TELECOM Digest     Mon, 8 Aug 2005 02:12:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 359

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Gangs and Spam (ConsumerAffairs.com)
    The Truth About DSL (ConsumerAffairs.com)
    Towns Prepare For Switch to Comcast (Monty Solomon)
    Dayight Saving Time Switch May Cause Tech Woes (Monty Solomon)
    NBC TV Lookat, was: Internet Porn (Danny Burstein)
    Pay Phone Providers (demetrios@word13.com)
    Re: Europe Sells Zips; US Zips Lips (Phil Earnhardt)
    Re: How Do I Find GSM Coverage in the US? (Daniel AJ Sokolov)
    Re: Princeton University Goes Digital - The Wrong Way (Tony P.)
    Re: The Wired Are A Rude Bunch (Steven Lichter)
    Re: How Do I Find GSM Coverage in the US? (John Levine)
    Re: Calling All Luddites (John McHarry)
    Re: FCC Gives Blessing to Sprint, Nextel Marriage (Steve Sobol)
    New Sponsor - Phone Bill Busters (TELECOM Digest Editor)

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: ConsumerAffairs.com <consumeraffairs@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Gangs and Spam
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 23:11:45 -0500


IBM Says Gangs Now Behind Most Spam

In the early days of the Internet, geeky hackers competed to see who
could create the most diabolical computer viruses. The motivation was
a twisted kind of bragging rights. But a study released by IBM says
hackers today have a different motivation -- profit.

In its Global Business Security Index, the computer giant says email
continues to grow as a security menace, with messages often disguised
as communications from legitimate entities that seek to pry personal
and financial information from the unsuspecting. Believed to be
largely driven by criminal gangs, "phishing" was tied to 35.7 million
emails in the first half of 2005.

The experts also noted an increase in "spear phishing," highly
targeted and coordinated attacks at a specific organization or
individual designed to extract critical data. Also, more and more
electronic messages contain viruses that can harm computer or network
operations.

The overall volume of viruses has exploded. In January of 2004, one in
every 129 emails contained a virus; by June of this year, infections
had spread to one in every 28 emails.

The first half of 2005 saw more than 237 million security attacks
overall, more than 20 percent of which were aimed at government
computers. The United States was overwhelmingly the target location for
attacks (12 million), followed distantly by New Zealand (1.2 million)
and China (1 million).

Surprisingly, spam, unsolicited and unwanted email, provided a bright
spot in the study. The ratio of spam to legitimate email continuously
decreased over the course of the last six months, from 83 percent in
January to 67 percent in June 2005. Although some of this decrease is
due to spammers getting fewer reponses from net users, and simply
getting tired from fewer positive results and giving up their efforts,
much of the decease is also attributed to netters taking a more
agressive seek/search out/destroy posture as well.

"IBM advises its clients to rapidly adopt a holistic, enterprise-wide
approach to security and risk management," said John Lutz, general
manager of IBM's Financial Services Sector.


Copyright 2003-2005 ConsumerAffairs.Com Inc.

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

From: ConsumerAffairs.com <consumeraffairs@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: The Truth About DSL
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 23:14:55 -0500


DSL (digital subscriber line) technology uses plain old copper phone
wires to deliver data at high speeds to your home or office. It's the
second-most-popular broadband service behind cable, and its subscriber
numbers are growing. To get DSL, you'll need a phone line (your
primary home phone line can work; you don't necessarily need a second
line); a DSL modem, which usually comes with the service; an Ethernet
card; and a company that's willing to sell the service to you at your
current location. While DSL has become a lot easier to find over the
last year or so--it's fast approaching mainstream status -- some
common myths still abound. We'll debunk them and set you straight on
the facts of DSL. Read on.

Myth: DSL makes Web surfing blazingly fast.

DSL is faster than dial-up Internet service but not change-your-life
faster. In our informal tests, Web pages loaded about three to five
times quicker with DSL than with dial-up -- nice, but about the same
boost we got from cable. The real difference comes when downloading
multimegabyte files, which can show up on your computer in minutes
rather than the hours required for dial-up, provided you're
downloading with a high-speed connection from a high-speed connection.

Myth: Getting DSL is a Nightmare.

