Yashvin, pages of my life » mauritius

Postal / ZIP code of Mauritius

Yashvin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:37:46 +0000

Strangely, I have been receiving quite a few mails/comments concerning this topic lately.

To tell you the truth, the postal / zip code thing still remains a mystery for me but you can easily fool the system by fooling around a bit while entering your address in eBay, Amazon, Paypal or any other web sites.

To prove you what I just said, here are screenshots of my account/shipping details from my different accounts :

Ebay :

PayPal :

Amazon :

And what about 742CU001

Many people (including some sites) advise people to use 742CU001. While you might sometimes be lucky on some web sites, it might not work on others. As far as I remember, I had to fool around the ebay/paypal registration process to be able to create my account. This 742 thing did not work there.

As you noticed in my screenshots above, I have used the following different zip codes :

230 with state set to
zip code and state
00000 with State set to “default”
00230 as zip code and NA as state.

You might say that I am wrong but unfortunately things do not always work the same way in all web sites. Many have implemented different types of validation for the shipping address.

FYI, Mauritius has no states. This field is rather used in the United States. And technically, Mauritius has no zip codes too. The ones used are just to fool the system. and 230 is rather our international telephone prefix number. Hope that this post will help you while shopping online! Don’t forget to read The Ultimate Guide about eBay/Amazon purchases from Mauritius.

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate. Post them here

Rêves, fortunes et trafics au soleil

Yashvin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:21:48 +0000

Ce n’est pas le titre d’une nouvelle série télévisée mais plutôt le titre du reportage que la chaine M6 a réalisé sur notre ile.

N’ayant pas pu le voir personnellement (pas encore du moins), je compte sur ceux qui ont pu le visionner pour partager leurs points de vue sur cette reportage. Les opinions divergent. Alors que certains affirment que les journalistes étaient impartiales, d’autres affirment le contraire. La question que beaucoup se pose : Est-ce-que cette nouvelle vidéo va avoir un effet néfaste pour le tourisme sur l’ile?

Dernier point avant de vous laisser la parole : Un des personnages (Pablo Escobar) a été tabassé dans la soirée de lundi après la diffusion sur M6. Ce dernier est actuellement aux soins intensifs.

La vidéo est dispo sur Youtube. A vous!

Why were some sites ‘black’ on the 18th January 2012?

Yashvin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:53:43 +0000

If you landed on Wikipedia on the 18th January 2012, you most probably though that something was wrong. Wikipedia was all black with only 1 paragraph of text on it. Perhaps you did not even bother to read about it, you just said “Damn it, it is not working today!”.

The objective of this post is to briefly explain the blackout of the web on the 18th January 2012 and also, why everyone kept talking about SOPA and PIPA. If you feel that you already know what we are talking about, you should try to read some other articles as what will follow here will be pretty straight forward, just for the sake of explaining what is happening on the web.

What happened exactly?

There was a huge protest going on during the last days. Everything was happening online, right on the web. Different web sites, organisations as well as individuals (like you and me) were publicly showing that they were against SOPA. Web sites talked heavily about this SOPA/PIPA for days and on the 18th January, many among them have put a halt to their activities by just displaying a Black page with some text, explaining their position on this matter.

What is SOPA/PIPA?

SOPA : Stop Online Piracy Act

PIPA : Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act)

Both of them are aimed at stopping online piracy of copyrighted items, though they are a bit different but we will not go into deeper details. However, the way that SOPA/PIPA handle copyright issues is highly unacceptable and controversial.

If SOPA becomes a reality, it will give the power to the US government to block the access to whole web sites that are accused to violate this bill with just a court order. SOPA will also allow internet service providers to monitor your traffic usage and block any web sites suspected of copyright infringement.

For example, if YOU, as a user, upload a video featuring a copyrighted music to youtube, the US government can ban the entire YouTube and no Americans will be able to view any youtube page. Copyright owners can then sue Youtube for hosting such copyrighted materials.

In short, the accused web site will just be killed.

Who are supporting SOPA?

Basically all web sites/organisations who create, produce and commercialise copyrighted materials, in the form of movie, music, photography, designs etc.

Right at the start, godaddy.com showed its interest in the SOPA. A huge boycott campaign was immediately launched and web site owners started to move their web sites and domains from godaddy to some other domain/hosting company which are against SOPA. After a few days, godaddy.com reviewed its position and changed sides. It is now against SOPA.

How does it affect web site owners and you?

