Yahoo! Answers Blog Malaysia

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At the start of the year, many people often think about getting things in shape: their homes, their bodies, but they don’t stop to think about getting their computers in shape. While online safety and virus protection should be thought about year round, this is a great time to take a quick refresher course on some of the common online threats that you may (or may not) encounter while surfing the net.

Online and within the news you’ve likely heard of some of the most common terms (malware, spam, viruses, and Trojans), but may not have known what they are, or, how to protect yourself or your computer from them. We’ve pulled together a quick resource guide outlining the who’s who, and where to go for more information. But when online, some of the most important things to remember are:

• Don’t trust pop-ups; things pretending to be virus checkers may actually be viruses (more on that later)
• You don’t have to understand a lot about online security to protect against the most common online threats. Keep your computer up to date and be suspicious about the sites you visit- employ the same skills you do in real life as you do online: don’t give out your personal information to strangers, and don’t trust something because it “sort of” looks official. And remember to trust your instincts: if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

What’s malware?
Malware is software that does something you don’t want done, usually installed without your permission. It includes viruses, worms and Trojans.

What is spam?
Spam is/can be: the repeated postings of the same content; off topic banter/answers/comments; links to commercial sites or merchandise; in general, unsolicited, unwanted or irrelevant messages, links or postings. You may run into it in your inbox, on message boards, in comments sections, etc. Basically, anywhere that someone can enter or submit text is susceptible to spam.

What is phishing?
This is any attempt to steal your account information. Phishers set up fake web sites that look like those of trusted companies to trick you into disclosing your account information. These pages can look nearly identical to the real thing, so it can be hard to tell that you are on a phony site.

Most commonly, you’ll see these as emails asking for the password to your bank account, your Yahoo! email account (urging you to send your account information or else your account will be terminated), or your credit card information. If you run into a phishing email on Yahoo!, please do report it to us !

Remember to never click on links in emails, no matter how official they look. Use bookmarks or physically type the site name in.

To protect yourself further, set a sign-in seal and don’t give out your Yahoo! password on your computer unless you see your sign-in seal (for more information on this, go here. This helps you know when you’re on a phishing page, or when you’re on a legitimate Yahoo! login page.

Yahoo! Security Center

At http://security.yahoo.com/ you can assess your PC’s exposure to online threats, including malware, viruses, and an assortment of other online risks. Additionally, you can also learn about:

• Protecting your PC
• Protecting your online privacy
• Protecting your children online at Yahoo! Safely
• Getting rid of pop-ups, viruses, adware, or spyware
• And much more!

How to help protect your machine

Be sure that your computer has antivirus software installed and that its virus definitions are up-to-date- many computers do not, and this leaves them open to many malware attacks. Programs like Norton Anti-Virus or http://www.malwarebytes.org/ will help protect and prevent future attacks.

If you see a pop-up, close it promptly, without clicking on anything inside the window (buttons inside the window may download software, no matter what the label on them says, even if it’s “No”, or “Cancel”). Click the close button on the window frame (the “x” in the upper right on a Windows machine, the red button in the upper left on a Mac).

If that doesn’t work use “Ctrl + F4″ on Windows or “Shift + Cmd + W” on an Apple machine to close the window. Worst case, kill the browser with the Task Manager on Windows or Force Quit on a Mac, and if you can’t do that, reboot the machine. (Be sure to save your work in other programs!)

Then run a virus-scan using an anti-virus program to check for any malware remnants.

At the end of the day, it’s up to YOU to help keep your online experience safe—keep your software up-to-date and be cautious about giving out information, including passwords.

How can we make questions and answers here more local?  This is important for Yahoo! since we’re under new management — you!

As you know, this is where people ask questions and get answers. By sharing facts, opinions and personal experiences.

We need a trusted source of knowledge, built by our local community in Malaysia. So you may have seen many local questions from a Yahoo! Editor.

But these questions should not come from us. You should drive it!  Who should have won Anugerah Juara Lagu this year?  How will the new GST affect my salary and spending?  Where can I find a great makan place in KL?  What’s the meaning of Makkal Sakthi?  What’s a good place for family trips during school holidays?  What’s the difference between Laksa Johor and Laksa Sarawak?  How do I prepare Yee Sang for Chinese New Year?

