For your convenience in reading: Subject lines are printed in RED and
Moderator replies when issued appear in BROWN.
Previous Issue (just one)
TD Extra News
For your convenience in reading: Subject lines are printed in RED and
Moderator replies when issued appear in BROWN.
Previous Issue (just one)
TD Extra News
TELECOM Digest Thu, 10 Mar 2005 17:50:00 EST Volume 24 : Issue 105
Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson
New Orleans Installs Surveillance Cameras (Monty Solomon)
LexisNexis: 32,000 Consumers' Data Stolen (Monty Solomon)
U.S. Citizens' Data Possibly Compromised (Monty Solomon)
Elite Computer Pirates Plead Guilty in Bootlegging Crackdown (M Solomon)
Rejected Harvard Applicants say School's Reaction to Web Page (Solomon)
MIT Says it Won't Admit Hackers (Monty Solomon)
Drug-Error Risk at Hospitals Tied to Computers (Monty Solomon)
QuickerTek 27db Transceiver for AirPort (Monty Solomon)
Motorola Postpones iTunes Phone Debut (Monty Solomon)
BT Strikes Long-Term Network Deal With Reuters (Telecom dailyLead USTA)
Draytek Router Problem: Class C Address Only on LAN Interface (paulfoel)
Long Distance Carrier Verification (Michael Muderick)
Comunications ATA 186 to ATA 186 (Without Gatekeeper, CallManager)(SoGo)
Vonage Outage Last Thursday (Randal Hayes)
Motorola Says It Is Working on More iTunes Phones (Lisa Minter)
LexisNexis Says 32,000 Profiles Stolen (Lisa Minter)
Microsoft Gives First Key Details on New Xbox (Lisa Minter)
AOL Jumps Into VoIP Service (Jack Decker)
Re: Cell Phone Radiation Dangers (Joseph)
Re: Cell Phone Radiation Dangers (Isaiah Beard)
Re: Vonage Outage Last Thursday (Robert Bonomi)
Re: Vonage Outage Last Thursday (Lisa Hancock)
Re: Home PBX Info: Switching Between Landlines and VoIP (Robert Bonomi)
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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 the recipients of the
email.
===========================
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent. 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; other stuff of interest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:28:57 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: New Orleans Installs Surveillance Cameras
By Mary Foster, Associated Press | March 9, 2005
NEW ORLEANS -- The man marched down the street in daylight, armed with
a paintball rifle that had been converted to shoot with lethal
force. He then blasted a newly installed camera in hopes of ridding
the drug-ridden neighborhood of police surveillance.
But the shooter's image was saved on the camera's hard drive.
"All it did was get him arrested," said New Orleans' chief technology
officer, Greg Meffert, with a chuckle. "The camera immediately notified
the police and tracked him until he was caught." And when they got him,
they found he was wanted on a murder warrant.
The arrest was the first success story from a new crime-fighting
system of cameras that New Orleans is installing citywide.
The bulletproof cameras can monitor an eight-block area, communicate
with the authorities, and provide evidence in court. Police hope the
system will catch criminals in the act and serve as a deterrent in a
city long plagued by drugs and murders.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/03/09/new_orleans_installs_surveillance_cameras/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:27:47 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: LexisNexis: 32,000 Consumers' Data Stolen
By Jeffrey Goldfarb and Andy Sullivan
LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Data broker LexisNexis on Wednesday said
that identity thieves have gained access to profiles of 32,000 U.S.
citizens, prompting calls for better consumer protections after a rash
of similar break-ins.
The U.S. Secret Service said it is investigating the incident, while a
company spokeswoman said the FBI has also launched an investigation.
The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of data brokers and
other companies that handle consumer information, after rival
ChoicePoint Inc. <CPS.N> said last month that thieves had gained
access to at least 145,000 consumer profiles.
U.S. lawmakers plan at least two hearings over the coming week and are
considering new regulations.
