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Globe intensifies drive against piracy  

April 1, 2022 9:21 p.m.

GLOBE has further intensified its drive against illegal streaming and downloading of content as the Philippines, together with Vietnam and Malaysia, again topped the list of Asian countries with the highest piracy rates.

Piracy has been a lingering problem around the world, posing a danger to the viability of businesses and the livelihood of content creators, and also exposing users to malware and other online threats.

“The ill-effects of online piracy cannot be underestimated. Globe continues to ramp up initiatives to mitigate, if not fully stop piracy, and make a positive societal impact.  We also work with coalitions and partners like the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) and the IPOPHL to help address these challenges,” said Anton Bonifacio, Globe Chief Information Security Officer.

The recent YouGov 2022 Piracy Landscape Survey commissioned by AVIA’s Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) revealed that 61% of local respondents have consumed pirated content. Their primary sources are social media and messaging platforms at 44 percent.

Movie snippets are usually shown on Facebook and TikTok, while pirated content is sold in the Facebook marketplace.  People also share illegally downloaded materials via messaging apps such as Telegram.                       

Other sources of pirated content include streaming and torrent sites at 20% and illicit streaming devices and apps, also at 20%.While piracy continues to be a major concern in the country, there remains a high consumption of legal content.  The survey showed that 81% of respondents said they consume content through legitimate platforms, although the figure is still the lowest in the region.

AVIA is now looking at commissioning YouGov to conduct the survey at the end of every year to help identify where, how, and why consumers are accessing illegal content and the impact of enforcement actions. It is also talking with social media platforms to discuss the possibility of taking down pirated content.

“The Philippines not only has one of the highest piracy consumption rates in the Asia Pacific region, but the lowest consumption rate of legitimate content from those countries surveyed.

However, there is hope. The Philippines also has the highest percentage of consumers who would use legitimate content if their access to pirate services was blocked, and the highest percentage of consumers in the region in countries that do not currently block pirate sites who believe that blocking pirate sites is the best measure to reduce piracy,” said CAP General Manager Matthew Cheetham.

“With these factors in mind, we encourage the Philippine government to urgently amend the current copyright legislation to allow for an efficient and effective regulatory site blocking regime,” he said.

On the other hand, Globe educates its customers on how to become responsible and intelligent custodians of content since the launch of the #PlayItRight campaign in 2017. The initiative cuts across several industries such as film, music, gaming, digital literacy, and education.
Aside from blocking confirmed illegal piracy sites, the campaign makes consumers aware that piracy websites can be hotbeds for illegal online activities, malware, and other cybersecurity threats.

Through its Digital Thumbprint Program, Globe has maximized its influence within the education and entertainment sectors. The advocacy has been integrated into the K-12 curriculum of the Department of Education in 2019.

Globe supports efforts to modernize the country’s intellectual property law, with several bills pending in Congress that aim to boost protection of intellectual property rights. Among the amendments sought is granting greater power to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to take down or block online sites violating copyright laws and penalize violators with steeper fines.

In line with its campaign for a safer Internet, Globe also hopes to see the enactment of the bill amending the law which penalizes online sexual abuse and exploitation of children, which Congress is expected to ratify within the year. The measure aims to expand child protection against cyber threats and address gaps in existing laws such as the Anti-Child Pornography Act, the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discriminaton Act, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.

Globe supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, highlighting the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. It is committed to upholding the UN Global Compact principles and contributing to 10 UN SDGs.

To learn more about Globe, visit www.globe.com.ph.

NEWS

Kick off your UEFA EURO 2024 adventure and watch games live with GCash

6:06 p.m. March 15, 2024

GCash, the Philippines’ top finance app, joins forces with Alipay+ to bring an exciting opportunity for Filipino football fans to take part in this year’s UEFA EURO 2024. As the premier football tournament kicks off once again, GCash is making it possible for you to witness the action live with the launch of its new raffle promo. GCash is a partner of Alipay+, which is the exclusive Official Payment Partner of UEFA EURO 2024.

Captivating millions of fans globally each year, the UEFA EURO 2024 tournament is set to take place from 14 June to 14 July 2024 across ten iconic host cities in Germany, including Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart.

By simply using GCash to pay, whether locally or internationally, users can earn raffle tickets and get the chance to experience the thrill of watching the UEFA EURO 2024 games live in Germany.

According to Paul Vincent Albano, General Manager for GCash International, “We are delighted to announce our partnership, together with Alipay+, the exclusive Official Payment Partner of UEFA EURO 2024, a collaboration that celebrates a shared passion and commitment to connecting with Filipino football fans. With GCash, users can unlock opportunities for more enriching experiences, and having the chance to attend the biggest sporting event of the year is just one of the ways we make this possible for our users. Through Alipay+, Filipino fans can pay at thousands of retail stores, F&B outlets and attractions across Germany and Europe, simply with GCash.”

GCash is now available internationally, through its partnership with Alipay+, ensuring seamless transactions for users even while they’re abroad. Through its Scan-To-Pay feature, users can enjoy hassle-free payments with zero service fees at millions of merchants worldwide, including restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, and more!

The benefits of paying with GCash extends to gaining access to exclusive discounts and promos, including the opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany for UEFA EURO 2024. From March 1 to April 30, GCash users can earn raffle entries for every complete payment transaction made with Scan-To-Pay.

Payments made abroad earns users 10 raffle entries, while transactions within the Philippines earn one raffle entry each. The official winners’ draw will take place on May 4, 2024 with 16 lucky GCash users 2 winning tickets, giving them & their friends who love football the chance to watch the games with them!

