Tech Talk Radio
May 2003
Sponsored by Stratford University
Saturdays at Noon EST on WMAL NewsTalk Radio
Turn the dial to AM630 or listen on the Internet at ListenLive
It's everything you always wanted to know about computers
and information technology, but were afraid to ask.

     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. You can listen live over the Internet by clicking ListenLive during show time.

Show Selected Topics
May 31, 2003
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  • Telephones and Fax Machines
    • Lessons to be learned from ZapMail
      • ZapMail was offered in 1984 by Federal Express
      • Two hour delivery of a document for the same price as overnight delivery
      • Federal Express built a large Fax Network and expected to rake in millions
      • Venture failed because customers bought their own fax machines
      • Customers used a cheap telco network to transport services they owned
    • Fast forward to 2003
      • The telephone network has gone digital
      • Gone are the days of analog copper lines and expensive switching networks
      • We now have a low cost digital delivery system that can send anything – voice, data, video
      • Telephone companies are still charging like the network is expensive
      • The consumer now has options like they did in 1984
      • Consumers can buy network access and operate their own services
    • Voice (Voice over IP, Video Conferencing over IP, etc.)
      • IP Address will replace the phone number
      • Wi-Fi access are in a position to eliminate the last mile advantage
      • Wi-Fi network access with IP phones may make the telco obsolete
  • Digital Media Distribution
    • Here is the progression of events
      • MP3 file compression (MPEG, Layer 3)
      • MP3 Players (Software versions and hardware versions)
      • MP3 file swapping via Napster
      • RIAA killed Napster with copyright infringement case
      • The rise of Kazaa for the new file swapper client
      • Kazaa has a file distribution system not touchable by courts
    • RIAA seek to limit distribution of files with copy protection built into hardware
      • Microsoft’s Pressplay
        • Open source agreements with manufacturers
        • Unlimited access to 300,000 titles for subscription
        • $9.95 per month (unlimited streaming/downloads, none portable)
        • $17.95 per month (unlimited s/d, 10 portable downloads)
        • $179.40 per year (unlimited s/d, 120 portable downloads)
        • About $1.50 per portable download
      • Apples iTunes Music Store
        • Proprietary standards for apple only hardware (iPod)
        • Sells music for 99 cents per song ($7,500 to fill iPod)
    • The emerging battlelines will reshape the music industry
      • Digital Distribution versus Traditional Record Label Domination
      • Paid subscriptions versus pirated Kazaa copies
  • Movement Core Electronics Industry Off-shore
    • Information Source
    • Report Issued by the Advisory Group on Electron Device (AGED)
      • Conclusion drawn from National Technology Leadership Forum held last year
      • “DOD is forced to rely on the perceived system integration advantage to maintain superiority”
    • Loss of US Innovation Centers and Growth of Offshore Foundries is driven by
      • Off-shore financial incentives
      • Lower off-shore labor costs
      • Less stringent environment laws
      • Tax policies
      • US Export policies
      • US university-trained foreign workforce
    • Si-Microbridge technology is a case a point. Night Vision sensors have gone commercial
  • Software Delivery and Development
    • Software licensing for Individual PC
      • One time purchase
      • Now yearly subscription via Internet updates
      • Becoming more like rented software
    • The Rise of Application Service Providers (ASPs)
      • Renting the entire software suite with the hardware
      • Enabling technology Internet and Web service Standards (Java, .Net)
    • Movement of Core Programming Capability Off-shore
  • Spyware And Adware Delivery Software
    • Most free software installs adware and spyware
      • Adware delivers annoying popups
      • Spyware records surfing habits to help adware deliver "targeted" ad
    • The software company is paid by the ad delivery networks for either the number of ad delivered to your computer or for the installation itself.
    • The adware program alters the registry and loads each time you start your computer.
    • Biggest Violators are ad network companies call Xzoomy.com, Xupiter Toolbar, Bonzi Buddy, or Gator.
    • How to get rid of all those parasites? Use one of the following shareware programs. Both have good reviews. Their effectiveness depends on which one has most recently been updated to catch the latest spyware disguises
    • Hacked versions of most peer-to-peer programs are available without the pesky spyware code.
      • These links change frequently as programmers play cat-and-mouse with the adware companies.
      • Tech Talk has never tried these hacker version and cannot vouch for their quality.
      • Many good comments about them can be found on the Internet.
    • Lookup software on Spychecker before installation to see if it includes adware or spyware.