LexisNexis, a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch Reed Elsevier
<REL.L><ELSN.AS>, said a billing complaint by a customer of its
Seisint unit in the past week led to the discovery that an identity
and password had been misappropriated.
The information accessed included names, addresses, Social Security
and driver's license numbers, but not credit histories, medical
records or financial information.
LexisNexis, which bought Seisint last year, said it is contacting the
32,000 people affected and offering them credit monitoring and other
support to detect any identity theft.
The company is also changing the way it handles passwords and other
security features, said Kurt Sanford, president and CEO of the
company's corporate and federal markets division.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/09/consumer_data_stolen_from_reed_elsevier/
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For the complete report on this
incident involving LexisNexis, see the article by Lisa Minter
elsewhere in this issue of the Digest, and also review our
supplementary news section http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:28:22 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: U.S.Citizens' Data Possibly Compromised
By Ellen Simon, Associated Press Writer | March 9, 2005
NEW YORK --Using stolen passwords from legitimate customers, intruders
accessed personal information on as many as 32,000 U.S. citizens in a
database owned by the information broker LexisNexis, the company said.
The announcement Wednesday comes on the heels of a series of similar
high-profile breaches, the most serious affecting another large data
broker, ChoicePoint Inc. in which scores of identities were stolen.
The ChoicePoint case, as well as other data losses including one
affecting some 1.2 million federal employees with Bank of America charge
cards, have prompted an outcry for federal oversight of a loosely
regulated commercial sector. In the data-brokering business, sensitive
data about nearly every adult American is bought and sold.
The first in a series of Capitol Hill hearings are scheduled for
Thursday.
At LexisNexis, criminals found a way to compromise the logins and
passwords of a handful of legitimate customers to get access to the
database, said Kurt Sanford, the company's chief executive, told The
Associated Press.
The database that was breached, called Accurint, sells reports for $4.50
each that include an individual's Social Security number, past
addresses, date of birth and voter registration information, including
party affiliation.
No credit history, medical records or financial information were
accessed in the breach, LexisNexis parent company Reed Elsevier Group
PLC said in a statement.
The Accurint database is part of the Seisint unit, which LexisNexis
bought in August. Sanford said a team examining Seisint's data
security routines in February noticed abnormal usage patterns and
suspicious billing on some accounts.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/09/us_citizens_data_possibly_compromised/
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Also see the article by Lisa Minter in
this issue of the Digest. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:27:50 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Elite Computer Pirates Plead Guilty in Bootlegging Crackdown
By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press Writer | March 8, 2005
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Three top members of a global computer piracy
network admitted Thursday that they shuttled millions of dollars in
computer games, movies and software around the world through a coded
system of Web sites and chat rooms.
The men pleaded guilty in U.S. District court to federal copyright
charges, becoming the first Americans convicted in what the Justice
Department said was the largest-ever investigation of software piracy.
All said they made no money off the conspiracy and U.S. Attorney Kevin
O'Connor said they considered themselves "the Robin Hoods of
cyberspace."
But investigators said the bootlegged software ended up on the streets
of foreign countries, selling for pennies on the dollar.
The investigation -- dubbed "Operation Higher Education" because many
pirates use computers at universities -- spanned across the United
States and about a dozen foreign countries. FBI agents in New Haven
said the case broke open when they infiltrated the clandestine "warez"
community on the Internet.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2005/03/08/feds_crack_down_on_internet_software_piracy_sites/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:29:20 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Rejected Harvard Applicants say School's Reaction to Web Excessive
Rejected Harvard applicants say school's reaction to Web page "hack"
excessive
By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press Writer | March 8, 2005
BOSTON --His decision came late at night, with his laptop propped in
front of him in bed. Instructions on a Web site promised business
school applicants an early online look at whether they'd been
accepted. Intrigued, he began typing.
A minute later he'd accessed the Harvard Business School's admission
site, though all he saw was a blank page.
