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The Telecom Digest for May 18, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 107 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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Date: 17 May 2013 04:10:55 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Chips in credit cards
Message-ID: <20130517041055.48380.qmail@joyce.lan>
In article <1368718244.35293.YahooMailClassic@web125206.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> you write:
>
>I received a routine renewal of a credit card carlier this week that
>included a funny symbol on the front and an enclosure with it that
>said it included a chip so it could be used in other places that
>reuire it such as Canada, Mexico and the U.K.
The chip is easy enough to see, a fingernail sized thing with obvious
contact pads. If it has a little curved line logo, that's a contactless
chip (Paypass, Express Pay, etc.) which is something else.
Which credit card company was it? Did they give you a PIN, or is it
chip+signature?
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 11:11:09 +0000 (UTC)
From: David LaRue <huey.dll@gte.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Verizon Direct Marketing
Message-ID: <XnsA1C348FE19603507d764ee9285@178.63.61.145>
I received an email from Verizon about my FIOS account. It stated that
they are now direct marketing with non-personal data, including my home
address. There was an opt out link that didn't work. Presumably this
affects web ads though it was not spsecifically stated.
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 03:46:14 +0000 (UTC)
From: David Scheidt <dscheidt@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Tell Verizon to bring back FTP
Message-ID: <kn4966$e3$1@reader1.panix.com>
Bill Horne <bill@horneqrm.net> wrote:
:On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 06:52:00PM -0400, Matt Simpson wrote:
:> In article <20130516193643.GA3097@telecom.csail.mit.edu>,
:> Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote:
:>
:> > I know that ftp isn't secure, but anyone who has struggled through
:> > getting Dreamweaver to create a web page, and then found themselves
:> > unable to upload it, will understand why I think this is worth
:> > publishing.
:>
:> Instead of bringing back FTP, maybe they should offer SFTP. That should
:> eliminate their security woes, and any web page builder should be able
:> to find an SFTP client that's easy to use.
:The problem is that most web-design programs made before 2000 are only
:coded for ftp, and turning off ftp is an effective way to force users
It's 2013. Inability to use a secure file transfer program isn't
really a good reason to support insecurity, and neither is suporting
seriously obsolete web design tools.
:to use the brain-dead preformated sites and tools. Why an ISP would
:want to do that is anyone's guess.
Lower support costs, or they want to kill the service entirely.
--
sig 110
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 08:20:38 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Tell Verizon to bring back FTP
Message-ID: <20130517122038.GA12618@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, May 17, 2013 at 03:46:14AM +0000, David Scheidt wrote:
> Bill Horne <bill@horneqrm.net> wrote:
> :The problem is that most web-design programs made before 2000 are only
> :coded for ftp, and turning off ftp is an effective way to force users ...
>
> It's 2013. Inability to use a secure file transfer program isn't
> really a good reason to support insecurity, and neither is suporting
> seriously obsolete web design tools.
My son drives a 1997 Buick. It's "obsolete" by your logic. It's also
capable of going 65 on the Interstate, gets about-the-same-mileage as
any other car, and moves him from home to job in a reliable
manner. Plus, the roof doesn't leak (I've owner cars where the roof
did leak), and all the ergs that might be saved by him purchasing
some newer, shinier model were amortized years ago.
"Obsolete" is in the eye of the owner: if it gets the job done, it's
not obsolete, by definition. I've had customer who ran DOS-based
accounting software in 2006. It's what their staff was trained on, and
it got the job done, so they used it.
Dreamweaver and similar programs are very expensive: they are
professional-grade web design tools, but cost the better part of a
thousand dollars to put in service. Small design shops that are
watching every penny sometimes choose to make do with older releases:
That's their choice, not mine.
"Security" is relative: given that the material is, by its nature,
intended for public distribution, I don't see why keeping it "secure"
would be important. If you're referring to the ftp software itself
being insecure, I disagree: some extensions have been problematic,
but the basic functions are no more "insecure" than http. Any
software needs maintenance: security and bug fixes are the bread and
butter of the sysadmin's day, and ftp daemons are no exception.
> : ...to use the brain-dead preformated sites and tools. Why an ISP
> : would want to do that is anyone's guess.