While ordering DSL is no picnic, it's a lot easier now than it was
even a year ago. To qualify for DSL, you still must be within about
three miles of a phone company's central office (CO), and that CO must
be equipped for digital Internet service. But many of the bureaucratic
hassles -- incredibly long installation times, billing mistakes, and
tech-support finger-pointing -- have disappeared, says Justin Beech,
founder of Broadband Reports. That's partly because many small DSL
providers have gone belly-up, leaving only one bureaucracy (the
telcos) to deal with if you have a problem. Also, the phone companies
have updated their databases and upgraded their equipment dramatically
in the last two years. And many now offer self-installation kits,
eliminating the delays waiting for an installer to arrive.

There are, however, a few caveats to note. It's much easier to get
brand-new DSL service than it is to transfer existing service to a new
address or switch to a new provider. If you're moving, you'll have
better luck getting DSL service quickly if you get a brand-new phone
number. If you're transferring to a new service but are keeping your
old phone number, be prepared for possible delays; it's sometimes
difficult to get your old provider to release its death grip on your
phone line, and once that happens, the new provider has to provision,
or take hold of, the line for itself.

Myth: They advertise DSL in your area, so you can get it.

Not so fast, slick. Even if you live close to a central office, you
may not qualify for DSL. For example, your phone line might contain
load coils, devices that boost voice signals, or bridge taps, where a
phone line is spliced to serve other houses in your neighborhood, both
of which stop DSL dead in its tracks. The only way to find out is to
ask the phone company to test your line and fix any problems, if the
company is willing to do so. Such repairs shouldn't cost extra, but
don't expect your telco to be speedy about it. And unfortunately, the
DSL company usually won't tell you if your line isn't suitable; you're
more likely to find out by installing DSL, then discovering for
yourself that it doesn't work.

Myth: You can get DSL only through your local Baby Bell.

Today America Online, MSN, and EarthLink offer DSL (and cable)
connections in various parts of the country. A handful of smaller
firms also sell DSL, mostly to small businesses. But in nearly every
case, these small firms simply piggyback on your local phone company's
equipment, as do the large providers, which can add to the time it
takes to get your service installed.

Myth: One type of DSL is no different from another.

There are several types of DSL, each of which differs in speed,
reliability, and price. Nearly all residential connections use
ADSL. The A stands for asymmetric, and the term means that the speed
at which you send data from your PC will be different from the speed
at which you receive it. Most ADSL connections let you download data
at up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) and send data up the line at
128 to 256 kilobits per second (Kbps), but the rates will vary
depending on your distance from the central office and on Net
congestion. Symmetric DSL (SDSL) is used by businesses who need a
reliable connection speed; it sends data at the same rate in both
directions (typically from 256K to 768K) and is usually more expensive
($75 to $200 per month). There's also IDSL (for ISDN DSL), which costs
about the same as SDSL and provides speeds of up to 144Kbps in both
directions. It's primarily for customers who are too far from a
central office to qualify for faster versions of DSL.

Myth: Having DSL means your computer is always logged on to the
Net.

Not necessarily. Some DSL service is merely always available --
meaning that you have to log on every time you turn on your
computer. Logging on again is a minor hassle if you have programs
running that expect constant access to the Net -- such as online
backup software or an antivirus update utility -- but otherwise, it's
no big deal, since the process takes only a few seconds and doesn't
tie up your phone line.

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, Consumer Affairs.com

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

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

Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 23:40:15 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Towns Prepare For Switch to Comcast


By Robert Knox, Globe Correspondent

Some 73,000 households in Southeastern Massachusetts served by
Adelphia cable TV soon will become Comcast customers, probably within
the next year. For cable TV viewers in communities currently served by
Adelphia, the change will likely mean new programs, services, and
fees. For the town of Carver, it may mean beginning negotiations with
one company on a new cable contract and concluding with another.

The Carver Cable TV Advisory Committee is gearing up to begin talks on
a new 10-year pact, with two years left on its current deal. With the
joint $12.7 billion purchase of the troubled Adelphia Communications
by Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Corp. working its way through
bankruptcy court, the companies can only estimate that the deal will
be completed in the first three months of next year. By then the
Carver committee may be well underway in its contract renewal dealings
with Adelphia. But it's almost certain that Adelphia will not be
around when Carver completes its negotiations.