That split-second decision cost the 28-year-old New Yorker a chance to
attend Harvard Business School this year. On Monday, Harvard became
the second school, after Carnegie Mellon, to announce its blanket
rejection of any applicant who used a method detailed in a
BusinessWeek Online forum to try to get an early glimpse at admissions
decisions in top business schools.
On Tuesday, some of the 119 applicants denied Harvard admission
because they visited the site said the school overreacted, and
disputed that accessing a public Web page with their own
identification numbers was either a "hack" or "unethical," as Harvard
Business School Dean Kim Clark said in a statement.
The applicant said he spent months completing Harvard's rigorous
application process.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/03/08/harvard_applicants_who_hacked_into_system_rejected_for_admission/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:28:24 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: MIT Says it Won't Admit Hackers
Business school joins Harvard in decision
By Robert Weisman, Globe Staff | March 9, 2005
The dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management yesterday said Sloan will
join Harvard Business School in rejecting applications from
prospective students who hacked into a website last week to learn
whether they had been admitted before they were formally notified.
Stanford's Graduate School of Business, meanwhile, asked its own
applicant-hackers to come forward and explain their actions, in a sign
that the California school soon may take tougher action as well.
Thirty-two applicants apparently sought an early peek at the
confidential data in their admission files at Sloan, while 41 files
were targeted at Stanford and 119 at Harvard. Harvard on Monday became
the second victimized business school to say outright it would not
admit proven hackers. The first was Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of
Business, where one admission file was violated.
Those schools, along with Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and
Duke's Fuqua School of Business, all use an independent website run by
ApplyYourself Inc. of Fairfax, Va., to receive applications and, in
some cases, manage communications with applicants.
After midnight last Wednesday, hundreds of business school admission
files were targeted by computers around the globe when a hacker posted
detailed instructions on a BusinessWeek Online forum. Most of the
hackers saw only blank screens, though some who accessed admission
files at Harvard viewed preliminary decision information.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/09/mit_says_it_wont_admit_hackers/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 07:28:47 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Drug-Error Risk at Hospitals Tied to Computers
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff | March 9, 2005
Hospital computer systems that are widely touted as the best way to
eliminate dangerous medication mix-ups can actually introduce many
errors, according to the most comprehensive study of hazards of the
new technology. The researchers, who shadowed doctors and nurses in a
Philadelphia hospital for four months, found that some patients were
put at risk of getting double doses of their medicine while others get
none at all.
Doctors at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania identified
22 types of mistakes they have made because of difficulty using
computerized drug-ordering, such as failing to stop old medications
when adding new ones or forgetting that the computer automatically
suspended medications after surgery. Some doctors interviewed for the
study said they made computer-related mistakes several times a week.
The findings underscore the complexity of improving safety in US
hospitals, where the Institute of Medicine estimates that errors of
all kinds kill 44,000 to 98,000 patients a year.
The University of Pennsylvania researchers stressed that computers
hold great potential, but said many systems are overhyped and hard to
use, prompting one Los Angeles hospital to turn off its drug-ordering
system altogether.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/other/articles/2005/03/09/drug_error_risk_at_hospitals_tied_to_computers/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 12:21:10 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: QuickerTek 27db Transceiver for AirPort
http://www.quickertek.com/27dbtrans.html
27db Transceiver for AirPort Base Station; Adds up to 1/2 Mile
Line-of-Sight Range!
If you have Wi-Fi range issues, this is the solution for you . Plus,
the user can add one of these to each end of the network if needed.
The transceiver is also great for point-to-point systems, college
dorms, distant AP's like house boats trying to connect to wireless
access points etc. Typical installations would include classrooms or
fixing range problems with your ITunes and AirPort Express by adding
this to the PowerBook or Desktop.
