TELECOM Digest     Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:52:00 EDT    Volume 26 : Issue 75

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Ensnared on the Wireless Web (Monty Solomon)
    EAS (was Reverse 911) (Neal McLain)
    Question About NYS Tariffs re: Telco Paying For Building Power (D Burstein)
    Cisco Systems Buys WebEx For $3.2 Billion (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Re: Telephone Rate Complaints Not New (Wesrock@aol.com)
    CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update (communicationsdirect_daily)
    Telecom Update #571, March 16, 2007 (Angus TeleManagement Group)
    Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift (Steven J. Sobol)
    Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift (Duh_OZ)

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Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:53:07 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Ensnared on the Wireless Web


Hackers' latest tactic to steal information is setting up fake 
hotspots that users unwittingly use to access Internet.

By Tami Abdollah
Times Staff Writer

March 16, 2007

As Los Angeles and hundreds of other communities push to turn
themselves into massive wireless hotspots, unsuspecting Internet users
are stumbling onto hacker turf, giving computer thieves nearly
effortless access to their laptops and private information,
authorities and high-tech security experts say.

It's an invasion with a twist: People who think they are signing on to
the Internet through a wireless hotspot might actually be connecting
to a look-alike network, created by a malicious user who can steal
sensitive information, said Geoff Bickers, a special agent for the
FBI's Los Angeles cyber squad.

It is not clear how many people have been victimized, and few suspects
have been charged with Wi-Fi hacking. But Bickers said that over the
last couple of years, these hacking techniques have become
increasingly common, and are often undetectable. The risk is
especially high at cafes, hotels and airports, busy places with heavy
turnover of laptop users, authorities said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wifihack16mar16,0,5875273.story

Expert's tips for safer surfing
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wifisecurity16mar16,0,4772862.story

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:20:12 -0600
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
Subject: EAS (was Reverse 911)


PAT wrote:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Around here, the cable company runs a
> ticker strip message for missing children...

Those are Emergency Alert System (EAS) notices.  FCC requires every CATV 
serving over 1000 subs to carry EAS notices, and to keep a record of all 
such notices.

http://www.hallikainen.com/FccRules/2007/76/1711/

The EAS includes numerous "event codes": amber alert, blizzard, civil
emergency, earthquake, fire, flood, gas leak, nuclear plant warning,
railroad emergency, school closing emergency, tornado, tsunami, 911
telephone outage, among others.

The Kansas EAS Plan is at
http://www.kansas.gov/kdem/pdf/commissions/eas_1998plan.pdf Kansas EAS
codes are listed in Annex G.

EAS notices can come from state or local sources, or even from the
President of the United States.
http://www.hallikainen.com/FccRules/2007/11/18/

> Actually, the city of Independence has that built into
> the cableco franchise agreement: a channel for the high
> school and college's use (channel 22); a channel for the
> city itself (channel 14): and an 'all-purpose' general
> channel for anyone to use (channel 10)...

These channels are called, respectively, Educational, Government, and
Public Access Channels.  Collectively, they're usually specified in
the following order: Public, Educational, and Government; hence, the
abbreviation "PEG channels."

> The city insisted that these channels all be in the 'free, basic'
> part of the spectrum so that everyone would be able to listen to
> them with or without payment for the premium channels (which they
> refer to as 'basic extended' (channels 25 and upward)...

That term is consistent with common CATV industry practice:

- "Basic" identifies the single tier of channels that must
    be available to all subscribers.

- "Premium" means any channel offered at a per-channel
    charge (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and The Movie Channel);
    at a per-program charge (PPV); or as part of a group of
    two or more channels offered as a package under a common
    brand name (Encore; Starz).

- "Extended basic" means any multichannel tier other than
    basic or premium.

- "Fat Basic" means the basic tier if the CATV system
    doesn't carry any extended basic tiers.

Under FCC rules, the basic tier includes:

-  All broadcast stations for which carriage is required
    pursuant to the must-carry rules or to a retransmission-
    consent agreement.

-  PEG channels if required by the Local Franchising
    Authority.

-  Any additional channels that the cable operator carries
    voluntarily.

http://www.hallikainen.com/FccRules/2007/76/901/

Neal McLain

------------------------------

From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: Question About NYS Tariffs re: Telco Paying For Building Power
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:06:41 -0400
Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC


Hoping someone here can point me to the right citation. As I
understand it, the telephone utilities (and most others) in NYS have
the right of eminent domain, meaning that they can, if they deem it
necessary, simply grab space in your building to put their local
distribution equipment.

On the other hand, they're supposed to (again, per my recollection)
both pay some sort of negotiated "rent", and ... also pay for the
electricity they use.

I'm pretty sure I've read stories about these battles, but can't find
them now.

The case I'm specifically looking into has the telco using a large
utility area and pulling about 5 kws -- which is quite enough to
notice. And at this point they're getting that electricity for "free".

Anyone have some recommendations I can check into?