"The owners of [Adelphia] dug a hole they just can't get out of," 
said Ron Clarke, a member of the Carver cable committee.

In addition to Carver, Comcast is taking over nine other area
communities currently served by Adelphia: Abington, Rockland, Duxbury,
Kingston, Halifax, Marshfield, Pembroke, Plympton, and Plymouth.

Adelphia, then the sixth-largest US cable company, filed for
bankruptcy three years ago, shortly before its founder and two of his
sons were charged with financial fraud. The sale of the company to
Comcast and Time Warner, announced in April, needs the approval of
security regulators in addition to the bankruptcy court. The cable
companies believe it's a matter of when, not if, the deal will be
completed.

As required by law, Comcast has applied to each town for a cable TV
license transfer. The town has 60 days to hold a public hearing. If it
does nothing within that period, the transfer goes through
automatically -- but in either case the actual transfer will not take
place until the sale is final.

The hearings are not the time to air concerns about service, costs,
and favorite channels, officials say. Federal law allows the licensing
authority -- generally the local board of selectmen -- to examine only
a narrow range of criteria at the hearing, such as the company's
technical, financial, and management capability to provide the
service.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/08/07/towns_prepare_for_switch_to_comcast/

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

Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 01:10:37 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Daylight-Saving Switch May Cause Tech Woes


By ANICK JESDANUN Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- When daylight-saving time starts earlier than usual
in the United States come 2007, your VCR or DVD recorder could start
recording shows an hour late.

Cell phone companies could give you an extra hour of free weekend
calls, and people who depend on online calendars may find themselves
late for appointments.

An energy bill President Bush is to sign Monday would start daylight
time three weeks earlier and end it a week later as an energy-saving
measure.

And that has technologists worried about software and gadgets that now
compensate for daylight time based on a schedule unchanged since 1987.


      - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=50981012

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

From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: NBC TV Lookat, was: Internet Porn
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 23:39:49 UTC
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC


In <telecom24.358.15@telecom-digest.org> Steven Lichter
<shlichter@diespammers.com> writes:

> Dateline NBC ran a good program on this problem, that included
> tracking down the companies and the spammer, plus an inside look at a
> porn convention, in Las Vegas.

Actually,. I thought it was pretty miserable. They did a credible job
of tracking down the spammer and showing the layers of camelf^h^h^
subterfuge they use, but among other major difficulties:

	a) the show claimed these folk (spammers and
	the porn merchants) hadn't violated any laws.

	In the same clip they showed the spammers saying 
	"They'll sign up with fake names or fake credit cards"
	(and lots of other clearly illegal actions).

	b) they had to do the sappy, happy, ending deal
	where they tracked down the original spammer (maybe..)
	and he apologized to the recipient for causing her grief.
	Sure he's sorry. Stick a national tv camera in front
	of someone and they'll say anything...
	(watcha wanna bet he's still doing it?)

	Oh, and they quoted one of the CAUCE folk (hopefully
	out of context) as saying:

	"I think many spammers, once they see the kind of damage they
        do, some of them may feel sorry. Some of them may get a sense
        of how much pain they cause people,"

	- sorry, I don't buy that.

	c) they showed the original e-mail spam that got them
	started ... *with a fake ID on it*, and nowhere did they
	followup on how much grief the splillback of these _illegal
	identity fraud_ mails cause the innocent third parties.

I could go on and on ...

My compliments to Dateline host John Hockenberry and crew for getting
as far a they did, but they left out plenty.

Transcript is up at:

	     http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8841299/

_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
		     dannyb@panix.com 
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

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

Reply-To: <demetrios@word13.com>
From: <demetrios@word13.com>
Subject: Pay Phone Providers
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 21:23:28 -0700


Hello,

Do you have a list of pay phone providers nationally?

Do you know where I can find one?

Best Regards,

www.Word13.com
"Your Word to Our World"

Demetrios Pousatis
505 South 9th Street, Suite 2
Philadelphia, P.a., 19147
p:215-917-2680

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

From: Phil Earnhardt <pae@dim.com>
Subject: Re: Europe Zips Lips; U.S. Sells ZIPs - New York Times
Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 23:44:56 -0600
Organization: http://newsguy.com


On Sun, 7 Aug 2005 14:15:43 -0400, Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
wrote:

> So far, American companies including financial services giants like
> Bank of America, Citigroup and MasterCard, and national retailers like
> DSW shoes and Ralph Lauren Polo, have announced data compromises. All
> told, the personal information of more than 50 million consumers has
> been lost, stolen and even sold to thieves.

