked of food as a way of life! I do believe we have our own Penang in the Philippines, and the closest place I can think of is Pampanga. It really is high time that the local government of that province get the traditional vendors together and market Pampanga as the must-go to place for culinary delights in the Philippines. It is not too far from Manila either.

Anyhoo, more about Boracay and Penang in my next posts.

P.S. Suddenly, I like to go to Marrakesh!

I really think I could travel more if only I wasn’t scared shite of flying :( …. and my vacation credits aren’t close to nil :D What a bummer.

Protect yourself from Conficker Worm

  1. Scan all files Since Conficker uses random extension names to avoid detection, Windows users should make sure their security software is set to scan all files, rather than checking on specific extensions.
  2. Update Windows The alarmingly high number of Conficker infections led Microsoft last Tuesday to enable its anti-malware utility, Microsoft Software Removal Tool (MSRT), to detect the worm. So it's important that Windows users, if they haven't already, download the latest Microsoft security patch that went out earlier this week.
  3. Use a blocklist This is less relevant for home users, but network administrators can also use a Conficker blocklist provided by F-Secure to try and stop the worm's attempts to connect to websites.
  4. Disable Autoron You can disable Autorun so that a PC won't suffer automatic attack from an infected USB drive or other removable media when it's connected. The Internet Storm Center links to one method for doing so, but the instructions involve changing the Windows Registry and should only be attempted by adminstrators or tech experts.
From:PCWorld.com http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=4&entryid=109750