David Burd and Dr. Richard Shurtz, President of Stratford University, host Tech Talk, a program about computers and information technology.
     Links to selected programs are below. All programs are archived in RealAudio format. Just click on the RealAudio link below the date to listen. Older shows are archives as transcript summaries. You can listen live over the Internet by clicking ListenLive during show time.

• War Flying
  • You have heard of War Driving to look for vulnerable wireless networks
  • Now we have War Flying
  • San Diego Wireless Users Group recently flew between 1,500 and 2,500 feet and dtected 437 access points
  • Another group has reported similar results in Austailia
  • A local group with Novawireless is planning a flight in the DC area
• Verizon to Try Wireless in Northern Virginia
  • Using BeamReach Technology
  • 2.3Ghz Point to Point wireless system capable of delivering 1.5Mbps
  • Trial with 50 employees to evaluate whether it is a viable alternative to DSL
  • Look for a bandwidth feud if this interferes with 803.11b networks
  • May be a viable alternative to DSL
• SatireWire Closes Shop
  • SatireWire founder and sole employee as announced that the site will no longer be updated because of creative difference among the staff.
  • The site has been opened for 159 Internet years (2.67 earth years)
  • One Internet year is approximately 60 earth years
  • That is why so many dot.commers retired after only one year on the job
• RIAA Site Hacked a Second Time
  • Recording Industry Association of America site has been defaced by The Pigopolists
  • RIAA supports a bill in Congress to allow hacking of peer-to-peer networks
  • RIAA suspected of loading these networks with corrupted files
  • They also sued a US ISPs because they permitted access to a Chinese site
  • RIAA site suffered a DDOS attack last month
• Ford Sues F***edCompany.com for Copy Right Infringement
  • Site noted that at Ford “getting a job is now Job1”
  • This is the most popular counter culture site for disgruntled employees
  • Check out the slander corner
  • This Renegade Website is not pornographic at all….just irreverent
• RedHat Accelerates Desktop Linux for Enterprise Users
  • Increasing frustration with MS Activation technology is driving users to Linux
  • Redhat is ready to accommodate
  • Offering is expected next year
  • Considering subscription licensing
• Wireless Network to help DC emergency workers
  • Capital Wireless Integrated Network (CapWin)
  • To be Built by IBM over next two years
  • Total cost $20M, funded by Congress
  • Will included electronic chat rooms for laptops, PDAs, cell phone
  • Make data sharing easier and faster
  • Support 10,000 users and complies to FBI standards for wireless security
• Cell Phone Blocker for Restaurants and Theaters
  • Developed by Fairfax-based Cell Block Technologies founded by David Derosier
  • Makes the cell think it is the best cell tower
  • Currently illegal, except for government
• SA Police Arrest Internet Faudsters
  • 15 Nigerians have been detained
  • Group responsible for the Nigerian scam that is hitting US
  • E-mail Nigerian money scams have rising by 900% between 2000 and 2001.
• Next big improvement in cars
  • Networking components together for efficiency and performance
  • Bosch’s cartronic software can fine tune breaking, downshifting, engine temp, electrical consumption.
  • By 2005, Work expected to lead to
    • 80 mpg car that is peppier and safer
    • Emits little more than carbon dioxide and water
    • Mechanical systems will be replaced by electrical systems
    • Drive stick operation for go and stop
    • Integrated Collision avoidance
• UK Mobile Phone Scam
  • Mobile phone connected to laptop dials phone numbers at random once
  • Leaves info on called ID memory
  • When user calls number, get an expensive pay-per-call service
• Judge Throws Out Hyperlink Lawsuit
  • BT Claimed to own the hyperlink
  • Suit filed against Prodigy ISP
  • Logic prevailed
• Mailbag
  • Dell Dropping OS Requirement (Marshall Hanson)
  • DeFragging Problem (Suebee Ransom, Russell Gustin)
  • Text messaging (Frank Graves)
  •  DSL Testing (Kathleen Ballard)
  • What’s the poo poo on the cah cah? Cable versus DSL speed (Robert Lotier)
• Stratford News
• Next Start – September 9^th
• Emphasis in Grad Program (telecommunications, security, e-business)
• Emphasis in Undergrad Program (complex webdesign, wide area networks, security

