Old Nokia 1100s prized by criminal underground

Got an old Nokia 1100 sitting around? You may be sitting on a fortune... albeit with a catch.

Certain circles are said to be paying upwards of $32,000 for the handsets, at least those made in Nokia's Bochum factory in Germany.

Why? According to reports, the criminal underground has found a way to hack into the phones' firmware to allow for illegal bank transfers by reprogramming the phone number on the handset.

Changing the phone number would give hackers the ability to send and receive text messages via the handset, which would in turn open the door for completing basic bank transactions, particularly in Europe.

The details of the hack involve the transmittal of something called a mobile Transaction Authentication Number (mTAN), popular in many overseas countries, which are one-time codes that are sent to customers via text message and are used to complete financial transactions online. Having the mTAN gives hackers the final piece in the puzzle they need (assuming a user ID and password have already been obtained) to drain a bank account under your very nose.

Sounds like the usual criminal shenanigans, but there's a catch... according to an interview with PC World, Nokia says it has no idea why criminals want the 1100 model phones and insists that the software on the phone is not vulnerable to attack -- at least not in any way the company has been able to identify to date.

Meanwhile, Nokia continues to look into the matter, and third-party technology and security outfits are also currently baffled as to how the alleged hack is done -- but many are now also collecting Nokia 1100s for themselves to work on.

$62,000 For Downloading Wall-E

$62,000 to download a movie? That's what happened to a caller named Alberto, who told his data roaming tale of woe on the air to HLN "money expert" Clark Howard on CNN. Alberto made the grave mistake of downloading Wall-E for his nephew while vacationing in Mexico over his data card and was slapped with a $62,000 bill from his wireless carrier when he returned home. Alberto tried to contest the charge and the carrier reduced the bill to $17,000, arguing that the five-figure charge was what it cost them to deliver the movie.

Needless to say, both Alberto and Howard were completely incredulous that a simple movie download would generate such an impressive data bill. Indeed, $62,000—or $17,000—is pretty daunting for a 98 minute animated movie about an robot. However, it's pretty clear that Alberto made a rookie mistake after he purchased the data card for his laptop that could have been easily avoided. Instead, he inadvertently joined the legions of other mobile users who failed to pay attention to the fine print before traveling.

Stories of users receiving unexpectedly huge bills after using their phones and data cards are easy to find on the web. In fact, there's even a class-action lawsuit brewing over an iPhone owner's receiving a $2,000 bill after roaming in Mexico (hey, $2,000 is nothing compared to $17,000). Whether or not it's fair for carriers to charge these outrageous fees is up for debate—the carriers insist that the roaming charges overseas are extravagant and that they are just passing along the fees to their customers.

However, all major carriers offer international roaming plans that users can set up on their accounts before they get on a plane that can apply to both voice and data use. T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint all have web pages that describe the rates, and some even offer packaged plans for regular jet setters. Making sure your account is set up for international roaming can help save you from headaches and massive bills with minimal planning ahead of time. Then again, those who get slapped with $62,000 in international data charges—and find themselves shocked—may not be the type to "plan ahead of time."

Taking camera phone pictures

You love your camera phone and use it often -- but do your photos look as good as they could? Here are a few helpful tips from Kodak Canada to help you get more out of your camera phone.



A handful of tips to taking better camera phone pictures:

- Take lots of pictures

Since your camera phone is always with you, take advantage of capturing those spontaneous moments. Take lots of pictures to increase your chance of capturing just the right shot. Use pictures to communicate - it may be faster and easier for both you and the recipient.

- Move in closer

Many camera phones lack a zoom lens, so make sure you move in close to capture your subject. Fill your phone's display screen with your subject to create pictures with greater impact. Up close you can reveal telling details - a wrinkled nose or an arched eyebrow. Don't get too close or your pictures will be blurry and distorted. As a general rule, stand about one to two feet from your subject.

- Shoot at eye level

Direct eye contact can be as engaging in a picture as it is in real life. When taking a picture of someone, hold the camera at the person's eye level to unleash the power of those magnetic gazes and mesmerizing smiles. For children and pets, that means stooping to their level. Your subject doesn't have to stare at the camera - all by itself that eye level angle will create a personal and inviting feeling that pulls you into the picture.

- Watch the light

To create impactful pictures, move in close and fill your viewfinder or LCD with the subject. Unless your camera phone has a built-in flash, low light = bad picture. Try to take pictures in bright light. Without adequate lighting, your camera phone pictures will look dark and grainy. In sunlight, move around where the sun beams onto your subject. Indoors, turn on extra lights to brighten your subject.