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Use the content filter
The default setting on Yahoo! Answers Malaysia now shows “All English questions.”  If you want Malaysia-based questions, change it to “Malaysia questions only.” Then you will see only the questions from Malaysia sites.  The choice is yours!

2. See other categories
Many users love the Malaysia travel category.  Why not also try other categories where you can talk about the great food in Malacca (Food & Drink), the new LRT route in Petaling Jaya (Cars & Transportation) or this year’s Rainforest Music Festival? (Entertainment & Music).  In the end, you’re the owner of the community. Start sharing what you are interested in!

3. Try local terms
Get the answers you’re looking for.  Click on ‘Advanced Search’ and look for stuff with specific keywords or categories.  Find discussions that are Malaysia-only, or based on when the question was submitted.

4. Put the Malaysia element into your questions and answers
Looking for local answers?  Try asking local questions! Where can I find the best Nasi Lemak Kukus in Malaysia?  Did you see ‘The Biggest Loser Asia’ last night?  To create great discussions on Malaysia, it helps to localise your questions first.

5. Talk to us!
Yahoo! Answers Malaysia cannot survive without your ideas.  You can write to us using our suggestion board or post your comment below.  We are here to listen.

We hope you find these tips useful and share them with your friends. Let’s make this a home for our Malaysia community!

Selamat Menyoal-Jawab!

Did you know that on average, 10% of questions are in tie-breaker status at any given time on Yahoo! Answers? And, at any given moment, there are literally millions of questions open on Answers?

For many members, it’s easy to get swept up in the “Ask” and “Answer” flow as you watch the steady stream of answers that come in when you ask a great question. But then the tough part comes: picking a Best Answer! How do you choose?

If you’re looking for a few tips on how to pick your next Best Answer, here are a few taken straight from our community

• “To put it simply, I go with the one that is the most useful or the least useless. I do notice the number of thumbs-ups and downs the answer gets, and I use that and the level/Best Answer percentage of an answerer to determine whether or not I should trust the answerer, but the main deciding factor is what I think of the answer itself. A concise but comprehensive explanation beats a long drawn-out half off topic lecture.” – Luigi
• However, “According to the specification of the question I read carefully and I compare it to the other questions, I make sure their answers make sense and have more clear explanations. Not always the thumbs up are right and this person can be wrong, So I read & understand before I give my best answer…8)” – “Evo_Raptor”
• “[…] If there are two equally good answers, I choose the one with better grammar, punctuation, and spelling.” – *Sombra*
• “I pick Best Answer by re-reading through all the answers again from my question. Then pick the one that was the most helpful, informative, and the answerer was polite while giving me the information I needed.” – Future Pet Vet
• “Whoever has clearly spent the most time answering the question and not just put silly 1 word answers or sarcastic comments. Also, if i believe the answer is 100% true.” – Craig and Charlie

Even with tips like these, picking a best answer can be tough—and for many Answers community members, it becomes so tough, questions go unresolved and end up in tie-breaker status.

All in all, remember: If you asked a question, choose a Best Answer! Otherwise your question may end up in Answers limbo, and you may never give someone the joy of earning a Best Answer!

This year, Yahoo! Answers has seen its fair share of questions and answers—you’ve covered everything under the sun—from questions about current events to Michael Jackson’s death to everyday questions about culture to tackling tough questions about the economy and unemployment.

We’ve gone through some of the best (and quirkiest) content on Answers to create this year’s highlight book. (Review last year’s here) This year’s e-book contains 12 questions from Answers users, just like you, that showcase some of the unique questions and answers you’ll find on Yahoo! Answers as well as a few outstanding community members you might come across while perusing the site.

So view the book [download id="1"] and explore some of the content found on Answers (this will prompt you to download a small PDF file).

Feeling inspired after checking out this year’s e-book and want to share your favorite question with the team? Post your comment below.

[download id="1"]

By Jeffrey Oon
Yahoo! South-East Asia

As TV premieres go, The Biggest Loser Asia pretty much has everything.