• Movies on Subway walls
  • 15 to 20 second advertising clips produced by SubMedia
  • Target ran ad on Manhattan subway
  • Coca cola ran ads in Altanta
• Microsoft Summer IE Patch Frenzy
  • New patch fixes six IE vulnerabilities, including more buffer overruns and cross platform permission problems
• Gadget of the week
  • MiniTempFS, a non-contact IR thermometer for the kitchen
  • Provides temperature readings fro -25 F to 400 F
  • Seven second read time and LCD display
• Students surf of roommates
  • · Webroomz.com allows college students to select roommates and reserve rooms
  • · Used by Kennesaw State University, Kansas State Univesity, University of Tennessee
  • · Well received by students
• Linux Distribution Available for Xbox
  • Xbox Linux 0.1 Released by Xbox Linux Project
  • Includes ftp and file-server routines
  • No graphics available yet
• Wireless Turf Battle
  • Starbucks wireless is transmitting on the same channel as a free AP
    • Community network called Personal Telco
    • Starbucks wireless carrier is T-Mobile
  • Location: Pioneeer Courthouse Square, Portland, Oregon
  • Result: both will share a crowded channel with less throughput
• Music Industries Self Inflicted Wounds
  • by Mark Jenkins, MSN.com
  • Music controlled by the big five
    • AOL/Time Warner, Vivendi/Universal, BMG, EMI, Sony
    • Music innovation has been squelched
  • RIAA blames music swapping for drop off in sales
    • Maybe we are just tired of the Britney Spears and ‘NSync formula
  • Last big slump occurred in 1978
    • RIAA blamed the cassette tape for encouraging piracy
    • But in fact we were just tired for the disco formula
      
• What you computer says about you
  • Pyschologist say we are staking out our personal space
    • Cute toys say you spend a lot of time on the computer
    • Mouse pads with statements
    • Screen savers
    • Power utilities on desktop to show off
  • Password selection
    • 48% select family category
    • 32% fan category
    • 11% fantasy category
    • 9% cryptic category
• New worm spreads through the KaZaA network
  • Duload is a VB executable
  • Creates subdirectory and make 30 copies of itself
  • Shares subdirectory with the Kazaa network
  • Download and installed a Trojan backdoor
• Judge Throws Out Hyperlink Lawsuit
  • BT Claimed to own the hyperlink
  • Suit filed against Prodigy ISP
  • Logic prevailed
• Mailbag
  • DeFragging Problem (Suebee Ransom, Russell Gustin)
  • Text messaging (Frank Graves)
  • Cleaning Hard Drives (Pete Eicher)
• Stratford News
  • Next Start – September 9^th
  • Emphasis in Grad Program (telecommunications, security, e-business)
  • Emphasis in Undergrad Program (complex webdesign, wide area networks, security)

• Cell Phone Discussion (Continued)
  • Sending a text message
    • Email
    • Gateway
    • Phone
  • Know the text message shorthand
• FCC Rules that Digital Tuners must be included by 2007
• Designed to speed adoption of HDTV
• Conventional, Digital, HDTV Technologies
• Record Labels Sue ISPs over site
  • China-based Listen4ever.com is dispensing mp3s
  • Vivendi, Sony, RCA, Warner participated in the suit
  • Plaintiffs included AT&T, Cable and Wireless, Sprint, UUNet and others
• Catching crooks with e-mail evidence is mounting
  • Noted examples
    • Arthur Anderson
    • John Walker Lindh, Taliban fighter
    • Daniel Pearl arrest
  • Best way is for police to make an image of the harddrive for analysis
    • Even turning on the computer corrupts the information legally
    • Difficult to totally remove evidence from hard drive
    • Deleting, reformatting, re-partitioning all leave data in place
    • Special programs rewrite and erase multiple times to get rid of data
  • Best way is to burn the hard drive, according to some experts.
• Military Computers cracked by security firm
  • Unclassified computers connected to Internet
    • Simple or no passwords
    • File sharing with no password
    • Private email, correspondence, quasi-classified data found
  • Search began at US Army’s Fort Hood
  • From there they accessed internal networks of other bases
  • No secure network cracked
  • DoD will now move security surveillance to the desktop level
• Wi-Fi Honey Pot set up in Washington DC
  • SAIC, a government contractor, launched the first organized wireless honeypot
  • Looking first at 802.11b, set up a hot spot in a well-traveled area
  • No serious hacking discovered so far
• Registrars Rally behind ICANN
  • ICANN has been heavily criticized in recent months
  • Board of Director selection is the main bone of contention
  • Name space decisions hotly contested
  • Now 44 of the ICANNs registrars have issued a letter of support for the organization
• LAN Parties Grow in Popularity
  • Gamers like to battle together in the same room
  • Computer connected by high speed LANs
  • QuakeCon is a popular program by ID software for the LAN party
  • Attended a LAN party in Carnac France a few weeks ago
• Dell now sells computers without OS
  • Takes advantage of new MS licensing agreement
  • Includes a copy of FreeDOS, uninstalled, to meet the letter of the agreement
  • Popular with corporate users who must erase and reinstalled licensed software
• Russians Accuse FBI of Hacking
  • Russia’s Federal Security Service filed charges against FBI agent Michael Schuler
  • Lured two Russian hackers to US in November 2000 and accessed their computers without authorization.
  • The pair had infiltrating PayPal and other pay schemes
  • The Scam
    • The pair were offered job with the fictitious firm Invita if they could prove their skills
    • They logged onto their computers in Russia to begin the demo.
    • The FBI logged all keystrokes
  • US judge rules that Russian law does not apply to US
• LinuxWorld Held this week
  • LinuxWorld Website
  • IBM, Sun, HP, Dell all claiming to be first with Linux
  • Linux is now viewed as a production server
  • Redhat marches to support open source
  • Unveiled legislation (Digital Software Security Act--DSSA) that requires CA to only use open source software
  • Bumper stickers (Convicts should make license plates, not computer software)
  • Bumper sticker (Would you buy a car with the hood welded shut?)
• Stratford News
  • Next Start – September 9^th
  • Emphasis in Grad Program (telecommunications, security, e-business)
  • Emphasis in Undergrad Program (complex webdesign, wide area networks, security)