- Use a plain background

A plain background shows off the subject you are photographing. When you're ready to take your picture, force yourself to study the area surrounding your subject. Make sure a tree isn't growing from the head of your subject and that no cars seem to dangle from their ears. Check your picture in the your phone's display screen and retake it if necessary.

- Try different angles

Start by shooting at eye level. Capturing many angles will add variety and interest to your photos. Keep the ones you like, delete the ones you don't.

- Set resolution to high

Many camera phones include a low, medium, and high resolution setting (picture quality). Setting your camera phone to the highest setting gives you the best quality pictures. The quality difference might not be apparent on your phone's display screen, but you'll see it on a computer screen.

- Discover your phone's capabilities

Flip through your phone manual and see if your phone has any of these features: Picture messaging (send pictures from your phone to others); Picture effects (snap black & white or sepia pics or add different frames); Photo caller ID (set a picture for people in your address book so it appears when they call); Wallpaper (save your favourite picture as the background for your phone); and Bluetooth (wirelessly send pictures to compatible Bluetooth devices).

- Stay still!!

Jittery hands cause blurring. Keep your hand still a second or two after shooting, since the shot is still processing. When you hear the click sound, it doesn't mean you captured the photo, it just indicates that you pressed the shutter.

- Be courteous, be legal

Cell phone etiquette includes being mindful of its camera. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
- Ask permission before taking people's picture.
- Don't use your camera phone in places like health clubs or theatres.
- Places like airplanes, courthouses, concert venues, and military bases, don't allow cameras or phones. Abide by their rules.
- Phones have limited storage space. Send pictures to online photo sites, like Kodak EasyShare Gallery, Flickr, or Shareapic instead.

How to Shutdown your Computer with a Cell Phone

You can remotely shut down your computer from anywhere in the world using any cell phone with text messaging capabilities, a PC or Mac, along with Microsoft Outlook, an email account and a Kwiry account. It's pretty straight-forward and simple to accomplish. This video guides you through the step by step setup process.

A really neat, and pretty useful trick I HAD to share! let me know what you think...

Stalkers turn to cell phones to 'textually harass'

Victims are often charged by cell phone companies for receiving the messages


A college student had endured months of online and cell phone harassment from her ex-boyfriend. She ignored the barrage of e-mails, changed her phone number and dismantled online profiles to cut him off.

Then one evening, her cell phone signaled a new text message. It was him again.

"You should keep to yourself and stay away from other people," the message said, according to the student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety. Her ex had found her photo online and attached it.

As text messaging having boomed in recent years, it has also given rise to so-called "textual harassment." Text messages antagonize recipients in a way that is not easily ignored: Most people are never far from their cell phones, and the gadgets tend to blink and chirp until unopened messages are acknowledged. Adding another sting, the victims are often charged by their cell phone companies for receiving the messages.

A study of stalking by the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics released last month confirmed that stalking by texting has become a pervasive problem.

The report found 23 percent of stalking or harassment victims reported in 2006 that the stalker had used some form of cyberstalking, such as cell phone texting or e-mail, to harass them. It was the agency's first measure of the emerging practice, said Katrina Baum, one of the study's authors.

"Technology has become a quick and easy way for stalkers to monitor and harass their victims," the report said.

And unless calling plans include unlimited texting, recipients are charged an average of 20 cents for each message sent or received, wanted or not.

"I was paying to be harassed, which is a lot of fun," the victimized college student said.

Providers including Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint say they are willing to work with customers who are charged for unwanted messages.

Verizon Wireless handled 90 billion text messages in the last quarter of 2008 alone, more than double the number during the same period a year earlier. AT&T customers sent nearly 80 billion texts in the quarter. Sprint customers sent 41 billion in the 3rd quarter of 2008.

Having a device deliver a message tends to embolden people and provides a sense of anonymity, even when the messages can be tracked to a sender, said Jayne Hitchcock, president of the volunteer organization WHOA, Working to Halt Online Abuse.

"They would never do this to someone in person," Hitchcock said, "yet they use the faceless avenue of cell phones, their computers or home/office phones to perpetrate the harassment."

States have scrambled to react to the new threat. Forty-six states now have anti-stalking laws that refer to electronic forms of communication, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Only four states — Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington — explicitly name text messaging, but laws that are less specific may also be applied to text harassment.