Tears, laughter, drama and comedy, weaved in between inspiring and heart-warming tales of hope and heart-break, make for a compelling season-opener.

Tonight’s big kick-off of Asia’s inaugural version of hit weight-loss reality TV show, The Biggest Loser, revolves around the auditions held in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.

Over 2,000 super-sized hopefuls from all over the region suffer the sweaty ignominy of punishing push-ups and jiggly jumping jacks in the full glare of the TV spotlight.

Their reasons for joining run the gamut from pure hard cash (winner gets US$100,000), fame, love, health, family and repairing major image and self-confidence problems

New Zealand trainer Dave Nuku, who coaches the Blue Team, warns the combustible mix of the intense nature of the show and the fact that the severely obese contestants are away from home, lonely (and often hungry) and living out their vulnerabilities in the full glare of the TV spotlight means only one thing — plenty of drama.

“We’ve had multiple hospital visits, people suffering from hypoglycemic shock and kidney problems, busted knees and ankles, emotional breakdowns, mental collapse, fights between teams. Everyday I come onto the set expecting the unexpected,” says Dave.

“It takes a lot of courage from them to do this and I commend them.”

Watch out also for the fireworks between the Blue and Red Teams.

Australian Kristy Curtis who guides the Red Team, says, “Dave and me are very different. Dave is very reserved, quiet, and laid-back. I’m the opposite and my training is very different from his. We call the Blue Team ‘tree huggers’ because they’re all about hugging, cuddly encouragement and waving their arms while singing ‘Kumbaya’. The Red Team is a little bit more bitchy and our training much more intense, direct and in- your-face.”

Meeee-ooooowww.

And what about the chances of a Singaporean winning the first season of the Biggest Loser Asia?

While the exact lineup of 16 contestants will only be revealed in the second episode, Dave lets on that “two Singaporeans are among the strongest contestants in the show. One set a record for total amount of weight loss in a single week in TBL worldwide.”

Stay tuned.

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.

The Biggest Loser Asia premieres on 24 November on Hallmark Channel.
Catch one-hour weekly episodes on Tuesday at 9pm (SG, MY, PH, HK), 8pm (TH, WIB)

You don’t need to wait for The Biggest Loser Asia to show you how to start living more healthily.

Here are some personal top tips from TBLA trainers Dave Nuku and Kristy Curtis.

DAVE’S TOP TIPS
1. Train hard, don’t leave anything in the gym always aim for one more (rep, set, weight, mile, meter etc) than the day before
2. Eat right – several meals a day that are; portion-controlled and full of good carbohydrates, lean protein, loads of veggies and fruit plus liters of water each day
3. Rest well – get 8 hours a night of uninterrupted sleep
4. Get emotionally connected – Being emotionally connected will ensure that the quality of energy you have is positive
5. Love the ones you are with by spending time with them and appreciating the impact they have on your life
6. Sharpen your mind to become mentally focused so that your energy is directed towards your goals
7. Set goals in each area of your life, financial, social, physical, career, spiritually, relationships
8. Make sure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Action-planned, Realistic and Time-bound
9. Remain spiritually aligned – the force of energy that comes with living your life in line with your deepest values is incredibly powerful
10. Commit to a charitable cause if this makes you feel good
11. Live according to your faith
12. Pray and or meditate as often as possible

KRISTY’S TOP TIPS
1. Think positive
2. Learn to take quiet time each day (yoga, tai-chi and breathing exercises help)
3. Get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night
4. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
5. Exercise for at least an hour 6 days a week
6. Watch what you eat (Use the 80/20 rule – 80% of the time, be strict with what you eat and when it comes to the weekend, you can indulge in “sin” foods)
7. If you smoke, kick the habit
8. Live a balanced lifestyle revolving around work, family and personal time

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.

Malaysia-based New Zealand fitness trainer Dave Nuku and his Australian-Chinese counterpart Kristy Curtis will lead the Blue and Red teams respectively.

By Jeffrey Oon
Yahoo! South-East Asia

Life’s guilty pleasures are about to end.

Munching those crisps in between meals? Check.
Skipping exercise by lazing around the house? Check.
Staying up past bedtime to catch your favourite TV series? Check.

