Graham English talks about 4hww at
Graham English Talks
Calea Interview for Itmanagement.com
I was interviewed this week for an article in ITManagement.com about CALEA compliance.
Here is the full article and a link to the original at IT Management Calea Interview – Brad Slavin
Way back in 1994, agents at the FBI were getting nervous. They saw emerging digital and wireless communications technologies as one more reason to worry — and one more way for hardcore criminals to evade capture. That year, Congress passed CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) to ensure that the FBI and other law- enforcement agencies would be able to conduct electronic surveillance — essentially, legal wiretapping — on devices beyond landline telephones. From fax machines, pagers and mobile phones, CALEA now extends also to broadband Internet communications and VoIP services.
Last year, the U.S. government required that all “telecommunications carriers??? — which the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) defines as common carriers, facilities-based broadband Internet-access providers and interconnected VoIP service providers — be compliant with CALEA by May 14, 2007. That means that a carrier’s equipment, facilities and services must be capable of allowing law enforcement to perform electronic surveillance, which is also referred to as lawful intercept. Simply put: You get a subpoena, and you must be able to immediately execute a tap on the network and transmit the data to the law-enforcement agency that served the warrant. The tricky part is this: The government has put the onus on the telecommunications industry to determine CALEA standards and solutions.
“For a long time, CALEA seemed catered to VoIP and VoIP networks. It didn’t seem to apply to us, a broadband provider,” explained Brad Slavin, vice president of engineering at Skyriver Communications Inc., an ISP near San Diego with 3,500 business subscribers. “There’s no governing body — you may not even know that this is a prerequisite.” The ISP received clarifications on the mandate in February, and Slavin spent the 90 days before the deadline pushing to become compliant.
WordPress meets 4hww
Learn of the alchemy that creates and sustains WordPress. Tim Ferriss interviews Matt Mullenweg at » Simplicity and Start-up Alchemy: An Interview with WordPress Creator, Matt Mullenweg (Plus: 4HWW Party in SF and Stunt Competition)
Identity Theft and LifeLock
Last week I wrote about a scam that could sucker you out of 50 bucks but this week I am going to talk about the greatest possible scam out there, Identity Theft. 457-55-5462 You may recognize this number as the Social security number of the Lifelock CEO Todd Davis. They are the innovative identity theft protection site that is ROCKING THE INDUSTRY. Their shtick is that they are so confident in their service that they are willing to publish the CEO’s SSN.
|
What’s the process? |
|
I have been using the Equifax protection service for years and once I knew that there was an alternative out here that is not just a reporting engine but is actually proactive about my identity protection I just had to give it a try. Let me give you an example, if someone is down at Sears and is applying for credit with your social security number, one will block prior to approval and the other would notify you that a new account has been established.
They also order your credit reports from all three major agencies mailed directly to you once a year. If you are interested in a 30 Day trial and a whopping $21 discount, enter in promo code AMI when you enroll. I have been using the service for about 90 days and I have received my Fraud Alter paperwork from Trans Union and Equifax, so I know that they have done what they have promised. I anticipate getting another set of letters within the next 60 days to confirm that my fraud alert has been renewed. I LOVE THIS SERVICE. Yes, I know that I could do it myself but for less than $10 a month, I would prefer to have someone follow up on this for me so that I can focus on writing interesting newsletters and not writing to get my identity back!
FAST FACTS:
- Identity Theft is the fastest growing crime in America
- More than 27 million identities have been stolen
- More than 15 million identities will be stolen this year
- You are 25 times more likely to have your identity stolen than to have your car broken into.
- You are 40 times more like to have your identity stolen than your home broken into.
- It takes consumers an average of 177 hours and two years to restore their identities after it has been stolen.
One of my favorite features of the services is the removal from pre-approved credit card and junk mail lists and they keep updating these requests as they expire. Discarded mail or stolen mail is one of the most common ways that thieves hijack identities.
The Guarantee
If your Identity is misused while you are our client, we’ll spend up to $1,000,000 to make it right. I have been a client for a while, and I have yet to receive that dredged phone call that someone is trying to open up an account with my name, but I have done my due diligence and I feel comfortable that I am really protected.
If you don’t think this is a problem, take a look at these news articles just from August.
Texas Billionaire Identity Theft target
FTC Page on Identity Theft
Man gets 6 years for Identity Theft
Consider signing your parents up for this service even if you don’t need it. This article written today states that 20% of Identity Theft happens to Senior citizens.
Stay informed, because once you are it is easy to get protected.
Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace, and Grace is a little girl who didn’t wash her face!
For those of you that thought that petty communications would slow down after you break up are just plain wrong. As part of the divorce agreement, and as standard practice you need to change your IRA’s, 401K’s and life insurance policies so that your ex-spouse is no longer listed as the primary beneficiary.
Seems pretty simple right? You get the paperwork, standard forms from the insurance company and brokerage house nothing but and acknowledgment that they are no longer the beneficiary. With review time and a little bit of stalling, what should it take – a day or two to sign?
I am now going on over a week and a half…oh well. Everything in its time.