Censorship. The internet will become a place where everything will be censored. There won’t be any freedom of speech. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, or any sites that allow user generated content CANNOT exist under these laws.

Megaupload. You have surely heard what happened. No?

Well, on the January 2012, the US government together with New Zealand’s authorities have arrested the people behind this huge file sharing web sites after copyright infringement complaints on behalf of copyright holders. The web site was immediately closed down and if you visit it right now, that’s what you will find :

This is not a joke. This is the kind of things that will happen to every web site and the owners if the actual SOPA/PIPA comes a reality.

And for people outside US?

While the SOPA/PIPA is only applicable to the US, the whole world will be directly affected since a big majority of web sites are hosted and these organisations are based in within the United States. You should not forget that mostly everything happens there, and if anything bad happens there, you are the ones to be affected, in all cases.

That means no web sites offering music/video among others will exist and managed from there.

What’s next?

After the historical protest of the 18th January, S. Smith, the US Representative who proposed SOPA/PIPA, decided to postpone the voting of the bill until there is a wider agreement on a solution to handle copyright issues. Lawmakers are now trying to find better alternatives to fight online piracy.

Despite I really wanted to make this blog go “black” on the 18th January too, I did not do so at the expense of the high traffic on the blog on that special day, especially on the BMW on the Mont Choisy beach post.

Hope that you have a better overview of what took place during the last days and why you could not access some of the web sites you regularly visit. If ever some of the material I have written above is misleading or wrong, please correct me by writing a comment below. Again, I have simplified things a lot just for the sake of simplicity.

Leave you here,

Take care!

Police vehicle in parking reserved for Disabled

Yashvin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:49:20 +0000

Nice capture by Reuben.

They were perhaps attending some urgent request and blabla. No comments.

If you have similar pictures, don’t hesitate to mail them to me (yashvin[at]awootar[dot]com).

Bagatelle, this is not called a flashmob!

Yashvin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 06:53:28 +0000

The recent flashmob held by the Bagatelle on the 17th December 2011 was one of the largest flops in the history of flash mob. Why, because the organizers failed to understand the pure definition of words “flash mob” itself.

Wikipedia ;

A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression

Instead of giving the “surprise” effect, the organisers had advertised this flashmob on the media since several days already. And the end result was not extraordinary either.

That’s where we see how management prioritizes their work.

Instead of putting more emphasis on security in their parking area (read my post), they are making fun of themselves by trying to bring something new in the Mauritian life : Long-planned and announced flashmobs.

And you guess what? In their video, they even gave a rendez vous for the next flashmob which was held on the 23rd December 2011.

#FAIL

Merry xmas to all of you

SBM Smile Prepaid cards for your online purchases

Yashvin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:20:20 +0000

Since a few weeks, SBM has introduced a new card in its game. The SBM Smile Prepaid Card.

As you perhaps guessed, the card works a bit like your prepaid sim card. You can for buy pre-loaded cards (Up to Rs20,000) and non-loaded cards (Rs30-150,000) and use it anywhere, just like a debit card and also, use it for online purchases.

The similarities/differences as compared to a debit card or a credit card :

Limit of Rs10,000 per day for the MUR card and up to Rs20,000 for the foreign card.
Similarly as the debit card, the money is yours. So no interests charged like the credit card.
You have a PIN code to protect unauthorized access to the money onto your card.
The card is valid only 6months
Any money unused after the 6months can be transferred back to your main account.
The prepaid card is VISA branded.
Whenever needed, recharge your prepaid card by transferring money to it (through banks)
Card activated on the same day of application made.
For those travelling, there exists 6 different currencies for the foreign card and unlike the MUR card, this one can be recharged through internet banking.

What can make me get hold of a smile prepaid card?

Below are some desirable features to make the prepaid MUR card more widely accepted :

Very important : Allow recharging through Internet Banking or ATMs to remove the hassle of going to a bank for recharging the card.
For example, it does not really make sense for a parent to lose precious time going to the bank monthly when he needs to top up his kid’s pocket money onto the card.
Remove (or Increase) the Rs10,000 daily limit (The card holder needs to understand the risks)
6months validity is a too short period. Increase it.

Without the above mentioned, the card is not too different from the debit card I use daily, while doing my purchases in the supermarket or to withdraw money from an ATM. The limit is still Rs10,000, there is still an application fee each time I need a new card and if am not mistaken, there is no interest accumulated for the money on the prepaid card, unlike for the money which is accessible through my debit card.

