Yes, there's a fix for this, but what is the likelihood of every person who owns a Wifi router fixing this flaw?
We talk about the dangers of homogeny, but this is exactly the type of thing that homogeny causes. All the routers with DD-WRT implemented to save costs, but in the end everyone is screwed.
Just because we love Linux doesn't mean that we should sacrifice the entire ecosystem to that love. We need to nurture other implementations to prevent this type of virus from wiping out our entire networking infrastructure.
What is the likelihood of any flaw on any system getting patched? I don't see how a vulnerability in DD-WRT is any different than if Cisco announced a major vulnerability in one of their systems. I bet just about the same percentage would be patched.
My situation was extreme. I do NOT recommend emailing Mr. Jobs until fully exhausting the Apple support chain. If you have a problem, ask for a supervisor. If the supervisor can't fix it, ask for "customer relations". Call your local Apple store before sending that email (I did). And finally, after a month of hell, if all else fails, well... do a google search and find his current email address...
I wish I would have read this post before I emailed him about getting a new case for my ipod...
Sorry guys
"It's very frustraiting, however it's the fault of the card manufacturers. If they would release specs, there would be excellent drivers available for those cards. As it is now, though, as Linux users we just have to be extremely careful when buying WiFi cards."
That is an excellent point... I just wonder if they could do something to automate the NDISWRAPPER process for the other cards... that would be handy...
and trying to use NDISWRAPPER is a joke:)... I actually switched from FC to Ubuntu, because I heard that they had better support... from what you said, it actually sounds like Ubuntu has the same problem as SUSE, it found my card [unlike FC] but refuses to use it...
After all these years, the huge improvements to Linux in general, why is it still so hard to get an off the shelf PCI wireless card going? Are you guys making any improvements there?
"I wonder...is there any way to hack into the modern phones, and disable the GPS chips in them, but, otherwise have a functional phone?"
I am not sure... like I said, in most phones, the 'location setting' is turned off by default [except on emergency calls] but for the truly paranoid it would be handy to know how to disable it from a hardware standpoint... but as I said before, I am not sure...
"From the story you told, it appears that a customer isn't required to have a GPS phone...so I'd take from that that even if you have one, there is nothing requiring you to keep that functionality working..."
This is true... although when they first started the initiative, they said that the FCC was mandating that 95% of our customers were in GPS capable phones... or the company would be charged huge fees... which we would in turn pass to the customers...:) But, after a huge influx of complaints, they changed their mind about forcing customers to switch phones... in fact when we first heard about this they told us that the customers were required to sign a new contract... that was very quickly overturned... as most of the customers with non-compliant phones had been out of contract, on sort of a month-to-month basis for several years, and were in no hurry to sign another 2 year contract. Actually all of the contracts that were processed before that decision was overturned were voided out.
(sorry, next time I'll call cust service instaed of bugging you)
*L* thats ok...
Is that a 5 dollar one time credit, or is it reapplied monthly to all future bills?
The $5 is a one time deal.. USCC isn't that generous...
Secondly, how much is a new phone?
when I worked there you could get the Nokia 6019i or the Kyocera Milan for a penny... I am not sure what is going on with it now...
And can these phones be used as a gps for getting long/lat coordinates?
No unfortunatly they are for the enhanced 911 tracking services only... although I heard that only 53% of 911 call centers had the equipment to track the cell locations accurately... [but 73% of statistics are made up on the spot]... as a side note: the GPS chips are usually turned off unless an emergency call is made... [so they say:)] you can tell if you have a GPS enabled phone by looking at the top part of the display... you will either see a satellite or something that looks like a crosshair... and usually if it is disabled, there will be a slash through it...
I used to work for US Cellular... we were told that 95% of our customers had to be into CDMA equipment within a few months, or the company would be charged large fees. US Cellular actually sent out memos telling customers that they would be charged a "substantial monthly non-compliance fee" if they did not switch to new equipment... it was a huge mess... and alot of customers were pissed [for good reason].. they later sent out an apology letter, and said that switching was up to the customer... they called it the E-911 initiative... they wanted GPS chips in everyone's phones...
here is their apology letter:
U.S. Cellular prides itself on delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction possible, and it has come to our attention that we may have failed to uphold this commitment to you.
Recently you received a communication from us perceived by some as bullying, by others as confusing. This was not our intention, and we sincerely apologize for our actions. Because your personal safety is still very important to us, you can upgrade to a GPS-equipped handset and do not have to sign a new contract. When you upgrade, you'll also get a $5.00 credit to your U.S. Cellular account. Please see other side for more information about changes to this program.
Other Side:
Although you have not yet updated to a wireless phone equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS), you should know that this feature could protect your personal safety and security. A GPS-equipped handset can help identify a caller's specific location whenever 9-1-1 is dialed.
While you are not required to have a GPS-equipped handset, now is a great time to get a new phone. Here is how you can upgrade:
Visit a U.S. Cellular store to choose a new handset at a special price.
You do not need to sign a new contract to get your new phone
In appreciation for your business, you will receive a $5.00 goodwill credit to your account when you upgrade to a GPS-compatible phone.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. The special pricing and contract-free upgrade will apply through April 29, 2006. If you have any questions or if you would like to upgrade your phone, visit your nearest U.S. Cellular location or call 1-800-455-7511.
Slashdot Mirror
what the hell is a DD-WRT? Can someone find a list of actual routers that are affected by this instead of speaking in geek terms?
Dude... This is Slashdot. What did you expect? :)
This should have all of the information you need:
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=dd-wrt&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g10
Yes, there's a fix for this, but what is the likelihood of every person who owns a Wifi router fixing this flaw?
