Confused and want to go back to the beginning of this series? Just click HERE to go to Part One.
Welcome back, amigos. We last left off examining the different types of Filipinas that are available in the Philippines – from the clueless bimbo to the older conservative maiden.
Now, we are going to delve into the realm of online dating. And since some people are challenged when it comes to computer literacy, we are going to start off with the basics. If you already are comfortable with tech, feel free to skip these sections. This guide is basically like eating chicken – chow down the bits you want and toss the bones to the side.
Online Dating
So somewhere along the line you have decided that you want to find an appropriately eligible Filipina woman to be your girlfriend or even a future wife. Short of actually travelling 10,000 miles across the planet, how does one go about finding an eligible mate? In the sections that follow we will explain how to use the wonders of the modern internet to achieve this goal.
Back in the ‘old days’ (1970’s to mid-1990’s), trying to find an exotic foreign gal was a daunting task. Typically, one would have to sign up for some expensive mail order bride service (found in the sketchy classified sections of some periodicals) just to get a list of names, pictures and contact addresses. Contact info in hand, you then had to write her letters and send photos by regular postal service with a turnaround time of weeks. Perhaps you could afford one or two very expensive phone calls, but that was it. Even then, the chance of being fooled or mislead (by a false picture, or other false information) was very high.
Well lucky for you times have changed. In the modern era of the internet you can send instant email, chat online, share digital photos back and forth, see each other with live video and talk cheaply using internet phone services such as Skype, WeChat and Google Voice. And although scammers still abound, these days you have a much better chance of getting to know someone and less chance of getting fooled.
Line Up the Ducks
When you finally do visit the Philippines, make the most out of your valuable time. Having a selection of women picked out ahead of time is a great way to make the most of things. Some people will only visit for a few weeks, and finding a quality gal can be a bit problematic with that time frame. If you are planning on a longer vacation, or you plan on actually living in the Philippines, creating a viable pool is not mandatory but is still recommended. The process of getting to know someone on the internet can be enjoyable in its own right, and it’s nice to look forward to meeting a woman you have picked out ahead of time.
Get with the Program!
What if you are not computer literate? Well, that’s something you will have to rectify! It’s the 21st Century, so take the time to learn how to use a computer. The old methods don’t work anymore. If you want to meet women before visiting the Philippines, the internet is pretty much your only option.
Ok, are you ready to meet Filipina women on line? Well be patient! Before I get into detailed specifics I want to go over a number of general points. I will get to specifics later
Honesty, Safety and Scams
“Mr. Knox now, come now, come now, you don’t have to be so dumb now!”
– From “Fox in Socks” by Dr. Seuss
Before moving on, ask yourself a few questions:
Am I new to the internet?
Am I by nature a trusting person?
Am I by nature a gullible person?
If you took a deep look into yourself and answered yes to all three questions, you could be in deep trouble! You are prime meat and just what the scammers are looking for!
Before diving in to online dating, you had better have some idea of internet safety and scams or you WILL get burned. If you are not careful, you might trust the first pretty face you see and see yourself up to be scammed.
Hopefully this will not happen to you, because in this section I’m going to educate you. If you are an experienced internet user and chatter you can skip this section – you already know this stuff. If not, do yourself a favor and read this section carefully!
There are three basic ways you can get hurt, as follows:
You could be targeted for a virus or ransomware attack.
You could get scammed by a savvy operator.
You could get emotionally involved with a hustler.
None of these possibilities are enjoyable so let’s take a look at each and how to avoid the potential pitfalls.
Viruses and Ransomware
I realize learning about viruses and malware don’t have anything directly to do with finding love on the internet. However, when looking for love on digital highway, the possibility of being targeted by an attack is very real, so it is important that you educate yourself.
Viruses and malware are computer programs written by hackers with bad intent. Unlike the biological version, a viruses and malware are not a randomly occurring things. Behind every virus there is a person (or team) with a good amount of programming skill who invested a lot of time, thought and energy into developing and deploying the virus.
