TELECOM Digest     Thu, 2 Jun 2005 20:37:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 246

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Porn Sites Get Own Domain Name, '.xxx' (Lisa Minter)
    Police Officer Misbehaves in Internet Children's Chat Room (Lisa Minter)
    Internet Chat Room 'Sex Offender' Family Reacts, Explains (Lisa Minter)
    Re: Can You Disable Text Messaging? (Steve Sobol)
    Re: Can You Disable Text Messaging? (Mark Crispin)
    Re: Forwarding SMS Messages (B.M. Wright
    Re: Known Spam Sites (Steve Sobol)
    Re: Apparent Junk Mail (John Levine)
    Re: Schools Prohibit Personal E-mail Sites (Steve Sobol)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet.  All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote.  By using -any name or email address-
included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article
herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the
email.

               ===========================

Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent.  Chain letters,
viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome.

We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime.   Geoffrey Welsh

               ===========================

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

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Porn Sites Get Own Domain Name, '.xxx'
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 16:57:49 -0500


By Andy Sullivan

Sex sites will soon be able to sign up for Web addresses in the .xxx
Internet domain, but a virtual red light district won't guarantee that
people can avoid pornography online, Internet experts said on
Thursday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers said late
Wednesday it would move ahead with plans to set up a separate .xxx
Internet domain for sexually explicit material.

Sex sites won't be required to sign up for .xxx addresses. But the new
domain will enable porn sites to label themselves clearly and help
filtering software keep underage users away, according to ICM Registry
Inc., the company that will oversee the domain.

"This is a voluntary initiative," said Robert Corn-Revere, a
Washington lawyer who helped ICM develop its proposal. "We're not
trying to put it forward as the ultimate solution for everything."

Child-safety advocate Donna Rice Hughes said .xxx won't help people
avoid online porn because sex sites will still be able to hold on to
their old .com domain names.

"It's a nice little red-light district for the pornographers, but I
don't think it's going to do anything to protect kids," said Hughes,
president of the group Enough is Enough. "It's not going to make
filters work any better."

A spokeswoman for Playboy Enterprises Inc. said the adult
entertainment company had no plans to move any of its Web sites to the
new domain.

Pornography accounts for more than 10 percent of online traffic and
there are more than 1 million porn Web sites currently online,
according to ICM.

Efforts to ban or segregate online pornography have failed for
years. The U.S. Congress in 1996 prohibited the "knowing transmission"
of obscene or indecent messages to anyone under 18 years old, but the
Supreme Court struck that law down a year later on the grounds that it
was too broad. A narrower 1998 attempt has never enforced due to a
court challenge.

ICANN, a US-based, international nonprofit body, has in the past
fought efforts by internet users and congress to set up a domain for
sex sites on the grounds that it doesn't "want to regulate online
content, or judge what should be allowed on the net".

That's not an issue with the .xxx domain because it will be run by the
private sector, ICANN spokesman Kieran Baker said.

"As a technical coordinator, we don't pass judgment over content on the
various sites," Baker said.

ICANN usually takes six to nine months to wrap up the approval
process, he said. After that it will be up to ICM to get the domain up
and running.

ICANN has approved a number of other new domains to complement
stalwarts like .com and .org. In April ICANN approved the .jobs domain
for Web sites offering employment information and .travel for the
travel industry.

A company called New.net already sells .xxx addresses, but most Web
browsers are not configured to view them.


Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Although ICANN could and did approve of
such spam hives as .biz .info and .jobs , they would not approve of
'.xxx' because, as Vint Cerf would explain it, "no one should dictate
how another site operates."  Gee, where have we heard that line
before?   PAT]

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Police Officer Misbehaves in Chat Room for Children
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 18:13:10 -0500


Police Say a Popular Officer Sought Boys in Children's Chat Rooms

by Robert T DeMarco

Michael Costello, 39, a popular youth officer was arrested Friday
night on charges that he used his computer to solicit sex from people
he believed to be 14-year-old boys. They were, in fact, detectives
conducting a sting, the police said.

He would log onto an AOL chat room named Queensnymfm using a sexually
suggestive screen name, they said, and begin trolling the Internet for
local teenage boys. According to the authorities, he would send those
boys lurid come-ons and then try to arrange meetings for oral sex.

Michael Costello, 39, a popular youth officer in the 114th Precinct in
Astoria, Queens, seemed like a model of community policing.

As supervising officer of the precinct's Law Enforcement Explorer
unit, he helped teenagers do volunteer work and learn about law
enforcement, community leaders said. With the Police Explorer Scouting
program, he taught them responsibility and helped troubled young
people with problems. He was the smiling man working the grill at
community barbecues and the dedicated coordinator of youth basketball
games.