We talk about the dangers of homogeny, but this is exactly the type of thing that homogeny causes. All the routers with DD-WRT implemented to save costs, but in the end everyone is screwed.
Just because we love Linux doesn't mean that we should sacrifice the entire ecosystem to that love. We need to nurture other implementations to prevent this type of virus from wiping out our entire networking infrastructure.
What is the likelihood of any flaw on any system getting patched? I don't see how a vulnerability in DD-WRT is any different than if Cisco announced a major vulnerability in one of their systems. I bet just about the same percentage would be patched.
I love that game... still play it all the time. My second choice would be Unreal Tournament G.O.T.Y edition.
My situation was extreme. I do NOT recommend emailing Mr. Jobs until fully exhausting the Apple support chain. If you have a problem, ask for a supervisor. If the supervisor can't fix it, ask for "customer relations". Call your local Apple store before sending that email (I did). And finally, after a month of hell, if all else fails, well... do a google search and find his current email address...
...
Sorry guys
I wish I would have read this post before I emailed him about getting a new case for my ipod
I was at a cricket game, and two guys on a sofa appeared out of nowhere... it was the darnedest thing...
Thanks for the tip man... I do have a broadcom chipset... so I will definitely check this out...
"It's very frustraiting, however it's the fault of the card manufacturers. If they would release specs, there would be excellent drivers available for those cards. As it is now, though, as Linux users we just have to be extremely careful when buying WiFi cards."
That is an excellent point... I just wonder if they could do something to automate the NDISWRAPPER process for the other cards... that would be handy...
and trying to use NDISWRAPPER is a joke :) ... I actually switched from FC to Ubuntu, because I heard that they had better support... from what you said, it actually sounds like Ubuntu has the same problem as SUSE, it found my card [unlike FC] but refuses to use it...
After all these years, the huge improvements to Linux in general, why is it still so hard to get an off the shelf PCI wireless card going? Are you guys making any improvements there?
"I wonder...is there any way to hack into the modern phones, and disable the GPS chips in them, but, otherwise have a functional phone?"
:) But, after a huge influx of complaints, they changed their mind about forcing customers to switch phones... in fact when we first heard about this they told us that the customers were required to sign a new contract... that was very quickly overturned... as most of the customers with non-compliant phones had been out of contract, on sort of a month-to-month basis for several years, and were in no hurry to sign another 2 year contract. Actually all of the contracts that were processed before that decision was overturned were voided out.
I am not sure... like I said, in most phones, the 'location setting' is turned off by default [except on emergency calls] but for the truly paranoid it would be handy to know how to disable it from a hardware standpoint... but as I said before, I am not sure...
"From the story you told, it appears that a customer isn't required to have a GPS phone...so I'd take from that that even if you have one, there is nothing requiring you to keep that functionality working..."
This is true... although when they first started the initiative, they said that the FCC was mandating that 95% of our customers were in GPS capable phones... or the company would be charged huge fees... which we would in turn pass to the customers...
(sorry, next time I'll call cust service instaed of bugging you)
:)] you can tell if you have a GPS enabled phone by looking at the top part of the display... you will either see a satellite or something that looks like a crosshair... and usually if it is disabled, there will be a slash through it...
*L* thats ok...
Is that a 5 dollar one time credit, or is it reapplied monthly to all future bills?
The $5 is a one time deal.. USCC isn't that generous...
Secondly, how much is a new phone?
when I worked there you could get the Nokia 6019i or the Kyocera Milan for a penny... I am not sure what is going on with it now...
And can these phones be used as a gps for getting long/lat coordinates?
No unfortunatly they are for the enhanced 911 tracking services only... although I heard that only 53% of 911 call centers had the equipment to track the cell locations accurately... [but 73% of statistics are made up on the spot]... as a side note: the GPS chips are usually turned off unless an emergency call is made... [so they say
I used to work for US Cellular... we were told that 95% of our customers had to be into CDMA equipment within a few months, or the company would be charged large fees. US Cellular actually sent out memos telling customers that they would be charged a "substantial monthly non-compliance fee" if they did not switch to new equipment... it was a huge mess... and alot of customers were pissed [for good reason] .. they later sent out an apology letter, and said that switching was up to the customer... they called it the E-911 initiative... they wanted GPS chips in everyone's phones...
here is their apology letter:
U.S. Cellular prides itself on delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction possible, and it has come to our attention that we may have failed to uphold this commitment to you. Recently you received a communication from us perceived by some as bullying, by others as confusing. This was not our intention, and we sincerely apologize for our actions. Because your personal safety is still very important to us, you can upgrade to a GPS-equipped handset and do not have to sign a new contract. When you upgrade, you'll also get a $5.00 credit to your U.S. Cellular account. Please see other side for more information about changes to this program.
Other Side:
Although you have not yet updated to a wireless phone equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS), you should know that this feature could protect your personal safety and security. A GPS-equipped handset can help identify a caller's specific location whenever 9-1-1 is dialed. While you are not required to have a GPS-equipped handset, now is a great time to get a new phone. Here is how you can upgrade: Visit a U.S. Cellular store to choose a new handset at a special price. You do not need to sign a new contract to get your new phone In appreciation for your business, you will receive a $5.00 goodwill credit to your account when you upgrade to a GPS-compatible phone. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. The special pricing and contract-free upgrade will apply through April 29, 2006. If you have any questions or if you would like to upgrade your phone, visit your nearest U.S. Cellular location or call 1-800-455-7511.
yeah right...
#begin redundant Thomas Jefferson Quote
"When the Government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the Government, there is tyranny"
#end Thomas Jefferson Quote
I fear the government. It is no longer ours.