Cell Phones: The Drama of Tracing a Phone Call
So you’re watching the next suspense-filled, albeit repetitive, episode of 24. Everyone has a cell phone. Even the bad guys. Every now and then one of the CTU agents will pull up a screen on their workstation to triangulate the location of someone’s cell phone. And within less than a minute, they’ve located their suspect. Welcome to the 21st century.
In my last article, Landlines: The Drama of Tracing a Phone Call, I discussed how tracing a call over a land line didn’t quite match up with what Hollywood likes to show you. However, with cell phone technology there are quite a few differences, but you’ll be pleased to know that Hollywood isn’t far off the mark. Herein, we will cover the basics of a cellular network and discover how a cell phone call is traced and how the phone can be tracked.
Has Google Gone Quixote in the Fight to Save Adobe Flash?
The past few months have not been kind to Adobe Flash. For that matter, the past few years haven’t been much better. It was excluded from the initial, 2007 release and each subsequent update of the Apple iPhone. It hurt, but it was acceptable. After all, it was a phone…a smartphone…but a phone all the same.
The exclusion of the reigning king of streaming video, from the Apple iPad, though? That was too personal. It’s a computer. Computers have Flash. If they don’t, users can’t watch Hulu. If you can’t watch Hulu, what is the point of. recreational computing?
Read more…
ATM Hacker Sentenced to Twenty Year Prison Term for Credit Card Theft
Both companies large and small, as well as home computer users, lose millions of dollars a year, thanks to the electronic theft of credit card information. A bane for businesses who risk incurring the ire of consumers, the number of reported cases only continues to increase, as technology becomes more and more embedded into our daily lives. In a small victory for all parties involved, accused hacker, Albert Gonzalez, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea regarding the credit card theft crimes with which he was charged.
A Miami, FL native and 28-year old college drop, Gonzalez admitted his part in the operation of a credit card crime ring whose reach circled the globe. Among the list of companies affected, at least in part, by his hacking activities, is TJX Cos Inc (the operator of such well-known stores as Marshall’s and TJMaxx), Barnes & Noble, and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Gonzalez and his accomplices managed to steal somewhere around 40 million payment card numbers, by breaking into the company’s websites.
Landlines: The Drama of Tracing a Phone Call
The cops are looking for a kidnapper. They can't locate him. The only lead they can get is to trace his call when he calls making demands. They've got to keep him on the line until the trace is completed. Or do they?
Google China: Is an End to the Drama Near?
March 19, 2010 – According to a China Business News report released Friday, an unnamed Google employee was quoted as saying the company is likely to announce on Monday its decision regarding future operations in China. An external source identified only as an “authorized local agent” went as far as to say that they had received unofficial word that Google Corp. (GOOG) would cease operations on April 10, 2010.
The agent reportedly said they had “…received information saying that Google will leave China on April 10, but this information has not at present been confirmed by Google.” As of the writing of this article, no official information regarding the speculated departure has been posted in the Google Press Center.
Since Geek Shui Living’s posting of an article, entitled “China May Soon No Longer Be Able to ‘Google It’” on March 13, 2010, little in the way of additional information has been released either officially or unofficially, by either side. Throughout the week, speculation has continued to run rampant regarding Google’s future in China, following the hacking incident allegedly orchestrated by the Chinese government. What is certain is that some sort of decisive action will be taken by Google. For the sake of both Google and its local business partners in China, many hope that such action will be seen in the form of an announcement of a successful resolution, between the computing giant and the traditionally controlling Chinese government.
China May Soon No Longer Be Able to “Google It”
March 13, 2010 – The debacle that has been the Google/China hacking incident seems to be reaching a boiling point that could likely result in the tech giant shutting down its China-based search engine altogether.
According a Reuters report, the decision is not yet final but could be as high as 99.9% certain. Google apparently is concerned about local retaliation against its employees in China, by Chinese authorities. China has gone as far as to warn Google not to try and use the government’s laws to get what they want.
U.S.-China Internet Censorship Intervention: Is it about Human Rights or Economics?
March 10, 2010 – Acoording to a Reuters report, U.S. Government officials are analyzing the possibility of using WTO provisions to challenge the legality of China’s continued censorship of the internet, within its borders. What is the catalyst for the sudden spring to action? With the alleged Google Hacking incident still a relatively fresh memory, one would think that the resultant use (at least partially anyway) by the hackers to target the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists is sufficient to warrant political action.
Unfortunately, this may not exactly be the case. It seems the primary motive is to alleviate problems experienced by U.S. companies, like Google Corp (GOOG), who have operations in China. In addition to the difficulties Chinese internet censorship imposes upon U.S. companies, the U.S. is also developing a course of action to deal with Chinese business rules that favor companies, whose intellectual property will be used develop new products for China. U.S. opinion is that these types of business rules are counterproductive to global, economic development.
Learn from Jennifer and Protect Your WiFi and Yourself
March 2, 2010 – Recently, a woman named Jennifer called into Leo Laporte’s Tech Guy radio show complaining that her wireless access point she’d been using for over a year had been missing for the last three weeks. Laporte tried gently to explain to her that she’d basically been stealing the access from a neighbor, but Jennifer didn’t seem to understand why this was a problem. After all, she says, “It was a Linksys in my neighborhood.” Laporte then explained to her how exposed her information can be and how dangerous that is, recommending she change all her unencrypted passwords as soon as possible.
