---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <866384DF-064D-4B9F-948C-5DB37920AF48@roscom.com> Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:50:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: FBI operated 23 Tor-hidden child porn sites, deployed malware from them FBI operated 23 Tor-hidden child porn sites, deployed malware from them Researcher: FBI was likely enabled to run half of all child porn sites on the servers. By Cyrus Farivar As Ars has reported, federal investigators temporarily seized a Tor-hidden site known as Playpen in 2015 and operated it for 13 days before shutting it down. The agency then used a "network investigative technique" (NIT) as a way to ensnare site users. However, according to newly unsealed documents recently obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, the FBI not only temporarily took over one Tor-hidden child pornography website in order to investigate it, the organization was in fact authorized to run a total of 23 other such websites. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/11/fbi-operated-23-tor-hidden-child-porn-sites-deployed-malware-from-them/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <BC7AC339-0C5B-4427-B8C0-EE82B846B842@roscom.com> Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2016 21:47:35 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: AT&T to limit video quality by default - even on unlimited data plans AT&T to limit video quality by default, even on unlimited data plans Cellular customers can opt out of "Stream Saver," which limits video to 480p. By Jon Brodkin AT&T today said it will begin limiting the quality of mobile video for cellular data customers in early 2017. A new feature called "Stream Saver" will throttle video to DVD resolution of about 480p. Customers will be able to opt out of Stream Saver, but it will be enabled by default - even for customers with unlimited data, AT&T told Ars. AT&T will notify customers once Stream Saver has been activated and provide instructions for turning it off and back on, the company's announcement said. Customers on limited data plans may appreciate the feature, as it could help them stay under their data caps. But AT&T's decision to enable video throttling by default on unlimited plans that were sold without any mention of such limits has little benefit for customers. It could have some benefit only because AT&T reserves the right to throttle unlimited data plans when customers exceed 22GB a month and connect to a congested cell tower. Using less data for video will help keep "unlimited" customers under 22GB. http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/11/att-to-limit-video-quality-by-default-even-on-unlimited-data-plans/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <be9d91b9-b5ab-db29-3209-ffc76e302ee0@horne.net> Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2016 22:24:21 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Re: A look inside a Verizon switch location On 11/11/2016 4:33 PM, HAncock4 wrote: > Here is a Bell Telephone ad from Popular Science, May 1939, inviting > subscribers to visit their telephone central office (pg 5): > > https://books.google.com/books?id=jikDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA5&dq=popular%20science%201939%20bell%20telephone&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q=popular%20science%201939%20bell%20telephone&f=false That was a delightful trip down memory lane: not the bit about visiting a central office, but rather a look at one of the classic American publications, with lots of optimistic stories about how science would make our lives so much easier. They had roller skates that could trim the grass, a night-stick that included a flashlight, and an observation tower supported by a hydraulic lift so that officials at a race track could get a better view. There were wiz-bang stories about a train that "flies" just enough to lift its front wheels off the track, and a cornucopia of ads promising that readers could make a good living sharpening lawn-mower blades or as a specialist in "Swedish Massage". I used to read them at the library: they had every one ever published, and the librarian liked me because I never tore out pages for book reports. Bill -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 13 Nov 2016