• Cellular Phone Technology Rundown
  • Original Patent
    • Dr. Martin Cooper, et al, from Motorola.
    • Patent US03906166 issued 09/16/1975
  • Sharing the spectrum
    • Analog (AMPS) -- legacy
    • Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
    • Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
    • GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication)
  • Spectral Bands
    • NA (800, 1900MHz
    • Europe (900, 1800MHz)
    • 800, 900 analog and digital, called cellular
    • 1800, 1900 digital only, called PCS in NA
  • North America versus Europe
    • Competing standards in US (TDMA, CDMA)
    • One standard in Europe (GSM)
    • More spectral allocation in Europe
  • Evolution of the Technology
    • 1^st Generation – Analog
      • Voice only and no security
    • 2^nd Generation – Digital (TDMA and CDMA)
      • Voice and narrowband data
    • 3^rd Generation – Wide-band Digital (CDMA2000 and W-CDMA)
      • Voice, wideband Data, and GPS
  • Selecting a vendor
  • Roaming, Long Distance, and Data Charges
  • Peak and Weekend minutes
  • Texting and Data Options Options
  • How to Text with Your Cell Phone
  • Three Methods to Sending a message using Email, Gateway, or Phone
  • A summary of the Messaging Lingo. You must know this shorthand
  • Pricing and plans
• Mailbag
  • Cellular Phone Technology (Jean Jolkovski)
  • Computer Upgrading Options for Home and Work (Ross Cummings)
  • Cell Phone That I Bought (Anita Reidy)
  • What about ListenLive (Mike Hogan)
  • DeFragging Problem (Suebee Ransom, Russell Gustin)
• My experiences with a CLEC
  • (CLEC) Competitive local area exchange
  • My desire to replace Verizon as my local carrier and save $
  • Blow-by-blow rundown
  • Transition from Verizon to Cavalier
• Microsoft settles cased with FTC
  • 20 security audits required
  • Claims that Passport is more secure are questioned
  • Microsoft is also releasing a batch of unpublished API’s
  • Getting reading for release of XP SP1
• Sprint rolls out “high speed” wireless network
  • Will compete with Verizon, ATT, and Cingular
  • Verizon (65% nationwide coverage)
  • ATT (60% nationwide coverage)
  • Cingular (36% nationwide coverage)
• Asian Conglomerates to Buy Global Crossing
  • $250M for a network that cost $12B
  • One of the companies government owned
• Stratford News
  • Next Start – September 9^th
  • Emphasis in Grad Program (telecommunications, security, e-business)
  • Emphasis in Undergrad Program (complex webdesign, wide area networks, security)

