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The Telecom Digest for November 14, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 266 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
MBTA rolls out mobile ticketing for commuter rail riders (Monty Solomon)
1.7M mobile apps analyzed: Users tracked and put at risk, and it's unjustified (Monty Solomon)
Re: 1.7M mobile apps analyzed: Users tracked and put at risk, and it's unjustified (Thad Floryan)
US mobile users sending fewer text messages: 678 per month (Monty Solomon)
U.S. gov. accidentally publishes own short-URL 'admin' API key (Monty Solomon)
FCC's Rosenworcel calls for 'conversation' over reliability of cellphones in emergencies (Monty Solomon)

====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======

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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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