This virtual assistant goes the 4hww way
Part of this virtual assistant’s inspiration to travel and work at once came from the 4hww. Read about it at The Traveling VA » Blog Archive » Cross USA: Living the Four-Hour Work Week… Tim Ferriss, I Thank You!
Inspiration for dreamlining
This is a good blog to refer to if you have been working out your dreamlining blogs and stumbling a wee bit. Take inspiration from With The Beginning In Mind: 4HWW – DreamLining Ouch…Something Uncomfortable – How Much!?
Doman Registration Scams
I have been connected to the Internet for a very long time and I am always the super skeptic about any online offer and I always have my guard up for Internet scams but this one nearly got me. I was perhaps 10 seconds away from clicking submit before I chose to do some checking. It would have cost me about fifty dollars in actual damages but it a lesson that needs to be shared.
Here is the content of the email:
It is time to renew your domain name www.topsiterank.com
Your domain name www.topsiterank.com will expire within 90 days.
You may renew your domain automatically with Domain Renewal. Click on the link in this e-mail to renew the domain for another year. You should renew your domain as soon as possible in order for it to continue to be registered in your name.
Click here if you wish to renew your domain
http://www.domainrenewalonline.com/for.php?d=topsiterank.com
As soon as we have received your payment, you will receive a confirmation that your domain has been renewed.
It was a clean, simple email with an easy to follow link. The landing page looked great, it had the domain name and the renewal cost right up front I can see how people fall for this.
What is the implication?
Honestly this scam just costs you money and there is a slim possibility that they steal your credit card information and use it to buy a 60 inch plasma. If they do what they promise, this is pretty much a victimless crime. You just overpay for a service. They don’t modify your information with your registrar; they just pay your bill.
Say what?
For those of you who have not had to deal with paying for your .com name or renewing it once it has expired. You typically get a notification from your Registrar or your ISP to tell you that your domain is about to expire. You go online in the same way that I did and you pay for it…Pretty easy. The problem is that you don’t need the account number or verification to pay for a domain. So if you use this service, they charge you the $79.00 and pay out the $12-20 to renew your domain. They take a healthy markup for sending spam. No harm no foul, you get your registration paid and they act like the middleman handling the transaction.
So what was made me stop?
In this case it was experience, everything looked right but something did not feel right. I did not remember seeing this screen in years past and it was a little “too” easy. So I went online to the “whois” database to check who I registered the domain with.
You can see the results here.
http://www.who.is/whois-com/ip-address/topsiterank.com/.
You can see by the response that I registered with Enom, Inc and that their URL is http://www.enom.com and not
http://www.domainrenewalonline.com.
Keeping up to date
To check your own domain information go to http://www.who.is/. Make sure that your information is up to date and accurate. Is the fax number right? Is it pointing to your new physical address and is the name of the person on the record still working for your company? Get this information up to date ASAP, if you need some free help taking care of this let me know, I would be glad to help. Rather be safe than sorry. I had a client that her IT person switched the domain registration out from under her and then just started his own separate business selling the same product using her good name. We were able to get the domain back in a few short days but not without the expense of having to get notarized letters and certified documents of Incorporate.
Wild Wild West
The Internet really is the wild west and there are robbers ready to take advantage of you at every corner. The lesson is that if you are in doubt or have been sent an unsolicited notification from a vendor that you don’t recognize – even if the service seems valid. Ask someone who can help you before you spend the money or even lose your domain name. Next week I am going to write about protecting yourself from identity theft.
Poll on what can make you quit
Tim Ferriss posts a series of laugh out loud questions on what can make you quit your job and take up the 4hww lifestyle. Get the questions from » Bribing You to Quit and Bosses as Muppets
4hww spreads
this blogger says that the 4hww is all over the place and one cant help but notice it. Find another impressed blogger at Duffbert’s Random Musings | Book Review – The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Future of work is Odesk
This blog claims that the future of work is at Odesk and Tim promises to test it befor using it. You too can take a look at oBlog » Blog Archive » The Four Hour Work Week
On the biling tracker pro
Tim Ferriss recommends the Billing Tracker Pro and this blog explains the system the author has developed to improve productivity. Check it out at Improve Productivity With Billing Tracker Pro
4 Hour Work Week – 4HWW – San Diego
Hot on the heels of my last post I have just started a 4 Hour Work Week group at meetup.com. I know that some of you on my list are not in the San Diego area but if you in the area and you are interested in creating a life of possibility or looking to transform your business and life by utilizing the “secrets of the New Rich” take the first step and register for the meetup.
If you are not in San Diego, search meetup.com for a 4 Hour Work Week Group near you or start one of your very own!
The group can be found at
The 4-Hour Work Week – San Diego!
There are already 4 members signed up, as of this morning and I only started the group at 11pm last night!
Getting connected and finding your passion and your muse is a step towards living a life you love. I hope to see you there.
4 Hour Work Week – 4HWW – Meetup
Last week I hosted the first ever San Diego 4 Hour Work Week Meetup and it was FANTASTIC. There were seven of us at the first event and I have scheduled the next one for the 12th of September.
In this meetup we are going to be going through a process of Muse creation so that we can start the creative juices flowing. I will be posting a list of resources that people have used and their experience with each outsourcing company.
If you would like more information on the let me know.