Victim of Botnet

If you are revisiting this site, you might be wondering why the format looks funny as there are empty spaces on the right column. If you had noticed, those used to be "Ads by Google" and it is just some way to monetise my blog. However, i just received notice from Google Adsense that my account has been disabled!!

So sad.. I realised that I could have been a victim of a botnet software. Botnet is a jargon term for a collection of software robots, or bots, which run autonomously and automatically. Apparently, there is some "doubleclick.net" bot that could have been remotely clicking on my google ads without my notice. So suddenly I have a huge surge in advertising clicks and Google Adsense singled my blog out.

I just purchased a new laptop on Monday and seems like the preinstalled softwares or changes made by the supplier could be the source, because that was the period when all these things started.

Interesting to note is I used reputable anti-virus softwares like AVG and Adware but they doesn't seem to be able to identify any issues. These bots are not considered malicious. The bot I found was scanned out by Spybot1.5, so you might consider downloading that. Frankly, I'm not even sure if that is the bot causing these problems as there could some others that are yet to be scanned out. I'm not sure, any other good softwares (hopefully freeware) to suggest?

Sigh.. I have just appealed to Adsense and hopefully, they would enable my account again.

Fire Insurance

Fire Insurance is likely part and parcel of our home ownership plans. I tried to look up some statistics published by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and it shows that about 3056 fire incidents occurred in residential properties in the year 2005. This may seem low compared to the 1.1 million homes in Singapore in that same year (probability is 0.028%), but are we willing to take that risk?

There are different policies available depending on your dwelling type:
1. Landed property
2. Private apartment (strata titled) (leasehold)
3. Private apartment (non-strata titled) (freehold)
4. Housing Development Board (HDB)

This is a general fire insurance guide for residential properties published by the General Insurance Association of Singapore that you might take a look.

As the majority of Singaporeans (>90%) reside in HDB apartments, it is important to understand what is the coverage of our policy. Most purchases from HDB comes packaged with a HDB Fire Insurance, which is very cost competitive. The premium I paid a few years ago was only about S$9 for 5 years and the sum insured was about S$47k. I thought this was very good value for money until I realised that it only covered structure, fixtures and fittings provided by the HDB.

This means it doesn't cover any of your personal belongings inside the apartment (furniture, renovations, etc). Also, if your unit catches fire and causes damages to your neighbouring apartments, you have to pay them damages (no third party liability). I have been pushing back plans to buy extra fire insurance because I had considered our home to be relatively new, as I had this conception that older units that have ageing electrical wirings, apartment design and conditions are more prone to fire incidents. I think I have to re-evaluate my options now that our home is not so "new" anymore, and the extra premiums seems reasonable.

Any good suggestions?

Lasik Surgery: Worth The Risk?

The last flag raised by the Ministry of Health was the concerns of misleading advertisements by Lasik surgery centres that could have mislead the public into unrealistic expectations, with results being oversold and side effects being downplayed. Guidelines would be set in due time, and likely focused on several NOs like advertising the number of success stories or the use of celebrities.

Lasik is so popular nowadays in high myopia countries like Singapore, where about 44% of adults are myopic. And with the lowering of costs through wider consumer adaptation, better technology and coupled with the booming economy, many are queuing to have the cosmetic surgery done. But is it worth the risk? After all, we only have a pair of eyes....

There are many centers touting the best technology and here are some links
Singapore National Eye Centre
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Parkway Eye Centre

But one must evaluate the risks involved before making a decision. Some side effects widely published include Dry Eyes, Over or under-correction, Halos, Light Sensitivity, Astigmatism, Floaters, etc. These side effects are minimal with the improvement of technology, but still they are not covered by any insurance as this is a cosmetic surgery. The question that I always have is if lasik is so good, why are some ophthalmologists still wearing spectacles, just like the other example where some myopic optometrists prefer to wear specs and not contact lenses?

So bottom-line, assess your risk/reward. For some, it may be the worst nightmare. But for many, it is a lifetime of convenience.

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