  • The Matrix and Observations about Programming
    • Genetic Programs are programs that write programs
    • Created a Matrix within a Matrix
    • Interesting site Genetic-Programming.org
  • Interesting Websites
  • The End of the AOL--Microsoft Feud
    • Steve Case was kicked out in January
    • Bill Gates settles with the Time-Warner folks in May for $750M
    • Expect collaboration to take advantage of shrinking markets
    • AOL may end trying to develop its own technology
      • Netscape, Mirabilis (ICQ), WinAmp (Nullsoft)
    • Microsoft will emphasize markets like handhelds, cell phones against Linux
  • MailBag
    • How can I look up shows on your site? (James Terreli)
    • My computer slowed down and you talked about it (G Mainer)
    • How can I get rid of these pesky popup? (Jim Kneussl)
    • How can I hook my cellphone to my laptop? (Richard Darr)
  • Stratford Bachelors Degree Programs
    • Hacking Class for High School Students
    • Fast Track (30 Months for BS or BA) with not breaks
      • Information Systems
      • Business Administration
      • Hospitality Management
      • Culinary Arts
      • Hotel/Restaurant Management (Online completely)
    • Masters Degrees
    • Next Start June 30th
May 24, 2003
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  • Tech Talk Guest: Doreen Moriera
    • Doreen is a culinary student and former Medical Doctor
    • She assisted with the Presidential Dinner last Wedneday
  • Hardware Versus Software Firewall (An Update)
    • Response to email from Jean Jalkovski
    • In security, it is all about risk and trade-offs.
    • Hardware firewalls have fewer software errors and require minimal configuration. When individuals are connecting multiple computers to the Internet and don't have strong technical capability, the Hardware firewall is the best solutions. This is particularly true for DLS, Cable Modem, and T-1 connections that are probed 24/7 for vulnerabilities.
    • If a single computer is connected to the Internet with dial up, a software firewall is adequate. Zone Alarm is the best. It may however conflict with some of the XP firewall functions.
    • If a single computer is connected to the Internet with a high speed connection, I now recommend a hardware firewall. Windows machines, particularly those on Cable/DSL have been targeted by the hacker community. To remain safe, a user with a software firewall must download all security patches (for both the firewall and the operating system). If these precautions are made, the software firewall is OK. However, I have learned that most users don't really pay attention to security...so I am moving more toward a hardware firewall recommendation.
    • ZoneAlarm is still the best personal firewall on the market. One that I do recommend...with the proviso that all security patches are kept up to date.
  • Check Your Port Security
    • Use Shields Up at Grc.com to check your port configuration.
    • This is Steve Gibson’s site.
    • Steve is an assembly programmer who developed Spin Right, a low level formatting program.
  • Steve Balmer Sells $1 Billion in Stock
    • Steve Balmer is Microsoft’s CEO
    • He went to college with Bill Gates. Gates dropped out to start a software company
    • Balmer graduated and worked for Proctor and Gamble
    • He joined Microsoft in 1980, then a five year old company
    • Balmer stills owns 432 million shares, 4% of MS and worth $10 Billion
  • Government Targets Internet Scams
    • Dubbed Operation E-Con by Department of Justice.
    • John Ashcroft announced a coordinated, nationwide assault on Internet fraud
    • Targeting fraudulent offers of dates with Russian women to fake bank Web sites. These business are sometimes called dot cons.
    • Effort includes: FBI, Justice Department, FTC, Postal and Immigration Authorities, and State and Local Law Enforcement
  • Profile of an Internet Security Extortion
    • The players
      • Vasiliy Gorshkov, 24 (a would be dot com entrepreneour)
      • Alexey Ivanov, 19 (a talented programmer)
      • They called themselved “Expert Group for Protection Against Hackers”
    • After the dot com crash and money was scarce, the team applied the mafia “protection scheme to the Internet
    • They looked for vulnerabilities at e-commerce sites, ISPs, banks and found many
      • Central National Bank in Waca
      • Nara Bank in LA
      • E-Money, Inc
    • They penetrated E-Money’s servers and copies customer credit card information
    • Demanded $500K to “protect” the information
    • So bagan a long negotiation between Jan Morganstern and “The Expert Group”
    • Morganstern got the FBI involved
    • The Team  eventually visited the US for a fake job with Invita Technologies and were captured by the FBI
    • The trend organized crime is Invading the Internet
  • 802.11g Standard To Be Released
    • The IEEE 802.11 Working Group will approved new starndard June 12th
    • Pushed operating speed to 54 Mbps up from 11 Mbps (for 802.11b)
    • Operates at the 2.4 GHz band and is compatible with 802.11b
    • Will further undermine 802.11a acceptance
  • Steganography Can Embed Messages in JPG and MP3 files
    • Steganography Software F5 can be downloaded for free