But according to the authorities, once Officer Costello got home to
his apartment in Bayside and sat at his computer, his commitment to
youth took on a much darker side. He would log onto an AOL chat room
named Queensnymfm using a sexually suggestive screen name, they said,
and begin trolling the Internet for local teenage boys. According to
the authorities, he would send those boys lurid come-ons and then try
to arrange meetings for oral sex.

Officer Costello, a 14-year veteran of the force, was arrested Friday
night on charges that he used his computer to solicit sex from people
he believed to be 14-year-old boys. They were, in fact, detectives
conducting a sting, the police said.

He was arraigned yesterday in Queens Criminal Court on charges of
attempted use of a child in a sexual performance and several other
charges, which carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail,
according to Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney.

Stewart London, a Manhattan lawyer who prosecutors said was
representing Officer Costello, did not respond to phone messages left
with his answering service yesterday. A spokesman for Mr. Brown said
that a different lawyer argued at the arraignment that Officer
Costello had never had criminal problems before.

Investigators first learned of Officer Costello's computer activity
three weeks ago during a routine investigation into online crime,
investigators said. According to a criminal complaint, during four
computer sessions last week, he logged on to the chat room and wrote
flirtatious comments to investigators using screen names linked to
profiles of 14- and 15-year-old boys.

According to the complaint, he wrote online, "I'm not much into
talking. I'm into meeting and doing. Tell me when U can go out and we
will meet then."

Investigators contacted AOL officials, who identified the holder of
the suggestive screen name as Officer Costello. Investigators obtained
photographs that he had sent to other screen names. The authorities
said the photographs were of Officer Costello.

In correspondences with one screen name carrying a profile of a
14-year-old boy, Officer Costello arranged a meeting at a Starbucks on
Queens Boulevard at 8 on Friday night, prosecutors said.

When he arrived at the Starbucks, detectives arrested him, prosecutors
said, adding that he possessed lubricant and condoms.

Officer Costello has been suspended from duty, police officials
said. Investigators said there was no evidence that he had actually
abused any minors.

Nancy DiMeglio, 74, vice president of the 114th Precinct's community
council, described Officer Costello as a popular officer and said she
was "in dead shock" to hear the charges.

"I never saw any inkling of what they say he's done," she said.  "I
never heard him speak out of line or anything, never any foul
language.  Everyone considered him a straight-A guy."

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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without
profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.  Copyright Law. If you wish
to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner, in this instance, Watch Right.com 

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Family Reacts to Internet Sex Chat Conviction 
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 18:08:18 -0500


by Robert T DeMarco

A Tulsa family says it's time their side of the story is heard.

Their son, Michael Williams pleaded guilty this week to luring a 14
year old girl over the Internet to have sex.

Michael's parents say FBI agents and prosecutors have painted their
son as a violent sex offender who's a danger to the community. They
say that's not true. They say their 30 year old son chatted with lots
of people online and one of them was a 14 year old girl.

Once the girl's mother found out, the FBI assumed the girl's online
identity and kept chatting. The conversations were sometimes sexually
graphic and the two decided to meet. He was then arrested and now
faces up to 14 years in prison.

Michael's mom Lynn Williams: "When something like this happens, this
person is someone's son, brother, uncle, grandfather and it affects
not just him, but, everyone in the whole family."

The Williams' believe the punishment does not fit the crime.  It's
Michael's first arrest and he never touched or even saw the girl
involved.

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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without
profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S.  Copyright Law. If you wish
to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner, in this instance, Watch Right.com

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

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

From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Can You Disable Text Messaging?
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 14:28:35 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


John Mayson wrote:

> I might have a definitive answer by the time this runs, but I'll 
> ask anyway.

> My wife and I switched to T-Mobile this week.  With our particular
> plan all incoming text messages are charged at 5 cents per message.  I
> receive about a $1 worth of spam per day.  I called T-Mobile, but they
> won't even acknowledge my account exists because I'm not the "primary
> account holder" as my wife actually bought the phones.  She's been
> sort of busy and hasn't called them herself.

> Does anyone have any experience with T-Mobile?  Can they disable text
> messaging?  I don't want to have to pay $20 to $30 per month for
> incoming spam.

They should be able to. I've had both Sprint and Verizon do it.

> We left our previous company because they didn't give a rat's behind
> about our on-going service problems until it came time to renew the
> contract, then we were their best friends.  I hope T-Mobile isn't the
> same.

You should have your wife authorize you to deal with T-Mobile. She
calls in and says "John Mayson is going to call you from time to time
about my account; he's allowed to talk to you and to make changes." I
have never dealt with T-Mobile, but this is based on my experience
with dozens of other large companies with whom I do business. TM
should be no different. It's an account security issue; you DO NOT
want just anyone to be able to call in about your account.

JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
     --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

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

From: Mark Crispin <MRC@CAC.Washington.EDU>
Subject: Re: Can You Disable Text Messaging?
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 14:35:28 -0700
Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing


If you don't want to pay for SMS spam, then don't pay it!

