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Message Digest 
Volume 28 : Issue 208 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:
  TLS vs S/MIME (was: Skype threat) 
  Re: Cellphone tower coverage Qs 
  Re: Cellphones and driving 
  Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction 
  Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction 
  Re: Skype apparently threatens Russian national security           
  SPRINT NEXTEL Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results
  Sprint Nextel To Acquire Virgin Mobile USA
  Re: Cellphone tower coverage Qs 
  Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape
  Re: Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape
  Yahoo! and Microsoft to Host Conference Call; Live Webcast  Available
  How To Hijack 'Every iPhone In The World'


====== 27 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== 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, and other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:19:03 -0400 From: Matt Simpson <net-news69@jmatt.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: TLS vs S/MIME (was: Skype threat) Message-ID: <net-news69-6EF7B9.10190329072009@news.toast.net> In article <l1ss655nopkp660dcq7v205gqgsuc3muv6@4ax.com>, "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net> wrote: > We should really be using S/MIME encryption to encrypt the emails > for the entire connection from your computer to my computer > > Programs such as Outlook Express/Windows Mail and Outlook do support > S/MIME quite nicely. > > (Regretfully the email software I've been using since 1995, Eudora, has > *lousy* support for S/MIME. I'm another diehard Eudora fan. I'm using Eudora's TLS capability to encrypt the traffic between Eudora and my mail server. Is this less secure or desirable than S/MIME? I don't know squat about S/MIME. From a few seconds of Googling, it looks like it provides signature verification capability, which isn't included in TLS. But if you're just interested in protecting your email from prying eyes on the net, signatures aren't really necessary. ****** Moderator's Note ***** The advantage of S/MIME or PGP is that they are End-To-End encryption methods. TLS, OTOH, is only secure up to the server, and the emails are stored in plaintext inside the machine. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:37:18 -0500 From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Cellphone tower coverage Qs Message-ID: <4A70265E.1000403@annsgarden.com> techie@tantivy.tantivy.net (Bob Vaughan) wrote: > It is likely that there are additional cell sites that are not > located on a tower at all, but are installed on the roof of a > building (there is a office building along El Camino, next to > WalMart and Trader Joe's which I recall as having antennas on it.) > Other places where you may find antennas include flagpoles (there are > examples at Palo Alto fire stations 3 (Rinconada Park), and 4 > Mitchell Park), lamp posts (the old Elks Lodge parking lot next to > Dianah's), and church steeples. There are also some micro sites > mounted on utility poles (Junipero Serra @ Stanford Ave). Not to mention fake conifers, fake cacti, fake water towers, real water towers, fake utility poles, smokestacks, transmission line towers, abandoned billboard poles. Here are links to some websites dedicated to photos of cell/PCS sites, including camouflaged sites: - Kramer.Firm: http://cellularpcs.com/gallery/ - New England Cellular Sites: http://www.necellularsites.net/ - Larson Camouflage, LLC.: http://www.utilitycamo.com/sites.html - Dan Bricklin: http://danbricklin.com/log/celltowers.htm - Antenna Spotting: http://antennaspotting.blogspot.com/ - Neal McLain: http://antennastructures.blogspot.com/ Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:37:25 -0500 From: gordon@hammy.burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Cellphones and driving Message-ID: <-8-dnXEPzt1oXvLXnZ2dnUVZ_vidnZ2d@posted.internetamerica> >***** Moderator's Note ***** > >The Fifth Amendment states that > >"... nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just >compensation." > >I doubt that items confiscated because they were used in the >commission of a crime are considered to be "for public use", but I'll >defer to the constitutional scholars among us. Civil forfeiture items are often sold and the money is used for law enforcement or the general fund. I consider that to be "for public use". Civil forfeiture also turns "innocent until proven guilty" on its head, and does not require that the government prove that the item was used in a crime or is the proceeds of a crime. The owner must prove that it wasn't. Also, the item is often owned by someone unrelated to any hypothetical crime. Telcom related tidbit: If pot plants are found growing outside a central office, the police might confiscate the central office, with no proof that the telco or even any employee of the telco was responsible for the pot plants. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:54:15 -0700 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction Message-ID: <IeTbm.7123$cf6.1968@newsfe16.iad> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > A telephone number related to the Jenny song is up for auction. For > details see: > > http://www.kyw1060.com/--Jenny-s---Phone-Number-Goes-Up-For-Auction/4888510 > I guess I am out of it. That number means nothing to me. Prior to electronic switching many, of not most C.O.s reserved XXX-0000 for calling maintenance in the C.O. My local LEC, at least, dropped that scheme when cutting to electronic. At the time I was tight with a wheel and convinced him to give me one of the 0000 numbers. He warned me I would get a lot of trash calls. I said it would be a second number we would use for outgoing calls only. (never turned the ringer on for that line) Then, in November, 2003, when wireless local number portability became effective I ported it to my wireless service. It took Cingular 3 months to get the porting done. At first they claimed their system wouldn't accept porting of a 0000 number. I persisted and they finally got it done. I don't use my wireless phone much except when on business or personal trips. There was a pattern of voice mails, mostly from car dealers, asking different names to please call back about that car they want to buy. (No one listened to the name on my voice mail message). Apparently, folks who like to leave bogus numbers like using 0000. About a year ago I placed a laborious message on the voice mail stating several times who they had reached and if the call isn't for my wife or me (by name for the second time) they have reached the wrong number. That seems to have solved the problem. The few folks that call my cell and know the routine hit "#" to abort the message and get the tone. (I believe that can be done with most C.O.-based voice mail.) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:07:15 -0700 (PDT) From: annie <dmr436@gmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction Message-ID: <3540342c-9355-4ee0-bde8-0cf96a7b2bbd@e11g2000yqo.googlegroups.com> > A telephone number related to the Jenny song is up for auction. For > details see: I always thought that telephone numbers "belonged" to the phone company and subscribers had no right to them as intellectual property. Has this changed? ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:07:49 -0700 From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Skype apparently threatens Russian national security Message-ID: <4A6FCB15.4010104@thadlabs.com> On 7/28/2009 8:30 PM, Thad Floryan wrote: > On 7/28/2009 9:22 AM, Tony Toews [MVP] wrote: >> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote: >>> [...] >> [...] > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > This thread reminds me of the debate about the "Clipper Chip", which > was a governemnt-backed program that would have mandated that any > encryption device include the capability for the government to decode > the data which was encrypted. I had almost forgotten the Clipper. Good riddance. I seem to remember that "requirement" sparked rumors that Microsoft also has/had been "requested" to provide back doors in their OSs for government use. > RSA Security and other commercial firms opposed the program, and it > was never implemented. However, any widespread use of encryption will > revive the debate: the methods aren't important, but the central > question is "Should Uncle Sam be entitled to listen in on my calls or > read my emails"? For those following this thread, it's a given that government already is eavesdropping on telephone, radio, email, etc. (ref. Echelon, SORM, Carnivore, and similar). Just speculating here, apparently such government systems "trigger" on key words, phrases, end points, and "abnormalities" (such as encryption for voice and data). As mentioned at prior-cited URLs regarding Echelon, the loophole in present law is that "non-USA entities" are freely allowed to monitor intra-USA communications, presently rendering moot whether Uncle Sam can monitor (or not) its citizen's voice and data communications. The "non-USA entities" includes the USA's Echelon partners (UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:03:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: SPRINT NEXTEL Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results Message-ID: <p06240836c695ea935fa0@[10.0.1.3]> SPRINT NEXTEL Reports Second Quarter 2009 Results * Year-to-date Free Cash Flow* of almost $1.5 billion; cash balance of $4.6 billion after retiring all of 2009 senior note maturities; total liquidity of $6.1 billion * 18 consecutive months of improvement in Customer Care Satisfaction and First Call Resolution * Achieved new best-ever network performance metrics * Highest reported number of prepaid net additions by any U.S. carrier in three years * Successful launch of the award-winning Palm Pre - showcasing 'a new Sprint' The company's second quarter earnings conference call will be held at 8 a.m. EDT today. Participants may dial 800-938-1120 in the U.S. or Canada (706-634-7849 internationally) and provide the following ID: 15280281, or may listen via the Internet at www.sprint.com/investor. OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) today reported second quarter 2009 financial results that included consolidated net operating