My Musings on Life, Poetry and Short Stories

Thursday 9 December 2021

Tips to Safeguard Online Privacy

0 comments Posted by Saras at 01:53

Tips to Safeguard your Online Privacy

Unless you are careful, you may end up compromising your privacy, inadvertently of course, and may lose money, information that is very Private to you, be victim of extortion et all. The first step of this macabre menace is the "Sharing of your Number". While it is inevitable to share for essential purposes like Personal Doctors, Banks, Utilities etc. it is not necessary to share your number casually to any Tom, Dick and Harry. The Fraudsters first step is to get hold of your number and some relevant details about you, like your Bank Name, credit Card company you deal with etc. They then start calling you pretending to be either of these agencies and ask you to part with vital info like your PAN, AAdhaar, or OTP sent to your mobile to swindle your funds. Their apparent familiarity with your Bank Name, Credit Card details or Workplace often lures to fall in their trap, and you begin to trust them and part with Information sought by them. Well then how do you safeguard against this menace? Simple. Follow these steps:

1. Ensure that your Mobile Phone Contacts are only in respect of persons whom you know and are well acquainted with and trustworthy; In case of doubt, remove their name from the Contacts immediately and note it down elsewhere.

2. When you receive a call in your Mobile which does not show a name from your contacts, do not answer it. Just send a Msg asking "Who is This" and wait for the reply. This deters the Fraudsters mostly. The persistent ones may try and say something to convince you but you have now got the Upper hand as you know they are outsiders in the first place. This is very important because it is enough if the call is connected even for a couple of seconds, for the fraudster to Skim all the information he needs from your phone. When the caller hangs without sending a reply, immediately mark the call either as Blacklisted or spam folder to ensure he cannot bother again.

3. It is unfortunate that at times, very rarely of course, some insiders in Banks / Govt depts themselves try to misuse the data available with them by calling the customers with an intent to de-fraud them. These guys are more dangerous because they have full knowledge about your data, fund balance etc.,. Hence, they will confront you with details like your Phone Number, Address, Nominee name etc. to convince you. You should never share info like your Customer ID, Password, OTP etc. over phone to anyone whatsoever. No one has the authority to seek this sensitive info over phone. Remember.

4. Never store information like you Credit Card / Debit Card Pins, Passwords etc. in your mobile. It is extremely dangerous. Try to memorize them instead. I know you are saying, "I am over 65, I cannot remember Numbers". Well then you may have them written down in detail in a Notebook which is always in your personal Locker at home. Just note it down in apiece of paper before you go to your Bank / ATM without descriptions like ATM PIN / A/c Password Etc. I am 73 and I use a small technique. If my ATM PIN is 4569 for ex, I will remember it as DEFI (Sound like DEFY). You got it !! 5. Please ensure that you have a Good, Dependable brand of "VPN" for your laptop, and Mobile Phone. This is VERY ESSENTIAL for those who do online Net Banking, Online Purchases etc. often. Their affairs will remain anonymous to prying guys, thanks to the VPN.

Monday 30 July 2018

PLEASANT SURPRISE

0 comments Posted by Saras at 02:04

PLEASANT SURPRISE

It was just another day, with the pleasant breeze blowing and the sweet smell of Flowers from the Balcony ushering in the fragrance and announcing the dawn in Bangalore. Living on the fifth floor of an apartment had its own advantages. Brilliant Sunshine from the East, freely flowing Wind and minimal ambient noises from the neighborhood to name a few. As usual, I took a look at my Mobile Phone for any late messages or calls from the previous day which I may have missed. There was a message from a friend, who was doing his professional course with me in 1971, yes almost 50 years ago! , asking me if I was the same one whom he thinks I am. My heart leapt with Joy and my heart raced back to those early days of my Life. After acknowledging him, I confirmed that indeed I am his friend. It made my DAY.

Monday 21 March 2016

Spring

1 comments Posted by Saras at 15:55

Flowers start blooming
in to a pretty blossom
in the fluffy grass!

-Samhita

Saturday 28 April 2012

I P L - Where it takes the Game?

3 comments Posted by Saras at 10:56

After the initial euphoria of the dare devil exploits of players like Gayle, Pollard, Rayudu, Sehwag, Peiterson, Usuf Pathan, Virat Kohli etc., which made the viewers sit glued to the TV during the first 4 versions and the current IPL 5, one begins to wonder where this takes the Game of Cricket per se ! A mighty heave or a swashbuckling reverse sweep may be pleasing to the eye once a while but repeated attempts to hit the ball without worrying about the nuances or the principles of stroke play, which makes the Game of Cricket a connoisseur's delight, makes the game a comedy of errors. The players tend to throw caution to winds in their attempts to score the maximum runs and it robs the game of its finesse! No doubt you see the Great Tendulkar not being able to do the heroics of the other players because he still adheres to some technique and style the game is known for. I am not saying the T-20 Version is a sham but only request that the players do not try to make it a wild game of chance. There is nothing wrong in trying to excel but make sure you do it in style. Happy Viewing!!

