Movie + Food = LOVE

For the past meetings, we've discussed about Physical Security. We went into depth why physical security is important. I think the main lesson I'v learned is that "No matter how good your network or application security tools are, data are still at risk if there are no good physical controls available.". This means that everything we've learned the past months in class would be useless if the physical security is faulty. There are a lot of considerations to take into account when it comes to physical security. One is CPTED or Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. What some people think are just building or location designs for aesthetic purposes are actually placed for people's safety and are well-thought of. Another thing is that the number one priority is No Life Lost! Physical goes into so much detail. You even have to plan what type of doors and windows to use. There are different types of fire deterrents and sprinklers. It's safe to say ...

For this learning log, the lesson discussed in class was about Cryptography. I already had some knowledge about cryptography because we studied it the year before in COMPAIS class. I remember enjoying this lesson because of it's number patterns. (Yes, I like math). However, in INFOSEC we had a more detailed discussion. I learned about symmetric algorithms and asymmetric algorithms. Under Asymmetric Encryption, we studied RSA (Ron Rivest, AdiShamir, and Leonard Adleman) which makes use of n (product of two prime numbers, p and q), e (public key) and d (private key). We also studied the Diffie-Hellman Algorithm. We did some exercises abot the 2 algorithms. I enjoyed doing these exercises. I kind of felt like I was a spy decoding messages.

Last week (July 25, 2017 - July 28, 2017), Asia Pacific College celebrated SoCIT Techfest. Usually, SoCIT students are excused from class in order to participate in activities or seminars planned by various organizations. INFOSEC was no exception. Sadly, it was raining hard and the wind was very strong last Thursday morning. I was already in corporate attire by 8am so that I could attend my 9:30 INFOSEC class. However, I couldn't leave the house because it was raining hard. I tried to go out and got soaked by the rain. Thus I had to wait an hour before the rain relented and had a hard time commuting because some areas were starting to flood. I got to school at 10:15. I headed straight for the auditorium because we were asked to participate in the VR (Virtual Reality) Seminar. There we learned the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality (AR). We also learned how VR and AR can be applied in different industries. Ex: Medical students use VR to learn about hu...

For the past 2 weeks, we discussed about Legal Issues and Privacy. The lesson about legal issues made me more aware of what and what not to do online and on computers. There are apparently several laws on the proper use of computers, internet and information security. For example, the E-Commerce Act of 2001 and Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 are existing laws in the Philippines. These laws can be classified as Statutory, Administrative and Common law. Statutory Law is written law by the legislative body of the government. Meanwhile, Administrative Laws are laws enacted by the executive body of the government. Lastly, Common Laws are judicial rulings.  Meanwhile last week, we discussed about privacy. I was asked by the professor, "What is privacy for you?". I was caught off guard and answered nonsense. Yes, it was very embarrassing. I said that privacy is for example, what's mine is mine therefore I dictate who can view it or know about it. I openly admit that my...

This period in INFOSEC, we've focused on Operational Organizational Security. We learned the difference between policies, standards, guidelines and procedures. We learned about Access Controls, Group Policy and Password Policy. I used to think that password were simple. I'd only change it when I was prompted to do so, but then I learned about minimum password age and maximum password age. Like how minimum password age is meant to protect from users. There are some users who are lazy when it comes to memorizing passwords. For example, a student can have a password of student1 and password history of 2 passwords. Without min password age, the student can change his password to student2, then student3, and then back to student1 in the same day - having exceeded the password history count of 2. This defeats the purpose of actually maximum password change and changing the password so that it won't be compromised. I felt sort of guilty while listening to the lecture about ...

It's the first term for academic year 2017-2018. It's nice to have sir Justin Pineda as a professor again this term in INFOSEC (Information Systems & Security). Since he is our professor again, it's time to start writing learning logs again. For my first learning log entry for INFOSEC, I'm going to start off by talking about what INFOSEC basically is. According to Sir Justin, INFOSEC is  Confidentiality (protection from unauthorized disclosure) , Integrity (protection of resources from modification)  ,and Availability (protection from DoS). We also cleared some misconceptions in class - like how IT Security is also INFOSEC. INFOSEC actually has many domains such as IT Security, Operational Security, Personal Security, etc.  After the discussion we were given case studies to be done as a group. We had to use SMART objectives. SMART means specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. The next meeting, 2 groups presented. I noticed that th...

This week is our last discussion week. After 13 weeks, the term is about to end. Our final lesson was RIP. RIP in routing means Routing Information Protocol. It uses a metric called hop count. In our last lesson it took me a while to fully understand  what the next hop of a route was. You could imagine my reaction when I heard the term hop count. When our prof showed us how to implement RIP in Packet Tracer. I thought it looked easy enough. It looked easier than manually routing in a static route. So our group was eager to do the last exercise. After 2 meetings, we were still unable to finish it. Whenever we pinged a device, it would return as a failure. It was very frustrating. When we were about to give up, sir helped us out. However, he discovered that there was a problem with the case. We just had to laugh it out. We had let the exercise frustrate us when we should've asked for help right away instead. We would've saved ourselves the trouble.