revenues of $8.1 billion, a net loss of $384 million and a diluted loss per share of 13 cents. The company generated Free Cash Flow* of $676 million in the quarter and $1.5 billion in the first half of 2009. As of June 30, 2009, the company had $4.6 billion of cash and cash equivalents and $1.5 billion of borrowing capacity available under its revolving bank credit facility, for a total liquidity of $6.1 billion. ... http://newsreleases.sprint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=127149&p=irol-newsArticle_newsroom&ID=1313470&highlight= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:03:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Sprint Nextel To Acquire Virgin Mobile USA Message-ID: <p06240835c695ea3d4b5c@[10.0.1.3]> Sprint Nextel To Acquire Virgin Mobile USA Strengthens Company's Prepaid Position in Wireless Market with Iconic Consumer Brand Public Shareholders to Receive $5.50 per Share OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & WARREN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 28, 2009-- Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) and Virgin Mobile USA, Inc., (NYSE:VM) announced today that their boards of directors have approved a definitive agreement for Sprint to acquire Virgin Mobile USA for a total equity value of approximately $483 million, which includes the value of Sprint's current 13.1% fully diluted ownership interest in Virgin Mobile USA. In addition, at closing Sprint will retire all of Virgin Mobile USA's outstanding debt, which is $248 million net of cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2009, but is expected to be no more than $205 million net of cash and cash equivalents on Sept. 30, 2009. This acquisition will strengthen Sprint's position in the growing prepaid segment by bringing together under one umbrella the iconic Virgin Mobile brand with Sprint's successful Boost Mobile business. These complementary prepaid brands, each with a distinctive offer, style and appeal to different customer demographics, will continue to serve existing and prospective customers following the completion of the transaction. Following the closing of the transaction, Sprint's prepaid business will be led by Dan Schulman, current Virgin Mobile USA chief executive officer, who will report directly to Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel president and chief executive officer. Bringing exceptional telecom leadership credentials to Sprint, Schulman will be responsible for the business strategy and growth of the prepaid segment. Matt Carter will continue to lead Boost Mobile and will report to Schulman. ... http://newsreleases.sprint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=127149&p=irol-newsArticle_newsroom&ID=1312854&highlight= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:21:12 -0700 From: Alan W <me@here.there.everywhere> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Cellphone tower coverage Qs Message-ID: <h4om88$d17$1@news.eternal-september.org> On 7/28/2009 9:23 AM, Bob Vaughan wrote: > > See the notes on the site. It mentions that it doesn't have listings for > towers that are not registered in the fcc database, nor for towers owned > by third parties. It also dosen't have listings for carriers co-located on > another carriers tower. I'm guessing that they are basing the database on > the FCC Antenna Structure Registration, and not a specific transmitter site > license. I'm not sure if individual cell sites are even listed in the FCC DB. > I suspect that Nextel sites are more likely to be listed, given that Nextel > is/was a SMR licensee with interconnect capabilities, and not a cellular > licensee. Different service, different rules. > > I know of at least one tower (at Foothill College) that is not shown on > the map. I forget who is actually on that tower, but there were at least > 3 carriers when I last looked. The site is owned/leased by one of the site > management companies (Spectrasite?), and not by a specific carrier. > > It is likely that there are additional cell sites that are not located on > a tower at all, but are installed on the roof of a building (there is a > office building along El Camino, next next to WalMart and Trader Joe's > which I recall as having antennas on it.) > > Other places where you may find antennas include flagpoles (there are > examples at Palo Alto fire stations 3 (Rinconada Park), and 4 (Mitchell > Park), lamp posts (the old Elks Lodge parking lot next to Dianah's), > and church steeples. There are also some micro sites mounted on utility > poles (Junipero Serra @ Stanford Ave). > It seemed a bit odd at first that there isn't a single tower shown in Saratoga, when I drive by plenty of them here every day. But most of the towers here are actually owned by Crown Castle, and they lease space to the different carriers. So it looks like they wouldn't be listed. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:08:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape Message-ID: <p06240837c695eba09e95@[10.0.1.3]> Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape Global Deal Creates Better Choice for Consumers and Advertisers SUNNYVALE, Calif. & REDMOND, Wash., Jul 29, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers. For Web users and advertisers, this deal will accelerate the pace and breadth of innovation by combining both companies' complementary strengths and search platforms into a market competitor with the scale to fuel sustained development in search and search advertising. Users will find what they care about faster and with more personal relevance. Microsoft's competitive search platforms will lead to more value for advertisers, better results for Web publishers, and increased innovation and efficiency across the Internet. Under this agreement, Yahoo! will focus on its core business of providing consumers with great experiences with the world's favorite online destinations and Web products. ... http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=399702 http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=YHOO&fileid=309489&filekey=f3a64f43-82ec-4569-be5e-277a8aaf6bd2&filename=399702.pdf ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:11:59 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape Message-ID: <p06240839c695ec8fd6a5@[10.0.1.3]> Microsoft, Yahoo! Change Search Landscape Global Deal Creates Better Choice for Consumers and Advertisers SUNNYVALE, CA and REDMOND, WA - 29 July, 2009 - Yahoo! and Microsoft announced an agreement that will improve the Web search experience for users and advertisers, and deliver sustained innovation to the industry. In simple terms, Microsoft will now power Yahoo! search while Yahoo! will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers. ... http://www.choicevalueinnovation.com/thedeal/Default.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2009/jul09/07-29release.mspx ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:08:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Yahoo! and Microsoft to Host Conference Call; Live Webcast Available Message-ID: <p06240838c695ebf0b15a@[10.0.1.3]> Yahoo! and Microsoft to Host Conference Call; Live Webcast Available Broadcast/B-Roll Footage Also Available SUNNYVALE, Calif. & REDMOND, Wash., Jul 29, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft will host a conference call for accredited media and financial and industry analysts at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT today, July 29, 2009, to discuss the search agreement the companies recently announced. In addition, b-roll footage will be available. The satellite feed of b-roll footage will contain broadcast footage of remarks from Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, as well as corporate Yahoo! and Microsoft b-roll footage. Below is the information for the Yahoo!-Microsoft conference call with their CEOs, Carol Bartz and Steve Ballmer at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT today: ... http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=399704 http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=YHOO&fileid=309488&filekey=e742c1d4-2250-413c-9393-c6a8922dc875&filename=399704.pdf ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 08:14:30 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: How To Hijack 'Every iPhone In The World' Message-ID: <p0624083ac695ed460189@[10.0.1.3]> Security How To Hijack 'Every iPhone In The World' Andy Greenberg, 07.28.09, 5:40 PM ET On Thursday, two researchers plan to reveal an unpatched iPhone bug that could virally infect phones via SMS. If you receive a text message on your iPhone any time after Thursday afternoon containing only a single square character, Charlie Miller would suggest you turn the device off. Quickly. That small cipher will likely be your only warning that someone has taken advantage of a bug that Miller and his fellow cybersecurity researcher Collin Mulliner plan to publicize Thursday at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Using a flaw they've found in the iPhone's handling of text messages, the researchers say they'll demonstrate how to send a series of mostly invisible SMS bursts that can give a hacker complete power over any of the smart phone's functions. That includes dialing the phone, visiting Web sites, turning on the device's camera and microphone and, most importantly, sending more text messages to further propagate a mass-gadget hijacking. ... http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/hackers-iphone-apple-technology-security-hackers.html ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom- munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to Usenet, where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. The Telecom Digest is currently being moderated by Bill Horne while Pat Townson recovers from a stroke. Contact information: Bill Horne Telecom Digest 43 Deerfield Road Sharon MA 02067-2301 781-784-7287 bill at horne dot net Subscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=subscribe telecom Unsubscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=unsubscribe telecom This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Copyright (C) 2009 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of The Telecom digest (13 messages) ******************************

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