Be part of football history and don’t miss out on the chance to witness Europe’s top nations in action this year. For more information and updates on the UEFA EURO 2024 promo, visit the GCash website or follow GCash online through @gcashofficial.

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How to watch NSFW/NSFL content safely and discreetly

February 12, 2024 1:55 p.m.

Want to hide your guilty pleasures from prying eyes? Do it properly, suggests Kaspersky experts

You may have already heard about NSFW (not-safe-for-work) or NSFL (not-safe-for-life) and what it means to your self-preservation or at the very least, your reputation. 

If you’re still clueless, it refers to online content that is best viewed in private. Examples would be medications you take, gifts you were checking out for your loved ones and sensitive videos you watched before bed.  

“The kind and amount of information that we can now access through the internet is almost limitless. And many of us are happy to do things online. On the flipside, our research shows some prefer to keep those habits to themselves. In fact, many see the Internet as a place to hide,” said Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky. 

In a study by Kaspersky on digital privacy, almost half of respondents (41%) said they apply additional measures when browsing the Internet to hide their information from the websites they visit. The same study revealed that family members, colleagues and the government are the top three groups of people we don’t want to know certain things about us. 

“With online content at our fingertips, people will read and watch online whatever they want to. Whichever it is, we recommend doing it safely. Remember your digital reputation is closely linked to your personal reputation. With a stroke of unfortunate luck, your online habit or personal information can accidentally become available to others, despite your wishes. Not only would it make you a target of malware but it could end up costing you your job,” added Yeo. 

This article explains who can catch sight of your online activities and how to make sure your secrets are safe.

  1. Your family

You likely share a computer and a Wifi network with your family. This means your partner, kids, or parents—anyone you share a home with—could discover traces of your online activities. Here are what could give you away:

  • Browser history It remembers the websites you visit and suggests them the next time you want to visit one of them. It can come in handy but can lead to some awkward moments like if your partner or your child types in the letter P (for Pinterest) and gets a suggestion for P(ornhub). 
  • Targeted advertising When you open a website, the browser saves cookie files on your computer, which allows the site to remember things about you (like your username, pages you viewed, contents of your shopping cart, etc). They also give ad network-partners of the website’s owner information about you for suggesting similar content. The giants of the Web, such as Google, will not show erotic banners, of course. But less-scrupulous ad networks may. 

Tip: It’s best to go into incognito mode before watching private videos, to avoid embarrassment later. Using it avoids leaving browsing traces for your family to discover. Some browsers such as Yandex.Browser will suggest it if you open a porn site. By running in incognito mode, your browser stores no cookies and no search history. Your family will see none of those treacherous suggestions in the address bar.

As for the cookies and browser history you have already accumulated, clear them. Open the browser’s settings: In Chrome, for example, the option will be visible immediately, and in Firefox, you will need to go to the Privacy & Security tab.

  1. Internet giants

Cookies are not the only way to find out about your interests, so incognito mode will not hide information about your hobbies from big Internet corporations. Facebook will still learn about the things you like if you visit websites that are integrated with its analytics and advertising modules — and you would not believe how many of those are around. 

Google will still remember what you searched for and what sites you opened in Chrome. This year, Pornhub revealed that the Philippines topped its website viewership for the fourth consecutive year. The website shared that they’ve monitored getting more female viewers than male viewers in the country through the demographics data tracking of Google Analytics.

Tip: Fortunately, not all companies want to collect all of the data they can about you. Privacy-centric browsers like Firefox and search engines such as DuckDuckGo and Startpage.com, along with the Private Browsing feature in Kaspersky products can help prevent tracking by advertising networks and Internet giants. 

  1. Your ISP

Few will pause to think that their ISP, as well as the owner of the free Wi-Fi they are using, can monitor their traffic. We suggest you put some safety measures in place, which is not nearly as hard as it may sound, unless you like the thought of your passions becoming some mischievous ISP employee’s source of entertainment.

Tip: Use a secure connection like a VPN (virtual private network) to dodge those whose curiosity gets the better of them. Doing so will encrypt your traffic so strongly that the ISP will see nothing but gibberish.

  1. Porn scammers

Scammers who email you saying they have infected your computer with malware and used a Web camera to make a video of your naughty pleasures really have no idea if you have been watching porn or not. They are simply mass-mailing their threats in the hope that someone will bite. 

Tip: Do not fret. Never pay scammers who claim to have caught you watching adult content. If you receive an email like that, send it straight to spam.

Remember safety measures

Although the creators of well-known porn websites protect their reputations, it is not impossible to get your device infected while searching for adult videos. From time to time, cybercriminals hack networks that display ads on such websites or attempt to pass off a fake.

The malware is unlikely to hack your webcam, but it may very well block your screen with an explicit picture or start displaying gobs of explicit ads in your browser. So, remember these safety measures.

  1. Choose websites you know. Avoid opening questionable websites from search results that promise premium content free.
  2. Download apps from official sources only.
  3. Do not click on links in ads, even if they are hard to resist.
  4. Use a robust protective solution such as Kaspersky Premium. It will block a malicious program, should one attempt to infect your device. 
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Celebrate Chinese New Year at Honolulu Cafe

February 10, 2024 5:34 p.m.

Celebrate Chinese New Year at Honolulu Cafe.

Try their best- seller Roasted Pork Belly and Egg Tarts.

Roasted Pork Belly
Egg tarts

Honolulu Cafe located at SM Aura, Robinson’s Place Manila and Greenbelt 5.

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