The 27db transceiver operates on all 2.4GHz, Wi-Fi systems. The
transceiver is Wi-Fi compliant, supporting both 802.11g and 802.11b.
and works with both OS9.x and OS10.x systems. This product is designed
especially for Apple's Airport Extreme wireless systems and allows the
maximum power output allowed by the FCC. Apple wireless products have
RF output of 30mW; our product is 500mW.
This transceiver works on Apple Base Stations (Graphite, Snow, and
both Extremes models). It comes with a 2.2Dbi antenna, but all other
QuickerTek omni and directional Base Station antennas can be added.
http://www.quickertek.com/27dbtrans.html
http://www.quickertek.com/pr/2005_08_02_27DbiTrans.pdf
http://www.quickertek.com/faq.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 12:23:14 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Motorola Postpones iTunes Phone Debut
By MATT MOORE AP Business Writer
HANOVER, Germany (AP) -- Motorola Inc. postponed plans Thursday to
unveil a cell phone that can buy and play songs from Apple Computer
Inc.'s iTunes download service, a sudden decision which may reflect
tensions with cellular companies who also want to sell music to mobile
phone users.
The company briefed reporters on the new offering earlier in the week
and planned to unveil the phone at the big CeBIT technology show
here. Motorola's two-story exhibition booth included a display of
iMacs running iTunes, but the new phones weren't there.
Motorola spokeswoman Monica Rohleder said in Chicago that the company
remains in discussions with a number of wireless carriers regarding
the first iTunes phone and will announce it "when it's ready to go,"
close to its expected release time this summer.
She asserted that the last-minute change in plans was no reflection of
a dispute with carriers who offer Motorola phones in their handset
lineups.
- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=47560470
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 13:05:15 EST
From: Telecom dailyLead from USTA <usta@dailylead.com>
Subject: BT Strikes Long-term Network Deal With Reuters
Telecom dailyLead from USTA
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=19974&l=2017006
TODAY'S HEADLINES
NEWS OF THE DAY
* BT strikes long-term network deal with Reuters
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Verizon sets fiber rollout in Comcast's back yard
* Motorola delays iTunes phone announcement
* Vonage alleges more port-blocking
* AT&T to forge ahead with SoIP plans despite SBC deal
* Report: Africa's mobile phone market booming
* Nokia may snare lead in 3G race before long
* Comcast gets access to CA with Motorola deal
USTA SPOTLIGHT
* Telecom Crash Course -- The must-have book for telecom professionals
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Sony bets big on mobile PlayStation
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Two names emerge as possible replacements for Michael Powell
* Jurors in Ebbers trial seek clarification, guidance
Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=19974&l=2017006
------------------------------
From: paulfoel <BertieBigBollox@gmail.com>
Subject: Draytek Router Problem - Class C Address Only on LAN Interface?
Date: 10 Mar 2005 06:31:53 -0800
Now this is really weird ...
Set up network Draytek 2600+ as ADSL router connecting to broadband.
Local LAN port was given the address of 10.0.0.254 with a netmask of
255.255.0.0.
This is because we have all the DHCP stuff on 10.0.1.x, servers on
10.0.2.x, printers on 10.0.3.x etc. Should work, yeh ?
Trouble is if you pinged say 10.0.2.10 from the Draytek you got 50%
packet loss ...
Speaking to Draytek it seems they only support class C addresses on
the LAN port. It totally ignores the first three octets and only looks
at the last ...
So, if we've got a server 10.0.2.10, and a DHCP allocated PC with
10.0.1.10 the router gets confused when trying to ping 10.0.2.10
because it only looks at the last .10.
Got round it by changed the DHCP range to start at 50 (there are less
than 50 servers etc) to make sure the last octet is unique on the lan.
Pretty disappointed with the draytek router. We tried a cheap netgear
router and this handled the subnets fine ...
Any comments ???
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 10:57:28 -0500
From: Michael Muderick <michael.muderick@verizon.net>
Subject: Long Distance Carrier Verification
Has anyone tried 700-555-4141 lately to verify long distance carrier?