Last year in New York's Kings County Court, a defendant was accused of sending six threatening text messages to a woman during a 17-hour period. The messages said the defendant was outside the woman's house and that she would end up in the hospital.

The defendant tried to get aggravated harassment charges thrown out by arguing that text messages were not as serious as phone calls or letters and were not covered by state law, but the court disagreed.

Technological developments "along with their many benefits, bring with them ever greater potential for abuse," the court wrote.

The college student said she walked the rest of the way home that first night her ex texted her with the uncomfortable feeling he might be crouched in the bushes, even though she knew he lived several states away.

The texts and e-mails kept coming for more than a year and ranged from innocuous appeals for contact to disturbing insinuations of violence. The contact stopped in December, when the man messaged her that he had found someone else.

Customers who do feel threatened are advised to call law enforcers, who can then contact the provider to identify the sender.


A Web site sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, Ad Council and Office of Violence Against Women offers a textual harassment forum where teenagers trade advice and experiences with overzealous or unwanted texting.

The site, http://www.thatsnotcool.com, also has e-mailable reply "callout cards" that offer a lighter approach to resolve what could be a serious problem, with messages including "You're much more attractive when you're not textually harassing me," and "Thanks for helping me exceed my text message limit."

List of countries warning of cellphone risks for children grows

Some international authorities are recommending that parents restrict the amount of time their children spend on cellphones as a precaution.

Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority encourages parents to err on the side of caution, saying radiation from cellphones could pose a health risk but the research into possible effects of prolonged cellphone use is unclear.

The authority's advice is the latest in a growing number of warnings about prolonged use of the devices.

A survey conducted of more than 1,000 Canadian children found almost half of tweens now have a cellphone.

"The brains of adults and children differ when it comes to how they absorb the radiation that cellphones emit," said Devra Davis, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Centre for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Children more susceptible

"The brain of a child literally is less dense, it's more porous, it's more susceptible to everything," said Davis.

"The adult brain is thicker and denser, so the radio frequency signal is absorbed less deeply," she said.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a United Nations watchdog, has been investigating whether radiation from cellphones could lead to cancer in children and adults in a study known as Interphone.

The agency was supposed to release a report three years ago, but it hasn't yet been published because the scientists are divided over parts of the study — particularly over research that suggests long-term users of cellphones are more likely to develop brain cancer.

Interphone author and epidemiologist Elisabeth Cardis of the University of Ottawa would like another study to be done specifically on children.

"If there's a risk, it's likely going to be higher because of the usage and because of the innate sensitivity of children," said Cardis. "So I think it's very, very important that we study this so urgently."

Precautionary approach

Other countries are not waiting for more studies, and are instead taking a precautionary approach.

France is about to make it illegal to market cellphones to children under 12. The United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Israel, Russia and India are also advising children limit their use of cellphones.

Health Canada's only note of caution to children is to avoid using a cellphone while riding a bicycle. The department's website says "there is currently no convincing evidence" that cellphones cause serious health effects such as cancer.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Authority, an industry group, follows Health Canada's recommendations.

"These countries for the most part have come up with precautionary measures without stating that there is any evidence in their view that links this to any significant danger," said Bernard Lord, the former premier of New Brunswick who now heads the authority.

LG announces cell phone watch

Eat your heart out Dick Tracy!

Announced at last year’s CES, LG Electronics today will show off the world’s first 3G cell phone watch, dubbed the GD910, at the 42nd annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The wrist-mounted phone houses a 1.4-inch touch-screen which can be used to dial a number, in case you don’t want to use the voice-dialing option. The GD910 also features Bluetooth connectivity (so it’ll work with your wireless headset), a speakerphone, text-to-speech technology (hear your text messages read to you) and a built-in MP3 player.

It also makes video calls, thanks to a small camera in the top right corner of the screen.

The WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) phone supports the latest 7.2Mbps (megabits per second) HSPA (high-speed packet access) data system, so file downloads should be super fast.

Want to be accessible while going for a swim? LG says the GD910 is also waterproof.

Without reading any specs, we’re curious as to the size of this watch -- but you can be rest assured it’ll be on the bulky side, which might be a turnoff for some sci-fi lovers itching to wear this thing.

The price for the GD910 hasn't been announced yet, nor are there any carriers publicly committed to the product, but it’s expected to go on sale in Asia and Europe sometime by mid-2009.

