30 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Add this Digest to your personal
or 
The Telecom Digest for November 8, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 285 : "text" Format
====== 30 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
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 that person, or email address
owner.
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without the explicit written consent of the owner of
that address. Chain letters, 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.
|
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 05:37:08 +0000 (UTC)
From: David Lesher <wb8foz@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 60 hz as a time standard
Message-ID: <j97qq4$rs7$1@reader1.panix.com>
A side note on 60Hz...
I just got a Obitalk ATA, a TCP/IP->phonejack box suitable for
supporting both SIP and XMPP/GoogleVoice sessions; the latter
being my interest.
I'm at a friend's, and scrounged an old "Cobra" phone to use
with it. But the phone somehow suffers fom imbalance such that
there was an annoying amount of 60 Hz.
I called a friend on the other coast this morning. He is on a
PoS*** copper loop of 40Kft plus, and always has hum balance
[60 Hz] issues.
But his 60Hz is from another power grid, NOT sync'ed to mine. We
could listen to the two grids slowly hetrodyning against each
other...
BTW, I gave up on the Taiwan special, and found another phone
in the junk box here; this a genuine BSP-NFS 500 set. I bet I'm
only Obitalk customer running such. No hum at all with it.
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
***** Moderator's Note *****
I'm a bit behind the times: please explain what "XMPP" is and how it
is used with Googlevoice or other services.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 09:42:03 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: I'm not alone in my dislikes
Message-ID: <20111107144203.GA17213@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
I've discovered that I'm not alone in my dislikes; particularly my
dislike of "smart" cellular phones.
I recommend an article by Deborah D. McAdams: link courtesy of Michael
Painter on the Cybertelecom-l mailing list.
Once upon a time, making a phone call involved the use of a
toaster-sized static device roped to a wall outlet. There were
areas of the country where calls were connected by local ladies
who, it is now clear, were operatives of The CIA. If you were not
in the vicinity of the toaster-sized device when someone tried to
call you, the only way to know is if you were so informed by the
caller or the phone company spy lady.
http://www.televisionbroadcast.com/article/125828
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
"These apples are delicious!
'As a matter of fact, they are' she said.
Can all this fruit be free?"
- Bare Naked Ladies
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 16:00:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Randall Webmail <rvh40@insightbb.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Apple's Universe
Message-ID: <2142117294.653999.1320699652732.JavaMail.root@md03.insight.synacor.com>
>
>http://www.anandtech.com/show/4956/apple-ios-5-review
>
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>I'm announcing the NEW! IMPROVED! iBill iService. The iBill iService
>will make you iSexier, iSmarter, and iPrettier. Only iStupid,
>iSluggish, iOld people will turn down the NEW! IMPROVED! iBill
>iService. You have been iWarned!
>iBill, whose iCrystal iBall is as iCloudy as iEver.
Apple's stuff works, and it works well together. My 17" HP laptop is
permanently tethered to a flat-screen display, while my work MacBook
Pro goes with me when I travel.
My iPhone is always in my pocket and I never knew I needed an iPad
until I bought one, now I can't imagine doing my job without it.
Oh, and my ancient blueberry iMac cost $15 plus shipping on ebay,
three or four years ago. ...
***** Moderator's Note *****
I suggest you go to work at iApple, and teach them how to write a
clear sentence.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Tue, 08 Nov 2011 08:48:53 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Keeping PBX fraudsters at bay
Message-ID: <pan.2011.11.07.21.48.49.494823@yahoo.com.au>
http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/security/50928-keeping-pbx-fraudsters-at-bay
Keeping PBX fraudsters at bay
By Sam Varghese
Monday, 07 November 2011 09:25
Business IT - Security
With phone-hacking very much in the news, a small company in Israel has
probably chosen the right time to announce that its software, which can
analyse and detect fraudulent activity on PBXs, can now work with 200 PBX
models.
Humbug Telecom Labs chief technical architect Nir Simionovich said the
inter-operation was made possible through a plug-in from another company,
AGG Software, that makes software used for snooping.
He said that Humbug's software made it possible for small companies to
have proper protection against a type of fraud that was once thought to
only affect much bigger outfits.
Humbug vice-president for sales and marketing, Eric Klein, said three
kinds of fraud could be perpetrated through PBXs - subscription fraud,
voicemail hacking, and premium rate service fraud. Eric Klein Humbug's
software is part open source and part proprietary. "Humbug releases its
collection agent for Asterisk and other open source PBX variants under a
GPL licence, which means its fully open sourced," said Klein.
Asterisk is free software that transforms a computer into a communication
server.
