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The Telecom Digest for May 20, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 127 : "text" Format
====== 29 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== |
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
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Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
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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, and other stuff of interest.
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Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 09:54:22 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Data theft may expose jobless residents
Message-ID: <p06240801c9f97f883a50@[10.0.1.3]>
Data theft may expose jobless residents
Breach could affect up to 210,000 in Mass.; state gives notification
4 weeks after attack
By Hiawatha Bray
Globe Staff / May 18, 2011
The personal financial information of up to 210,000 unemployed
Massachusetts residents may have been stolen in a data breach caused
by a virus discovered in state labor department computers four weeks
ago, officials said yesterday.
Names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, among other data, may
have been taken, said John Glennon, chief information officer for the
Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
The number of affected recipients is probably a small fraction of the
total number of potential victims, according to Glennon. The virus
attempted to transmit confidential information to digital thieves, he
added, but it was not clear how much, or even whether, any data was
successfully stolen.
...
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/05/18/data_theft_may_expose_jobless_residents_in_mass/
Virus causes data breach at state websites
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/05/virus_causes_da.html
Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Reports a Virus
Infiltrated the Computer Systems of Agencies tied to Employers,
Unemployed Claimants and Career Center Customers
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=elwdpressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Elwd&b=pressrelease&f=eolwd_computer_virus&csid=Elwd
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 10:00:03 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Caution: Texting on foot a hazard
Message-ID: <p06240805c9f980f18ecf@[10.0.1.3]>
Caution: Texting on foot a hazard
Distracted pedestrians are racking up all kinds of injuries. The
message? Pay attention or pay the price.
By Beth Teitell
Globe Staff / May 17, 2011
Jocelyn Nagy was at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and West Broadway
indulging in a favorite pastime, walking while texting, when she
stepped in front of an oncoming car, which promptly ran over her
foot. Nagy, 22, checked to see if she could still walk (incredibly,
she could), and then quickly got back to the really important
business. "I just got hit by a car!'' she texted friends.
Massachusetts banned texting while driving last September, but as
emergency room doctors - and annoyed or amused onlookers know -
texting while on foot remains quite legal. Now that walking season is
upon us, look out. Distracted pedestrians are colliding with cars and
telephone poles, tumbling down stairs and off curbs, and slamming
into other pedestrians, some of whom are also texting, of course.
OMG! Just hit by jerk!
Ohio State University researchers reported that pedestrian texting
accidents led to more than 1,000 emergency room visits nationwide in
2008. In retrospect, that was a relatively simple time, when
Americans sent a mere 1 trillion texts, according to CTIA-The
Wireless Association, based in Washington, D.C. Last year, the number
of texts hit 2.1 trillion, and Jack Nasar, a professor of city and
regional planning at Ohio State, is updating his research. He expects
that the new numbers, out later this month or in June, will show an
increase in texting-related injuries. "I'm not sure people realize
they are putting themselves at risk,'' he said.
...
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2011/05/17/accidents_among_texting_pedestrians_are_fraught_with_hazards/
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 10:04:11 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: 99% of Android phones leak secret account credentials
Message-ID: <p06240808c9f98234da85@[10.0.1.3]>
99% of Android phones leak secret account credentials
'Impersonation attacks' target Google services
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Posted in Security, 16th May 2011 21:44 GMT
The vast majority of devices running Google's Android operating
system are vulnerable to attacks that allow adversaries to steal the
digital credentials used to access calendars, contacts, and other
sensitive data stored on the search giant's servers, university
researchers have warned.
The weakness stems from the improper implementation of an
authentication protocol known as ClientLogin [1] in Android versions
2.3.3 and earlier, the researchers from Germany's University of Ulm
said. After a user submits valid credentials for Google Calendar,
Contacts and possibly other accounts, the programming interface
retrieves an authentication token that is sent in cleartext. Because
the authToken can be used for up to 14 days in any subsequent
requests on the service, attackers can exploit them to gain
unauthorized access to accounts.
