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The Telecom Digest for November 25, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 299 : "text" Format
====== 30 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
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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: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:24:23 -0500
From: "Geoffrey Welsh" <gwelsh@spamcop.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Sophos Security's take on Google's latest "_nomap" opt-out offer
Message-ID: <54cb8$4ecd727e$adce0fcc$24965@PRIMUS.CA>
Opt-out should be illegal in all matters concerning privacy, and the
punishment should be forty lashes followed by a keelhauling.
Ignoring such silliness as the possibility that a competitor (e.g. Bing) do
the same but choose a different tag, making it impossible to opt out of both
schemes, Google is essentially requiring that not only countless access
points be updated but also that all the devices configured to use them be
reset, which in aggregate would cost a lot of money. I will not repeat my
previous rant about how Apple's 'simple' consumer products shift the support
headache from customers to IT support staff, but this is more of the same.
Attention Google, Congress (I'm specifically thinking of the DST date
changes, but there may be more expamples), and anyone else who thinks it's
just a minor inconvenience for us to do 'just one little thing' to
accommodate you, keep in mind that we're all scrambling to make a living
out here and that the hassle you all cause us is not insignificant, and the
damage you do to the economy by requiring us to spend time on things that
neither produce goods or services nor improve security, performance, or
reliability is, on a national (or multi-national) scale, mind-boggling. If
you want to do something you should figure out how to do it safely and
securely with your resources, not ours, thank you very much!
***** Moderator's Note *****
Did someone forget their router password? (Ducks).
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:28:57 +0000 (UTC)
From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: How 1-800-ITS-UNIX changed the world
Message-ID: <jaje19$cus$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>
In article <jaj831$8ps$1@news.albasani.net>,
Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>Having learned SysVRel4 and earlier, Berkeley-style Unixes have always
>struck me as weird.
Having learned Berkeley Unix back in the early days, USG-style Unixes
have always struck me as backwards and painful for no obviously good
reason.
>Also, inflicting sendmail upon the world was evil.
sendmail is much better if you're not trying to write its
configuration in machine language. These days, it mostly Just Works
out of the box, just like other MTAs -- but it's good to know that, if
you need to do something truly weird, all of that expressive power is
still there behind the scenes. (I think it's been years since I last
had to actually touch my sendmail config. Probably when I decided I
didn't need the overhead of clam in my mail-processing path, since
email is no longer the dominant virus-distribution mechanism.)
-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
***** Moderator's Note *****
OK, let's just nip this in the bud. The OS wars were waged a long,
long, time ago, and nobody won. System 5 vs. BSD is not a discussion
worth having, and Sendmail is evil, or at least very
confusing. ;-)
Followups have been set to comp.os.sendmail.
Bill
P.S. Besides, real men use Linux and Exim.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:20:24 +0000 (UTC)
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <jajdh8$c2o$1@reader1.panix.com>
[snippeth]
>Did Mannix have a car phone? I remember back then that VIPs would be
>shown with a car phone, which were very rare back then. You're right,
>it added some "sexy" or coolness to the show.
Don't recall about Mannix, but if we go back to the 1950s,
"The Adventures of Superman" [a] featured publisher Perry
White with a car phone. None of the reporters or other
secondary people...
[a] As Scotty of Star Trek might have said, "no A, B,
C, or D. Just Superman, dammit"
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:42:30 -0800 (PST)
From: Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <1322149350.75333.YahooMailClassic@web111703.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
--- On Wed, 11/23/11, danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote:
> Did Mannix have a car phone? I remember back then that VIPs would
> be >shown with a car phone, which were very rare back then. You're
> right, it added some "sexy" or coolness to the show.
> Don't recall about Mannix, but if we go back to the 1950s, "The
> Adventures of Superman" featured publisher Perry White with a car
> phone. None of the reporters or other secondary people...
When I was a reporter at The Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) we
had two cars with car phones. You got a car with a phone if there was
a reason it might be needed on an assignment. I used it a number of
times on such an assignment. I believe [the phone number] was
WJ7-2954.
Wes Leatherock
wleathus@yahoo.com
wesrock@aol.com
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:17:04 +0000 (UTC)
From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Universal Service Reform Order Yields a Surprise or Two
Message-ID: <jak5ug$39d$1@news.albasani.net>
>Universal Service Reform Order Yields a Surprise or Two
>11/21/11
>by Joan Engebretson
>Weighing in at 750 pages, the Universal Service and inter-carrier
>compensation reform order from the FCC was made public on Friday. The
>commission issued a fairly detailed executive summary in late October
>when the order was adopted- and in large part, the final order
>essentially just adds more detail to what was outlined in the
>executive summary. But after an initial review, I did find a few
>elements in the order that had not been previously announced.
>
>http://www.telecompetitor.com/universal-service-reform-order-yields-a-surprise-or-two/
>
FCC is ordering 6 Mbps down/1.5 up in rural areas in five years in some
portions of rural service area. 4/1 in all Universal Service areas in
five years, and 4/1 to 85% of subscribers in three years.
What federal law defines broadband as universal service?
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:11:54 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: APPLE-SA-2011-11-10-1 iOS 5.0.1 Software Update
Message-ID: <p0624088fcaf38fdec9f6@[10.0.1.4]>
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
APPLE-SA-2011-11-10-1 iOS 5.0.1 Software Update
iOS 5.0.1 Software Update is now available and addresses the
following:
CFNetwork
Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S,
iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later,
iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to the
disclosure of sensitive information
Description: An issue existed in CFNetwork's handling of maliciously
crafted URLs. When accessing a maliciously crafted HTTP or HTTPS URL,
CFNetwork could navigate to an incorrect server.