Thanks muchly,

_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
 		     dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This message _almost_ was ditched in
the spam bucket unread. Why?  Well, because Danny did not use the
SECRET WORD at the start of his subject line, and Spam Assassin got
the idea -- I do not know why -- that it was 'spam' (secret word in
the subject line would have eliminated all that guess work, since the
message would have by-passed S.A. entirely -- and I found it only by
chance in the automatic throw-away stuff, the first batch of mail
which automatically gets tossed each day. If S.A. had 'thought' that
it was real -- instead of spam/scam -- it would have pitched the
letter into my 'maybe' pile; I would have been obliged to at least
scan it, and would have recognized the name, etc and rescued it. Out
of desparation I do not most days even bother to scan the mail which
Spam Assassin has qualified. Please use the secret word in all
messages, in the subject line. PLEASE!  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:34:27 CDT
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Cisco Systems Buys WebEx For $3.2 Billion


USTelecom dailyLead
March 16, 2007
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/gsAofDtusXofgdCibuddZHnX


TODAY'S HEADLINES


NEWS OF THE DAY
* Cisco Systems buys WebEx for $3.2 billion
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Alcatel-Lucent inks Wi-Fi deal in Italy
* Government telecom contract to be worth $48 billion
* Nacchio set to defend insider-trading charge
* Qualcomm, Nortel expand on licensing agreemennnt
* YES to add new HD channel
* Motorola chief received $1.27 million bonus last year
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Register for NXTcomm today!
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* DVRs a key weapon in battle of providers
* Schools embrace automated calling
* Markets for fixed, mobile WiMAX equipment post gains
IP DOWNLOAD
* Quality key to IPTV uptake
* VoIP offers enough security for enterprise use
* Skype upgrades Internet telephony, IM software

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/gsAofDtusXofgdCibuddZHnX

------------------------------

From: Wesrock@aol.com
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2007 20:28:09 EDT
Subject: Re: Telephone Rate Complaints Not New


In a message dated 3/15/07 3:54:35 PM Central Standard Time,
editor@telecom-digest.org writes in a comment on a post by
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The earliest radio for police operated
> on the standard broadcast band; I think they were one-way talk out to
> officers and were on 1620 KC, where officers could be given direct
> instructions over the air without them having to call in for details.
> PAT]

In the late 1930s and in the 1940s the Oklahoma Highway Patrol used 1626 
kc/s for two way communications.

Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com

------------------------------

Subject: CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update 
From: communicationsdirect_daily <communications@communicationsdirectnews.com>
Reply-To: communicationsdirect_daily-owner@communicationsdirectnews.com
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:28:15 EDT


********************************
PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents
The CommunicationsDirect Daily Update
For March 16, 2007
********************************

Our new poll: How many mobile devices do you typically carry? Visit
our web site to vote.

Weekly Poll Results - Will you buy Apple's iPhone?
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/100/23286?11228

     The CommunicationsDirect latest poll results are in. The question
     posed was, "Do you plan on buying Apple's new iPhone?"  Results
     indicate 52% plan to buy it the first day they can, 44% plan to
     buy it -- but not until the hype dies down, and 4% will buy a
     similar device offered by another provider. Be sure to vote in ...

Tutorial: Next-Generation Communications Environments: Guiding
Principles for Legacy Replacement
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23285?11228

     The telecommunications industry is moving toward open, standards
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     architecture that provides the flexibility to create multipurpose
     platforms while supporting the rapid adaptation of new
     technology. Solutions must be ...

Top 10 Emerging Mobile Markets
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23279?11228

     Developing countries now account for more than half of mobile
     subscriber growth worldwide, with the top 10 adding around 285
     million new subscribers in 2006 alone.  With the exception of the
     U.S., the world's top 10 mobile growth markets are all in
     countries considered to be 'emerging' in Asia/Pacific, Africa,
     and Latin ...

InfoTrack Report Has Microsoft Predicting Huge VoIP Cost Drop
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/23277?11228

     In his keynote address last week at VoiceCon Spring 2007, Jeff
     Raikes, president of Microsoft's Business Division, said that in
     three years, the typical Voice over IP (VoIP) solution for
     business would cost half what it does today, primarily because
     the current proprietary, hardware-based systems would be replaced
     by more open ...

Sprint & Nokia's 10 Gallon WiMax
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23274?11228

     Nokia Corp. will deploy four mobile WiMax networks for Sprint
     Nextel Corp. in Texas during the first half of 2008, the
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     announced in January that it was bringing the world's No. 1
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Mobile Linux Supports VoIP
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/110/23272?11228

     A la Mobile is offering a new version of its mobile Linux
     software that enables converged Wi-Fi and GSM handsets to support
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     Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based VoIP client as well as
     Adobe Flash, Java, ...

