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The Telecom Digest for November 07, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 300 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:

Major Security Holes Found In Mobile Phone Bank Apps (Thad Floryan)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(unknown)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(Adam H. Kerman)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(tlvp)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(Richard)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(Adam H. Kerman)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(Lisa or Jeff)
Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books(Wes Leatherock)
T-Mobile 4G commercials(Adam H. Kerman)
Re: T-Mobile 4G commercials(Steven)
"Bell System" hammer(Bert Olton)
Re: "Bell System" hammer(Steven)
Re: Yellow Pages(Randall)


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Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:04:41 -0700 From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Major Security Holes Found In Mobile Phone Bank Apps Message-ID: <4CD49B99.7080503@thadlabs.com> The following just hit the wires on Slashdot 5-NOV-2010: A security firm disclosed holes today in mobile apps http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20021874-245.html from Bank of America, USAA, Chase, Wells Fargo and TD Ameritrade, prompting a scramble by most of the companies to update the apps. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703805704575594581203248658.html Specifically, viaForensics concluded that: the USAA's Android app stored copies of Web pages a user visited on the phone; TD Ameritrade's iPhone and Android apps were storing the user name in plain text on the phone; Wells Fargo's Android app stored user name, password, and account data in plain text on the phone; Bank of America's Android app saves a security question (used if a user was accessing the site from an unrecognized device) in plain text on the phone; and Chase's iPhone app stores the username on a phone if the user chose that option, according to the report. Meanwhile, the iPhone apps from USAA, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Vanguard and PayPal's Android app all passed the security tests and were found to be handling data securely.
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 20:55:01 -0700 From: Bob <RBF1147-UN@YAH0O.C0M> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <ib2jic$d7m$1@news.eternal-september.org> On 11/4/2010 20:18, tlvp wrote: > And gone will be the days of thumbing through the Restaurant pages of the > current motel's local phone book, so as to figure out where to have dinner > before turning in for the night when temporarily in a strange town ... > :-{ . Most hotels I have patronized recently provide phone books from publishers other than the local telco. One has only the business to business yellow pages -- I can't find a place to get a pizza, but I can find a place for a pizza oven. -- My email address has no numeric zeroes
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 18:55:24 +0000 (UTC) From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <ib1jus$jr0$7@news.albasani.net> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote: >What's interesting is this year's cover claims "yp.com" is the >new "yellowpages.com". >Interesting. Looks like "yp.com" finds businesses by name or number >(reverse lookup?) and is also a people-finder. I didn't bother to >enable javascript to test it, but that capability could be useful. It's not a people finder. It's yet another front end to Intellius. Right now, there are no on line databases left except Intellius and whitepages.com.
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:34:34 -0400 From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <op.vlp03wtzitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net> On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:29:08 -0400, Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote: > In my town of Pahrump, NV, besides the usual AT&T white and yellow > page directory, two other companies distribute phone directories with > both types of pages: One from a local newspaper, the other from a > company based in Utah. And, besides all those directories, Pahrump's also got (warning: OT) a fantastic local winery :-) ... Scrumptious stuff made there! Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 2010 12:11:13 -0700 From: Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <9v9bd61o4ssnne2vtkusdc73snqvte49p3@4ax.com> On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:34:34 -0400, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> wrote: >On Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:29:08 -0400, Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote: > >> In my town of Pahrump, NV, besides the usual AT&T white and yellow >> page directory, two other companies distribute phone directories with >> both types of pages: One from a local newspaper, the other from a >> company based in Utah. > >And, besides all those directories, Pahrump's also got (warning: OT) >a fantastic local winery :-) ... Scrumptious stuff made there! > >Cheers, -- tlvp Actually, we have two wineries now. The guy who started the first one sold it, and then started a new one. Alas, I don't drink alcohol. Dick
Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2010 00:14:29 +0000 (UTC) From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <ib26l5$j5l$1@news.albasani.net> Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote: >In my town of Pahrump, NV, besides the usual AT&T white and yellow >page directory, two other companies distribute phone directories with >both types of pages: One from a local newspaper, the other from a >company based in Utah. >One advantage of the independents is that they will publish any yellow >page ad from anyone, whereas AT&T will only list those with business >phone accounts. This is useful for finding businesses which do not >have a business phone account, but use only the owner's cell phone for >business calls. Say your business uses a cell phone service or a VoIP service using phone numbers provided by bandwidth.com as its main telephone point of contact. Such telephone number providers wouldn't typically have listing agreements with the "official" phone book publisher. You can indeed buy your way into the telephone directory for a small monthly fee usually paid a publishing cycle in advance, and then buy a yellow pages display ad. It is extremely difficult to find anyone at AT&T who knows how to put you in touch with that sales group, of course. I have no doubt that "alternative" yellow pages provides go out of their way to make it easier to buy display and in-line advertising than the "official" publisher does.