It's still a published number, but in the Phila. area, I keep getting
a busy signal. Is there a new number available?
Michael Muderick
------------------------------
From: frsanchez@gmail.com (SoGo)
Subject: Comunications ATA 186 to ATA 186 (Without Gatekeeper/CallManager)
Date: 10 Mar 2005 08:11:00 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com
I have two customer. Both connected to Internet (ADSL)
Each customer has an IP fixes and an equipment with ATA 186. The
configuration would be:
Customer 1: extension 1000
Customer 2: extension 2000
When client 1 dialing 2000, they call to VoIP phone of customer 2 ...
and vice versa.
This simple configuration can be made without having to use a
Gatekeeper (Asterisk, CallManager, ...)
The solution seems to be in that ATA of customer 1 puts as gateway ATA
of customer 2, and vice versa.
I was not able to find answers in the Cisco documentation.
Would know somebody like doing it? Would you have any url/link that
explained it?
I really need help. Thanks.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 10:59:25 -0600
From: Randal Hayes <randal.hayes@uni.edu>
Subject: Re: Vonage Outage Last Thursday
DevilsPGD <ihatespam@crazyhat.net> wrote about Re: Vonage Outage
Last Thursday on Wed, 09 Mar 2005 17:34:23 -0700
> Personally, I do most of the maintenance work on my servers during
> "peak hours"
> Why? Well, two reasons:
> 1) My system is redundant enough that users don't notice the outage.
> 2) If something blows up and I need assistance (usually in the form of
a hardware failure in a remote data center),
> I can get that support during the day. At night it's hit and miss.
A) We're talking about carriers here ... not internal support for a
company.
B) From a corporate/institutional standpoint, for a scheduled upgrade,
I always, and I mean always, have all my ducks in a row with the
vendor such that I've never, in 23 years in this business, had a
problem getting immediate vendor support, even at 4:00 AM; it's called
extremely good planning.
Randy Hayes
------------------------------
Date: 10 Mar 2005 03:45:38 -0800
From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: otorola Says It Is Working on More iTunes Phones
HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Motorola said on Thursday it is working
on several mobile phones that are compatible with Apple's iTunes music
service and some of which can store eight hours of songs.
One model, the E790, was initially scheduled for a European launch
this summer, but that introduction has been delayed after discussions
with operators, Motorola said at the fringes of CeBIT, the world's
biggest electronics fair here.
The model is a surprise as it was originally planned ahead of the
ROKR, which is also a music phone with iTunes and which Motorola has
banged the drum about, but has not yet shown.
The ROKR is expected to be unveiled later this month at a music event
in Florida.
Rival Sony Ericsson showed its first phone with a built-in Sony
Walkman last week.
"Over the course of the year, you'll see more (iTunes) devices," said
Alberto Moriondo, Motorola's global director of entertainment for
mobile devices.
Major handset makers have started collaborating with online digital
music stores. Sony Ericsson said its first Walkman phone will be on
the market around August or September. Nokia which said it will use
Microsoft's music technology alongside other standards, has yet to
unveil a dedicated music phone.
Motorola hopes to benefit from its association with Apple, which makes
the world's most popular digital player iPod and runs the world's most
popular music store, iTunes Music Store.
"The Walkman for the 21st century is the Apple brand," Moriondo said.
The fact that some iTunes phones can store eight hours of music or
more is different from initial announcements last year that Motorola
phones would only carry a small number of songs. Motorola's E790
handset will work on second-generation mobile networks, and not the
faster, third-generation (3G) systems.
Motorola at CeBIT also unveiled two more phones for third-generation
networks, one medium-priced flip phone model and a slightly
higher-priced handset which has taken some design features from the
popular RAZR model.
The Schaumberg, Illinois-based company has said it will launch 16
handsets for 3G networks this year.
Motorola also introduced new flip phone handsets for the entry-level
segment of the market, to be available in the second half of 2005.
