From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Feb 12 00:24:16 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i1C5OFM11680; Thu, 12 Feb 2004 00:24:16 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 00:24:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200402120524.i1C5OFM11680@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #69 TELECOM Digest Thu, 12 Feb 2004 00:24:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 69 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson eBay Scam Uses iPods as Bait (Monty Solomon) CDT Calls for Legislation Creating Federal Privacy Officers (M. Solomon) CDT Files Complaint With FTC in "Browser Hijacking" Case (Monty Solomon) MS-Disney Deal 'Heralds Format War' (Monty Solomon) Cable Modem Hackers Conquer the Co-ax (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 11.03 (Monty Solomon) Can't Get First Two Digits of Inband String (Matt Darnell) Norvergence Still at it ... (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: "No Internet Voting" (Mark Atwood) NetZero Commercials on Television (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: Hands Free Use With Motorola V60C Closed (SELLCOM Tech support) 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 is 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 16:52:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: eBay Scam Uses iPods as Bait By Leander Kahney A search for "iPod" on eBay yields a couple thousand listings for the digital music player and accessories, but beware: Hundreds of the listings are inducements to join pyramid-style scams. Ebay is swamped with new "matrix" schemes, which appear to be legitimate buyers clubs but are in fact variations on classic pyramid scams, which are outlawed around the world. In most cases, eBay shoppers are offered hot products like an iPod, a game console or a cell phone at an incredible discount, say for $40 or $25. The eager bargain hunter is told not to bid on the item, but is directed instead to sites like My3Mobile ,The Phone Matrix or Goraks.com , which offer iPods or cell phones as free gifts when products like CDs or eBooks are purchased. The catch is that buyers only get their free iPod after more people sign up. When making a purchase, the buyer's name is added to a list. As new members join, names are shuffled up the list. When they reach the top, the iPod is dispatched. To speed up the process, buyers are often encouraged to recruit new members to join the scheme. And that's where all the eBay posts come from: Victims are using eBay to recruit new members. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,62226,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 17:01:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CDT Calls for Legislation Creating Federal Privacy Officers Citing the model of the Privacy Officer established by statute in the Department of Homeland Security, CDT is urging Congress to create similar positions at other federal agencies as a means of addressing privacy concerns associated with government information practices in the digital age. February 10, 2004 CDT Testimony: "Privacy in the Hands of the Government: The Privacy Officer for the Department of Homeland Security", Feb. 10, 2004 http://www.cdt.org/testimony/20040210dempsey.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 17:06:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CDT Files Complaint with FTC in "Browser Hijacking" Case The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) today filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Mailwiper Inc., Seismic Entertainment Media and/or their affiliates engaged in deceptive and unfair marketing practices by changing computer users' Web homepages without their consent and then trying to convince these users that they needed the Mailwiper program called "Spy Wiper" software to protect their computer. CDT has heard from several consumers who have spent hours trying to fix their computer and some who even bought Spy Wiper to no avail. CDT asked consumers to provide information about their experiences with spyware via a Web site. CDT received hundreds of messages about different companies. Several of these messages were about Spy Wiper and their activities led CDT to investigate further. February 11, 2004 CDT's Complaint with the FTC against Mailwiper and Seismic Entertainment Media [pdf] Feb. 10, 2004: http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20040210cdt.pdf CDT Report "Ghosts in Our Machines: Background and Policy Proposals on the 'Spyware' Problem" [pdf] November 2003: http://www.cdt.org/privacy/031100spyware.pdf Join CDT's Campaign Against "Spyware": http://www.cdt.org/action/spyware/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 17:10:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: MS-Disney Deal 'Heralds Format War' By Macworld staff Industry insiders believe the Microsoft-Disney alliance, which will see the two companies develop digital media content and delivery systems together, indicates that a new format war is under way. Jupiter Research analyst Joe Wilcox told The New York Post: "Apple has traction in Hollywood. Its computers are used to make a lot of movies. But Apple needs to go a step further in the digital distribution of video." Wilcox notes that Microsoft plans to introduce handheld devices later this year that will let users fetch and play movies on the go. "If the only way to download Disney movies is on a Microsoft-powered digital player, a consumer might buy music that would play on the same device. It might finally give Microsoft a leg up on Apple's iPod," he said. http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news.cfm?NewsID=7886 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 20:21:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cable Modem Hackers Conquer the Co-ax By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus A small and diverse band of hobbyists steeped in the obscure languages of embedded