Date: 31 Aug 2000 06:15:11 -0400 Message-ID: <20000831101511.10981.qmail@xuxa.iecc.com> From: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org (Telecom Digest) To: telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Subject: Telecom Digest V2000 #39 Reply-To: editor@telecom-digest.org Sender: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Errors-To: owner-telecom-digest@telecom-digest.org Precedence: bulk X-UIDL: ed5839b813a6149e275fdb3eb2d266d6 Status: RO X-Status: Telecom Digest Thursday, August 31 2000 Volume 2000 : Number 039 In this issue: Road Runner News Re: 2600 Cannot change my long dis Voice Over IP/Lucent Equipment Re: Cannot change my long distance provider? Re: Cannot change my long distance provider? Re: Make Your E-Mail Disappear Microsoft Word Documents, Among Others, Can Be "Bugged" Re: Make Your E-Mail Disappear Verizon's 411 Directory Assistance Re: US West continues to burn?? Re: Update: Verizon Hole still Open ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 30 Aug 2000 11:33:40 -0400 From: davidesan@my-deja.com Subject: Road Runner News It seems that Time-Warner here in Rochester has decided that some users are soaking up too much of the bandwidth on their system, so they are reducing the throughput for everyone. You can read about it at: dbease.democratandchronicle.com/dbEase/cgi-bin/go_get.pl? tableName=Biz_viewstory&PubDate=08/30/2000&PubDate+match=EXACT&Optional= 3435&Optional+match=EXACT - -- David Esan InformationView Solutions david.esan@informationview.com Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 12:00:21 -0400 From: Tony Harminc Subject: Re: 2600 On 29 Aug 2000 02:59:48 -0400 Terry Kennedy wrote: > Actually, it was the idle tone (continuous) on a trunk. If you called an >800 number (so you didn't get billed, and allegedly so there was no record >of the call) and sent a 2600 down the line, it would tear down some part of >your call, leaving you connected to a digit receiver that you could then >send tones to. Using this, you could dial pretty much anything operators >could dial, including normally non-dialable numbers and operators in other >areas. Of course, you could call regular numbers, too... > > This didn't work on the oldest trunks, which signaled using 10 or 20 PPS >pulses instead of tones. If you heard "braaaaap brap brap braaap" after >you dialed but before ringing, you had a pulse trunk, while if you got >"boop beep boop bleep", you had a tone trunk. Most long-distance calls >went across at least one tone trunk, so you could box them. But 2600 Hz supervision was used on many pulse trunks, in which case you could dial using short pulses of 2600. Some people got quite good at doing this with no hardware at all, particulary as the code needed to reach an inward operator was simply 121. Tony H. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 17:58:15 -0400 From: "Andy Ball" Subject: Cannot change my long dis FamilyNet HQ: Telnet:\\www.family-bbs.net Hello Joe! JM> I'm thinking about using 10-10-220 (or similiar codes) > to get around my local provider. Any hidden charges > (connection fees) that I should be aware of? Hidden charges are worth looking out for, but so are hidden 'costs'. Look for a company that has readily available customer support (and not just via the web, when their web site goes down you don't want to be left stranded). I discovered that you can spend more than a month's phone bill just in terms of wasted time when a long distance provider screws up. Obviously, it's not always easy to find out in advance who is going to work well for you. Hopefully someone here will be able to recommend a long distance provider that they've had a good experience of. My own experience would make me avoid Vartec Telecom (10-10-811), BigZoo.com and MCI Worldcom. Regards, - Andy. * SLMR 2.1a * FamilyNet <> Internet Gated Mail http://www.fmlynet.org - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 18:37:20 -0400 From: "David De Trolio" Subject: Voice Over IP/Lucent Equipment Hello: We at my company have cutover to a new Lucent Definity Prologix switch in our North Carolina office using IP to connect it back to our central voice mail here in New Jersey. We are using Point-To-Point and Frame Relay in other offices, this is all part of our project to get all of our offices tied together with a common voice mail and telephone system. We are also allowing users in these offices to connect to our LAN to access electronic mail, MS Office resources and the Internet. The working portion of this project so far has one Definity G3i with V8.2 (main office) and three ProLogix switches outside of New Jersey. The voice mail and total connection is working great, but we need to look at costs, which was one of the reasons we are looking at IP. There are also plans to connect some of the offices together using the Definity extenders due out with V10 which will handle 24 extensions off a common switch. Any feedback or ideas and opinions are appreciated. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 18:54:15 -0400 From: joemitchellsc@yahoo.com Subject: Re: Cannot change my long distance provider? I'm in Dallas, Tx. SimCom seems to have an arrangement w/my apt complex, to provide phone and cable tv services. I do have the option to use SW Bell, but then I'd have to find an alternative to cable (direct TV, Dish network, etc...) SimCom gives me .07/mi long distance, but I have to pay them 4.95/mo for that plan. I wanted to switch to Broadwing (they took over Coastal Telephone who I used previously, and was pleased with). Broadwing (http://www.longdistanceusa.com/) will give me .07/mi w/no monthly fee. I'm not soliciting for them (intentionally), I just included their url in case someone is interested. If I switch to SW Bell, my local monthly service will go up also. So, I guess I have to live w/ SimCom. Thanks, Joe In article <8oi2nu$6bv$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, David Lind wrote: > In article <8oe1kd$ddf$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, > joemitchellsc@yahoo.com wrote: > > I don't know if this is the right ng, but here goes: I called my local > > phone provider this morning and requested that they change my long > > distance provider. The person I spoke with politely told me that "with > > SimCom, you cannot change your long distance provider". Is this > > possible? > > > > If this is true, I'm thinking about using 10-10-220 (or similiar codes) > > to get around my local provider. Any hidden charges (connection fees) > > that I should be aware of? > > > > I couldn't find a CLEC (competing local exchange carrier) named SimCom. What > state are you in? Is there an option to sign up with some other local > carrier? > > If you were talking about Suncom, a wireless carrier in the south east, then > the question and reply would make more sense. In the case of a wireless > provider you would then use a calling card to bypass their long distance > service. -- David > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ > Before you buy. > -- > The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail > messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 21:25:19 -0400 From: David Lind Subject: Re: Cannot change my long distance provider? In article <8ok392$j6m$1@nnrp1.deja.com>, joemitchellsc@yahoo.com wrote: > I'm in Dallas, Tx. SimCom seems to have an arrangement w/my apt > complex, to provide phone and cable tv services. I do have the option > to use SW Bell, but then I'd have to find an alternative to cable > (direct TV, Dish network, etc...) SimCom gives me .07/mi long > distance, but I have to pay them 4.95/mo for that plan. > If I switch to SW Bell, my local monthly service will go up also. So, > I guess I have to live w/ SimCom. > > > I couldn't find a CLEC (competing local exchange carrier) named > SimCom. What > > state are you in? Is there an option to sign up with some other local > > carrier? This is pretty complex issue and beyond my knowledge. Just to get clear on the problem...are you getting your telephone service and tv through the same cable or seperate wires? You state if you give up Simcom telephone service then you would lose cable. So you can't cancel the 4.95 long distance and still keep cable and use dial arounds (1010#'s)? Does Simcom bill you for both local and long distance and cable? - -- David Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 21:40:01 -0400 From: "Gunnar Liknes" Subject: Re: Make Your E-Mail Disappear "Monty Solomon" wrote > Make Your E-Mail Disappear > > Disappearing's free Outlook plug-in lets you send encrypted messages > that become unreadable after time. The way I understand the technology this means the reader has to be online everytime he needs to read the message (in order to get the decryption key). Interresting technology, but not very practical for dial up users. Gunnar - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 21:58:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Word Documents, Among Others, Can Be "Bugged" Full advisory can be found at http://www.privacyfoundation.org/advisories/advWordBugs.html http://www.privacyfoundation.org/story2.html Microsoft Word Documents, Among Others, Can Be "Bugged," According to New Research From the Privacy Foundation The Previously Undocumented Feature Can Allow the Surreptitious Tracking of Computer Files on the Internet DENVER - 8/30/00 - Readers of email document attachments beware: the author of a computer file may be able to track the path of the file to your computer and others through the use of "Web bugs," the Privacy Foundation reported today. The finding could have broad implications for businesses, public agencies and other entities, which may seek to use this tracking ability - and for individuals, who are unlikely to know that the file they are reading is communicating back through the internet to the author through the Internet. "We are not aware of Web bugs being used in this way," said Richard M. Smith, chief technology officer of the Privacy Foundation. "But the possibility is troubling given the trend of using the Internet and monitoring software to track individual behavior." A detailed Privacy Advisory, along with demonstrations and graphics of how the document Web bug works, plus a list of questions and answers, is available at the foundation's website at www.privacyfoundation.org. The tracking potential occurs when a file sent through the Internet, typically as an email attachment, contains an image file located on a remote Web server. This can happen through a range of popular Microsoft programs, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. (The Privacy Foundation continues to investigate this issue with regard to other software programs.) If the document contains an invisible marker called a Web bug, then when the request for the image is made and acted upon within the displaying program, a signal will be sent back to the document author. This signal, obtained through server logs, will contain the IP number, from which a host name of the computer can usually be obtained. In addition, if the bugged document is forwarded to any another computers and opened, it can send back the IP number and host name of those computers to the original sender. In some cases, combined with the use of cookies in Internet Explorer, an author could match up the computer viewers of a document to their visits to the author's Web site. The Privacy Foundation findings were presented to Microsoft Corp. earlier this month for review. The