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . Hundreds of new articles daily.
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without
profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish
to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner, in this instance, Reuters News Service.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
------------------------------
Date: 10 Mar 2005 03:46:49 -0800
From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: LexisNexis Says 32,000 Profiles Stolen
By Jeffrey Goldfarb and Andy Sullivan
LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Data broker LexisNexis on Wednesday said
that identity thieves have gained access to profiles of 32,000
U.S. citizens, prompting calls for better consumer protections after a
rash of similar break-ins.
The U.S. Secret Service and the FBI said they were investigating the
incident.
The announcement comes amid heightened scrutiny of data brokers and
other companies that handle consumer information, after rival
ChoicePoint Inc. said last month that thieves had gained access to at
least 145,000 consumer profiles.
U.S. lawmakers plan at least two hearings over the coming week and are
considering new regulations.
LexisNexis, a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch Reed Elsevier (ELSN.AS), said
a billing complaint by a customer of its Seisint unit in the past week
led to the discovery that an identity and password had been
misappropriated.
The information accessed included names, addresses, Social Security
and driver's license numbers, but not credit histories, medical
records or financial information.
LexisNexis, which bought Seisint last year, said it is contacting the
32,000 people affected and offering them credit monitoring and other
support to detect any identity theft.
The company is also changing the way it handles passwords and other
security features, said Kurt Sanford, president and CEO of the
company's corporate and federal markets division.
"LexisNexis sincerely regrets these circumstances and continues to
work aggressively and expeditiously to minimize the impact of this
incident to consumers and our customers," Sanford said in a statement.
A spokesman declined further comment.
Seisint, based in Boca Raton, Florida, uses property records and other
public data to build profiles on millions of U.S. consumers, which it
sells to law-enforcement agencies and financial institutions.
A Seisint-created criminal-information database called Matrix came
under fire when it provided government officials with the names of
120,000 people whose personal information supposedly fit the profile
of a terrorist.
GROWING PROBLEM
Identity theft is a growing problem as criminals use stolen personal
information to run up charges, costing companies and individuals
billions of dollars each year.
Until recently identity thieves could find credit-card numbers and
other sensitive information on customer receipts, bills and other
easy-to-obtain forms, but have recently turned their attention to
companies that hold such information in bulk.
"As the value of what you're trying to steal increases, so does the
effort that the bad guys will put into it," said Paul Beechey, a
security expert with UK defense group QinetiQ.
Along with LexisNexis and ChoicePoint, financial group Bank of America
Corp. and discount-store owner Retail Ventures Inc have reported lost
or stolen personal information on customers in recent weeks.
The only reason the public is aware of these incidents is because of a
California law that requires companies to disclose them, said Jim
Dempsey, executive director of the Center for Democracy and
Technology, a Washington public-interest group.
Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson who has introduced a bill that
would impose tougher regulations on the industry, learned about the
Seisint breach Wednesday morning as he spoke about identity theft on
the Senate floor.
"Are we going to do anything about it? I sure hope so, and I hope that
we are going to have Congress start to take action," Nelson said.
Reed Elsevier, which bought Seisint in July 2004 for $745
million, reaffirmed financial targets in the wake of the theft.
The company's shares in London closed down 1.87 percent at 537 1/2
pence.
Though Seisint represents only about 1.5 percent of Reed Elsevier's
revenues, analysts said the situation could harm management's
credibility and acquisition track record.
(Additional reporting by Emma Thomasson and Theo Kolker in
Amsterdam and Adam Pasick in London)
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . Hundreds of new articles daily.
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without
profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic
issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I
believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish
to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner, in this instance, Reuters Limited/Tech Tuesday.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So 32 thousand people get their records
ripped off due to the clumsiness of Lexis/Nexis and their management's
main concern is 'this may make it harder for *them* to aquire still
another company'. My heart really bleeds for them. PAT]
------------------------------
Date: 10 Mar 2005 03:47:32 -0800
From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Microsoft Gives First Key Details on New Xbox
In a speech at the Game Developers Conference here, J Allard, the
Microsoft executive overseeing the software development tools for the
new Xbox, said the new streamlined interface would help draw more
users to the platform.