    • Difficult to detect embedded messages
  • Fed Go After Open Relays in fight against SPAM
    • SMTP Servers that will relay messages without authentication
    • Used by SPAMMERS to get around ISP restrictions
    • Many poorly installed foreign sites are open relays
    • FTC sent letter to 1000 known open relays to request assistance
    • Next step will be to shut them down
    • Open Relay Database tracks all offenders
  • E-mail Filters for Windows
    • SpamPal for Windows
    • SpamAssassin for Windows
    • Mail client filters
    • Outlook/Outlook Express Message Rules
    • Macintosh Jaguar OS has adaptive email filter
  • MailBag
    • How can I set up a community wireless system? (Jim Beller)
    • How can I look up shows on your site? (James Terreli)
    • My computer slowed down and you talked about it (G Mainer)
    • How can I buy the wireless fish finder? (Doug Schaem)
    • What was the port scan URL? (Cindy Kline)
    • Hardware or software firewall. What is your recommendation? (Jean Jalkovski)
  • Stratford Bachelors Degree Programs
    • Industry competencies embedded in program
    • Integrated career transition and placement program
    • Information Systems
    • Business Administration
    • E-Business
    • Hospitality Management
    • Culinary Arts
    • Telecommunications Systems
    • Enterprise Business Management
May 17, 2003
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  • Matrix Reloaded Portrays Computer Hack Accurately
    • Trinity targets a power grid computer about two thirds of the way through the movie
    • Trinity runs Nmap to perform a port scan on IP address 10.2.2.2
    • Find open port 22, which is SSH (Secure Shell) service
    • Cracks SSL using SSH CRC-32 buffer overflow bug
    • Accurate hacking portrayal
  • Hacking 101
    • IP Address Scan to locate active addresses
    • Port Scan to locate active ports on a particular IP address
    • Port Exploits to hack a particular port
    • Best defense is port blocking hardware/software (otherwise known as a firewall)
  • Top 75 Security Tool
    • Rated by members of Insecure.org
    • Top five entries on list
      • Nessus – open source vulverability assiessment for Linux and Unix
      • Ethereal – free network protocol analyzer
      • Snort – free intrusion detection system
      • Netcat – network swiss army knife. Unix utility for creating connections
      • TCPDump/WinDump – The classic sniffer for network monitoring and data acquisition
    • Insecure Mailing List Archive includes mailing lists and discussion groups for top security sites
  • TI is pushed UWB wireless for home consumer electronics
    • Short range, high bandwidth
    • Consumers should love this technology, if it is affordable
    • Projecting 100 Mbps data rate
  • Fed Go After Open Relays in fight against SPAM
  • Microsoft iLoo (an update)
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Charitable Contributions (An Update)
  • Steganography Can Embed Messages in JPG and MP3 files
  • Government Targets Internet Scams
    • Dubbed Operation E-Con by Department of Justice.
    • John Ashcroft announced a coordinated, nationwide assault on Internet fraud
    • Targeting fraudulent offers of dates with Russian women to fake bank Web sites. These business are sometimes called dot cons.
    • Effort includes: FBI, Justice Department, FTC, Postal and Immigration Authorities, and State and Local Law Enforcement
  • Using my Cell Phone for Internet Access
  • MailBag
    • I love your audio files (Kathy Sharp)
    • Disappearing History in IE (Joe Halparin)
    • Miscosoft and Cisco VPN Conflict (Marc Payne)
  • Stratford Bachelors Degree Programs
    • Program Features
      • Fast Track (30 Months for BS or BA) with no breaks
      • Inverted Curriculum to get students working in less than 15 months
      • Teach to all learning styles
      • Industry competencies embedded in program
      • Integrated career transition and placement program
    • Bachelor Degree Programs (30 Months)
      • Information Systems BS
      • Business Administration BS
      • Hospitality Management BA
    • Masters Degree Programs (15 Months)
      • Telecommunications Systems
      • Enterprise Business Management
    • Next Start May 27th
May 10, 2003
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  • SPAM Update
  • Microsoft iLoo
  • China used RFID tags to track Communist Party Congress participants
    • Technology developed in west to track inventory
    • First application to tracking people uses 20 Long Range Readers located throughout conference center
    • Technology provided by TI
  • FirstGov.gov Wins Award
    • FirstGov.gov is the official gateway to the Federal Government
    • Won the Innovations in American Government Award Yesterday
      • Award is sponsored by Harvard University and the Council for Excellence in Government
      • Award is dubbed the “Oscar” of good government
    • FirstGov was create three years ago and now links to over 180 million government pages
      • Includes information for Citizen, Businesses and Non-Profits, Federal Employees, and Government
      • GSA operates the site with an annual budget of $10M
  • Online Matchmaking Is A Hit