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 19:01:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <2132c297-cf89-41fe-8c50-427fc9ed9624@t35g2000yqj.googlegroups.com> On Nov 4, 11:18 pm, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeL...@hotmail.com> wrote: > And gone will be the days of thumbing through the Restaurant pages of the > current motel's local phone book, so as to figure out where to have dinner > before turning in for the night when temporarily in a strange town ... :-{ . I think the yellow pages will stay since they make a profit off of that. The following from today may have more information: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/homepage/20101105_Pa__allows_Verizon_to_quit_distributing_residential_phone_books.html
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 20:39:02 EDT From: Wes Leatherock <wesrock@aol.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Verizon-Penna gets ok to end phone books Message-ID: <13803.10f17b91.3a05fda6@aol.com> In a message dated 11/5/2010 5:26:10 PM Central Daylight Time, thad@thadlabs.com writes: >> And gone will be the days of thumbing through the Restaurant pages >> of the current motel's local phone book, so as to figure out where >> to have dinner before turning in for the night when temporarily in >> a strange town ... :-{ . >> >> All good things must pass, I guess. Cheers, -- tlvp > This is actually sad -- the passing of another piece of history. > Back when I was making numerous business trips, it was fun to see > what pages were the most-frequented in the local phone books based > on observing the book from the side while it was "flat" on a > table. In Philadelphia, I noticed restaurant pages were the ones; in > San Diego CA it was the massage parlors. One quickly gets a "feel" > for an area from such observations. :-) I see no mention of eliminating the Yellow Pages. While the white pages are available only on request where live (Oklahoma City in AT&T (former SBC, nee Southwestern Bell) territory, the Yellow Pages are alive and well (and have several other publishers putting them out, too). They are a money-making enterprise and I think it unlikely they will be elimintated. The restaurant pages expand every year and some restaurants even spend the money to publish their menus and this must be a great source of revenue for both the Bell and competring directory publishers. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 18:46:04 +0000 (UTC) From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: T-Mobile 4G commercials Message-ID: <ib1jdc$jr0$6@news.albasani.net> T-Mobile is advertising 4G. Are they reselling Sprint and Clear, or did they actually erect a network of their own?
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:19:22 -0700 From: Steven <diespammers@killspammers.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: T-Mobile 4G commercials Message-ID: <ib467a$40h$1@news.eternal-september.org> On 11/5/10 11:46 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote: > T-Mobile is advertising 4G. Are they reselling Sprint and Clear, or did > they actually erect a network of their own? > I don't think it is Sprints or Clearwire as those are CDMA and T-Mobile is GSM, maybe an LTE network. -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2010 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co.
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:19:02 -0400 From: Bert Olton <artorius@rochester.rr.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: "Bell System" hammer Message-ID: <ib1lag$j81$1@news.eternal-september.org> Greetings and my apologies for dropping in here without having first lurked for a time. Someone in another newsgroup suggested you folks as a likely resource for information on something I stumbled across. I am a welder/heavy equipment mechanic by trade but I do some hobby level blacksmithing as well, so my eye is always open to unusual metal working tools. A couple of days ago I found a hammer which had "Bell System" stamped on one side. There are no other markings on it. It's about 3 to 4 pounds, a straight peen and the really unusual thing about it is a 7/8th inch hole through the head, parallel to the peen and handle. Would any of you happen to know the purpose of that hole? Again, my apologies and thanks for your patience with an out of the blue drop in. Bert -- Si vis pacem, para bellum. To those who have served or are serving the cause of freedom in peace or in war at home or abroad, thank you. "Let's roll!": Todd Beamer, United Airlines Flight 93, September 11, 2001.
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:22:31 -0700 From: Steven <diespammers@killspammers.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: "Bell System" hammer Message-ID: <ib46d7$40h$2@news.eternal-september.org> On 11/5/10 12:19 PM, Bert Olton wrote: > Greetings and my apologies for dropping in here without having first > lurked for a time. Someone in another newsgroup suggested you folks as a > likely resource for information on something I stumbled across. > > I am a welder/heavy equipment mechanic by trade but I do some hobby > level blacksmithing as well, so my eye is always open to unusual metal > working tools. > > A couple of days ago I found a hammer which had "Bell System" stamped on > one side. There are no other markings on it. It's about 3 to 4 pounds, a > straight peen and the really unusual thing about it is a 7/8th inch hole > through the head, parallel to the peen and handle. > > Would any of you happen to know the purpose of that hole? > > Again, my apologies and thanks for your patience with an out of the blue > drop in. > > Bert > It might be for fixing climbing pegs on telephone poles -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2010 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co.
Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2010 11:09:19 -0400 From: Randall <rvh40.remove-this@and-this-too.insightbb.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Yellow Pages Message-ID: <55850755-6B9B-4FC6-A75E-AF197CAE67F4@insightbb.com> >>> The Phila Inqr reported: >>> >>> Verizon Pennsylvania Inc. today got the go-ahead to stop regular >>> publishing of the white pages. >> >> And gone will be the days of thumbing through the Restaurant pages >> of the >> current motel's local phone book, so as to figure out where to >> have dinner >> before turning in for the night when temporarily in a strange >> town ... >> :-{ . >> >> All good things must pass, I guess. Cheers, -- tlvp > > This is actually sad -- the passing of another piece of > history. > > Back when I was making numerous business trips, it was > fun to see what pages were the most-frequented in the > local phone books based on observing the book from the > side while it was "flat" on a table. In Philadelphia, I > noticed restaurant pages were the ones; in San Diego CA > it was the massage parlors. One quickly gets a "feel" for > an area from such observations. :-) To be clear: They are stopping the WHITE Pages, not the Yellow. Yellow pages are surely a profit-maker for them (since competitors are trying to take a bite of that sandwich). They're surely not stopping the Yellow Pages (and I can't recall ever seeing a White Page phone book in a motel room, much less one with "massage parlor" ads.)
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End of The Telecom Digest (13 messages)

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