As you may have known from my previous posts, our class had been studying about WireShark. But, as they say "Walang Forever". It was time for us to part ways. Our class had to move on from using Wireshark. I felt that the lessons were rather short. We just learned a new tool and then we had to drop it a couple of weeks later. Then again, this might be the product of combining 2 subjects into one (DNETCOM).  However, don't be sad, for we were reunited with Cisco Packet Tracer. We were still able to apply the lessons in configuration during midterms. We still practiced naming routers, setting passwords, configuring interfaces and the likes. Also, the level of difficulty went up a notch. We started routing the devices. Sir Justin taught us how to route step-by-step. Honestly though, our group had a hard time routing during the exercise. We were aware of the step by step procedure and what commands to use. Our problem was routing the path or figuring out the next h...

2 weeks ago, we had our research defense. We presented our paper about the 4G entitled, "The Lack of Utilization in the 4G Network". We had a pretty good feeling about our group's presentation because we felt that we were well prepared. We revised our papers and consulted with sir 3 times before passing our final paper. Also, our group was united and everyone was hardworking. Before our defense, we had watched tutorial videos, read blogs, articles , etc. about our topic.Because of this, we received high midterm grades (Thank you Sir!) After a quick 1 week breather, we were back to studying hard. We were introduced to packet sniffing. We learned that packet sniffing is a computer program or piece of computer hardware that can intercept and log traffic that passes over a digital network or part of a network. At first, our group had a hard time using Wireshark for packet sniffing because it was a new tool. This is why we kept pestering Sir with questions.  T...

This week, we focused on creating our midterm research papers. I group was given the topic of "next generation devices". We decided to make a paper about 4G. We focused on the lack of utilization of 4G in the Philippines. I can say that I am lucky to have my groupmates. They all did their parts without any complaints - even when I tend to be OC. We were able to finish our research paper early and had 2 drafts checked before making our final research paper.  However, I think I went to far because I ended up being ill. I would sleep in the early morning because we would stay up late doing our paper. Today, I went home early and just came back to school in the afternoon for my last class, but for me, it was a small price to pay. I am also aware that I did it to myself. The bright side is that we are done with our paper and have a long time to prepare for the defense.

Packet Tracer and Slow Internet Connection This past 2 weeks, we've focused on configuring using the CLI in packet tracer. We were introduced to new codes/commands that are used in configuring routers. We were also taught the step by step process of configuring servers and PCs. We also learned how to ping messages inside our network and send emails.  At first, it was a bit difficult for me to keep up with the lesson because I could not open the powerpoint presentation file in moodle because my computer inside the lab has a slow internet connection. It's a good thing that Sir Justin displays the current lesson on the board using the projector while he discusses.  I am also terrible at remembering things. That's why I would usually keep an open copy of the ppt so that I could scroll back for some details that I forgot (for example, the command to enable a password). But once I got the hang of configuring the router, the task was somewhat easier. I find that ...

DNETCOM, also known as Network Security, Storage and Data Communication. It's quite a handful don't you think? To be honest, when I learned I would be taking this subject, I was a bit intimidated. I knew nothing about network security and storage, much less data communication. I remember doing our first exercise as a group. We were tasked with creating a network for a made up company called RRD Company. We were given a budget and a list of items for sale and their corresponding prices. I was a bit embarrassed because I had no idea what half of the devices in the list were. There was an IP phone, a switch and others. But then I learned that my other blockmates did not know what those were either. Then I came to a realization that I shouldn't have been disheartened because that was what the class was for. We are taking DNETCOM to learn about these things. (Don't worry I eventually learned the difference between a hub, switch and router.) In class, we are tasked w...

1. Nicole Lopez - Oriana's Lore My condolences, Nicole. I'm sure that your father would be proud of you if he were still with you today. <3 2. John Bautista - Anti - Smoking This post of yours really persuaded me not to smoke. Thank you for your wise words. 3. Sammy Angot - 15 Comments for 15 Random People Sammy, I appreciate your comment. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. 4. Martha Salamat - MNL Adventures It seems that you had a lot of fun and went on a crazy adventure. I regret not tagging along. I missed out on a lot of fun. Hopefully, we could have another class outing where everyone would participate in.Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience! 5. Fevy Espinas - 3 Photos From Childhood 6. Rhea Ayungon 7. Shania Reyes 8. Justin Parado 9. Justin Besmano 10. Joshua Morales 11. Eugene Delfin 12. Jordan Fernandez 13. Julius Claveria 14. Samantha Munar 15. Kaila Roguel

ATTENTION: Asia Pacific College now has an anti-smoking campaign. It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for your health. However, most students do not realize the gravity of this. Because we are young, we are still somewhat naive of the consequences of our health in the future. But let me tell you this - Smoking IS BAD for your health! Smoking can lead to lung cancer. Tobacco cigarettes contain carbon monoxide and tar. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. Meanwhile, tar is made up of several cancer-causing chemicals. Do you really want to inhale these things? Smoking is addictive. You may say that you only plant to try smoking and not do it on a daily basis, but one day you might wake up as a smoking addict. Cigarettes contain an addictive ingredient called nicotine. Through this post, I hope that I have somewhat made a difference. I hope that my fellow students would stop smoking. ALWAYS REMEMBER that smoking causes cancer and it is highly addictive....