• Virtual Tour Going Up on Stratford Website
  • Check out 360-Degree Dining Room Page
  • Photos by EMR Group
  • Dave Roe, Virtual Photographer and Tech Talk Guest
  • Dave uses Nikon digital with fish eye lens
  • Two back-to-back fisheye photos are “processed” to form the virtual image
  • Other examples of the work by EMR
    • Days Hotel at Dulles
    • Kitchen and Bath Factory
    • Paramount Construction
• Experiences with a Low Cost Digital Camera
  • Olympus D-370 (1.3M Pixels, 128k SmartMedia, No Zoom)
  • Getting Prints (from Price Club and others)
    • Any media can be used (SmartMedia, CompactFlash, MemoryStick, CD, Floppy)
    • 4 X 6 prints are 20 cents each at Price Club with one-hour delivery
  • Night Shots and Color Correction were surprisingly good
  • 4 x 6 Prints look as good as film
• Cellular Phone Technology
  • 3G CDMA (Third Generation Code Division Multiple Access) Technology
    • Faster packet switched data rates for computers
      • Verizon's network is burstable to 144kbps
      • During peak times may only average 50kbps since voice is given priority
    • Can be integrated with GPS to locate the phone when a 911 emergency call is placed
  • The phone we talked about during the show was AudioVox, Model 9155-GPX
    • CDMA2000 1X for Voice and Data with GPS for 911
    • Voice Recognition
    • Text Messaging
    • Packet switched connection to Internet for e-mail and Web browser
    • Speaker phone mode
    • Verizon was the network provider discussed during the show
• AOL Under Investigation
• Stock swaps make to boost revenue
• While Time-Warner merger was being negotiated
• NIST Issues Wireless Security Draft Report
  • Agencies warned not to deploy without understanding risks
  • Report is excellent summary of 802.11 and Bluetooth, and Wireless PDA
  • Check out all te CSRC Draft Documents
• DefCon 2002
  • Las Vegas, August 2 to 4^th
  • Premier Hacker Convention
  • WarDriving Contest Featured
  • Richard Clarke encouraged hackers to find vulnerabilities and report them to the software manufacturers
  • Groupies seen as distraction
• GPS Systems are starting and ending boundary wars
  • Remote areas may see boundary revisions
  • GPS has dramatically lowered the cost of accurate surveys
  • Starting points for surveys are frequently brought into question
  • Jurisdictions using this to get more tax revenue when a shift in in their advantage
  • GPS is a system 24 satellites designed for targeting weapons and tracking troops
  • May 2000 Clinton ordered Pentagon to stop scrambling the signals. This lead the way to low cost GPS equipment
• Highway LAN
  • Using 802.11b on a Road Trip
  • Linksys AP used to connect other autos in caravan
  • 350W DC to AC converter used for power
  • Cell phone link to Internet (either 14.4k or 144k)
• Asynchronous Computers Gaining Ground
  • Called by some “Computers without clocks”
  • More accurately called “computers without central clocks”
  • Let different components operate a optimum speed with asynchronous communication
  • Clock propagation delays are increasingly difficult to handle in high speed computers
  • Sun Microsystems are major supporter
  • Techniques can be applied to grid computers
• Internet Registry Giants Want ICANN Controlled by Commerce
  • Verisign and DENIC have asked Commerce Undersecretary Nancy Victory to rein in ICANN
  • These companies that control dot-com, dot-net, dot-ort, dot-de, and dot-uk
  • They recommend a lightweight ICANN
  • The groups want to be free from ICANN regulatory requirements
  • ICANN is becoming involved in prices, services delivery, and business practices of domain name companies
  • In another developemt, Verisign agreed to give up dot-org in exchange for more control over dot-com. Dot-org control is now under active bidding.
• Internet Con Artist Jailed
  • Phillip Chapman and Amanda Warren were sentenced to 12 years jail terms
  • The Missouri circuit court issued these sentences for Internet auction fraud
  • Five years for bad checks and seven years for theft charges
  • The pair offered laptops and baseball card for sale on auction sites, took the money, and never delivered
• White House Issues Call for New Internet Standards
  • Richard Clarke believes that Internet standards need to be updated to accommodate the new wireless security problems
  • Vint Cerf welcomed the invitation to rethink the entire Internet security problems created by wireless
    
• McCain seeks bill to end broadband statemate in Senate
  • The Consumer Broadband Deregulation Act of 2002 would slash regulations restricting the ability of local phone companies to offer long distance broadband services to residential clients, but would not deregulate the business market
  • The problem is in the residential marketplace, not the business marketplace however.
  • Tausin-Dingle is stalled in the Senate by Commerce Committee Chairman “Fritz” Hollings
• Courses Start this Week
  • Graduate Programs
    • Enterprise Business and Telecommunications
    • Courses include Fiber Optics, Wireless, Business Law, and Accounting
  • Undergraduate Programs
    • Enterpise Network Management
    • Client/Server Programming, including Graphic and Web Design
    • Courses Java, Oracle, Security, Cisco, Windows 2000, Linux
    • Over 60 IT Courses this term
    • Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Business