CVE-ID
CVE-2011-3246 : Erling Ellingsen of Facebook
CoreGraphics
Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S,
iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later,
iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: Viewing a document containing a maliciously crafted font may
lead to arbitrary code execution
Description: Multiple memory corruption issues existed in FreeType,
the most serious of which may lead to arbitrary code execution when
processing a maliciously crafted font.
CVE-ID
CVE-2011-3439 : Apple
Data Security
Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S,
iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later,
iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: An attacker with a privileged network position may intercept
user credentials or other sensitive information
Description: Two certificate authorities in the list of trusted root
certificates have independently issued intermediate certificates to
DigiCert Malaysia. DigiCert Malaysia has issued certificates with
weak keys that it is unable to revoke. An attacker with a privileged
network position could intercept user credentials or other sensitive
information intended for a site with a certificate issued by DigiCert
Malaysia. This issue is addressed by configuring default system trust
settings so that DigiCert Malaysia's certificates are not trusted. We
would like to acknowledge Bruce Morton of Entrust, Inc. for reporting
this issue.
Kernel
Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S,
iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later,
iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: An application may execute unsigned code
Description: A logic error existed in the mmap system call's
checking of valid flag combinations. This issue may lead to a bypass
of codesigning checks. This issue does not affect devices running
iOS prior to version 4.3.
CVE-ID
CVE-2011-3442 : Charlie Miller of Accuvant Labs
libinfo
Available for: iOS 3.0 through 5.0 for iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S,
iOS 3.1 through 5.0 for iPod touch (3rd generation) and later,
iOS 3.2 through 5.0 for iPad, iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to the
disclosure of sensitive information
Description: An issue existed in libinfo's handling of DNS name
lookups. When resolving a maliciously crafted hostname, libinfo could
return an incorrect result.
CVE-ID
CVE-2011-3441 : Erling Ellingsen of Facebook, Per Johansson of
Blocket AB
Passcode Lock
Available for: iOS 4.3 through 5.0 for iPad 2
Impact: A person with physical access to a locked iPad 2 may be able
to access some of the user's data
Description: When a Smart Cover is opened while iPad 2 is confirming
power off in the locked state, the iPad does not request a passcode.
This allows some access to the iPad, but data protected by Data
Protection is inaccessible and apps cannot be launched.
CVE-ID
CVE-2011-3440
Installation note:
This update is only available through iTunes, and will not appear
in your computer's Software Update application, or in the Apple
Downloads site. Make sure you have an Internet connection and have
installed the latest version of iTunes from www.apple.com/itunes/
iTunes will automatically check Apple's update server on its weekly
schedule. When an update is detected, it will download it. When
the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad is docked, iTunes will present the
user with the option to install the update. We recommend applying
the update immediately if possible. Selecting Don't Install will
present the option the next time you connect your iPhone, iPod touch,
or iPad.
The automatic update process may take up to a week depending on the
day that iTunes checks for updates. You may manually obtain the
update via the Check for Updates button within iTunes. After doing
this, the update can be applied when your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
is docked to your computer.
To check that the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad has been updated:
* Navigate to Settings
* Select General
* Select About. The version after applying this update will be
"5.0.1 (9A405)".
Information will also be posted to the Apple Security Updates
web site:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,
and details are available at:
https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/
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***** Moderator's Note *****
I'm disappointed that Apple has forced its customers to install
"itunes" in order to get security updates, and I'm not going to
believe that it's easier or more efficient or anything but a tawdry
ploy to sell more mp3's.
BTW, I recommend that all computer users remove all root
certificates issued by authorities involved with breaches such as the
one mentioned above: IMNSHHO, a gaffe like that one is proof that the
authortiy and it's certificates can't be trusted.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 07:30:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <1322148642.77765.YahooMailClassic@web111703.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
> HAncock4 <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
[Moderator snip]
> Question: In conducting business, Hollywood studios made extensive
> use of the telephone, even going way back. I wonder if they Bell
> System provided them with advanced PBX switchboards or networks to
> accomodate their demand. I wonder if studio lots had more telephone
> extensions than a typical industrial site.
It's easy to forget that a lot of the L.A. area was served by
independent telephone companies where AE tlephone and dials were very
common, so probably not a conscious deviation in film in many cases.
Some of the independent compahies were pretty progressive and their
telephone service may have provided by independent companies which
could also supply such equipment and networks.
Wes Leatherock
wleathus@yahoo.com
wesrock@aol.com
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:08:28 -0800
From: Andrew Carey <carey.remove-this@and-this-too.ar-ballbat.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <EDC1EFC4-91FC-4B89-A081-A7914057B3CB@ar-ballbat.org>
I can't believe no one has mentioned Sidney Pollack's "The Slender
Thread" yet. Not really an obscure technology but the entire movie is
based on tracing the call of a suicidal women. According to a blurb on
TCM, everything except the crisis center was filmed on location in the
Seattle area.
Chunks of the movie are on Youtube. I don't think it has been released
on DVD or Blu-ray. Part 3 has an operating room (not the surgical
kind) starting at 3:19 and goes on to a c.o.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkJlpLT_L7M
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