In short, viruses and malware are clever pieces of software (computer programs) designed to install themselves on your computer. Once there, they are designed to perform specific tasks (gather information such as banking information and passwords) and also replicate themselves to other computers.
So, who writes these viruses, and what do they do once they access your computer?
If we examine the latter question first then the former will become more obvious.
Some viruses are rather benign. They might do something like display a certain message or picture, but in general, they don’t cause any real damage. These are usually written by hackers simply as a source of accomplishment or brand establishment.
Other viruses are much more malign. The purpose of these little problematic programs is to penetrate your system and steal information. This data can then be used for marketing purposes or worse. At its worst, they can steal personal or financial information used to scam you, steal your identity or access your bank account.
Some of the more malignant viruses are deployed to disrupt data and software so that your computer becomes unusable. A virus cannot usually destroy hardware, but it can make your software and data so unusable that you must reinstall your operating system from scratch.
A Very Particular Set of Skills
So who writes these viruses?
Well, most of the times no one knows. If they did, they would be arrested, put in jail and there would be no more viruses. The world of hackers is a shadowy one, and malicious programmers use a variety of tools (Tor VPN, “dark web”) to maintain their anonymity. Even so, we can make some pretty good guesses about the type of people putting them together.
Viruses that do nothing really bad and seemingly have no purpose are most likely written by students and hackers who just want the challenge of seeing if they can write a successful virus. Basically it’s an endeavor undertaken for fun.
The viruses that steal information, on the other hand, are written by people looking for financial gain.
As for the viruses that corrupt your system files, who knows. Maybe they are written by someone with an axe to grind or by terrorist groups simply looking to cause havoc.
Staying Safe
Knowing what a virus is fine, but what you really need to know is how not to catch one. The first step is having a reasonably modern and up to date operating system. The newer operating systems have more safety checks in place to prevent you from catching a virus. For PC users this means having at least Windows 8. For Apple users, you want at least Sierra 10.12. Whatever operating system you get, make sure that all the security updates and patches are downloaded and installed. .
Once you have your system updated, be sure the firewall is activated. You should also get yourself a capable antivirus program. For Windows users, the free Microsoft security programs are quite capable. No matter what OS you are using, set your computer to automatically update so the latest security patches are automatically downloaded and installed.
Even if you follow all the procedures listed above it is still possible to catch a virus if you aren’t careful. Here are some additional precautions:
Hyperlinks
Never click on an imbedded hyperlink from an unknown source, especially while having a chat conversation or receiving mail from an unknown or untrusted source. Viruses often steal mailing lists so that it appears you are getting mail from a trusted friend. In reality it is not your friend sending you something, it is actually the virus. Always be careful when clicking on hyperlinks. If there is any doubt in your mind, don’t click on it.
For example, while chatting over messenger programs, it is common to get a message like:
Me and my friends are getting naked! Want to watch? Click on this link to see!
If you are unfortunate enough to click on such a link, you are most likely to catch a virus.
Downloading
Be very careful when you download files being sent to you. For example, if someone sends a picture, make sure the extension is either JPG, BMP or GIF. If you see a file with an unknown extension, never download it. In particular files with .EXE extensions are extremely dangerous. Your OS will typically know this, so if you try to click on an .exe file, your computer will warn you with something like get a warning from the operating system, a dialog box something like:
“You are about to initiate an EXE program, do you trust the source?”
Better to err on the side of caution. Unless you really trust the source and unless you really need what they are trying to send to you, better to reject the attempted file.
Even with all this it is always possible to catch a virus, so keep your virus protection software up to date and run the scan at least once every few days. And finally, Good luck!
OK, so that’s about it on the internet and general safety. In the next installment, we will get further into the weeds on finding love (or lust) online. When you are ready for that, simply click HERE to be taken to Part Eight.
Until then, stay thirsty my friends!
Corey X