"We've got to create a consistent experience so that consumers can
enter our worlds much more easily," he told a packed convention center
audience. "If we want to get to 10 or 20 million subscribers we've got
to create some consistency."
Microsoft is expected to release the new Xbox in time for the 2005
holidays, but the company has kept mum so far on both timing and the
name of the new device.
Among the features Allard demonstrated was an on-screen "Gamer Card"
that gives information other players can see on a gamer's location,
achievements in various games, time playing specific games and level
of skill.
Other features include a custom music player and a "store" where
players could make small purchases, for pennies or a few dollars, of
new characters, parts for virtual racing cars and the like.
The theme of Allard's speech was the "HD Era," which he described as a
time when all games are in high-definition, players are constantly
connected through mobile phones, instant messaging and the Internet
and gamers can personalize their environments to suit their tastes.
"The HD consumer needs more than a hi-definition Super Bowl," Allard
said. "The opportunity is real and now, but make no mistake we have
the power to blow it."
Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.
NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily
media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . Hundreds of new articles daily.
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the
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------------------------------
From: Jack Decker <jack-yahoogroups@withheld at request>
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 13:32:50 -0500
Subject: AOL Jumps Into VoIP Service
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/000548.html
Posted by Aoife McEvoy
Tuesday, March 08, 2005, 02:27 PM (PST)
Big news from one of the big dogs: AOL is yet another company to jump
on the Voice-over-IP bandwagon (albeit a little late in the
game). AOL's setup will mimic the services from companies like
Vonage, VoicePulse, Lingo, and BroadVoice, where you connect an
adapter to your broadband router and telephone. You don't even need
to turn on your PC to reach out and call someone.
Full story at:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/000548.html
How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home:
http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html
If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/
------------------------------
From: Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Radiation Dangers
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 06:11:58 -0800
Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com
On 9 Mar 2005 08:56:41 -0800, Dean <cjmebox-telecomdigest@yahoo.com>
wrote:
> A while back some on this list engaged in a lively debate about cell
> phone radiation risks. This article may have some information of
> interest to those of you who think this issue isn't dead yet.
They've brought out this pony for a couple decades now and haven't
found anything. Why should we believe this latest scare?
------------------------------
From: Isaiah Beard <sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com>
Subject: Re: Cell Phone Radiation Dangers
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 14:51:37 -0500
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Dean wrote:
> A while back some on this list engaged in a lively debate about cell
> phone radiation risks. This article may have some information of
> interest to those of you who think this issue isn't dead yet.
> The cell phone industry: Big Tobacco 2.0?
> By Molly Wood, senior editor, CNET.com
> Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Oh, C|Net. Now we KNOW it's quality journalism. </sarcasm>
Consider that Ms. Wood readily admits she has an agenda (she has an
axe to grind with cell phone manufacturers over what she perceives as
"iron-clad control over phone releases and pricing, its
ever-lengthening contracts, and the annoying habit it has of crippling
Bluetooth phones so that [she] can't use them the way [she wants]
to"). I would thus take this with a heavy handful of salt.
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.
------------------------------
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Vonage Outage Last Thursday
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:27:20 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.
In article <telecom24.103.16@telecom-digest.org>, Randal Hayes
<randal.hayes@uni.edu> wrote:
> Whenever a communications technology outage is reported and the cause
> is attributed to some problem with a software load or other
> maintenance work performed *in the middle of a workday* I always ask
> myself, "What were they thinking, performing this type of work during
> a busy period?!?"