...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/05/16/android_impersonation_attacks/
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 12:56:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: History--exchange evolution, C.O. buildings
Message-ID: <0110466b-01f7-45b9-806b-95f10f518ad3@k17g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>
The following table shows the types of exchanges in use in the Bell
System.
year Manual Panel Step x-bar Ess
1960 715 494 7511 2218 -
1970 11 451 8393 5637 264
1977 1 68 7223 6537 3477
source and more detail:
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/bstj/vol58-1979/bstj-vol58-issue01.html
The above article provides great detail on the design of Bell System
buildings.
It notes that years ago buildings were constructed to house many
people, primarily operators, but now hold mostly machines and fewer
craft people.
Date: 18 May 2011 13:28:56 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Pre-paid SIM cards in the US
Message-ID: <20110518132856.31871.qmail@joyce.lan>
In article <BANLkTik+Bb3eow7UORH8wFKqtRhcJzuNQw@mail.gmail.com> you write:
>A friend of mine in Malaysia is about to fly to California. He wants
>a pre-paid SIM. All I could find him was a T-Mobile SIM available on
>Amazon.com. Can he walk into a T-Mobile store in the US and buy one
>there? I know an option is to buy a pre-paid phone, but he wants to
>use his own phone.
T-Mo and AT&T will both sell you a SIM. I bought an AT&T SIM a couple
of weeks ago, I think for $25 plus the airtime.
R's,
John
Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 12:59:07 -0500
From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Pre-paid SIM cards in the US
Message-ID: <ir3lpg$ea$1@dont-email.me>
On 5/18/2011 8:28 AM, John Levine wrote:
> T-Mo and AT&T will both sell you a SIM. I bought an AT&T SIM a
> couple of weeks ago, I think for $25 plus the airtime.
With T-Mo anyhow, for $20 or so you can get both the SIM and a cheap
phone at a mass-market vendor like WalMart, Target or K-Mart. That's
where I get mine (I lose/break phones). While I haven't tried using
the SIM in the phone branded by another vendor, I have switched SIMs
between various T-Mo-locked phones without any problem, and ISTM that
it ought to work in any unlocked phone.
Dave
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 05:41:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: "harold@hallikainen.com" <harold@hallikainen.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Open Wi-Fi Hotspots
Message-ID: <7f3aa183-30e2-4f42-8857-4b29422d8667@f31g2000pri.googlegroups.com>
On May 17, 4:53 am, Bill Horne <b...@QRMhorne.net> wrote:
> As reported by Bruce Schneier in this month's edition of Crypto-Gram:
>
> The Electronic Frontier Foundation is calling for an "Open Wireless Movement".
>
> Details are athttps://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/04/open-wireless-movement
>
> Bill Horne
I have a wireless router from Fon (http://corp.fon.com/en ) that
allows allocation of a portion of the total bandwidth for use by
others. It is free to other Fon members and a few bucks a day for non-
members. I think it's a clever idea. I've had it for several years
now. So far I've had a few paid users, but no other Fom members use
the router.
On encryption, as discussed in the article, use of HTTPS seems like it
handles it. I use Squirrel Mail as my web mail system and HTTPS to
access it.
Harold
***** Moderator's Note *****
One of the certificate authorities recently discovered that it had
mistakenly issued certs for websites that weren't owned by the domain
name registrant. No system is perfect: SSL has weak points, too.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: 18 May 2011 12:51:34 GMT
From: Doug McIntyre <merlyn@geeks.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Pre-paid SIM cards in the US
Message-ID: <4dd3c0d6$0$74948$8046368a@newsreader.iphouse.net>
John Mayson <john@mayson.us> writes:
>A friend of mine in Malaysia is about to fly to California. He wants
>a pre-paid SIM. All I could find him was a T-Mobile SIM available on
>Amazon.com. Can he walk into a T-Mobile store in the US and buy one
>there? I know an option is to buy a pre-paid phone, but he wants to
>use his own phone.
Since prepay options aren't as common in the US as they are the norm
in Asia, they don't get advertised much.
I'd suspect if they walked into a T-Mobile store, it might be more
hassle than its worth trying to get a prepay SIM. Probably get sold
on buying a phone package, etc.. Probably can eventually get through
there, or an AT&T wireless store, since they are GSM as well.