More or less similar to the debit card, except that it normally allows internet purchases. No more credit card needed. I am much tempted to get one of the cards to verify if it really works for online purchases through Paypal/eBay.

Anyone wants to try it and let us know? Please share your suggestions/critiques about this new card.

Price of ADSL goes down but not that of myT

Yashvin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:45:34 +0000

MyT users should stop reading right now because they will be somewhat angry, especially when they will read what Mauritius Telecom said regarding the myT service.

As you read in the title, the price is going down as follows, as from 1st Dec 2011 :

ADSL Home

256 Kb/s : From Rs399 to Rs 349.
512 Kb/s : From Rs759 to Rs 699
1 Mb/s : From 899 to Rs 799

Small and Medium Enterprises will get a decrease of %50 while Call Centers(BPO) from -10 to -40% and ADSL Business gets a discount of -50%.

btw, @Defimedia : you got your figures wrong! Double check next time!

Coming back to myT subscribers, I quote from l’express.mu :

S’agissant de My.T, ce service de Mauritius Telecom permettant à la fois de téléphoner, de visionner les films et de surfer sur Internet, il n’y aura aucune réduction des tarifs.

Price update for myT (Announced on 28 Nov 2011) :

1M – from Rs999 to Rs 949
2M – from Rs1699 to Rs 1499
4M – from Rs 2999 to Rs 2499

In my opinion, if you don’t mass download like most of your friends, or you don’t use your myT to watch TNT or do international calls, the best thing to do is to buy a wifi router, connect it to a 256K ADSL line, that’s it. You can enjoy wifi as well as a much lower price.

However, be careful, you might need a permit from ICTA in case you are shopping online!

btw, always keep in mind : price might decrease but the speed will still s*ck, as well as some of their technicians and their customer care hotline!

With these words, I wish you a happy weekend ahead!

Have a nice time!

Garde carem zis pou casse li apres

Yashvin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 05:08:09 +0000

Hello dear readers.

Wonderful Friday, isnt it?

The end of fasting periods is very often a much awaited period for SOME people. Do you know how many people eagerly wait for the end of the fasts? Many among them actually celebrate the ending of this fasting period “en grande pompe”, as we say in french.

Family gatherings, picnics and sometimes parties are scheduled after this period. Some among you might deny it, but it is the truth for SOME percentage of the population. btw, did you notice how much emphasis I have put on the word “some” above?

As for me, it might perhaps be the “Friday-fish” day or just a beer somewhere.

Anyway, hope that all of you have a good time. Take care!

More revelations by wikileaks : Drugs, ICAC, Corruption and Customs

Yashvin — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 05:19:44 +0000

Few months ago, Mauritius was shaken by the inside informations transmitted regarding the Diego Garcia island. These highly confidential information published by Wikileaks have not only change the way governments look upon the world super powers but they have also disclosed thousands of classified data exchanged between embassies around the world.

Extracts below have been copied from http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=08PORTLOUIS205&q=icac :

SUMMARY:
Recent allegations and press reports on corruption scandals in Mauritius highlight an often overlooked issue by those new to or unfamiliar with the island. Upon first impression, Mauritius may look relatively clean, but with some digging – one may find questionable dealings under the surface. Despite the founding of Mauritius’ Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2002, the country still suffers from a pervasive and ingrained problem.

To summarise a few points recently released :

