ISL Week 10

Write an informal letter.

10, Jalan Sendari,
Taman Sendari Baru,
5600 Cheras,
Selangor,
17
th
September 2011,
Dear Raihan,
It was a lovely surprise to hear from you after such a long time. I know I lost a good
friend when you moved to another town but I understand you had no choice as your
father had to take up the new posting.
In your letter you asked me for some advice on what you should do to become a
successful student. If you want to be successful, you must set goals. People who set
goals accomplish more than those who do not. Write these goals on a piece of paper
and put it up on the wall near your study table. This way, you will be reminded of your
goals every day.Moreover, you must be motivated. When you are motivated you will
have a strong desire to do well and to achieve your goals. I have put up some inspiring
motivational posters on the walls in my room. In addition,you must pay attention in
class. Listen actively and focus on what the teacher is teaching. If you have disruptive
classmates, sit in front of the classroom, away from them. Always ask questions if you
do not understand. Seek clarifications from your teachers or your friends if you are shy
to approach the former.
Another important tip to being a successful student is to be organised. You can use
a planner or notebook to write down all your assignments when they are given. This
way you will not forget your homework, dates of tests or projects. Remember, if you are
organised, you will be well- prepared and you will have less stress. You must also
complete your homework on time. Homework helps reinforce what you have learnt. It
helps you understand and remember the information your teachers have conveyed in
their lessons.
To be a successful student you must prepare well for exams. A successful student
is one who prepares for exams well in advance, and not at the eleventh hour. You must
have diverse interests if you want to be an outstanding student. You should take part in
co-curricular activities in order to become a well-rounded person. These activities help
develop leadership skills and teamwork besides instilling values like cooperation and
tolerance. Discipline is an important aspect of our lives. No matter where you go or what
you do, you will be subjected to rules and regulations. Hence, it is crucial that you obey
the school rules. Besides, you must respect everyone. You must respect your parents,
your teachers, the school staff and also your friends. You must respect other peoples
feelings and opinions.
There are also several things you must avoid if you want to be a successful
student. You must avoid wasting time. These days many teenagers spend hours
chatting online on social networks such as Facebook or playing computer games.
These are a waste of time and will not benefit you in any way. Remember, Time and
tide wait for no man. Also, avoid skipping school. Some students feel that school is a
waste of time as they can learn better from their tuition teachers. This is not true. Your
teachers are experienced and well qualified. They are also experienced examiners and
they know how to impart knowledge effectively
I have to stop here. I hope the above tips will come in handy. Till I hear from you,
take care.

Your friend,
JACOB





ISL WEEK 12
Paraphrase the highlighted sections of the given text.
Distingusih facts from opinions in the exercise given.
Cybercrime
Cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide with more than a million people
becoming victims every single day, according to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011.
The victims of cybercrime also paid dearly with a total loss of US$388bil (RM1.21bil) to -
cybercriminals in 2010.
Effendy Ibrahim, director of consumer business at Symantec Asia Pacific, said that
cybercrimes don't only cost victims financially but emotionally too.
"On average, it takes 10 days for a victim to recover from a cybercrime and it can be
emotional too considering the amount of data they lose," he said at the launch of Norton
2012, Symantec's latest cybersecurity solution.
However, victims could have saved themselves money and regret as the type of
cybercrimes they fell victim to were preventable.
The report found that the most common type of cybercrimes are malware, scams and
threats targeted at mobile devices. However many people tend to underestimate the
dangers of online crime thinking that it will happen to everyone else but themselves.
The survey found that seven out of 10 adults thought they would more likely be a victim
of physical crime rather than an online crime.
"This is a lingering attitude users have when they are offline and it gets replicated when
they are online," Effendy said.
The report also found that men, particularly those in the generation Y demographic, are
most likely to become victims of cybercrimes.
"Men spend more time online and do more 'dangerous' activities," Effendy said. The
report stated that more men watch adult content, gamble and participate in online dating
sites compared to women.

Local threat landscape
Although Malaysia wasn't in the list of countries studied in the report, national
cyberspace police Cybersecurity Malaysia said the findings are representative of the
Malaysian threat landscape.
"It is the same environment, so whatever that is happening in the world will definitely
affect us the same way," said Cybersecurity Malaysia chief executive officer, Lt Col
(Rtd) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri.
He said the Malaysian cyberthreat landscape is no less alarming with over 10,000
cases reported every month up till August this year.
Last year, Cybersecurity Malaysia received over 8,000 reports about cybercrime via its
cyber999 hotline.
Its Cyber Early Warning System has also detected over 5,000,000 security threats up
until August.
Given the increasing amount of cyberthreats, Husin said there is a need for more
proactive measures to prevent more Internet users from becoming cybercrime victims
and it will take more than reviewing or improving current cybersecurity laws.
"Amending laws take time and it is slower than the prevailing problem. We need to
intensify education and awareness efforts to educate users on Internet risks," he said.
Husin said Cybersecurity Malaysia is open to the idea of working with security solution
providers like Symantec to come up with cybersecurity awareness programmes.
Cybersecurity Malaysia already has a list of home-made security tools such as
DontPhishMe, DNSwatch and MyPHPiPs that protects users from cybercriminals which
can be downloaded for free.
It is also working on establishing a Cyber Clinic which will offer an extensive list of
cybersecurity services to computer users. The clinic is expected to be ready before the
end of the year