Make a note of each illegitimate SMS (or the legitimate ones and
subtract) and deduct the total cost from the bill.  Include a letter
to the effect that you are disputing the bill for this reason, and you
want them to block SMS spam.

You may want to cc your state regulators as well.

I don't know about T-Mobile's policy, but Verizon is very aggressive
about protecting their customers from SMS spam.  AT&T Wireless was
also that way, since they didn't charge for incoming SMS; I don't know
what their policy is now that it's Cingular.

Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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

From: B.M. Wright <bmwright@xmission.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 22:33:41 UTC
Organization: XMission Internet http://www.xmission.com
Subject: Re: Forwarding SMS Messages


Chris Holst <cdh@aquick.org> wrote:

> We'd like to have our people have only one number on their card ... so
> is it possible to program a PBX to process and forward SMS data sent
> on to the associated cell phone?  This appears to the sticking point.
> SMS is useful, and we'd not like to miss out on it to implement this
> system if we don't have to.

Germany (almost entirely ISDN now) is the only place that I have heard
of which has landlines that can receive SMS.  It's unfortunate, there
are many times when I've wanted the same thing, haven't ever found it.
I believe the SMS routing in the US is extra convoluted, and less than
reliable, compared to most countries which have been on GSM for years.
Maybe someone familiar with how it's done can elaborate.  

One thing I've wondered is how, since our mobile numbers can not be 
differentiated by prefix, they determine the number can receive the SMS.
It may be a database lookup somewhere, but, then again maybe they just
attempt to send it regardless of whether or not it is a mobile?

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

From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Known Spam Sites
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 14:30:31 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


Steven Lichter wrote:

> Over the last month I have noticed that over 60% of the Spam e-mail I
> have received has come from e-mail addresses and sites that are
> registered to Godaddy.  Has anything been done or being done to shut
> this company down?  

Have you complained to abuse@godaddy with the relevant information?

> All of what is being sent out appears to be fraud related, plus they
> must be ripping these newbies selling them these new targeted lists.
> The big one now is the $400,000 loan that they called you on last
> night and the Universal Studios, Orlando, where they want your
> credit card number.

GD is actually better than a lot of registrars about nuking domain
names registered by spammers; many registrars refuse to do it even
after you notify them of the abuses. GD does get more spammers than
some other registrars due to their low prices. Try filing some abuse
reports first, before you talk about getting them shut down.


JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
     --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

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

Date: 2 Jun 2005 21:19:22 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: Apparent Junk Mail
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> Notice the original message has telecom23.354.10@telecom-digest.org
> in the To header, so perhaps someone at your end could check to see
> who would have gotten the original message. 

As Pat noted, that was a Usenet message ID scraped off the net many
years ago.

Those addresses get a fair amount of spam, and since they're easy to
recognize they go into my spamtrap where they're logged and if it's
from a source the spamtrap can figure out, it sends off a complaint.

R's,

John

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

From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Schools Prohibit Personal E-mail Sites
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 14:26:11 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


Lisa Hancock wrote:

> I don't see why this is a big deal.  It's the school's computers and
> they should be able to regulate them any way they choose.  It's no
> different from the workplace where an employer dictates what can and
> cannot be done on his computers.

Not completely true. Private employers don't have to worry about First
Amendment issues; public school districts do. However, there are
probably ways to avoid those issues.


JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
     --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

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


TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere
there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of
networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and
other forums.  It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the
moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'.

TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational
service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents
of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in
some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work
and that of the original author.

Contact information:    Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest
                        Post Office Box 50
                        Independence, KS 67301
                        Phone: 620-402-0134
                        Fax 1: 775-255-9970
                        Fax 2: 530-309-7234
                        Fax 3: 208-692-5145         
                        Email: editor@telecom-digest.org

Subscribe:  telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org
Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org

This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm-
unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and
published continuously since then.  Our archives are available for
your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list
on the internet in any category!

URL information:        http://telecom-digest.org

Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/
  (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives)

RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html
  For syndication examples see http://www.feedroll.com/syndicate.php?id=308
    and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/telecom

*************************************************************************
*   TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from                  *
*   Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate  *
*   800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting.         *
*   http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com                    *
*   Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing      *
*   views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc.                             *
*************************************************************************

ICB Toll Free News.  Contact information is not sold, rented or leased.

One click a day feeds a person a meal.  Go to http://www.thehungersite.com

Copyright 2004 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.

              ************************

DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO
YOUR CREDIT CARD!  REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST
AND EASY411.COM   SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest !

              ************************

Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your
career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
(MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35
credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the
skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including
data, video, and voice networks.

The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College
of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the
College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has
state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus
offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum.  Classes
are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning.

Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at
405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at
http://www.mstm.okstate.edu

              ************************

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

Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list. 

All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.

End of TELECOM Digest V24 #246
******************************