The Telecom Digest for November 25, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 318 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
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Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:19:00 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Claim: Cellphones Can Cause an Allergic Reaction.
Message-ID: <p06240820c9123471dca9@[10.0.1.2]>
The Claim: Cellphones Can Cause an Allergic Reaction.
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
November 22, 2010
THE FACTS Talking on a cellphone for long periods can carry certain
risks, like dirty looks from those around you. But allergies?
In recent years, dermatologists have seen a small but growing number
of people with itchy rashes along their jaw lines, face and ears
which go away when cellphone use is discontinued.
The reason, studies suggest, is an allergy to metals in the phones,
most often nickel.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/health/23really.html
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:04:08 -0800
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: When Your Company Remote-Wipes Your Personal Phone
Message-ID: <4CECB8E8.9020706@thadlabs.com>
In today's (23-NOV-2010) Slashdot:
When Your Company Remote-Wipes Your Personal Phone
NPR has a story about someone whose personal iPhone got remotely
wiped by their employer.
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131511381/wipeout-when-your-company-kills-your-iphone
It was actually a mistake, but it was something of a surprise
because they didn't believe they had given their employer any
kind of access to do that. This may already be very familiar
to Microsoft Exchange admins, but the problem was her iPhone's
integration with MS Exchange
http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/
automatically gives the server admin access to do remote wipes.
All you have to do is configure the phone to receive email from
an MS Exchange server and the server admin can wipe your phone
at will. The phone wasn't bricked, even though absolutely all of
its data was wiped, because the data could be restored from
backup, assuming that someone had remembered to make one. But
this also works on other devices like iPads, Blackberry phones,
and other smartphones that integrate with MS Exchange. So if
you read your work email on your personal phone or tablet, you
might want to make sure that you keep backups, just in case.
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:41:34 -0500
From: Matt Simpson <net-news69@jmatt.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: When Your Company Remote-Wipes Your Personal Phone
Message-ID: <net-news69-5A7546.12413324112010@news.toast.net>
In article <4CECB8E8.9020706@thadlabs.com>,
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>the problem was her iPhone's
> integration with MS Exchange
>
> http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/
>
> automatically gives the server admin access to do remote wipes.
> All you have to do is configure the phone to receive email from
> an MS Exchange server and the server admin can wipe your phone
> at will.
Interesting. I use my iPhone to access my Exchange calendar, but not my
Exchange email. (They are separate options in the account
configuration). Does anyone have more detailed info on this? Is my
phone immune from remote wipe because it is not configured "to receive
email from an Exchange server"? Or was the reporting slightly sloppy,
and is Exchange calendar syncing sufficient to allow the server to wipe
the phone?
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:42:35 -0800
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: When Your Company Remote-Wipes Your Personal Phone
Message-ID: <4CED78BB.9060705@thadlabs.com>
On 11/24/2010 9:41 AM, Matt Simpson wrote:
> In article <4CECB8E8.9020706@thadlabs.com>,
> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> the problem was her iPhone's
>> integration with MS Exchange
>>
>> http://www.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/
>>
>> automatically gives the server admin access to do remote wipes.
>> All you have to do is configure the phone to receive email from
>> an MS Exchange server and the server admin can wipe your phone
>> at will.
>
> Interesting. I use my iPhone to access my Exchange calendar, but not my
> Exchange email. (They are separate options in the account
> configuration). Does anyone have more detailed info on this? Is my
> phone immune from remote wipe because it is not configured "to receive
> email from an Exchange server"? Or was the reporting slightly sloppy,
> and is Exchange calendar syncing sufficient to allow the server to wipe
> the phone?
Per the Business Deployment guide available at the above URL or here:
http://images.apple.com/iphone/business/docs/iPhone_Business.pdf
on page 2 it's quite clear the iPhone can be wiped per (copy'n'pasted):
iPhone communicates directly with your Microsoft Exchange Server
via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), enabling push email,
calendar, and contacts. Exchange ActiveSync also provides users
with access to the Global Address List (GAL), and provides
administrators with passcode policy enforcement and remote wipe
capabilities. iPhone supports both basic and certificate-based
authentication for Exchange ActiveSync. If your company currently
enables Exchange ActiveSync, you have the necessary services in
place to support iPhone -- no additional configuration is required.
If you have Exchange Server 2003, 2007, or 2010 but your company
is new to Exchange ActiveSync, review the following steps ...
[...]
Download and install the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Mobile
Administration Web Tool, which is necessary to initiate a remote
wipe. For Exchange Server 2007 and 2010, remote wipe can also
be initiated using Outlook Web Access or the Exchange Management
Console.
on page 14:
And if the device falls into the wrong hands, users and IT
administrators can initiate a remote wipe command to erase
private information.
on page 16:
If a device is lost or stolen, it's important to deactivate
and erase the device. It's also a good idea to have a policy
in place that will wipe the device after a defined number of
failed passcode attempts, a key deterrent against attempts to
gain unauthorized access to the device.
[...]
Remote Wipe
iPhone supports remote wipe. If a device is lost or stolen,
the administrator or device owner can issue a remote wipe
command that removes all data and deactivates the device.
