Aug 22 2008
This week we discuss such great things as FEMA security, FTC rules, and loss of liberties at airports.
As always, VoIP Tech Chat can be accessed from:
Have thoughts? We’d love to hear from you.
Aug 21 2008
A recent voicemail upgrade to the FEMA telephone network came with a surprise bill – 12,000 dollars worth of calls to the Middle East and Asia. FEMA, or what the non-acronym inclined would call the Federal Emergency Management Agency, falls within the umbrella of Homeland Security.
Using a 15 year old technique (that they wouldn’t describe in detail), the hacker made 400 calls were made to countries such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, India and Yemen. Even better, the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA didn’t notice the charges or calls. Sprint did. Sprint noticed the long distance charges and stopped future calls.
We don’t know what surprises us more… the fact that Homeland Security was hacked using methods more than a decade old, the fact that the government didn’t notice $12,000.00 in unauthorized calls, or the fact that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t notice calls to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia made from within it’s own department.
Assuming we don’t get audited in the very near future, we look forward to our next Podcast. Oh wait. Patrick, is that an IRS van headed your way?
Here’s more from the traditional press:
Aug 20 2008
Well, perhaps stop is too strong of a word. We should have stated instead that the FTC recently added more regulation in an attempt to severely limit prerecorded calls. But, that just doesn’t have the same BAM, in your face attention grabbing feel as “FTC Stops Prerecorded Calls.” Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah…
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission), established initially to “bust the trusts” and stamp out unfair competition, evolved into a modern day version of “We’re from the government. We’re here to help.” With a tag-line of “Protecting America’s Consumers” today’s FTC investigates advertising claims, marketing practices, marketplace competition, and well, generally looks at anything dealing under the commerce umbrella. With the creation of federal “Do Not Call” lists, the FTC established itself as the main enforcer of telemarketers; quickly creating many regulations and rules governing the practice of phone solicitation.
Interestingly, consumers do not receive individualized complaint protection. The FTC specifically does not resolve individual consumer complaints. Instead, the FTC collects complaints about companies, business practices, etc. and investigations result from the numerous complaints received.
Prerecorded Calls
First, let’s discuss prerecorded calls. Prerecorded calls occur when a caller receives a prerecorded message rather than talking to a live person. Examples could be something along the lines of “Hello Patrick and Fred. Because you are such amazing customers, I have a very special offer for you to save big big money. If you want to save big big money press one now. If you don’t want to save big big money hang up.”
From complaints received, the FTC rendered an opinion stating that consumers, who already do not like receiving unsolicited telephone calls, dislike prerecorded calls even more. We truly hope that the FTC and NASA hire from very different applicant pools. Anyway, the rocket scientists at the FTC used more than 13,000 complaints and comments during a “proposal” period to create the following rules:
And when do these regulations go into effect? September 2009.
Aug 16 2008
Ok. If you’re even considering VoIP, you’ve probably had to deal with the dreaded network cables. But, if you’re a tech buff, then you’ve had to deal with Cable after Cable after Cable. Well, we all know that the tangle gods have designed cables for the amusement as they watch us mere mortals attempt to wrap, coil, or wind or corded cable into manageable objects. And with all out effort, we end up with a cable knot that only Superman could untangle.
Fear not our friends. Education and blogging have come together. And with the assistance of You Tube, we present the Cable Wrapping master and his lessons of VoIP Telephone Adapter Cord love. Ok, well he’s using speaker wire… but still. Enjoy.
Aug 16 2008
Sometimes you can’t go for the gold and Packet Loss attacks your network.
As always, VoIP Tech Chat can be accessed from:
Have thoughts? We’d love to hear from you.
Aug 08 2008
What do you do when it’s time to get ready for an airplane ride? Why you chat. VoIP Tech Chat. Now in 3-D.
As always, VoIP Tech Chat can be accessed from:
Aug 01 2008
Identifying the strength of Asterisk, the revenue of Switchvox, and the popularity of Astricon, iLocus predicts the next VoIP company to go public will be Digium. Of course, we believe that if you can put 5 hyperlinks in the first sentence, you should just stop and let the hyperlinks do the talking. We have been in a non-stock buying mode, but an IPO from Digium might just change our minds.
Aug 01 2008
VoIP provider Packet 8 announced a profit of 1.2 million dollars in the first quarter. Last year the company reported a first quarter net profit of 508 thousand dollars. With the news sharing stories of economic crises and devastating business loses, a VoIP provider doubling profit couldn’t come at a better time.
The launch of Packet 8’s business trunking service helped the company gain more than 1,000 new business customers (they now have approximately 12,000 business clients).