systems has released its own custom firmware for a popular brand of cable modem, along with a technique for loading it -- a development that's already made life easier for uncappers and service squatters, and threatens to topple long-held assumptions about the privacy of cable modem communications. The program, called Sigma, was released in its final version last month, and has reportedly been downloaded 350 to 400 times a day ever since. It's designed to be flashed into the non-volatile memory of certain models of Motorola's Surfboard line, where it runs in parallel with the device's normal functionality. It gives users almost complete control of their cable modem -- a privilege previously reserved for the service provider. The project is the work of a gang of coders called TCNiSO. With about ten active members worldwide, the group is supported by contributions from the uncapping community -- speed-hungry Internet users who rely on TCNiSO's research and free hackware to surmount the bandwidth caps imposed by service providers, usually in violation of their service agreement, if not the law. To them, Sigma is a delight, because it makes it simple to change the modem's configuration file -- the key to uncapping, and, on some systems, to getting free anonymous service using "unregistered" modems. "I've known TCNiSO for two years now and I've done a lot of things with their techniques," wrote a Canadian uncapper in an e-mail interview. "Sigma is the greatest one I've seen." http://www.securityfocus.com/news/7977 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 21:52:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 11.03 ======================================================================= E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================= Volume 11.03 February 11, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_11.03.html ====================================================================== Table of Contents ====================================================================== [1] EPIC FOIA Docs Show Acxiom Was Considered as TIA Data Source [2] Pentagon Cancels Internet Voting Project [3] FBI Asks FCC to Delay Discussion of Internet Phone Rules [4] DHS Deputy Secretary Questioned About Passenger Profiling [5] EPIC and PI Open Nominations for Brandeis, Big Brother Awards [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Protecting America's Health [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_11.03.html ------------------------------ From: mdarnell@servpac.com (Matt Darnell) Subject: Can't Get First Two Digits of Inband String Date: 11 Feb 2004 19:35:32 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Aloha, We are having touble receiving the first 2 digits of a string of digits being sent by our PBX. The digits are sent immediatly after we go offhook. I.E. The PBX sends "###333" (we verified with a digit grabber) we will only see "#333". This is 100% consistant. I have included our C test program, I think the DTMF receivers are not being activated soon enough after on hook. After reading the docs, the dx_getdig simply gets the digits out of the buffer, it doesn't turn the DTMF receivers on or off. Aloha, Matt Darnell ******* while(1) { printf("Opening " DEVICE "\n"); if ((chdev = dx_open(DEVICE, 0)) == -1) { printf("Failed to open device!! : %d\n", errno); switch(errno) { case EINVAL : printf("\tInvalid device " DEVICE "\n"); break; case EBADF : printf("\tInvalid file descriptor\n"); break; case EINTR : printf("\tEAn interrupt was caught\n"); break; case EIO : printf("\tLinux Streams error\n"); break; default : printf("\tUnknown error\n"); } exit(-1); } dx_sethook(chdev, DX_ONHOOK, EV_SYNC); dx_clrtpt(tpt,3); tpt[0].tp_type = IO_CONT; tpt[0].tp_termno = DX_MAXDTMF; /* Maximum number of digits */ tpt[0].tp_length = 4; /* terminate on 4 digits */ tpt[0].tp_flags = TF_MAXDTMF; /* terminate if already in buf. */ tpt[1].tp_type = IO_CONT; tpt[1].tp_termno = DX_LCOFF; /* LC off termination */ tpt[1].tp_length = 3; /* Use 30 ms (10 ms resolution */ tpt[1].tp_flags = TF_LCOFF|TF_10MS; /* level triggered, clear history, 10 ms resolution */ tpt[2].tp_type = IO_EOT; tpt[2].tp_termno = DX_MAXTIME; /* Function Time */ tpt[2].tp_length = 100; /* 10 seconds (100 ms resolution */ tpt[2].tp_flags = TF_MAXTIME; /* Edge-triggered */ tpt[2].tp_flags = TF_MAXTIME; /* Edge-triggered */ /* clear previously entered digits */ if (dx_clrdigbuf(chdev) == -1) { printf("Unable to clear digit buffer\n"); exit(-1); } printf("Gonna wait for ring!!\n"); if (-1 == (dx_wtring(chdev, 1, DX_OFFHOOK, -1))) { printf("dx_wtring returned error\n"); ATDV_ERRMSGP(errno); exit(-1); } printf("Gonna get digs\n"); if ((numdigs = dx_getdig(chdev, tpt, &digp, EV_SYNC)) == -1) { printf("dx_getdig returned error\n"); exit(-1); } printf("dx_getdig got %d digits", numdigs); for (cnt=0; cnt < numdigs; cnt++) { printf("\n\tDigit received = %c digit type = %d", digp.dg_value[cnt], digp.dg_type[cnt]); } printf("\nClosing " DEVICE "\n"); dx_close(chdev); } [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For a short term solution, can't you force feed two more digits in the front of the string which do not matter to the PBX as filler so that when it starts 'seeing' the digits it is where you want things to be? Or, do you have any way to get the PBX to stall long enough to get the equipment opened? Maybe in your script above a couple of NOPS (non-operations) will stall sufficiently. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 23:54:43 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Norvergence Still at it ... I *thought* Norvergence was going to leave me alone. Silly me for thinking, I know ... Now just today, I got still another letter from an attorney (new to me) named Federico Acosta, in Tustin, CA who purports to represent David Rodriquez, the defendant in the Norvergence vrs. Rodriquez case. Attorney Acosta, just like attorney Kyle Kulzer of Norvergence, is making demand that derogatory messages about Norvergence be removed from our web site. Despite the fact that Michael D. Sullivan in Washington, DC is representing me in the case, attorney Acosta chose to write directly to me. I do not know if that was his own idea, or if perhaps Norvergence and their attorney simply chose to cut Sullivan out of the picture and put the pressure directly on me instead. *Once again* I told this latest attorney NO! to his demands, and suggested he take furher demands etc to Mr. Sullivan. I faxed the latest correspondence over to Mike Sullivan tonight. PAT ------------------------------ Subject: Re: "No Internet Voting" From: Mark Atwood Organization: EasyNews, UseNet made Easy! Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 22:13:49 GMT Nick Landsberg writes: > This reminds me of the story of NASA way back when. They purportedly > spent thousands if not millions in R&D money to develop a ball-point > pen which would work in space (Null-gravity, free-fall, whatever you > want to call it ... weightlessness). > The Russians supplied their cosmonauts with a pencil. http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp | Claim: NASA spent millions of dollars developing an "astronaut pen" | which would work in outer space while the Soviets solved the same | problem by simply using pencils. | | Status: False. | | Origins: The Write stuff lesson of this anecdote is a valid one, that | we sometimes expend a great deal of time, effort, and money to create | a "high-tech" solution to a problem, when a perfectly good, cheap, and | simple solution is right before our eyes. The anecdote offered above | isn't a real example of this syndrome, however. Fisher did ultimately | develop a pressurized pen for use by NASA astronauts (now known as the | famous "Fisher Space Pen"), but both American and Soviet space | missions initially used pencils, NASA did not seek out Fisher and ask | them to develop a "space pen," Fisher did not charge NASA for the cost | of developing the pen, and the Fisher pen was eventually used by both | American and Soviet astronauts. | | Here's how Fisher themselves described it: NASA never asked Paul | C. Fisher to produce a pen. When the astronauts began to fly, like the | Russians, they used pencils, but the leads sometimes broke and became | a hazard by floating in the [capsule's] atmosphere where there was no | gravity. They could float into an eye or nose or cause a short in an | electrical device. In addition, both the lead and the wood of the | pencil could burn rapidly in the pure oxygen atmosphere. Paul Fisher | realized the astronauts needed a safer and more dependable writing | instrument, so in July 1965 he developed the pressurized ball pen, | with its ink enclosed in a sealed, pressurized ink cartridge. Fisher | sent the first samples to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Director of the Houston | Space Center. The pens were all metal except for the ink, which had a | flash point above 200°C. The sample Space Pens were thoroughly tested | by NASA. They passed all the tests and have been used ever since on | all manned space flights, American and Russian. All research and | developement costs were paid by Paul Fisher. No development costs have | ever been charged to the government. | | Because of the fire in Apollo 1, in which three Astronauts died, NASA | required a writing instrument that would not burn in a 100% oxygen | atmosphere. It also had to work in the extreme conditions of outer | space: | | 1. In a vacuum. | 2. With no gravity. | 3. In hot temperatures of +150°C in sunlight and also in the cold | shadows of space where the temperatures drop to -120°C | | (NASA tested the pressurized Space Pens at -50°C, but because of the | residential [sic] heat in the pen it also writes for many minutes in | the cold shadows.) | | Fisher spent over one million dollars in trying to perfect the ball | point pen before he made his first successful pressurized pens in | 1965. Samples were immediately sent to Dr. Robert Gilruth, Manager of | the Houston Space Center, where they were thoroughly tested and | approved for use in Space in September 1965. In December 1967 he sold | 400 Fisher Space Pens to NASA for $2.95 each. | | Lead pencils were used on all Mercury and Gemini space flights and all | Russian space flights prior to 1968. Fisher Space Pens are more | dependable than lead pencils and cannot create the hazard of a broken | piece of lead floating through the gravity-less atmosphere. Mark Atwood | When you do things right, mra@pobox.com | people won't be sure you've done anything at all. http://www.pobox.com/~mra ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 23:37:45 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: NetZero Commercials on Television Lately I have seen commercials on television for an ISP known as 'NetZero'which invite me to take the 'Netzero Challenge'. According to those people, you can 'surf the net at up to five times faster than regular dialup', and they sell it for $14.95 per month. Does anyone know what they are doing? The various 56-K dialups around town are all brokering through TerraWorld under various names, but I wonder what NetZero does that makes them 'up to five times faster than regular dialup'. Any ideas? PAT ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Hands Free Use With Motorola V60C Closed Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 23:53:01 -0500 Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com gsmolin@suscom.net (Greg Smolin) posted on that vast internet thingie: > Is it possible to use the Motorola V60C with the phone closed with a > hands free device -- or must the phone be open to talk? My V60 works closed with a hands free headset plugged in. Unplug the headset to disconnect the call. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Talkswitch, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Minisplitter log splitter If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. 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