---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20160829030029.GA32718@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2016 23:00:29 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon wants to push even more bloatware to your Android phone By Ryan Whitwam There are a myriad of things to do when you first start up your shiny new Android phone. You have to add your accounts, set up security features, and get rid of all that bloatware. At some point in the future, Verizon customers might find that bloatware sneaks back onto the device, and it could bring its friends. The carrier has reportedly been shopping a plan to advertisers that would include pushing bloatware apps to phones it has already sold. Verizon activates millions of Android-powered phones and tablets every quarter, so the opportunity for the carrier to make some extra cash is substantial. The idea was pitched to retailers and finance companies starting late last year. According to a report from Advertising Age, Verizon was shopping around a rate of $1-2 per device. That's tens of millions in new revenue every year for very little work on the carrier's end. It would, however, have to deal with an almost inevitable PR nightmare. The instant the first sponsored app shows up on a phone, people will rightly be up in arms. http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/233934-verizon-wants-to-push-even-more-bloatware-to-your-android-phone - - Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) The Telecom Digest depends on help from readers like John Levine. We're grateful for their support. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20160829025517.GA32699@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 28 Aug 2016 22:55:17 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Love and Hate On Hold With Verizon By Delia Ephron I know it's not a good idea to hate anyone. I know from an article I read that negative emotions are bad for my health. I would hate to have a heart attack because my internet isn't working. But I do hate Verizon. I spent four hours on the phone with the company on a recent Saturday morning. I know for sure I was disconnected three times. Once I didn't realize it and just hung around for 20 minutes expecting someone to come back on the line. One person promised me he wouldn't disappear and even said, "Have I yet?" I said no, and then he disappeared. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/20/opinion/love-and-hate-on-hold-with-verizon.html?_r=0 - - Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) The Telecom Digest depends on contributions from readers like John Lewandowski. We are grateful for their support. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <65BA73D1-AFD6-4F8D-9F94-BC0A03F0A873@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2016 02:07:29 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: IPhone Users Urged to Update Software After Security Flaws Are Found IPhone Users Urged to Update Software After Security Flaws Are Found By Nicole Perlroth SAN FRANCISCO - One of the world's most evasive digital arms dealers is believed to have been taking advantage of three security vulnerabilities in popular Apple products in its efforts to spy on dissidents and journalists. Investigators discovered that a company called the NSO Group, an Israeli outfit that sells software that invisibly tracks a target's mobile phone, was responsible for the intrusions. The NSO Group's software can read text messages and emails and track calls and contacts. It can even record sounds, collect passwords and trace the whereabouts of the phone user. Apple has patched its mobile operating system after investigators found flaws that were exploited to spy on dissidents and journalists. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/technology/apple-software-vulnerability-ios-patch.html ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Mon, 29 Aug 2016