I think this analysis is missing the forest for the trees. The larger
failure is that the validity of our identity is being held in the
secrecy of a few numbers rather than a challenge-response system.

If a challenge-response system were in place for the approval of
credit card transactions (and applicaitons for new credit, changes of
address, etc.), things like credit card nubmers would rapidly lose
their value as a target for thieves.

--phil

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

Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 02:15:00 +0200
From: Daniel AJ Sokolov <sokolov@gmx.netnetnet>
Subject: Re: How Do I Find GSM Coverage in the US?


Am 07.08.2005 01:16 schrieb A User:

> I am going to be visiting Northern California shortly. I am trying to
> find out what carriers have GSM coverage in 95437 Fort Bragg
> California. Is there a database that might be able to help?

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_us.shtml

HTH,

Daniel AJ


My e-mail-address is sokolov [at] gmx dot net

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

From: Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net>
Subject: Re: Princeton University Goes Digital - The Wrong Way
Organization: ATCC
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 21:04:52 -0400


In article <telecom24.358.5@telecom-digest.org>, monty@roscom.com 
says:

> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=4658

> We admire Princeton not only for its beautiful campus and its myriad
> of creative minds, but also for its courage to embrace new
> technologies. Starting in the fall semester, the school will offer
> digital textbooks to its students in partnership with Missouri-based
> MBS Textbook Exchange Inc and various textbook publishers. The student
> only needs to pick up a barcoded textbook card (see attached
> screenshot), activate it at the cash register for usually 33 percent
> less than the new-book price, and go online for a one-time download of
> the textbook in PDF format.

> Alas, the e-books are encoded in DRM which pretty much spoils the 
> potential success of this pilot project:

>   * Textbook is locked to the computer where you downloaded it from;
>   * Copying and burning to CD is prohibited;
>   * Printing is limited to small passages;
>   * Unless otherwise stated, textbook activation expires after
> 	5 months (*gasp*);
>   * Activated textbooks are not returnable;
>   * Buyback is not possible.

> If this hasn't scared you off already, click here to read the rest in
> the press release.
> http://www.digitaltextbooks.net/cgi-dts/pressrelease.pdf

Considering that:

1) College Textbooks aren't worth the paper they are printed on
because the information contained in them is often erroneous.

2) The choice of textbooks at any given college or university has
nothing to do with the quality of the book, instead it has to do with
the marketing of the book.

3) That there's very little difference between revision 5 and revision
9 of a book. But that doesn't stop them from publishing a new revision
pretty much every year.

4) The price gouging is horrendous.

I'm assuming that MBS is going to learn a horrible lesson in all this.
Students might actually be willing to pay an extra 33% to get a non-
crippled paper version of the book. There goes their profit scenario.

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

From: Steven Lichter <shlichter@diespammers.com>
Reply-To: Die@spammers.com
Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc.  (c) 2005 A Rot in Hell Co.
Subject: Re: The Wired Are A Rude Bunch
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 01:12:50 GMT


Monty Solomon wrote:

> by Fahmida Y. Rashid

> While technology, such as cell phones, e-mail and instant messaging,
> have in many ways made life easier, these same devices may make users
> lazy and oblivious to their surroundings. The constant pressure on
> workers to be accessible means manners often take a backseat. In
> consumer circles, lots of people apparently believe that because they
> can take or make a phone call, they should.

> In a recent national poll by market research group Synovate, 68% of
> Americans claimed to observe poor cell phone etiquette at least once
> per day. Eighteen percent said they ran into poor e-mail etiquette.
> The study noted that the Americans showed the poorest etiquette when
> using the very devices they rely on the most (52% said they would
> "die" if their phones and e-mails were taken away).

> "Poor tech etiquette is something most of us don't really think about
> as we pick up our cell phones or send an e-mail," said Steve Levine,
> senior vice president at Synovate.