Yup, be prepared to kiss those artery-clogging days goodbye.

That’s because Hallmark Channel’s Asian spin-off of the popular weight-loss reality TV competition, The Biggest Loser, is about to hit your TV screens in a big way.

The show, in which 30 Asian contestants battle it out to see who can lose the most weight to land the top prize of US$100,000, promotes not just sweat and exercise, but also the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Yes, that means you out there too.

Watching the show might help you kick those nasty habits above and the bonus is, if the Asian spin-off is anything like its US version, get set for plenty of tears, drama, heart-break and betrayal.

Tasked with the mighty job of whipping the weighty contestants into shape are Malaysia-based Kiwi personal trainer, Dave Nuku, and his Australian counterpart, Kristy Curtis, who themselves were hand-picked for the show.

Don’t be fooled by their sunny, smiling disposition.

When they get down to business, the duo will push aching sinews and tired muscles to breaking point and test the limits of physical and emotional endurance from each of their plus-sized team members.

As “Blue Team” leader, Dave, 30, says, “I’m going to ask that they train hard and never leave anything behind in the gym. That means always aiming for one more rep or set or metre than the day before.”

Dave, who counts having trained the Lord of the Rings movie crew among his career highlights (“Liv Tyler is even more beautiful in person, Orlando Bloom is the coolest laid-back kind of guy and Viggo [Mortensen] is a real down-to-earth, gentleman”), will also engage his team to adopt his philosophy of living right.

“Energy is everything and everything is energy. It’s not just about being fit and strong-looking. You need to transform your life physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to reach your full potential,” he says.

“Red Team” leader, Kristy, plans to use a different tack.

The 31-year-old Australian-Chinese, who herself battled an eating disorder when she was young, will use her personal experience to connect with her super-sized team.

“You need to find out what motivates them and the emotional issues they may have. I understand what it feels like to have a poor body image and poor self-esteem, and overall, a poor relationship with yourself,” she says.

“These contestants all have struggles and stories to tell and their bodies are testaments to the struggles that they have in their life. I think people will really relate to the stories they tell,” she adds.

Sounds like TV reality heaven to me.

Let the battle begin.

The Biggest Loser Asia premieres on 24 November on Hallmark Channel.
Catch one-hour weekly episodes on Tuesday at 9pm (SG, MY, PH, HK), 8pm (TH, WIB)

*Start sharing your views on the show and health, exercise and living right in the Answers categories of Health, Reality Television today.

Boo! Don’t be scared! Answers will be down this Saturday, October 31th starting at 12 Noon for scheduled maintenance.

During this time, you’ll be unable to access the Answers site, but will be able to:
- Catch up on old posts on the Answers blog (http://yanswersblogmy.com)
- Stop by the Answers Suggestion Board
- or, if you dare, can take part in a Halloween themed Answers competition (details below)

Additionally, please be aware that the Yamster will be setting back his clocks at 6pm on November 1st, 2009. During this time no new questions will show on the Answers pages but things will be back to normal one hour.

Answers Halloween Costume Contest

If you’re feeling festive, download the Yamster avatar and dress him up for Halloween! Feel free to add hats, clothing, or whatever you’d like—just be sure to keep it friendly, clean, and compliant with the Answers Community Guidelines.

Sites like Picnik (which is built directly into Yahoo’s own Flickr) offer a full arsenal of Halloween accoutrements like masks, spiders, and spooky scenes that would make any Yamster squeel. Be sure to check them out here: http://www.picnik.com/app#/create/seasonal

Or, you can use something like Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, SumoPaint, or any other paint program on the market to edit or enhance an image.

Not a fan of the Yamster? That’s ok too! You’re welcome to dress up your own personal Avatar in their finest Halloween looks for the competition.

Once you’re through dressing up your Yamster or Avatar, save the image (right click and “save as”) and upload it to your Flickr account. Then, add the image to the Answers Halloween pool—found here: http://flickr.com/groups/answershalloween

Submissions must be received by 9am on Monday, November 2nd. Winner(s) will be posted on the Yahoo! Answers Blog and will receive 100 bonus points on Yahoo! Answers.

