36 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2018 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.

The Telecom Digest for Sun, 27 May 2018
Volume 37 : Issue 123 : "text" format

Table of contents
Warning: Make sure to get your AT&T promotion in writing Bill Horne
Verizon's Secret Unlimited Plan Requires an InviteBill Horne
This is what really happens in a Verizon storeBill Horne
The highest-paid CEOs by stateBill Horne
Hackers infect 500,000 consumer routers all over the world with malwareMonty Solomon
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20180526181403.GA3990@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 26 May 2018 14:14:03 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Warning: Make sure to get your AT&T promotion in writing by Christopher Elliott Did AT&T just take Crystal Edwards for $10? She thinks so; AT&T doesn't. The truth - well, I'll leave that to you to decide. That's right, my friends. Scroll down for the poll. But you'll want to read her entire story. It's a story of crossed wires and dashed expectations, and about the importance of paperwork. Also, Edwards does something at the end that might surprise you. http://www.elliott.org/is-this-enough-compensation/get-att-promotion-in-writing/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180526180742.GA3941@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 26 May 2018 14:07:42 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon's Secret Unlimited Plan Requires an Invite Earlier in the year, Verizon launched a new unlimited plan under a new startup called Visible. The plan offers unlimited minutes, data and text messaging for just $40. If you're wondering why you haven't heard of this new, low-cost plan, it's because it's an invitation-only service - for the time-being, Verizon already offers an unlimited plan, but the plan comes at a high cost of $85 per month for the first line. Due to increased competition from other major carriers, the company appears to be testing the waters with a lower-cost option. http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/verizons-secret-unlimited-plan-requires-an-invite-34439/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <e8da6002-1bf6-fb81-a08d-f44544f8a6fa@horne.net> Date: Thu, 24 May 2018 12:35:37 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: This is what really happens in a Verizon store This is what really happens in a Verizon store, according to a store veteran Have you ever wondered what your phone salesperson is really thinking and feeling? You may be surprised. By Chris Matyszczyk I have an unreasonable, perhaps demented, fascination with the gadget sales process. I wrote about itfor some years over at CNET, and now that I've been promoted to ZDNet, you surely can't expect me to change overnight, can you? (Though I promise to try.) I've generally found salespeople to be either a touch indifferent or a little forthright. Sometimes, even both. https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-is-what-really-happens-in-a-verizon-store-according-to-a-store-veteran/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20180526181050.GA3972@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 26 May 2018 14:10:50 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: The highest-paid CEOs by state Here are the top-paid CEOs by state for 2017, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive data firm. Louisiana: Glen F. Post III, CenturyLink, $14.3 million https://wtop.com/business-finance/2018/05/the-highest-paid-ceos-by-state/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <2C625AE3-A323-49BD-BB3F-35ED7FC956D9@roscom.com> Date: Fri, 25 May 2018 10:09:28 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Hackers infect 500,000 consumer routers all over the world with malware Hackers infect 500,000 consumer routers all over the world with malware VPNFilter can survive reboots and contains destructive "kill" function. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/05/hackers-infect-500000-consumer-routers-all-over-the-world-with-malware/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** I publish security alerts like this one on occasion, depending on severity. This one is very serious. If you have a router that may be infected: 1. Connect to your router with an Ethernet cable, and turn off the WiFi. This may seem extreme, but remember that other devices in your neighborhood might be infected. 2. WRITE DOWN the WiFi SSID and password, the MAC addresses of any device for which you have reserved an IP address, the starting address for the DHCP assignments, and the port list for any DMZ devices. The IP addresses too, of course (don't ask me how I know). Alt-PrtScr is your friend, and "Paint" can be used to paste-and-print this info if you're using Windows: just remember to print or save every page before you do another screen capture if your not able to print the info from your web browser or if you are using telnet or ssh to access the router. 3. Perform a factory reset (NOT just a reboot!) The router will erase all settings. See number 2 first. 4. Change the default password. If you check the "Recover password" option, choose hard-to-guess answers to the questions. Likewise, of course, a hard-to-guess password. 5. Re-install the settings from step 2. It takes about an hour if you're taking your time, but longer if you don't follow step 2. :-( Bill Horne Moderator ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Sun, 27 May 2018

Telecom Digest Archives