"In the same manner, Humbug makes its data collector API available to the
public. Thus, anyone can connect to it utilising their platforms and
developments."
Klein said the Humbug software provided three distinct methods of
interconnecting with its engine - an open-source, GPL-licensed, agent
service for Asterisk-based systems; an open web-based API, utilising HTTP
or HTTPS; and a closed source agent, provided by AGG software, capable of
allowing legacy PBX systems to connect as well.
"For PBXs that can support it, either of the collectors can be installed
on the PBX as an agent," he said. "For legacy systems AGG provides a
serial port plug that is connected to an external server that acts to
collect and transmit the CDRs (call detail records) to Humbug."
The PBX creates the call details (including call set-up, completion codes,
status codes, etc.). "This is taken by the collector and sent to the
Humbug service for analysis. This analysis includes running the CDR
through a set of filters to see if it triggers one of the alerts. These
alerts include a blacklist of more than 70,000 known numbers that are used
for fraudulent activities, customer defined black/white lists based on
location, or time of day/day of week."
Simionovich said if an alert was triggered, the service would send an
email or SMS (text) message to the customer-designated administrator for
action.
"In the next release the Humbug Fraud Protection service (part of Humbug
Pro) will send a message to Asterisk-based PBXs on call set-up to not
allow the call to be initiated if it is to one of the 70,000+ blacklisted
numbers. This service will be expanded during future releases to include a
customer-specified list of prohibited countries and then time of day/day
of week. These customer set prohibitions will allow a white list for
specific extensions or numbers based on the user's business case."
The AGG plug-in is either connected via a serial port adapter, collecting
from the PBX and passing on to an external server, or as software
installed as an agent on the PBX, that then sends the call detail records
to Humbug.
Simionovich admitted that at present, since a warning occurred during the
commission of a fraud, the party which was trying to commit the fraud did
benefit to some extent.
"Currently, Humbug is only sending notifications to prevent additional
fraud attacks; thus, one attack gets through and the fraudster does get
the benefit of that one call. The number of calls that get through is
limited by the administrator not Humbug," he said.
Klein said this would change with the next release. "On systems that
support it we will be able to stop outbound calls as they are initiated,
thus preventing even this first call from benefiting the fraudster," he
added.
***** Moderator's Note *****
I'm a bit puzzled here: I thought that phone rates had decreased to
the point that fraud wasn't a problem. Is it still an issue in
overseas traffic?
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 2011 21:52:49 -0500
From: bill@horneQRM.net (Bill Horne)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in GPS Tracking Case
Message-ID: <20111108025249.GA10804@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
The Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed an amicus brief in the GPS tracking case.
The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on November 8
to determine whether the warrantless use of a GPS tracking device
by the police violates the Fourth Amendment. EPIC filed a "friend
of the court" brief in US v. Jones, urging the Supreme Court to
uphold robust Fourth Amendment protections.
Rest at
http://epic.org/2011/11/supreme-court-to-hear-argument-5.html
.
Here's a quote from the Amicus brief itself -
In this context, the proliferation of GPS tracking technology
creates a large, and largely unregulated, repository containing
detailed travel profiles of American citizens. Law enforcement
access to such information raises the specter of mass, pervasive
surveillance without any predicate act that would justify this
activity. Constitutional protections against unreasonable searches
are intended to protect individuals from this precise sort of
government intrusion.
The full text is at
http://epic.org/amicus/jones/EPIC_Jones_amicus_final.pdf
.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:03:41 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Republicans move to block FCC appointments over LightSquared issue
Message-ID: <1320725021.6682.3.camel@Thinkpad>
According to an item in the Cybertelecom-l mailing list, the
LightSquared controvery continues, with Republicans moving to block
replacements for the FCC:
On Thursday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) submitted in a
Congressional statement directed to President Obama that he
would object to the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit
Pai as commissioners at the FCC.
Rest at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/fcc-nominees-get-tangled-in-lightsquared-controversy/2011/11/03/gIQApIr7iM_blog.html
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email to write to me directly)
"Truckin, like the do-dah man
Once told me 'You got to play your hand'
Sometimes, the cards ain't worth a dime
If you don't lay 'em down"
- Grateful Dead
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in
addition to Usenet, where it appears as the moderated newsgroup
'comp.dcom.telecom'.
TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational
service offered to the Internet by Bill Horne. All the contents
of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in
some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work
and that of the original author.
The Telecom Digest is moderated by Bill Horne.
This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm-
unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and
published continuously since then. Our archives are available for
your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list
on the internet in any category!
URL information: http://telecom-digest.org
Copyright (C) 2011 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.
End of The Telecom Digest (6 messages)
Return to Archives ** Older Issues