this is a test post.

This is a test post from a BlackBerry phone.

• rollcall: mike, notkevin, bernieS, emmanuel goldstein
• "data loss of the week" -- "ge money" handles customer data for a few companies including jcpenny. customer data stored on a tape has come up "missing". data on the "lost" tape included social security numbers. informationweek: GE Money Backup Tape With 650000 Records Missing At Iron Mountain
• "identify theft resource center" --- says 6x increase in number of compromised customer data records in 2007.
• bernieS mentions that tdameritrade is careless with their customer data.
• verizon phone bill discussion...
  • "everybody should check their phone bills every month to check for unusual charges."
  • what are "optional essential features" on the verizon phone bill?
  • "caller id over call waiting" explained by bernieS
  • an $8.50 monthly service charge appears mysteriously on E's bill from a company in ohio for "unlimited directory assistance"
• north dakota judge ruled that people doing "zone transfers" of internet domains are breaking north dakota law
  • how does one get authorization to do a zone transfer?
  • mike mentions that the use of 'dig'
  • editor's note: sounds to me like the kid (defendant) did a *bulk* zone transfer, which would consume bandwidth and would reveal 'secret' hostnames. the problem is that to block that sort of transfer is a pretty simple configuration change at least with bind9 (no comment on win32).
• ip addresses should generally be regarded as personal information according to eu data privacy regulators.
• mention of church of scientology website being hacked. when an org tries to stop something from getting out (c.f. another "tom cruise acting crazy" video being banned by the church), that just makes it more likely that the video will be seen and talked about
• time warner plans to bill based on bandwidth usage. no mention of when that will start, though
• are there any cable or dsl providers that currently charge more for bandwidth usage rather than just cutting them off?
• fed sets standards for protecting electric industry from cyberattacks by hackers
• big prize to anybody that brings a copy of the video wherein DHS demonstrates breaking into a simulated power grid
• notkevin confirms that the attacks were not conducted using a tv-b-gone
• 2 baylor college of medicine (texas) students are developing a cocaine vaccine
• sprint/nextel fails in their attempt to appeal a ruling to prevent listing taxes and fees as a distinct line item on their bills. supreme court turned down the case.
• team of 4 shoppers use cell phones to co-ordinate heists.
• repeat of story about fbi wiretaps being disconnected due to non-payment, resulting in loss of evidence. a single wiretap warrant typically costs over 5 grand, depending on duration, and comes out of the pockets of tax payers.
• letters....
  • comment on story about ssn being exposed more than once in the past and it continues to happen
  • movie "untraceable"
• phone calls...
  • caller asks if there is an mp3 player that has an FM *and* an AM tuner.... "pogo your way"
  • caller asks if there is any virus protection software for smartphones... E redirects to "the personal computer show", mike says the threat isn't all that great at the moment
  • caller asks when/where the next 2600 meeting will be (first friday of the month starting at 5pm)
• download off the hook 2008-01-23 mp3
• off the hook shows for january 2008

  - apparently some people have been using the tv-b-gone at CES and turning
    off gadgets. http://gizmodo.com/ for video.
   ... americans are easily polarized
   ... anti-tv-b-gone: electrical tape