    • Use psychological tests and research results on successful marriages to locate good matches
    • Match.com (7.4 million users), Yahoo Personals,  AmericanSingles.com, Date.com, eHarmony.com
    • Revenues $302M in 2002 up from $71M in 2001
    • People who otherwise would not get together are meeting using this tool
    • Large database, refined tests are a real advantage
  • Bill Gates Charitable Contributions
    • Contributions channeled through Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
    • Plans to give away 95 of wealth
    • Most contributions in areas of reproductive health, family planning, and fighting the spread of infectious diseases
    • Getting good reviews even by the liberals
  • Baghdad Blogger Reappears
    • Salam Pax or Dear Raed began a web log (blog) in 2002
    • Went offline when Badhdad power was lost
    • Has finally reappeared online
    • He does not trust the US military
  • FDA and FTC Crack Down on Bogus SARS Products
    • Government order 48 websites to quit promoting bogus way to prevent and treat SARS
    • Get correct information from FTC and CDC
  • Stratford Open House Today May 10th
    • Remote broadcast of Tech Talk and Ric Edelman Shows
    • Technology seminars (wireless networking, hacking and cracking, computer clinic)
    • Career Seminars (Tech Career Trends for the next few years)
    • Culinary Seminars
    • Classes start May 27th, 2003
May 3, 2003
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  • FTC SPAM Forum
    • April 30 through May 2, 2003 in Washington DC
    • Agenda Included
      • E-mail Address Harvesting, Economics of SPAM,False Claims Analysis
      • Open Relays, Open Proxies, FormMail Scripts
      • Blacklists,Best Practices, Wireless SPAM, Potential Solutions
  • Overview of SPAM -- Timeline from the Beginning to the Present
    • History of SPAM
      • SPAM name came from a 1970 Monty Python Show about a restaurant with a limited menu that only included Pam
      • Name adopted by small online communities to described improperly posted or cross-posted messages
      • First large scale SPAM was April 1994 by Canter and Seigel advertising Green Card Lottery
    • Volume of SPAM
      • According to Brightmail
      • 8% of traffic in 2001
      • 36% of traffic in 2002
      • Estimated to be over 50% to 60% in 2003
      • Last week AOL filtered 2.6 billion e-mails in one day! (67 for each account)
    • Harvesting e-mail addresses
      • Discussions groups without opt-in
      • Websites without opt-in
      • Chat groups without opt-in
      • Contests with opt-in
      • Mask or hide your e-mail address to protect against harvesting
        • Masking examples (johndoe@aol dot com or johndoe@donotspam.cox.net)
        • Hiding involves not giving out e-mail address and never using it as a screen name or listing on a discussion/chat group.
    • Economics of SPAM
      • $99 to send 1 million e-mails
      • No printing costs
    • Economic Solutions
      • Charge for each e-mail (1 penny per e-mail) which would be used to offset ISP charges
      • Insignificant for normal user for small business
      • Deal breaker for spammers
  • SPAM Legislation
  • Technical solutions -- A Whistle Stop Tour
    • Identification of actual Pam e-mail
      • Size of mailing using checksum for ID
      • Honeypots
      • Collective action or reporting
    • Use filtering software that use blacklists
    • Use filtering software that combines content and blacklist filters
    • Next Generation IP will make return address forging more difficult
    • Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo have joined forces. This is a good sign!
  • Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE)
    • All volunteer organization
    • Created by Netizens to advocate for a legislative solution to the problem Pam
    • Leading anti-Pam organization
  • Home Networking
  • ABC’s of Sharing an Internet Connection
    • Network your computers by connecting them to a gateway
    • The gateway will function as proxy server, firewall, and DHCP server
    • Assign internal addresses dynamically
    • Filter incoming packets from the Internet that were not requested
    • Have one external IP address seen by the outside world
    • Gateway will connect to
      • Cable Modem
      • DSL Modem
      • Dialup Modem
    • Gateway can be wired or wireless
  • Importance of a Firewall
    • Addresses blocks are scanned for vulnerable systems
    • Trojans can be placed on unpatched OS quite easily
      • Log keystrokes
      • Engage is DDOS Attacks
      • Mask the presence of foreign files on the system (root kits)
    • On my cable connection, I typically get 10 hack attacks per hour
  • SmartCast Sonar Fish Finder
    • Information sent by Robert Lotier, Tech Talk listener
    • Cast and find fish with this $170 wireless device
    • Buy Online from
  • Stratford Open House Next Saturday, May 10th
    • Remote broadcast of Tech Talk Ric Edelman
    • Financial Aid Seminars for students and parents
    • Technology seminars (wireless networking, hacking and cracking, computer clinic)
    • Culinary seminars
    • Career seminars
    • Starts at 9:30 continues to 3 PM
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