It was in the year 1997 that the School of Computer Science and Information Technology (SoCSIT) was established in Asia Pacific College (APC). To commemorate this historic event, APC celebrates SoCSIT week every year. To give you a heads up, this is my freshman year at Asia Pacific College. This was my first time to experience SoCSIT week. I had high hopes for this event and I was so excited. We had our opening ceremony at the school parking lot on Tuesday. The idea of standing for 2 hours at the parking lot under the heat of the afternoon sun was not appealing to me. But being good sports, we all lined up at the parking lot. We were dressed in our 90's attire. We, the freshmen, were asked to parade around the parking lot in our costumes and with our banner. By this point, we were all sweating like crazy. But in the end, it was all worth it. We were treated to a performance from APC DC. We also had the chance to see the candidates of Mr. & Ms. APC strut their ...

This week was action packed. Well, for it me it wasn't. Most of my weeks are typically robotic and of routine, but not this recent one. It started like a typical boring school week. I studied for a quiz on Monday. Wrote down notes during Algebra. I racked my brain for some meaningful essays and blog on Tuesday. It wan't until Wednesday when things got interesting. Last Wednesday, we were given the entire period of our PUBSPE1 for our speech choir practice. The entire four - hour period was used. Our leader asked if I could deliver a line that required me to shout... Of course, my block mates laughed. A friend of mine said that I sounded like a bunny trying to roar like a dragon. Another, block mate said I was like a rat trying to scream. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or give someone a high five- to the face- with a chair (just kidding). Though I appreciate the likeness to a cute and sweet animal like a bunny. Thursday was more eventful. During the ...

During my senior year in high school, I had the opportunity to be taught by an amazing Filipino teacher. He was funny and unconventional. He was Sir Ricky Villanueva. He managed to make reading Dr. Jose Rizal's El Filibusterismo fun for us students, but enough about El Fili. I remember one day in class, he asked us why the Lord made cockroaches.  They were tiny pests that bothered people. Surely there was no reason why the Lord made cockroaches. Minutes ticked by and we had not answered his question. He then gave us a mischievous smile and said that a cockroach has two reasons for its existence. One was that it was an indicator. You would know if a place was dirty when these creatures start showing up. Second, it is an inspiration. Do you notice how much of a fighter cockroaches are? No matter how hard you step on them, they seem to be immortal. Once you think it is dead, it slowly starts crawling away to safety. You have to admire its will to live. I...

An American philosopher named Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.". It is a common belief that reading books is a way to expand one's knowledge. I am not saying that this is untrue. I am saying that a book is more than that. A book is more than a tool to absorb information because it is a work of art, it offers an escape from reality and it is a very good tool to motivate. Just like every masterpiece, creating a book takes time. It takes months, maybe even years, to publish a book. A book is a work of art. It contains intricate stanzas and paragraphs. It is appealing. It is beautifully crafted. Have you ever experienced a bad day and just sat down to read a book? It's as if reading a book somehow makes you forget your problems. Reading a book helps you detach yourself from ordinary business and stressful thoughts. It even saves you from boredom. It takes you on an adventure that is ...

What makes a hero? This is a question asked throughout history. Does this person have what it takes to be called a hero of this country? Based on how he spent his life, could he possibly replace our current national hero? All of these questions lead back to what makes a hero. So what is a hero? If you consult the Merriam - Webster Dictionary, it defines a hero as someone who is admired. This person is admired for the great qualities he possesses and the acts of bravery he has done. If you are still unclear on what a hero is, let me give you some examples. We, Filipinos, have a handful of heroes to look up to.  Recall how Lapu-Lapu faced Ferdinand Magellan on the shores of Mactan. Recall how Diego Silang revolted to fulfill his dream of an independent Ilocano nation. Recall how Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros fought in battle. Heroes like them are the reason why we are free. Our freedom is the product of their blood and sacrifice. But does being a hero ...

                         What is a video conference? A video conference is a live conference between two or more people from different places who communicate through computer networks to transmit audio or video data. Just like everything in the digital age, video conferencing has its own advantages and disadvantages.             One advantage of video conferencing is that you don’t have to spend time and money on travelling to meetings. It gives us the chance to communicate with people from different countries without them travelling. Another advantage of video conferencing is you actually get to see the person unlike when you do a typical conference call on the phone. You get to see the person’s reaction and body language. Lastly, it increases productivity. The participants of a video conference can all view a document on their screen at the same...