> The survey results follow on the heels of a marketing push by a
> company called Moderati, which sells ring tones, cell phone wallpaper
> and ring-back tones. The company claims that "nothing says 'I hate
> you' like a DisTone." A DisTone is a rather unfriendly greeting users
> assign to callers they want to avoid.

> http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/07/28/technology-rudeness-wireless-cx_fr_0728rude.html

There was a letter to the editor in the Press-Enterprise here in
Riverside, Ca. today.  Someone wrote about being hit by a shopping
card in a market here by a woman using her cell phone, the person took
it away and shut it off, then the lady called the party she was taking
to and said that SHE had been interrupted by a rude person.

About 5 years ago I was working in Las Vegas and was in a supermarket
and was leaning down to get something from the frozen foods section
when I was knocked to the floor, I got up the woman was pushing her
cart and talking, she never even know she had hit me, that one was not
as lucky, I got up, took the phone from her and smashed it on the
floor, she went nuts, but other pointed out that she had run me down
and kept going, would that be considered hit and run?

The only good spammer is a dead one!!  Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2005  I Kill Spammers, Inc.  A Rot in Hell Co.

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

Date: 8 Aug 2005 02:45:58 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
Subject: Re: How Do I Find GSM Coverage in the US?
Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA


> I am going to be visiting Northern California shortly. I am trying
> to find out what carriers have GSM coverage in 95437 Fort Bragg
> California. Is there a database that might be able to help?

The two major GSM carriers in the US, Cingular (now including what
used to be AT&T Wireless) and T-Mobile both have 1900MHz band licenses
in Mendocino.  If you visit Cingular's web site, you can find a
coverage map with a little blob around Fort Bragg, so assuming you
have a 1900MHz phone, it should work.  T-Mobile has no coverage at all
in Mendocino, and the 800 MHz band carriers, US Cellular and Verizon,
are both CDMA.

The Mendocino coast is so hilly that I'd expect plenty of dead spots
even for carriers that do cover the area.  But it's very pretty.

R's,

John

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

From: John McHarry <jmcharry@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Calling All Luddites
Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 02:05:32 GMT
Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net


On Sun, 07 Aug 2005 02:07:28 +0000, Ed Clarke wrote:

> No matter what you do, you aren't going to get cell service in CHQ
> Armonk.  The lobby (if you noticed it) has a copper foil ceiling; the
> walls are metal and the windows are metalized (and grounded).  You're
> not going to get a radio signal out of that building (or into it).
> I've tried.
> 
But if all you want is audio, windows make lovely microphones. Just bounce
a laser off all that lovely metalized glass. A Faraday cage does not a
prison make. 

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

From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: FCC Gives Blessing to Sprint, Nextel Marriage
Date: Sun, 07 Aug 2005 19:05:45 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


Joseph wrote:

> Actually, this is good for Sprint PCS which has been in the pits.  The
> benefit to Nextel is illusive.  It's more than likely Sprint PCS had
> more designs on spectrum than any real benefit to Nextel.  

Perhaps, but both companies will end up combining spectrum - there are
towers where Nextel has antennas but Sprint doesn't, &c.

Nextel probably figured Sprint was a good partner since (as I
understand it) they're dumping iDen for a CDMA-based platform,
long-term.

> when have mergers ever really benefitted the end user?  Look at what
> happened with AT&T Wireless and Cingular.  If you were an AT&T
> Wireless subscriber and you got absorbed by Cingular you basically got
> reamed and were not even given any Vaseline to make it easier on you.

What do you expect? SBC has done the same thing to hundreds of thousands of 
landline customers by buying RBOC's... I'd *never* use Cingular.


Steve Sobol, Professional Geek   888-480-4638   PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/
E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307

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

Subject: New Sponsor - Phone Bill Busters
Date: Mon,  8 Aug 2005 00:36:14 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)


A new sponsor for the Digest, starting today; Phone Bill Busters and 
its owner, Dave Seldon. Please check out his web site at
http://www.phone-bill-busters.com for a lot of good deals on long
distance service. Plus which, on his home page he has the .rss feed
of this Digest, making just one more way to read the TELECOM Digest
on if you wish. If you refer, use our top page at
http://telecom-digest.org  and see his ad in the far right column
where you can also click and go to his web site. Thanks very much, Dave.  

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


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career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management
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The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College
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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #359
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