If the device is configured with an Exchange account, the
administrator can initiate a remote wipe command using the
Exchange Management Console (Exchange Server 2007) or Exchange
ActiveSync Mobile Administration Web Tool (Exchange Server
2003 or 2007). Users of Exchange Server 2007 can also
initiate remote wipe commands directly using Outlook Web
Access. Remote wipe commands can also be initiated by Mobile
Device Management solutions even if Exchange corporate
services are not in use.
on page 19:
This gives IT departments the ability to securely enroll
iPhone in an enterprise environment, wirelessly configure
and update settings, monitor compliance with corporate
policies, and even remotely wipe or lock managed iPhone devices.
on page 22:
Remote wipe
A mobile device management server can remotely wipe an iPhone.
This will permanently delete all media and data on the iPhone,
restoring it to factory settings.
So, it seems best to powerdown an iPhone before April 1 of any
year to avoid corporate pranks from the IT department. :-)
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 04:34:23 -0800 (PST)
From: Tom Horne <hornetd@gmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: US may disable all in-car mobile phones
Message-ID: <42d63eeb-685a-4ed3-9677-dbad9b238148@p1g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>
On Nov 23, 4:54 pm, Stephen <stephen_h...@xyzworld.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:28:27 -0800 (PST), Lisa or Jeff
>
> <hanco...@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> >On Nov 18, 7:59 pm, Thad Floryan <t...@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>>> LaHood may be right. Disabling mobile phones in cars should not be
>>> looked at as a way of protecting you from yourself, but instead as
>>> a way of protecting you from the stupid.
>
>> While I don't like the intrusiveness of this proposal, and I fear
>> it may have unintended negative consequences, unfortunately it is
>> needed.
>
> i suspect there are other unintended consequences.
>
> what makes anyone think that any suppression of the signal will
> confine itself to the car?
>
> trains only stop cell phone leakage from outside to inside if the
> windows have gold film or other Faraday cage type construction.
>
> most cars are transparent to radio - otherwise cell phones wouldnt
> work inside and this would not be an issue
>
> so any suppression is going to "leak" as well.
>
> this could make cellphones unuseable alongside a major road, in a car
> park, from someone in a broken down car on a motorway or near a
> traffic accident
>
> What does that do for public safety?
>
>> As a motorist and pedestrian, I see countless examples of driver
>> errors caused by their distraction of a cell phone conversation.
>> Drivers suddenly make a turn from the wrong lane. Slow down too much
>> in the wrong place. Miss a stop sign or traffic light. Tailgate*.
>
>> It's not holding the cellphone, but the conversastion itself. Thus,
>> hands-free phones are not the answer.
>
> If this is true (rather than shades of gray) then it isnt the
> cellphone that is the problem, but the distraction.
>
> time to ban talking in cars, kids in the back seat and all the other
> distractions that have caused accidents.........
>
>
>
>> I don't think the problem would be so bad if motorists had short quick
>> conversations, "Hi, I'll be home in 45 minutes." But they have
>> extended detailed conversations, "What do you want me to pick up at
>> the store? The Acme or A&P? Is that the eight ounce or tweleve ounce
>> bottle? Regular or diet?"
>
>> Then of course is the problem of teens texting while driving, which
>> obviously is very distracting and dangerous.
>
>> (I don't understand how a group of teens walking down the street
>> ignore each other and focus instead on their cell phones, but that's
>> another issue. But how do middle and high schools prevent teens from
>> texting during class?)
>
>> * While visiting Chicago, I was almost rear ended by a phone company
>> employee talking on a 'brick' unit in the early days of cell phones.
>> She was completely oblivious to her surroundings.
>
> --
> Regards
>
> stephen_h...@xyzworld.com - replace xyz with ntl
Stephen
It needn't be the kind of blocking you seem to be imagining. Since
the FCC already requires providers to be able to locate an individual
phone, it is possible to tell how fast that phone is moving. Any phone
moving faster than a walking pace could be denied service except for
911. If you're broken down you would no longer be moving so your call
would not be blocked.
--
Tom Horne
Date: 24 Nov 2010 23:11:44 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: US may disable all in-car mobile phones
Message-ID: <20101124231144.77227.qmail@joyce.lan>
>moving faster than a walking pace could be denied service except for
>911.
Hmmn. Could you explain exactly why I can't use my phone when I'm
on the train?
R's,
John
Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:50:21 -0800
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: AT&T raising rates
Message-ID: <4CEDDCFD.4020806@thadlabs.com>
At the end of Dave Lazarus' current column in the Los Angeles Times:
<http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20101123,1,7803228.column>
AT&T raising rates
Speaking of services that were once free, AT&T is informing customers
that the charge for directory assistance will rise Jan. 3 to $1.79
per call from $1.50 - a nearly 20% increase.
The telecom giant also says its monthly rate for basic residential
phone service will rise for most customers to $19.95 from $16.45.
That 21% increase follows a 22% jump in the cost of basic phone
service at the beginning of 2010 and a 23% rise the year before.
This is way ahead of the inflation rate, which has remained below 3%
for the last couple of years.
"Our rates were held down by regulators for a long time," said Lane
Kasselman, an AT&T spokesman. "So now we're playing catch-up. We're
staying competitive with the rest of the market."
A spokesman for Verizon said the company has no plans to boost either
its $1.25 charge for directory assistance or its $20.91 monthly
charge for basic residential phone service.
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