Friday 24 February 2012

A Lesson, Perhaps, for M S Dhoni

0 comments Posted by Saras at 06:02

In the recent Tri Series match between Sri Lanka and Australia there was a lesson or two for our tottering cricket team, who seem to have lost their appetite for wins! Despite the decent score of 280 aided by Peter Forrest and Michael Clarke the Sri Lankans had their Game Plan neatly chalked out before beginning their reply. Mahela Jayawardane got his side off to a flying start which ensured that there was no undue pressure on the other batsmen. Such was his dominating display that Dilshan, who fell for a meekly compiled 3 and Kumar sangakara with a breezy 22 were made to look below par. His batting display even enthused his less known colleagues to rise to the occasion!

After losing Chandimal and Maharoof Sri Lankans were needing 31 runs from 4 overs. I could not help thinking what India would have done under similar situation and the thought wasn't a happy one. Sri Lanka had different plans. Despite Angelo Mathews falling for a catch in the deep, Perara and Nuwan Kulasekara rose like a Phoenix from the pyre to finish off the chase with four balls to spare! Boy! This is what is called defiant performance. I am sure our team was watching this game and would have got inspired. We need such defiant innings from our not-in-form Seniors as well as the promising young brigade.

With over half the matches completed and finding ourselves at the bottom of the Points Table is not a pleasant situation. But as Churchil said "In Defeat Lies Defiance" ! It is how we play that matters and not the Wins or Defeats. Let us go and give a truly delightful display of cricket which our players like Sachin, Dhoni and Lakshman are well known for instead of brooding over what went wrong or blaming each other. Victory will surely follow.

Saturday 14 January 2012

Sachin!! - Take it Easy

3 comments Posted by Saras at 19:21

There is no doubt in anyone's mind about who is the greatest Batsman in the world, both in One Day Format as well as a Test Match. Sachin has sculpted his name in the Altar of Indian Cricket. Well having said that, it is time to think whether the Legend should push himself so hard for achieving that one milestone, Hundredth Ton, with his failing form time and again. He is human and this milestone is no big deal when compared to the innumerable tons hs has scored against all the cricketing countries in the world. As an ardent fan of his, I really feel bad to see him struggle to achieve this. Perhaps he would have done it very easily if we hadn't kept the count of his hundreds and the 'Magic Number' was not pressurising him! He should gracefully retire with his guns blazing and we remember him as the Master Blaster. Like the Great Gavaskar once said, you should leave when people ask "Why?" rather than when they begin to say, "Why Not?". Again this is not a criticism on Sachin's Capabilities as a Great Batsman but only a sincere appeal from an ardent fan who wants to remember him as the "Master Blaster" who sent the best of the bowlers to the fence with his Magic Willow. Wish him all the luck for achieving this elusive hundred.

Wednesday 21 December 2011

Covert Act of God

0 comments Posted by Saras at 07:40

Nature's disasters
God's Covert act to control
The errant Humans

Thursday 10 November 2011

She is a Puzzle

7 comments Posted by Saras at 07:49

Demure look on face
Your eyes a bottomless sea;
You are mystery

For Haiku Heights

Mystery

3 comments Posted by Saras at 07:32

Myriad stars shine
Billion miles of vast space
Everlasting mystery

For Haiku-heights

Friday 14 October 2011

Magic Squares - A Brain Teaser!

1 comments Posted by Saras at 10:05

In continuation of my earlier post on SU-DO-KU I am writing this one on Magic Squares. It is said that the Great Genius in Mathematics, Sreenivasa Ramanujam began his exploits with Magic Squares and went on to become the greatest Mathematician from India to be compared with the likes of Newton, Archimedes etc. Let us delve into it and see what it holds for us.

Magic Squares of Odd Numbers

Magic Squares can be made either for Odd number of Squares or for Even number of Squares. First let us study the Odd Number squares. For Eg: let us construct a Magic Square of 5 x 5. We will be making amazing arrangement of numbers in a way that they all add up to same total either upon each row or each column or the diagonals.The squares can be of odd number like 3,5,7,9 et all. The method creating these squares are fairly simple and follows a pattern. They can be summarised as follows:

Begin at the Top row middle square always.
When at the top, drop down to the bottom row in next column.
Where vacant keep ascending the diagonal to the right.
When blocked at the side, go to upper row extreme left column.
when blocked while ascending the diagonal. drop down to immediate lower square.

That is all folks! Keep filling those numbers following these rules and you will be amazed how easy it is to fill even the squares of 11,13,15 etc .

Magic Squares of Even Numbers

The construction of even number Magic Squares is more exciting. We can make squares of 4,8,12 etc and for now let us make 4x4 model. To begin you start from left to right and filling the numbers in natural order from 1 to 16 BUT only in the DIAGONALS. See Pic A. Then start filling again from 15 to 1 from Left to Right in the vacant squares to complete the Puzzle. Wasn't it easy! Have fun. I used to give this Puzzle to my children for creating an interest and familiarity with numbers in them. It worked and they are comfortable with Mathematics! Well even in old age this can provide the much needed exercise to the brain to keep it in shape, no kidding. it is true!