Methinks the visible problems do _not_ occur *during* the loading of
the new software or other maintenance work. Rather, that the problem
manifests itself only "when the conditions are right" to provoke the
failure. Which, not surprisingly generally occurs during times of
peak activity. And, that once the manifestation is apparent, the
"cause of the problem" is traced back to a flaw in the new software or
other maintenance work.
------------------------------
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Vonage Outage Last Thursday
Date: 10 Mar 2005 08:40:52 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Randal Hayes wrote:
> Whenever a communications technology outage is reported and the cause
> is attributed to some problem with a software load or other
> maintenance work performed *in the middle of a workday* I always ask
> myself, "What were they thinking, performing this type of work during
> a busy period?!?"
When the Bell System was trying out prototype ESS gear, they had a
real central office served by their new switch. They had to make some
changes and planned to do so at 3am. However, they hesitated about
taking the switch down at that time, since if a call did come through,
it likely would've been an emergency. Sure enough, a call did come up
and it was indeed an emergency. The engineers realized 24 hr service
had to be truly 24 hour service.
I don't know about today, but ESS was originally built with
two CPUs. One was handling calls and one was reserved in
case of failure or to do maintenance. Early ESS turned out to
be extremely reliable -- the longest outage was on account of a
failed air conditioner. (IIRC this was the Morris IL test).
One of things the big Bell System was able to do was 'beta test' new
hardware and software under very controlled conditions before rolling
it to the whole country. A small community would be selected,
residents notified and trained accordingly, and the system tested.
Not everything passed the test -- certain call features weren't
popular and their initial tone ringers were disliked. The experience
the engineers gained from seeing and maintaining their switch in real
service serving real people was invaluable.
------------------------------
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Home PBX Info: Switching Between Landlines and VoIP
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 12:51:18 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.
In article <telecom24.101.7@telecom-digest.org>,
Lee Sweet <lee@datatel.com> wrote:
> I've got an application that may apply to many with VoIP. I've got
> two home landlines (one for myself, and one for my wife). I also have
> a Vonage line for LD and Fax. We are keeping the landlines for the
> usual reasons, including inability to port, E-911, etc.
> Now, what I want to do is have all outbound LD calls go out on the
> Vonage line automatically. Right now, I have a separate cordless
> phone for that line, but that's not the optimal answer! :-) \
> I'd like to have the various corded and cordless phones and the three
> lines hooked to some sort of home PBX where, either by dialing the
> required '1' (best answer) or perhaps an '8', calls are connected to
> the Vonage line. Else, they go out the (correct) landline. (I assume
> each handset could know its 'proper' outbound landline for local
> traffic if each input phone jack on the PBX can be programmed to use
> the appropriate outbound line.)
> Now, before PAT jumps in with his PBXtra recommendation :-) , I've
> discussed this with Mike Sandman, and he really doesn't recommend it
> for this application.
> I'll bet a lot of people have Vonage as an extra LD/Fax line, still
> have landlines, and would like to do this.
> Any recommendations/pointers about home PBX info? Thanks!
Any _real_ PBX can do what you're looking for.
With minimal systems, you implement an outside line access code for
each line -- say '7' for His, '8' for Hers, and '9' for long distance.
Smarter systems support 'call routing', where the outgoing line used
is selected by the first digit(s) of the number being called. This
allows you to route international calls differently from domestic long
distance, handle different areacodes differently, handle toll-free
calls differently from toll calls, etc., etc.
As mentioned in another response, the lowest cost approach is Asterix.
free software, an old PC (a 486 box is plenty fast enough), and some
inexpensive 'line cards' for the telephony interfaces.
More features and capabilities than you can *possibly* use, but you
don't pay anything for those "surplus" capabilities.
I've only played with it a *little* bit -- don't know off-hand if it
will do 'call routing' on a per extension basis out of the box. BUT,
if it doesn't, it would be a fairly simple matter for a programmer to
_add_ that capability -- one of the *big* advantages of a system where
you have the source code. <grin>
------------------------------
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