Fixed Mobile Convergence Hasn't Gained Mindshare in Business
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/23270?11228

     SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), while well
     addressed in the telecom industry, has not yet gained significant
     mindshare among most business decision-makers, reports
     In-Stat. FMC, which in its simplest form makes cellular handsets
     an extension of corporate PBXs, is certainly on the way, but
     business ...

Copyright (C) 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers.

------------------------------

From: Angus TeleManagement Group <jriddell@angustel.ca>
Subject: Telecom Update #571, March 16, 2007
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 08:59:54 -0800


Here is this week's Telecom Update from Canada.
http://www.angustel.ca/update/up.html

------------------------------

From: Steven J. Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:11:19 UTC
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


In article <telecom26.74.11@telecom-digest.org>, TELECOM Digest Ediot
noted in response to Steven J Sobol:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am running a version of Windows 2000
> which is fully up to date with security patches as issued by
> Microsoft. The trouble, I suspect, is the NetTime 2.0b7 software

No.

The trouble is that people don't realize that protocols like NTP and
apps like NetTime and AtomTime, both of which I've used, both of which
are fine programs, DO NOT CHANGE DST SETTINGS.

In other words, they can adjust for DST, but this year the start and
end dates for DST changed.

On the Linux and FreeBSD servers I maintain, I use NTP. I still had to
manually update the DST dates on some of the older ones. The newer
ones just required me to download new binary packages, or in the case
of our log server that runs SuSe 10.0, the time zone data was already
up to date because 10 is a relatively recent version. (The mandate
went out from Washington in 2005, so there's been plenty of time for
OS vendors to update their stuff.)

> puTTY stopped working because as far as it was concerned, I was 
> tampering with the time manually, and puTTY considers that some sort
> of security issue.  PAT]

Weird.

My WinXP laptop and my WinXP computer at the office both updated
automatically through Microsoft's auto-update service, and PuTTY
didn't skip a beat on either computer.


Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California     PGP:0xE3AE35ED

It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think that as long as the computer is
part of the 'decision making process' on updating the time and date,
puTTY has no problem with it. But let a human bean -- myself,
f'rinstance -- get in there and tamper with it, puTTY says 'oh oh! A
hacker trying to fool around' and it clamps up and refuses to connect
to the desired location. Now that I think about it however, it may
have not been just something with puTTY. As a matter of fact, at one
point last Sunday I grew very irritated and impatient, set aside the
clock issue and tried to use Firefox or IE-6 to call some other site,
and on those two applications, I also got a 'cannot find' message when
the my computer network set about trying to resolve the addresses. 
Typically for me, that means my router or modem has to be reset. So it
may not have been puTTY that was disturbed, it may have been my
network router or modem complaining instead.  Sometimes, these
computers can drive a person crazy.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: Duh_OZ <ozzy.kopec@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Troubles With Computers' Daylight Shift
Date: 16 Mar 2007 14:08:22 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


On Mar 13, 12:09 am, Brian Bergstein, AP Technology <a...@telecom-
digest.org> wrote:

> Few woes mark computers' daylight shift
> By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer
> Mon Mar 12, 4:27 PM ET

> <snip>

> Most home PCs got the time patches sent automatically, but users
> without automatic updates who now sport erroneous clocks should visit
> their providers' Web sites such as http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007.
> </snip>.

========

Tech showed up today to fix the clock on the XP (SP1) boxes.   He was
scratching his head wondering why he was called to change the system
clock so I showed him how us lowly users didn't have permission to do
so.  He signs on each machine, bumps the clock ahead 1 hour and heads
downstairs to do more boxes.   Comes back up only to see the time
reverted back an hour.  Tries it again, same thing.   Tries changing
it in the BIOS, weird happenings as the computer would boot with DST
in effect, then about 10 seconds later it would go back one hour.
Goes to M$ to apply any critical updates, same thing.   He *knows* he
read something somewhere about the problem, so he Googles away and
sees KB931836.   Applies the patch and finally everything is working.
Burns the file to a CD and fixes the other six computers in the
building.   That still leaves around 4,000 to do :0)     I'm just glad
they sent a tech over that figured it out.  Support was still
insisting they were applying patches remotely.   Considering it was
Friday and no-one was on DST I don't think that was happening.

Oh yeah as to http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007 - it says for us
corporate workers to call tech support, so that's what I did.  I guess
M$ assumes your tech support actually has basic knowledge of some sort
:-/


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is _exactly_ what was happening
here (in addition to puTTY's complaint). I can go into the clock
settings and bump my time around but then in ten seconds give or take
when I happen to look at the clock again it had on its own gone back
to the old time. But I got clued in when I quit worrying about the
time as such and instead manually set the date ahead _three months_ or
some such; now look at the clock; all is okay. At first I would get a
message on screen saying 'clock out of synch by some (gross) amount of
time. Should I reset it or shut down the time server?' Then I unticked
the warning box for that and the clock would very sneakily reset
itself to the old time without bothering to warn me; obviously the
computer knew best ...  PAT]

------------------------------


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End of TELECOM Digest V26 #75
*****************************