Bert C. Cunningham is frustrated in his efforts to bring to justice corrupt officials in his own department; he suspects deeply-rooted corruption in high levels of the government; and last but not least – he received death threats against him. Consequently, Cunningham sent his family back to Canada in an effort to protect them
Cunningham stated that, during a meeting on April 11, 2008, with government officials, including the Financial Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ali Mansoor, and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Khemraj Servansing, he was told in no uncertain terms that he should remain quiet about the alleged corruption because if it were to become public, it could bring down the current government of Mauritius. Cunningham noted that he felt warned or even threatened during the meeting
During a highly suspicious cargo inspection operation, Cunningham believes the immigration police attempted to prevent the customs officers from inspecting the cargo because the police planned to “deport” the women and keep the drugs as part of an organized smuggling operation.
In a drug case in Rodrigues, Cunningham said that the police beat the male smuggler to death that evening while in custody. (Comment: To date, there has been no press report of this incident. End Comment.)
Cunningham indicated the female police officer (who made the male smuggler go through airport customs without any checks) has not been charged with any crime and said he is being prevented from firing her. […[ Cunningham feels that the smuggler was murdered to keep the corruption ring under wraps, but also surmised that the cover up may have been done to prevent the disclosure of the death in police custody.
In a related cigarette smuggling case, a customs informant who was about to provide evidence was found dead – hanging in his hotel room. According to Cunningham, this was an “assisted suicide.”
After the death of the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) chief Prem Raddhoa, a very large sum of cash was reportedly found in Raddhoa’s police locker when it was cleaned out after his death. This led to a larger investigation into the activities of the MCIT and to reports that suggest that MCIT officers took “protection” money from “businessmen, bookmakers and others.”
A police officer at the Passport and Immigration Office airport division and previous graduate of a U.S. International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) course in detecting fraudulent documents held in Gaborone, was arrested for facilitating an alien smuggling ring.
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam silenced all calls for a special investigation into the MCIT “protection money” during a November 27, 2007, parliamentary session. Ramgoolam stated that the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), founded in 2002 as a result of the Prevention of Corruption Act, has wide ranging powers including access to bank accounts following a judge’s order. (Note: Post suspects that many in the government feel that the ICAC, despite it’s name, is not independent at all. Many government officials cite that ICAC officers are all appointed by and owe their careers and loyalty to the Prime Minister’s Office. End Note.)
Post believes that corruption is a problem in Mauritian society that is overlooked by a number of private businesses, NGO’s and Government agencies. Cunningham’s allegations, although startling, seem to be backed up by other entities, and may be only the tip of the iceberg.

To reassure myself, I tried a search on my name, no results… not yet

Please spread the news!

No, not about my name results but rather about the leaks!

Be careful about Paypal phishing scams

Yashvin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:40:26 +0000

You have always thought that Paypal is one of the safest methods for paying your online purchases, isn’t it?

Yes, you are indeed right but that does not mean that you should give away your credit card details everywhere on the web. Not even login using your Paypal credentials. Yes, you should be careful not to enter these details onto fraudulent web sites, more or less identical to the genuine one.

People are always looking for new ways to commit frauds, through various methods including the rather famous “You have win $10,000,000″ emails or through any other mails. While Nigerian scams are much known nowadays, other forms of phishing/scam exist where people create fake web sites/mail addresses to ask for your credit card details/login credentials.

A mail from “Paypal”

Today, I was quite surprised to receive a mail on behalf of Paypal, claiming that access to my account has been restricted. On top of that, it was written in French. This was pretty weird.

Scrolling downwards, I found a link and a mouse hover allowed me to display the masked link towards some fraudulent server, identical to Paypal.

The aim of this email is to get you

Log into the fake web site using your real username/password
Enter your credit card details into the fake web site

Because this email seemed so real and ‘official’, non-geeks users might easily get trapped. So, this sounded to be a good topic for the blog.

A few small tips

NEVER trust the “From” email addresses.
It is so easy to fake anything in there.
ALWAYS verify if any links are actually hosted on the actual site (paypal.com) and not some other site/ip address (screenshot above).
If you get weird mails asking for your passwords etc, do not hesitate to contact the company (banks for example) to inquire why and report the mail.
Whenever you are SUSPICIOUS about the identity of a web site/person, keep yourself away or ask for advice around you.
IMMEDIATELY suspend your credit card(s) in case you suspect having entered your details onto some fake site.

Finally, trustful companies will NEVER ask you to email your login passwords or require you to click on some weird and unknown link to enter their site.

Does yashvinblogs.com do that? No, because this is a trustful blog

Cheers!

Recommend this blog article to your friends by clicking below.

Yashvin, pages of my life » mauritius

Postal / ZIP code of Mauritius

Ebay :

PayPal :

Amazon :

And what about 742CU001

Related Posts:

Rêves, fortunes et trafics au soleil

Related Posts:

Why were some sites ‘black’ on the 18th January 2012?

What happened exactly?

What is SOPA/PIPA?

Who are supporting SOPA?

How does it affect web site owners and you?

And for people outside US?

What’s next?

Related Posts:

Police vehicle in parking reserved for Disabled

Related Posts:

Bagatelle, this is not called a flashmob!

Related Posts:

SBM Smile Prepaid cards for your online purchases

What can make me get hold of a smile prepaid card?

Related Posts:

Price of ADSL goes down but not that of myT

Price update for myT (Announced on 28 Nov 2011) :

Related Posts:

Garde carem zis pou casse li apres

Related Posts:

More revelations by wikileaks : Drugs, ICAC, Corruption and Customs

Related Posts:

Be careful about Paypal phishing scams

A mail from “Paypal”

A few small tips

Related Posts: