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TD Extra News


TELECOM Digest     Tue, 29 Mar 2005 19:53:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 136

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Stolen UC Berkeley Laptop Exposes Data of 100,000 (Marcus Didius Falco)
    MetLife Plans Free ID Theft Aid for Clients (Marcus Didius Falco)
    Internet Connectivity Assistance for Italy (MoGold)
    Fax Station ID (John Schmerold)
    Verizon, Voicewing and Portability (zftcg@yahoo.com)
    LNP Transfer From McLeod to Vonage (wondering)   
    Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S (T. Sean Weintz)
    Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S (Tony P.)
    Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S (Doug Krause)
    Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S (Fred Atkinson)
    Re: Lingo Referral (John Levine)
    Re: Time for the Recording Industry to Face the Music (Joseph)
    Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass (A User)
    Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass (Chris Farrar)
    Re: What Happened To Channel 1 (DevilsPGD)
    Re: New Long Range Cordless Phones (Marcus Didius Falco)
    Re: Job Opportunity (LB@notmine.com)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet.  All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and
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               ===========================

Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
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are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
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               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest.  


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:45:45 -0500
From: Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Stolen UC Berkeley Laptop Exposes Personal Data of 100,000


  --- Forwarded Message
  From: Ari Ollikainen < >
  Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 15:57:17 -0800
  To: David Farber < t>
  Subject: Stolen UC Berkeley laptop exposes personal data of nearly 100,000

  For IP ...

  WHEN will they ever learn? [WHEN THEY CAN BE HELD LIABLE DJF] WHY was
  personal information other than a name and a NON-SSN ID on a laptop?

Stolen UC Berkeley laptop exposes personal data of nearly 100,000

- By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer
  Monday, March 28, 2005

(03-28) 15:11 PST San Francisco (AP) --

A thief has stolen a computer laptop containing personal information
about nearly 100,000 University of California, Berkeley alumni,
graduate students and past applicants, continuing a recent outbreak of
security breakdowns that has illustrated society's growing
vulnerability to identity theft.

University officials announced the March 11 theft on Monday under a
state law requiring that consumers be notified whenever their Social
Security numbers or other sensitive information has been breached.

Notifying all of the 98,369 people affected by the UC Berkeley laptop
theft could prove difficult because some of the students received
their doctorate degrees nearly 30 years ago, university officials
said.

The stolen laptop contained the Social Security numbers of UC
Berkeley students who received their doctorates from 1976 through
1999, graduate students enrolled at the university between fall 1989
and fall 2003 and graduate school applicants between fall 2001 and
spring 2004. Some graduate students in other years also were affected.

The stolen computer files also included the birth dates and addresses
of about one-third of the affected people.

University police suspect the thief was more interested in swiping a
computer than people's identities, UC Berkeley spokeswoman Maria
Felde said. She said there been no evidence so far that the stolen
information has been used for identify theft. Scam artists often use
the data to borrow money by posing as someone else.

The UC Berkeley theft follows several other high profile instances in
which businesses and colleges have lost control of personal
information that they kept in computer databases.

Recent breaches have occurred at ChoicePoint Inc., a consumer data
firm duped into distributing personal information about 145,000
people; Lexis-Nexis, where computer hackers obtained access to the
personal information of 32,000 people; and Chico State University,
where a computer hacking job exposed 59,000 people to potential
identity theft.


URL:
    http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/03/28/financial/f151143S80.DTL


     Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people
     who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.
                                                  --Mark Twain

   --- End of Forwarded Message

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 01:17:36 -0500
From: Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: MetLife Plans Free ID Theft Aid for Clients


Quite likely most other insurance companies will match this within a
year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5805-2005Mar27.html

washingtonpost.com
MetLife Plans Free ID Theft Aid for Clients

By Eileen Alt Powell
Associated Press

NEW YORK, March 27 -- MetLife Inc., one of the nation's largest
insurers, is rolling out a new program this week to provide free help
in resolving cases of identity theft for all of its homeowner
insurance policyholders.

Noel Edsall, director of MetLife Auto & Home product development, said
the ID theft resolution service would be launched first in New York
and Florida, then expand nationwide.

While several insurance companies sell ID theft coverage, mainly to
reimburse consumers for their costs in dealing with misuse of credit
cards or other accounts, MetLife would be the first that works with
consumers to resolve their problems at no cost.

The program, which will be available to the nearly 1 million MetLife
homeowners and renters policyholders, comes at a time of heightened
concern over ID theft. In recent weeks, several data collection
companies have disclosed that thousands of their records were tapped
by thieves. ID theft tops the list of frauds reported to the Federal
Trade Commission, which coordinates federal fraud prevention efforts.

Edsall said that the program will help consumers with identity theft,
which can involve a fraudster taking over someone's identity and
opening new accounts or buying cars, as well as account takeovers,
which often involves the theft of a credit card.

Matt Cullina, manager of the MetLife team that developed the new
service, said that MetLife policyholders who are victimized by ID
thieves will be urged to call the MetLife call center listed on their
policies. From there they will be directed to specialists at Identity
Theft 911 LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz., which provides ID theft resolution
services.

Sheryl Cox Christenson, the company's chief executive, said Identity
Theft 911 "serves as an advocate," providing services that include
preparing affidavits, contacting police and notifying credit bureaus
on a consumer's behalf.

Several major banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Washington Mutual
Inc., offer free identity theft services for customers, but they
generally focus on the most onerous cases. There are also a number of
nonprofit groups that provide advice to ID theft victims, including
the Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego, which operates the
site www.idtheftcenter.org.

Copyright 2005 The Washington Post Company

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . Hundreds of new articles daily.

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------------------------------

From: MoGold <mogold@gmail.com>
Subject: Internet Connectivity Assistance for Italy
Date: 29 Mar 2005 13:51:52 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Hello All,

I am trying to assist my local Junior College's Semester Abroad
program.  They will be staying in a hotel in Orvieto, Italy.  The
proprietor is a 70+ year old man who knows very little about
computers, but I am told a "broadband" line was installed in the hotel
this year.

I also know that any technology installed came from Perugia, the
nearest large city.  Since the hotel is VERY old, running cables is
out of the question, so I plan on creating a wireless setup.

Any insight anyone can give me on Italian ISP's, protocols (PPP,
PPPoE,etc) network configutation, or anything else would be greatly
appreciated.


=============================================
Mona Goldstein, A+, MCSE NT4, MCSE W2K
Systems Design Engineer
Services Infrastructure & Deployment
Verizon Architecture and eServices
=============================================

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:03:25 -0600
From: John Schmerold <john@katy.com>
Subject: Fax Station ID


Anyone know if it's a law or regulation that requires faxes to include
station identification at top of every page sent ?

------------------------------

From: zftcg@yahoo.com
Subject: Verizon, Voicewing and Portability
Date: 29 Mar 2005 14:29:30 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Please tell me if this makes sense:

I live in Manhattan and currently have Verizon local and DSL. I would
like to switch my local service to VoiceWing 500 (same as regular
VoiceWing with 500 minutes of outgoing calls/month, for $19.95). I
just got off the phone with multiple Verizon customer service people;
they all told me varying things, but the basic upshot is that because
I'm a DSL customer, I can't get VoiceWing on the same line, since DSL
requires a regular land line. That seems to me to be completely
backwards -- after all, wouldn't the most obvious customers for
VoiceWing be current DSL customers? Yet they're telling me those are
the exact people who are ineligible for the service (unless I'm
willing to sign up for an entirely new phone line, which would be
completely pointless and cost me an additional $20/month). What's
more, while at least one person had told me this situation could
change in the near future, the last guy I spoke to said it was a
structural problem that could never be rectified.

Now, as I said, I got different answers from different people, and in
general, people seemed to be a little confused about how VoiceWing
works, most likely because it's still relatively new. Can anyone out
there shed any light on this riddle? Does anyone currently have both
VoiceWing and Verizon DSL, with no additional phone lines?

Thanks!

Zorro for the Common Good



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You will need to do the very same thing
as I did. You will need to, in this order, (1) install cable internet
to replace DSL; then once the cable internet is installed in order to
avoid any network downtime, (2) tell Verizon to get their DSL off of 
your line, ASAP, immediatly, etc. (3) Once the DSL has been removed,
_then and only then_ can you tell VoiceWing to port your existing number
(I assume you prefer to keep your number) to their service. In my
instance, it was SBC's DSL and the local telco I wished to use called
'Prairie Stream'). (4) Once VoiceWing ports your number to them, then 
Verizon will die off naturally on their own. To avoid being without
either internet for a few days (while waiting for cable to get 
installed) or without telco (while Verizon has a hissy fit and keeps
sending VoiceWing on an endless looping run-around), you will need to
do it in the order I specified above. In other words, it is _your_
problem if there is any duplication on your premises between DSL and
cable) for a few days. 

Oh, and be prepared for Verizon to suddenly get very busy and decide
'it may take two or three weeks to get the disconnect order written'
both on the DSL and also on the phone itself. You cannot, by Bell
System fiat, have _their_ DSL and _someone else's_ phone service. They
have chosen to take that gamble thinking that because they are *so*
special, and *so* precious, anyone who knows anything about anything
would realize Bell is the best deal around and want to stay with them
until forever ... 

You may want first of all (before you begin too much sass and
talk-back with Verizon) to find out all you can about VoiceWing. I've
never heard of the company, and assume they are like most CLECs 
offering residential service; that is, they take over your billing and
your service out of their cage at the Verizon central office, and
Verizon will continue to carry the last mile or whatever to your door
step. (At one point, I seriously entertained keeping Bell's DSL here
with Prairie Stream as the telco [same phone number, just LNP'd over
to them from SBC] until, IMO [and look, no /H/ in the middle there;
that's because I do not give 'humble' opinions] SBC got very arrogant
and rude, midst all their lies to me, etc and left me with the option,
'take us entirely, or not at all.' Calling their bluff, I said, "okay,
I will take none of you". They were shocked to hear that, of course,
and have pestered me ever since to return to the fold. At first, the
'return to us' offers were reasonable, but as time went on, they got
more and more outrageous; their latest 'please come back' offer to me
is unlimited service, all custom calling features, and long distance
for $2.95 (_two dollars, ninety five cents_) per month for one year. 
But you know, the way SBC lies about so much stuff, how can I trust
them on the $2.95 per month for a year deal, especially when along
with that offer was two pages of terms and conditions in very small
print that I did not bother reading. 

I expect your mailbox will soon be loaded with their premium offers
and cut rate prices on service starting soon after you ditch them
also, if you decide to go with VoiceWing, or Gage, or one of the other
CLECs licensed in your area.  And you _can_ use LNP to keep your
number as long as you get the DSL off your line, although Bell is fond
of telling the CLECs "customer does not qualify for transfer" (because
he has our DSL, although they do not say why 'not qualified' unless 
they are pressed for an answer). I hope this helps you a little, and
good luck as you break away from Bell, as more and more people are
doing.   PAT]

------------------------------

From: wondering <annulring@comcast.net>
Subject: LNP Transfer From McLeodUSA to Vonage
Date: 29 Mar 2005 14:40:43 -0800


I am wondering is anyone has successfully ported their home number out of
McLeodUSA to Vonage.  I have been trying for eight months.  I am
beginning to believe it is impossible.

------------------------------

From: T. Sean Weintz <strap@hanh-ct.org>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 14:16:25 -0500
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com


TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Fred Atkinson:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Other than the fact that she apparently
> was not able to hook herself up to the network, I wonder how the 
> school would know what was or wasn't there. In other words, if she now
> were to open the computer and install the original card in there
> instead, how would the school ever find out, or do they search dorm
> rooms looking for contraband hardware, etc?   PAT]

Since the beginning octects of the MAC address of an ethernet card 
identify who the manufacturer of the card is, and all ethernet switches 
maintain a database of what mac addresses are plugged in to what ports; 
if one is using manages switches it is a trivial task to locate where 
network cards of a particular brand are plugged into the network.

It's also quite easy on some switches to specify a range of MAC 
addresses that are allowed to use particular ports. So you can set that 
range to be only cards whose MAC address identify them as being made by 
3com, and lock out everything else.

Of course most network card drivers will allow you to overide the 
factory coded mac address on your card, which could be used by an 
ethernet saavy personm to overide the security methods I describe
above ...

------------------------------

From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S
Organization: ATCC
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 12:29:13 -0500


In article <telecom24.134.7@telecom-digest.org>, fatkinson@mishmash.com 
says:

>> But cell phones are a curse to some degree. A local University that
>> shall remain nameless instituted a no cell phone policy for students.
>> That quickly went downhill when professors cell phones would ring during
>> class time, etc.

> That's nothing.  Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee
> has an interesting policy to allow interconnect to the campus network.

> When my first niece went off to school, several family members gave me
> money to purchase the parts needed for me to put a nice computer
> together for her to take off to school with her.  In addition to a
> number of other pieces of hardware, I put a dial up modem and a NIC
> card in it.  It was a fairly common one (in fact my PC has the same
> model in it).

> When she got there, she called me and said that the folks at TNU said
> her NIC card was no good and they wanted to charge her ninety dollars to
> install a 3Com card in it.

> I didn't believe it was defective and told her not to pay them to
> install that card.  After a couple of days, she called me again and
> told me that they wouldn't hook her up until a 3Com card was
> installed.

> I called the I.T. department at TNU and asked what was going on.  I
> was told that the school policy said that only 3Com NIC cards could be
> used to connect to the campus network.  Needless to say I was a little
> upset that they were going to make me drop another ninety dollars into
> that computer.

> But, I wasn't going to let them get the money.  I called around and
> found a deal on a 3Com card and had them ship it to her at school.
> Fortunately, she had a classmate that was a Saturday afternoon PC
> tech.  He installed it for her and got her connected to the network.

> I spoke to the dean at the school where I was taking computer
> networking classes.  He told me that while this was completely
> unorthodox, that TNU was far from being the only school doing
> something so ridiculous.  His own daughter went to a school that
> required a specific brand (and I don't remember what he said it was
> except that it wasn't a 3Com card).  She had to fork out fifty dollars
> for the card and sold it to another student when she graduated.
> 
> I wish someone in a position to do so would blow the whistle on this
> practice of soaking the students for the money for these cards.  It's
> unethical at best.

> Fred

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Other than the fact that she apparently
> was not able to hook herself up to the network, I wonder how the 
> school would know what was or wasn't there. In other words, if she now
> were to open the computer and install the original card in there
> instead, how would the school ever find out, or do they search dorm
> rooms looking for contraband hardware, etc?   PAT]

MAC addresses contain a manufacturers code that takes up the first
couple of bytes. It would be fairly trivial to set a router up to
refuse any MAC not containing said bytes. But then, it would be just
as trivial to reprogram a MAC on a NIC to look like a 3Com even though
it's a $10 D-Link.

------------------------------

Subject: Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S
From: dkrause@ratcage.com (Doug Krause)
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 07:49:04 GMT


In article <telecom24.134.7@telecom-digest.org>,
TELECOM Digest Editor responded to Fred Atkinson <fatkinson@mishmash.com>:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Other than the fact that she apparently
> was not able to hook herself up to the network, I wonder how the 
> school would know what was or wasn't there. In other words, if she now
> were to open the computer and install the original card in there
> instead, how would the school ever find out, or do they search dorm
> rooms looking for contraband hardware, etc?   PAT]

If they are being proactive, just check the MAC address of all systems
on the network.

http://standards.ieee.org/regauth/oui/index.shtml

Or if she ever has connection issues and opens a trouble ticket, the
person responding to it would find the non-approved card.


Doug Krause
dijon@ratcage.com

------------------------------

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 14:02:30 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.134.7@telecom-digest.org>, TELECOM Digest
Editor noted:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Other than the fact that she apparently
> was not able to hook herself up to the network, I wonder how the 
> school would know what was or wasn't there. In other words, if she now
> were to open the computer and install the original card in there
> instead, how would the school ever find out, or do they search dorm
> rooms looking for contraband hardware, etc?   PAT]

Ignorance in action.  Specific ranges of Ethernet addresses are
assigned to given manufacturers.  Which manufacturer "owns" which
range is _public_data_.

Any device residing on the same LAN segment that can "see" Ethernet
packets from a given machine can tell which brand of NIC is in that
box.

All Ethernet cards on a LAN are required to have a _unique_ Ethernet
address.  So, manufacturers "build in" the uniqueness.

On some systems, with some cards, you can over-ride the built-in
Ethernet address, and tell it to use an Ethernet address you specify.
This is not an option under MS-Windows.

A _lot_ of schools require you to 'register' your computer (actually
the NIC) with the institution before you can use it on the school
network.  And even then it will work *only* from your dorm room.  The
network infrastructure is built around 'secure' switches, and only
accepts packets from a "known" Ethernet address on any given port.

This does wonders for being able to track down the perpetrator when,
for example, one student tries hacking other student machines.

------------------------------

From: Fred Atkinson <fatkinson@mishmash.com>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Jammer For Sale MONIX MGB-1S
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:18:59 -0500


> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Other than the fact that she apparently
> was not able to hook herself up to the network, I wonder how the
> school would know what was or wasn't there. In other words, if she now
> were to open the computer and install the original card in there
> instead, how would the school ever find out, or do they search dorm
> rooms looking for contraband hardware, etc?   PAT]

Because they don't make the jack in her dorm room hot until they had
verified it.  That's how.

Truthfully, though, it wouldn't be hard to set up access lists to
reject all MAC addresses except those with OUIs that reflect 3Com.

Fred

------------------------------

Date: 29 Mar 2005 15:18:25 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Lingo Referral
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> I like Lingo too, and I'm equally happy to give referrals.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: John, how does their referral plan
> work? Is it anything like Vonage?  I am _still_ living off those
> 'next month free' coupons I accumulated.   PAT]

It's a normal affiliate deal run through Linkshare which runs hundreds
of other affilate programs.  If someone signs up via your affiliate
link, they pay you $25, paid monthly by check.  I haven't gotten any
Lingo signups yet, but I get lots of small checks from Linkshare's
other programs via my site at http://airinfo.aero.


R's,

John

------------------------------

From: Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Time for the Recording Industry to Face the Music
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 06:09:36 -0800
Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com


On 28 Mar 2005 10:00:52 -0800, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> People have a Constitutional right (and a moral one too) to be
> compensated for their creative efforts.  Like it or not, the recording
> industry provides a conduit for artists to distribute their works to a
> widespread general public and be compensated accordingly.

The only problem with that is that the artists *aren't* generally
accorded much compensation for their work.  The majority of the monies
taken in for recordings, video etc. does not go to artists but rather
goes to the recording companies, distributors and others.  Of that $18
you're paying for that CD the artists are getting literally *pennies*
of that pie.  You'll pardon me if I don't shed crocodile tears for the
"poor old" recording industry.  Rather than to try and embrace the new
technology they (as they've done before) fight it tooth and nail.
They believe going on as they have for the last 100 years is the way
to go.  Hell no we won't go is their mantra when called to get with
the times and adjust their product model.  They'd rather go after
people for their (recording companies) perceived loss of revenue.
Perhaps if the recording companies weren't so greedy charging $18 for
a disc of music and perhaps if the recording companies shared a bigger
portion of profits from CDs people would see it differently.

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock)
Subject: Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass System
Date: 28 Mar 2005 13:46:23 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Isaiah Beard wrote:

> Fast forward to yesterday.  Assurances notwithstanding, I received a
> toll violation notice from the NJ Turnpike authority.

Very disturbing.  These kinds of problems were supposed to be fixed on
the NJ Tpk.

There have been reports of database abuse by the Phila Parking
Authority.  Seems that people who've never been to Phila are receiving
legal dunning letters for unpaid parking tickets issued years ago (per
newspaper reports).  It appears the PPA is using a commercial database
to look up names of violators to track them down and issuing letters,
even if that person isn't the one who originally got the ticket.

In other words, a car with a license ABC123 gets a ticket.  But a
notice sent to the registered address is returned.  So they use the
database to try to find the name somewhere else.  The problem is that
they're getting people in different cities with the same name.

Big brother is watching -- no -- going after you.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That was also a big stink in Chicago 
at one point, maybe still is. People who have never been to Chicago
in their life get parking tickets _based on their license plates_
sent from City of Chicago with warrants issued for their arrest unless
they drop everything here and now and drive all the way to Chicago to
defend themselves, or preferably to the city's point of view, just
pay up and shut up. PAT]

------------------------------

From: A User <serge-newnew2715@mailblocks.com>
Subject: Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass System
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 07:54:33 +1000


On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 14:12:14 -0500, Stuart Barkley <stuartb@4gh.net>
wrote:

> The article and discussion here both miss what I consider a more
> important issue with the EZ-pass system:

> There is no way to know who else is tracking the EZ-pass transponders.

> The transponder should have a audio and/or visual indicator whenever
> it is read.  How else can you know that Big Brother is only reading
> the transponder for its intended use and instead isn't reading it in
> other locations for other purposes.

> There should also be an off switch on the unit although I can see that
> causing more problems with people forgetting to turn it back on before
> traveling through EZ-pass lanes.

> I've never been lost; I was once bewildered for three days, but never
> lost!  -- Daniel Boone

Big brother doesn't need your transponder, they just use off the shelf
OCR licence plate readers ...

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:12:35 -0500
From: Chris Farrar <cfarrar1307@rogers.com>
Subject: Re: Some Concerned About Privacy Implications of E-ZPass System

> Stuart Barkley wrote:

>> other purposes.
>> There should also be an off switch on the unit although I can see that
>> causing more problems with people forgetting to turn it back on before
>> traveling through EZ-pass lanes.

> There actually is a rather low-tech measure that works very well:
> there's a plastic container bag that comes with every ez-pass
> transponder, and is coated with RF-blocking material.  It looks a lot
> like very sturdy, semi-trasparent foil.  The EZ-pass instruction
> booklets tell users that if they are concerned for any reason that
> their transponder might be read in an instance where they don't want
> it to be, they can remove the transponder from its windshield mount
> and place it in the bag, ensuring that the transponder will not be
> read.

> Not as convenient as an off switch, but it does solve the problem of
> people not being aware of the unit being "off" when they in fact want
> it "on."  If it's in the bag, it's off.  If it's on the windshield,
> then it's on.

Of course, this doesn't work so well for those of us who have cars
with metallic windshields, and have to use the licence plate mounted
EZPass.  Its a little time consuming to mount and unmount it all the
time.

------------------------------

From: DevilsPGD <ihatespam@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: What Happened To Channel 1
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 19:17:50 -0700
Organization: Disorganized


In message <telecom24.134.12@telecom-digest.org> Dan Lanciani
<ddl@danlan.com> wrote:

> Except that (according to the original proposal) it won't run in the
> clear anywhere you can "tap" without relatively sophisticated die
> probing equipment.  Are you aware of some change in the approach or
> are you just assuming that the manufacturers will screw up the
> implementation?  If the latter, remember that the original proposal
> also incorporates key revocation for compromised device families.

Sure, but imagine the legal backlash if suddenly Sony's TVs no longer
work.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 20:28:16 -0500
From: Marcus Didius Falco <falco_marcus_didius@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: Re: New Long Range Cordless Phones?


> First poster:

>>>> I'm living in a rural Alaskan town and traditional cell service is
>>>> spotty to none, even with an old bag phone and roof antenna so I was
>>>> thinking that this could be an interesting approach to local mobile
>>>> phone service.

> Sorry, if it uses frequencies illegal for use in the US, its use is
> illegal. Indiscriminate use of the "230-450MHz" band described for
> that device elsewhere:
> http://www2.dslreports.com/forum/remark,12419431~mode=flat~days=9999~start
> could trash a lot of navigation devices.  How well received would you
> be if you trashed a nav beacon, in AK where bush pilots are a
> necesssity?

> I would be *very* specific with anyone selling such a device that you
> want to know what frequencies *specifically* are used, and have them
> show you in the FCC regs how they are exempt. Ask them for the 'FCC ID'
> number for the equipment.  Then, check with the FCC field office, or
> confirm at the FCC website:
> https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

An old bag-type AMPS phone (analog cellular) is legal for another few
years. These have a power of 5 Watts, IIRC, and a nominal range of
about 25 or 30 miles. You can get upgraded antennae for them from
Wilson (Sorry, no URL, and there are two companies named Wilson: you
can check any truck stop).

The old mobile non-cellular phones are car-mount only, and are 
grandfathered in, but are being phased out.

------------------------------

From: LB@notmine.com
Subject: Last Laugh! was Re: Job Opportunity
Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:27:21 -0500
Organization: Optimum Online


TELECOM Digest Editor responded to a message sent by Mayra TABOR:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Readers, perhaps you can tell me if
> this is a _legitimate_ employment opportunity or just another scam
> intended to get you to do a quick shuffle of money outbound before
> the excrement hits the propeller blades?

> In my limited examination of this company I note a few things:
> (1) They are looking for licensees to help them in their
> 'shipping and freight forwarding' business.
> (2) They seem quite eager to find people with a USA bank account; in
> fact a question on their online employment application asks about
> your USA bank routing number.
> (3) Their 'home office' (of which they show lots of pictures of happy
> industrious employees) is in St. Petersburg, _Russian Federation_. I
> do not intend to besmirch their character and accuse them of being a
> bunch of crooks, however I do recall reading somewhere of two Russian
> 'hackers' who were from St. Petersburg, Russia who the United States
> FBI wanted very badly but could not get them extradited.

> Anyway, I pass this along in the event any one or more of you feel
> like applying for the job, and are quick witted enough to hang onto
> your purse (and only provide accurate ABA routing numbers, etc) in the
> event you absolutely must. Here is the message I got a few days ago,
> and you can check out the corresponding web page. PAT]

>                 ===========================

> Hi,

> Would you like to earn some extra money working from home? We offer
> you a great opportunity!

> Our company Ship & Pay International is looking for reliable and
> trustworthy people to be our representatives in your country!

> This is not a sales gimmick requiring you to pay setup fees or sign up
> to a mailing list. You will need no money and no special skills to
> start. Anyone can work with us!

> If you are interested, don't hesitate to visit our website:

> http://www.shipandpay.com/jobs.html

> Requirements:

> 1. A computer with access to the Internet, e-mail
> 2. 3-5 hours free during the week (mainly in the non-business hours)
> 3. Check your e-mail several times a day (each hour is welcome)
> 4. Be able to repeatedly lift 5-20 pound boxes.
> 5. Reply to e-mails immediately
> 6. We don't work with persons under 21
> 7. Bank account to receive payments
> 8. Account in: PayPal, E-gold (if possible)
> 9. Be able to answer phone calls
> 10. Be responsible, hard working and communicable

> If you would like to join our team please visit
> http://www.shipandpay.com/jobs.html and fill in the online application
> form.

> Thank you.

> Best regards,

> Ship & Pay International

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Now, it all appears to be an honest
> company trying to get started with a worldwide presence. But something
> leaves me feeling a bit queasy, even with those nice pictures on their
> web site, and happy, smiling employees; the picture of their office
> building, etc. What is going on?    PAT]

If it smells even mildly bad avoid it.  Trying to pet a skunk is always
high risk.

LB


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And that, it seems, is the story of the
whole internet in the past few years; if it smells even a little, best
to avoid it. Very sad, really. I mean, there _are_ honest people in
Russia; just as there _are_ honest people in Nigeria. Can you imagine 
the hassles _honest_ netizens in Nigeria must have in trying to 
communicate with potential business associates in the United States?
Now, some people would probably say 'honest netizen in Nigeria' is an
oxymoron. Still others would probably say 'honest netizen' in and of
itself is an oxymoron. Do you remember the infamous cartoon several
years ago -- long, long before any of the nonsense in recent years was
even dreamed of -- called "Honesty on the Internet"? I think I will 
get it and put it on our web page to give people a laugh.   PAT]

------------------------------


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