> Lower support costs, or they want to kill the service entirely.
They don't want to kill the service entirely: they just want to hobble
its users to the point where they go to commercial sites in
disgust. That's a win-win for the ISP: they get to claim that they
include "free" websites with their monthly fee, but charge extra for
webspace that's actually usable.
Bill, who is a Verizon DSL customer and therefore entitled to complain
about it.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: 17 May 2013 13:44:39 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Tell Verizon to bring back FTP
Message-ID: <20130517134439.80910.qmail@joyce.lan>
>"Security" is relative: given that the material is, by its nature,
>intended for public distribution, I don't see why keeping it "secure"
>would be important.
The security issue is that FTP passes your ID and password in the
clear where it is more subject to snooping by bad guys who use it to
upload malware droppers to your web site (which they do.)
I agree that the chances of traffic being sniffed on the way from your
home broadband to VZ are pretty low, but people update their web sites
from coffee shop wifi which is notoriously sniffable.
If you want to keep using antiqueware, run a local FTP server on your
own PC, FTP the files to that, and use https or sftp or something more
modern to move them to your host.
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 13:54:35 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Tell Verizon to bring back FTP
Message-ID: <20130517175435.GA22809@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, May 17, 2013 at 01:44:39PM -0000, John Levine wrote:
> >"Security" is relative: given that the material is, by its nature,
> >intended for public distribution, I don't see why keeping it "secure"
> >would be important.
>
> The security issue is that FTP passes your ID and password in the
> clear where it is more subject to snooping by bad guys who use it to
> upload malware droppers to your web site (which they do.)
Verizon can afford appropriate anti-malware measures.
> I agree that the chances of traffic being sniffed on the way from your
> home broadband to VZ are pretty low, but people update their web sites
> from coffee shop wifi which is notoriously sniffable.
If that were the problem, Verizon could require that uploads only come
from IP addresses that are assigned to the web site(s) in question, or
could demand that customers use separate passwords for ftp: it could
ask users to download a one-time upload key and use that instead of
their regular account password. The company could also require a
pre-authorization call from the phone number associated with the
account, or even charge a fee for uploads, thus leveraging the
security systems dedicated to preventing credit-card fraud.
> If you want to keep using antiqueware, run a local FTP server on your
> own PC, FTP the files to that, and use https or sftp or something more
> modern to move them to your host.
That's the issue in a nutshell: AFAIK, Verizon doesn't offer any
upload method, no matter how secure it might be. The company demands
that all web mods be done via a brain-dead, text only interface. (1)
I think Mr. Scheidt is correct: Verizon wants to kill the service. I think
I was right, too: Verizon doesn't want to give up whatever advertising
value it gets by claiming to offer websites.
Bill
1. If anyone has a method to upload files to a "free" web server
associated with Verizon ADSL, I'd like to know it.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 23:46:13 -0500
From: Doug McIntyre <merlyn@dork.geeks.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Verizon FiOS battery failures surprising Pennsylvania Customers
Message-ID: <z5Odnda2x7yIKwjMnZ2dnUVZ_q2dnZ2d@giganews.com>
HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> writes:
>> But when Gaertner called Verizon to get a replacement battery, KDKA
>> says he was told his warranty was just for one year and that he was
>> solely responsible for the battery.
>The article suggested the batteries were failing about after a year.
>For a battery like this, I'm surprised it doesn't last longer (I am
>not an engineer).. Automobile batteries, which have more of a charge/
>discharge cycle, can last five years or more. A FIOS battery probably
>stays on 'trickle' charge almost the entire time and isn't bounced
>around like a car battery. (Of course, Verizon may be equipping its
>boxes with very cheap batteries that don't last very long.)
>From the VZ replace-the-battery video, it looks like stock 12V
lead-acid cell battery like found in your stock UPS (the model
they were replacing was even from APC, a well known UPS vendor).
You can find these sorts of batteries at any place that sells
car/motorcycle/lawn mower lead-acid type batteries.
I've found that over the years of maintaining many UPS units, that the
cheaper consumer level (ie. APC) batteries tend to last only 2-3 years
instead of 5-6 years that a car battery does.
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