OOTH, I see them all over Target/BestBuy. Maybe even the grocery
stores (although I'd admit there that I've seen the prepay phones,
didn't look close enough to see if just the SIM cards were there).
T-Mobile & AT&T and their roaming partners will all have them.
I did buy my mom a cheap GSM cell-phone and prepay SIM from Target
a year or so ago. It is easier to find a $10/phone with prepay time
than just a prepay SIM card though.
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 09:35:23 -0400
From: Pete Cresswell <nobody-home@Invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Letting it ring?
Message-ID: <f2i7t6t5id7rk1g0qb90pt8q84gu5gk4r2@4ax.com>
Per David Clayton:
>C'mon, 98% of people who have been brainwas.... trained to use phones have
>a Pavlovian urge to answer any ringing phone.
>
>With the way technology is set up these days (answering machines,
>diversions etc.) and people's general impatience it must be a rare thing
>these days for a call to time-out ringing.
I find that's part of the flaw in the logic of "screening calls"
via an answering machine.
The tension involved in waiting out four rings, sitting through
the announcement, and then listening for the voice on the other
end seems to outweigh just picking the thing up and answering it.
Right now, my incoming is still POTS, but if/when I ever
transition to 100% VOIP I think I'll shop for a provider that
enables something like this:
- Somebody places a call to my number
- VOIP provider answers the phone with a recorded message:
"Press 1 for Sue, press 2 for Joe, press 3 for Sam, press 4
for Jane, press 5 for Sally, press 6 for Will, press 7 for
Irving, press 8 for Menachim, press 9 for Pete".
- I'm Pete and nobody else exists.
- If, and only if, somebody presses "9", my phone rings.
Anything else, and the other end gets an extended message -
anything... mainly to drive up the costs of telemarketers...
but preferably number-specific to preserve the illusion that
they really are leaving a message for Sue, Joe, or whoever.
- My regular callers learn to just hit "9" as soon as
they are connected - so they get an immediate ring and
don't hear any message.
- If I'm not there, my answering machine kicks in just like
it does now and legit callers can leave a message.
It may sound convoluted, but it seems to me like that should
eliminate most all junk calls, especially the ones where they
leave messages - at least until the practice becomes widespread
and the robo-dialers get programmed to hit random numbers in
search of a ring....
--
PeteCresswell
Date: Wed, 18 May 2011 16:18:22 -0700
From: "Jack Myers" <jmyers@n6wuz.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Letting it ring?
Message-ID: <um0ea8-e6t.ln1@n6wuz.net>
David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> On Tue, 17 May 2011 12:35:44 -0400, Moore, Carl (Civ,ARL/SLAD) wrote:
> > I haven't posted here in a while. Last night, I heard comment on Family
> > Radio (on Harold Camping call-in program "Open Forum") about letting the
> > phone ring. This reminded me of what Larry King did years ago -- tell HIS
> > listeners who are calling in to let the phone ring. Some systems have a
> > limit on how long the phone can ring.
>
> C'mon, 98% of people who have been brainwas.... trained to use phones have
> a Pavlovian urge to answer any ringing phone.
The point is that the caller holds his place in the incoming queue and
[at least in the case of a POTS call] the caller does not get charged
for the ring time.
--
Jack Myers / Westminster, California, USA
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.
--Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Date: Thu, 19 May 2011 13:19:17 -0500
From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Letting it ring?
Message-ID: <ir3mva$918$1@dont-email.me>
On 5/17/2011 5:47 PM, David Clayton wrote:
> C'mon, 98% of people who have been brainwas.... trained to use phones have
> a Pavlovian urge to answer any ringing phone.
I'm sure I recall reading that Western Electric (Bell) engineers
devoted some research and effort into creating a ring sound that
impelled the recipient to pick up the phone.
Not so much with the electronic warbles we get nowadays... in klezmer
music (Jewish party music of the last century), one often finds
clarinet players making a sound that (80 years ahead of its time) is
just like an electronic ringer.
Dave
***** Moderator's Note *****
I'll never forget the first time that I heard a piezoelectric ringer
on a cell-phone: I knew, right that instant, that it would soon be
worked into TV commercials. I was right.
Bill Horne
Moderator
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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