The Rules

- Avatars and/or Yamsters must be submitted to Flickr by 9am on Monday, November 2nd
- All images must be in compliance with Yahoo’s TOS, Yahoo! Answers Community Guidelines, Flickr’s Community Guidelines, and, must not contain mature or adult content
- Submitted images may only be that of Avatar or of the Yamster—no actual photographs will be accepted or considered
- No real value is given to this prize: winner(s) will receive 100 bonus points on Yahoo! Answers

As we strive for high quality content on Answers, we also encourage freedom of expression and discussions on any topic. However, you can sometimes stumble upon questions or answers that seem to blur the line between strong opinions and a violation of the community guidelines, plagiarism or copyright infringement.

Strong opinion vs. violation

Everyone has opinions, and these are what makes Answers vibrant and fun. Respectfully expressed opinions that contribute to useful knowledge for the community are accepted on Yahoo! Answers. However, anyone who promotes hate speech, uses slurs to refer to groups of people, insults other members, and act in a belligerent manner towards others should be reported.

What is considered offensive?

It is not ok to report someone because you disagree with that person’s opinion. If you see something that is personally offensive to you but does not violate Community Guidelines, please do not report it. Their opinions may contradict your own, but please consider whether or not they are actually in violation. Do you think it contains slurs? Do they insult other participants? Do you think it is obscene or illegal? Remember that people are entitled to their own opinions, and it is up to everyone to express them in a respectful and constructive manner.

To be responsible, report only those opinions that violate the rules of our community. (Please find the Community Guidelines here) In fact, you will become less empowered to remove abuse from the site in the future if it is determined that the people you report are not in violation.

What is plagiarism?

Intellectual property infringement is a reportable offense on Yahoo! Answers, but the process is a little different from ordinary community guidelines violations. If you believe your intellectual property has been infringed upon and would like to file a complaint, please see our Copyright/IP policy

Have more questions? Let us know

Recently, many of you wrote to us about unresolved questions and questions that are in tie-breaker status on the site. The best way to make sure no question remains undecided, is to resolve it either by picking a best answer, or putting it up for voting. Here is an overview of how the voting process works.

Voting for Best Answer

When a question is posted, it initially remains open for four days, but can be extended for a total of eight days.

>> If two or more answers are collected, you can either pick the Best Answer yourself, or let the community vote to choose the Best Answer. If you take no action to resolve the question, the answers are automatically put to a vote by the community. The asker of the question does not have the option of selecting “No Best Answer”– only the community has this power.

>> If your question receives only one answer, you can extend the open period for four additional days to allow more time for answers to be posted, or you can pick No Best Answer. If your question expires with only one answer, it automatically goes to a vote, with No Best Answer as the second option that voters can pick. If the answer wins the vote, your question becomes resolved. However, if the No Best Answer option wins the vote, the question is automatically deleted and you get five points credited back to your Answers account.

>> If a question doesn’t receive any answers in the allotted time, it expires and is deleted.

A question becomes a Resolved Question when a Best Answer is chosen, and then it remains available on Yahoo! Answers for searching and browsing. The Best Answer remains open to receive comments and ratings from the community.

How do I put my question up for voting?

If you take no action and the question expires, it automatically goes to a vote. Or:

1. Wait at least four hours after posting the question.
2. Go to the question within the open period, before it expires.
3. Click Edit in the action bar below the question.
4. Select Ask for a Vote in the edit menu.

How do I find questions up for voting?

1. Go to the category of your choice.
2. Select the In Voting tab.
3. Sort the unresolved questions as you like.

What’s a tiebreaker?
If the vote ends as a tie, your question remains in voting as a tiebreaker. Once a vote has been cast, the question is checked shortly afterwards to determine if there is a best answer. There are tons of questions out there waiting to be voted on because they’re in tiebreaker status. Vote so you can get these questions resolved.

As you can see, voting makes a huge difference. If you choose an area you are expert in, you can easily vote for the best answer. If you choose a category you don’t know much about, you end up learning a lot by reading the answers. You can pick the best answer, based on detail, helpful tone and general quality, without having to be an expert.

Have more questions? Let us know.