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The Telecom Digest for November 14, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 266 : "text" Format
====== 31 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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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: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:17:52 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: MBTA rolls out mobile ticketing for commuter rail riders
Message-ID: <p06240863ccc7883afc6e@[10.0.1.6]>
MBTA rolls out mobile ticketing for commuter rail riders
Boston Business Journal
by Patricia Resende, Managing Editor MHT
November 12, 2012
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and state Department
of Transportation have officially launched a smartphone-ticketing
pilot program for the commuter rail train system.
During the rollout's first phase, commuter rail riders in the North
(Lowell, Fitchburg, Haverhill, and Newbury/Rockport) can now purchase
single and 10-ride tickets using an iOS and Android-enabled
smartphone. The program's second phase, scheduled to launch in
another few weeks, will extend to commuters in the South (Worcester,
Franklin, Fairmount, Providence, Greenbus and Old Colony).
...
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2012/11/12/mbta-rolls-out-mobile-ticketing-for.html
***** Moderator's Note *****
"MBTA" is the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which is a
government agency that oversees the public transportation system in
the Boston, Massachusetts area here in the U.S.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:58:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: 1.7M mobile apps analyzed: Users tracked and put at risk, and it's unjustified
Message-ID: <p06240856ccc783bdef22@[10.0.1.6]>
1.7M mobile apps analyzed: Users tracked and put at risk, and it's unjustified
Summary: Network security company Juniper Networks investigated 1.7
million mobile apps. It concluded that free apps cost us our privacy,
expose us unnecessarily, and most app permissions are unjustified.
By Violet Blue for Zero Day
November 6, 201
ZDNet
Juniper Networks' Mobile Threat Center (MTC) analyzed over 1.7
million apps on the Google Play market from March 2011 to September
2012.
Juniper found that most app users are being tracked, surveilled and
put at risk for exposure, and this activity is disturbingly
unjustified by the majority of app makers.
Juniper wrote, "We found a significant number of applications contain
permissions and capabilities that could expose sensitive data or
access device functionality that they might not need."
Free apps, in particular, Juniper said, "are 401 percent more likely
to track location and 314 percent more likely to access user address
books than their paid counterparts."
Most smartphone owners download lots of applications, and the number
of downloads is expected to reach upward of 45 billion in 2012 (21
billion going to Apple apps).
It's widely believed that free apps take and collect more data - such
as tracking user location - than users are comfortable with.
...
http://www.zdnet.com/1-7m-mobile-apps-analyzed-users-tracked-and-put-at-risk-and-its-unjustified-7000006885/
-or-
http://goo.gl/wm7DU
***** Moderator's Note *****
Overheated phrases such as "It's widely believed" are usually a signal
that the writer is on deadline and hasn't got the stats. YMMV.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:40:29 -0800
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1.7M mobile apps analyzed: Users tracked and put at risk, and it's unjustified
Message-ID: <50A2F68D.5080206@thadlabs.com>
On 11/12/2012 8:58 PM, Monty Solomon wrote:> [...]
>
> http://www.zdnet.com/1-7m-mobile-apps-analyzed-users-tracked-and-put-at-risk-and-its-unjustified-7000006885/
>
> -or-
>
> http://goo.gl/wm7DU
>
>
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> Overheated phrases such as "It's widely believed" are usually a signal
> that the writer is on deadline and hasn't got the stats. YMMV.
> [...]
Didn't bother to check the article's author's tweeter link? You
got snookered hook, line and sinker.
Halfway down the article page is "Follow @violetblue" which is a
link to
https://twitter.com/violetblue
. Click that and you'll
see the author is a celebrity in the San Francisco sex community.
***** Moderator's Note *****
I'll think about revoking Monty's posting privileges. Of course, that
will mean that other readers will need to take up the slack, and
since everyone else is building cocoons for the winter, maybe that
will have to wait.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 23:52:41 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: US mobile users sending fewer text messages: 678 per month
Message-ID: <p06240854ccc7826b9ff3@[10.0.1.6]>
US mobile users sending fewer text messages: 678 per month
The third-quarter drop in SMS use was the first ever in the U.S.,
showing the effects of IP-based messaging systems, a report says
By Stephen Lawson
November 12, 2012
Computerworld
IDG News Service - Anyone who finds it hard to believe that the
average U.S. mobile subscriber sent 696 text messages per month in
the second quarter of this year may be relieved to know that this
figure fell to 678 per month in the third quarter.
It was the first-ever decline for SMS (Short Message System) use in
the U.S., according to a report released on Monday by Chetan Sharma
Consulting. SMS use and spending may have peaked in the U.S. in the
second quarter, the report said.
...
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9233523/US_mobile_users_sending_fewer_text_messages_678_per_month
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:01:47 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: U.S. gov. accidentally publishes own short-URL 'admin' API key
Message-ID: <p06240858ccc7847a1b8d@[10.0.1.6]>
U.S. gov. accidentally publishes own short-URL 'admin' API key
Summary: Days after the Go.USA.gov short-URL service's API became
available to U.S. government employees, the department accidentally
published the admin username and API key, allowing hackers to
potentially create short URLs to phishing, scam or malware-ridden
sites.
By Zack Whittaker for Zero Day
November 1, 2012
ZDNet
The U.S. government mistakenly published a secret administrator's
username and private API key on its short URL website that could have
potentially allowed anyone to redirect Web users to malware-ridden
pages through the official U.S. government short URL service, ZDNet
has learned.
...
http://www.zdnet.com/u-s-gov-accidentally-publishes-own-short-url-admin-api-key-7000006752/
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:12:44 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: FCC's Rosenworcel calls for 'conversation' over reliability of cellphones in emergencies
Message-ID: <p0624087dccc8ae35e3e5@[10.0.1.6]>
FCC's Rosenworcel calls for 'conversation' over reliability of
cellphones in emergencies
By Brendan Sasso
11/13/12
The Hill
Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democratic member of the Federal
Communications Commission, said Tuesday that her agency should
explore new regulations to improve the performance of cellphone
service providers during emergencies.
Last month, Superstorm Sandy knocked out 25 percent of the cell
towers in its path, according to the FCC, leaving many customers
without service.
...
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/267633-fccs-rosenworcel-calls-for-conversation-over-reliability-of-cellphones-in-emergencies
-or-
http://goo.gl/FTTbp
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