How can the rest of us internet users learn from Jennifer? Well, there are several ways you can protect yourself as both a user of WiFi and an owner of WiFi.
Earthquake in Chile: Your Secure Internet Donations are an Easy Way to Help
February 27, 2010 – The article below was originally posted on January 15, 2010, after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The original purpose was and still is to make sure internet users were aware of potential scams, by hucksters seeking to profit from the tragedy of others. It’s being reposted now, based on the occurrence of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chili earlier today. Change “Haiti” to “Chile”, and the rest of the information remains current. Relief agencies are sure to be firing up their operations to solicit donations. If you are a charitable human being, you will no doubt want to help in the form of $5, $10, or whatever amount you can. Remember, as well, that just because disaster didn’t strike in Hawaii doesn’t mean that proactive donations to organizations, such as the International Red Cross aren’t helpful. Positive balances ensure they are able to respond rapidly and effectively. So go forth and donate to a charitable cause. Just make sure you do it in a digitally secure way and to a reputable organization.
Visit the American Red Cross News Room for Updates
January 15, 2010 – By now, only a recluse would be unaware of the devastating earthquake that occurred in Haiti. Television, radio, and the internet sources are inundated with both news about the quake and, more importantly, how people can help through charitable donations of money, non-perishable goods, medical supplies, and more. As a Twitterer myself, I have to say how proud I am to be part of something that has helped raised awareness and record donations, for people truly in need. In the midst of it all, though, all personnel cautioned that monetary donations should not be given to any organization, until you have verified that it is legitimate. In the short time since the disaster occurred, numerous reports have already surfaced on how bogus organizations are targeting people, via telephone and email scams.
They say monetary donations are the best way to help. They encourage contributing via SMS (text messaging) and charitable websites. With the prevalence of cybercrime and associated scams, how can you help others without compromising your own personal information and finances? Below we detail a few ways that will allow you to ensure that your are doing both.
How you can avoid scams or malicious infection:
1. Do not respond to, click on links, or open attachments in unsolicited email messages sent directly to you.
2. If you are registered to receive emails from charitable organizations, such as the American Red Cross, and you receive solicitations for donations, go directly to the website by typing in the link on your web-browser.
3. Do not respond or provide any information to unsolicited, direct telephone calls received at work, your residence, or via cellular telephone.
Ways to help others and ensure your protection:
1. If you receive a request you believe may be legitimate, verify that the organization is registered as a charity via government-sponsored websites. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service maintains a searchable registry of certified charities at: http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/. The U.S. Better Business Bureau also maintains a list of registered charities at: http://www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Reviews/
2. As previously stated, do not click on links in email messages or attachments. Visit the website directly and only after you have verified the organization via the links provided above.
3. Before entering personal information, credit cards numbers, etc. verify that the website begins with “https://” and that (after double-clicking on the padlock symbol in your browser) the certificate issued contains the same name as the website/organization and is not expired. This will prevent you from providing your information to a bogus organization and sending your information in an unencrypted manner, through the internet.
Last night, I sat down with my 7-year old son, explained the importance of give of ourselves to help others, and, via the Red Cross website, donated on behalf of our family. In the process, I showed him the https://, the “little padlock”, and the basic certificate information. He may not understand cryptographic algorithms, but he does understand that if the three don’t match, providing personal information is a “No-Go”! Ultimately, Haitians receive help and my son learns two valuable lessons…a real-life one and a virtual one. None of the above information is new or ground-breaking, but, sometimes, the most simple things are overlooked. On that thought, look out for yourself, your family, and your friends by passing on this information to them. In the end, it will help us all get a little closer to achieving “Geek Shui”.
Microsoft Windows 7 RC Users to begin Experiencing Odd Behavior beginning March 1, 2010
February 26, 2010 – It looks like the ride’s not over yet, but it is about to get bumpy. If you are among the many who have been “testing” Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate free of charge, since it was released in Beta last year, you know that play time is about up. As previously announced by Microsoft, the current “FREE” release candidate (RC1) version, build 7100, is set to expire on June 1, 2010. Okay, it’s only February 26th, so there’s plenty of time, right?
While there are technically three months remaining, the catch is that starting Monday, March 1, 2010 your precious “no cost to upgrade” Windows 7 Ultimate PC will start shutting down every two hours and will conveniently not give you a chance save your work before doing so. You’ll also see an annoying “Pay Up, Buddy” message on the desktop that will change your desktop from your last vacation picture to an all black background. On top of these small annoyances, you’ll probably also experience issues with Microsoft’s Windows Validation feature, which means new updates won’t be downloaded and installed. Unfortunately, everyone knows what happens when you can’t install a critical security update. You run the risk of being turned into a zombie by a Botnet!
Your options, as Microsoft indicates on the announcement posted on their website, are to either roll back to Vista or XP (if you can stand it) or buy a copy of Windows 7 and activate it. Either way, a clean install is required, since Microsoft doesn’t allow users to simply upgrade the beta to a licensed version. As I and many others will tell you, the improvements in Windows 7, even in the Beta and RC versions, are definitely worth upgrading to, from both Windows Vista and XP.
Like many grateful Geek, I will be backing up my data before March 1st and installing the new copy of Windows 7 Home Premium Edition that I’ve had for a while but never got around to installing on my go-anywhere Samsung NC-10 Netbook. Hopefully, we’ll see the same reliability, stability, and functionality in the Beta versions of Microsoft Office 2010 and other future Microsoft products, that we’ve enjoyed with the Windows 7 RC.