company acknowledged the potential use of Web bugs to track Word documents, but said that there is no evidence that such activities are occuring. The Privacy Advisory, authored by Smith, notes a myriad of potential uses for document Web bugs: tracking the path of confidential files, detecting copyright infringement, and surreptitious market research. In most cases, it is unlikely that the person who opens such a document on a computer would know that the Web bug exists. "The potential use of Web bugs in Word points to a more general problem," said Smith. "Any file format that supports automatic linking to Web pages or images can lead to the same problem. Software engineers should take this privacy issue into consideration when designing new file formats." Smith noted, for instance, that Web bugs could be used within text material that accompanies downloaded MP3 music files to track how many times a song is played and on which computer. The investigation into this matter by the Privacy Foundation was triggered by a tip from Barry Shell, research communications editor at the Centre For Systems Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. As part of a quarterly program to acknowledge privacy research, the Privacy Foundation will present Shell with a check for $1,000. Based in Denver, the Privacy Foundation is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to research on electronic privacy issues and efforts to educate the public. The Foundation's research on the privacy implications of communications technologies is conducted at the Privacy Center at the University of Denver, under the direction of computer science professor David Martin, in consultation with Richard M. Smith. Contact: Richard M. Smith or Stephen Keating at the Privacy Foundation. Phone: 303-717-2607. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 22:10:23 -0400 From: John De Hoog Subject: Re: Make Your E-Mail Disappear Gunnar Liknes wrote... >> Disappearing's free Outlook plug-in lets you send encrypted messages >> that become unreadable after time. > >The way I understand the technology this means the reader has to be online >everytime he needs to read the message (in order to get the decryption key). >Interresting technology, but not very practical for dial up users. How many times do you normally read the same message? Besides, dialup access is quickly being replaced by cheap, permanent connections even here in Japan (cable, OCN, ADSL, SDSL, always-on ISDN, wireless, etc.). It's only natural that technologies will increasingly be designed with that reality in mind. - -- John De Hoog, Tokyo dehoog@nifty.com http://dehoog.org - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 30 Aug 2000 22:10:34 -0400 From: Gerry Belanger Subject: Verizon's 411 Directory Assistance This morning I heard a Verizon ad on the radio touting their 411 Directory Assistance service. It tried to emphasize the training the operators get. So by example they played a "quiz" session where the instructor asked a question and a rep answered. The instructor asks "Georgia?", and the rep answers "Four Area Codes..." followed by some more stats. I was flabbergasted that they let this on the air! Even my SNET/SBC June 2000 phone book shows 5 NPAs. And with 229 and 478 going active August 1, that makes seven. A complaint e-mailed to WCBS-AM in NY this morning has gone unanswered. gerryb ______________________________________________________ Get your free web-based email at http://www.xoom.com Birthday? Anniversary? Send FREE animated greeting cards for any occasion at http://greetings.xoom.com - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 31 Aug 2000 01:43:31 -0400 From: quonk@my-deja.com Subject: Re: US West continues to burn?? In article <200008280110.KAA28322@mail151.nifty.com>, John De Hoog wrote: > ClariNet news service today ran a story on the wildfires raging in > the Western US, under the title, "Thirteen new fires as US west > continues to burn". > > Someone, or some computer program, mistakenly posted the article in > the news groups clari.tw.telecom.misc, clari.tw.telecom.phone_service, > and clari.tw.telecom. I imagine it caused some concern for a moment > or two among those who believed it really was a telecom story. > A few months ago, the same news groups contained a long article about Hillary Clinton's moving in to her new home in New York state. I couldn't figure out why it was there. It mentioned nothing about phone service at her new home (or anywhere else). Then I noticed the title of the article: "Clintons to begin long distance relationship." Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy. - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ Date: 31 Aug 2000 01:55:28 -0400 From: texmex@starbase.neosoft.com (Steve Patlan) Subject: Re: Update: Verizon Hole still Open In article , Alan Boritz wrote: >Monty Solomon wrote: > >>Update: Verizon Hole still Open >... >>http://www.securityfocus.com/news/75 > >BTW, there's something very bogus about this site. SecurityFocus.com >apparently is not allowing either the page or the frame with this story to be >printed within Netscape v4.74. Perhaps they've intended to only allow the page >to be viewed with obnoxious ads intact, while not permitting the article to be >printed? Works fine for me with Lynx. Try disabling JavaScript (which every right-thinking person should do most of the time anyway) and Style Sheets and just looking at: - - Steve "I also don't auto-load Images" Patlan - -- - -- texmex@starbase.neosoft.com "Press any key to return to Windows and wait" - -- The Telecom Digest is currently robomoderated. Please mail messages to editor@telecom-digest.org. ------------------------------ End of Telecom Digest V2000 #39 *******************************