Kiss your phonebill good-bye

The concept of connecting your home computer to your music library to your mobile phone is no longer as exotic as it was a few years ago. These days just about everyone with high-speed Internet, or broadband, service has some sort of home network set up.

If the idea is no longer a novel one, the execution of it is. Most home networks are fairly rudimentary and require separate systems for connecting, say for example, your television to your PC and songs to your TV. What's more, the services that connect your devices don't always work well or as planned.

Enter Ooma. In 2004 the Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup set out to build a box, really a computer itself, based on the Linux open-source operating system. The box would sit between a broadband connection - your DSL or cable modem - and the rest of your home network. So instead of needing multiple boxes, you'd need just the one. Having one central system that could talk to every device in your home could potentially save you a lot of hassle, not to mention money.

Ooma's technical team built the uber-box of its dreams. Called the Ooma Hub, it's sold - for now - as an alternative to your home phone service.

The Ooma service uses so-called Voice over Internet Protocol (or VOIP) technology to deliver calls to your existing phone using a broadband connection. Consumers need only to buy a $249 Ooma Hub (it was a hefty $399 when the service first launched); all domestic calls are free. (Ooma charges a few pennies a minute for international calls to landlines and 20 to 30 cents a minute for overseas calls to mobile phones. Calls from Ooma box to Ooma box are free.)

Buy the hardware and never pay a phone bill again. That's the value proposition Ooma is currently selling - and one that more consumers are buying. The Ooma Hub is now sold through Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), Fry's Electronics and other physical stores in addition to online sales through sites like Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) and Costco.com (COST, Fortune 500).

Make no mistake: Ooma has a long way to go before it upends the phone business. Tens of thousands of Ooma Hubs have been sold so far, which isn't all that much (it wouldn't hurt to drop the price further). But the "early adopter" crowd has raved, including Tech Crunch's notoriously cranky Michael Arrington, about the Ooma Hub's easy setup and sound quality compared to other VOIP services like Vonage (VG), which charges a $25 monthly fee for unlimited calls in the United States.


A grand plan
Replacing your phone service is, of course, just the start for Ooma.
In some ways, calling is the Trojan horse to get the box in your house and then figure out other services to sell, like enhanced network security or kid-safe Web surfing.

Another potential revenue stream is bandwidth metering. As high-speed Internet use has soared in recent years, phone and cable companies have started charging heavy bandwidth users higher fees. The Ooma Hub could help video-download happy families monitor their usage to keep their broadband bills in check.

The problem is, consumers aren't yet demanding bandwidth metering or other services Ooma hopes to offer. That's expected to change as home networks become more advanced and awareness of their potential grows.

So while the future that Ooma is mapping out is not yet on the horizon for most people, their monthly phone bill is.

"Not writing a check to the phone company for phone service is a concept people get immediately," said Rich Buchanan, Ooma's CEO. " And let's face it. No one wants to give up their broadband. That's why we're starting there."

Ooma can't get rid of your phone or cable bill completely: you still need a Web connection. But the company is set on becoming the central hub for your home network - and providing a range of services faster and at a deep discount to what phone or cable companies can offer.

Ooma is already charging $99 a year for some enhanced voice features like instant second lines and call forwarding to your mobile phone. Because these services are software-based, Ooma can install them automatically with the click of a computer mouse and bundle them for a lower price than traditional phone companies.

Ooma's core technical team came from Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), so they know a bit about moving data of all kinds around a network. Ooma's CEO, Rich Buchanan, and the marketing team came recently from Sling Media, maker of the popular TV-streaming Slingbox, so they know a lot about Ooma's biggest challenge right now: selling seemingly exotic electronic gear to consumers. Ooma has reportedly raised $42 million from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and other venture capitalists.

For now, selling phone calls keeps the company focused and the message to consumers clear. But when people start clamoring for other broadband-enabled services, Ooma plans to be ready....

Until next time...

7 things you didn't know your cellphone could do

7 things your cell phone can do that you didn't know it could!

• 1-888-FRUCALL: If you're in a store and you want to know if you're getting a good deal, call this number and enter the product bar code. For free, it'll tell you what you're looking at and what online merchants are selling it for.

• 112: Emergency dialing, even if your phone is out of service range or the keypad is locked.

• 1-866-411-SONG: If you're listening to the radio and a song comes on that you can't ID, call this number and hold your cell phone up to the radio. The company will send you a text message with the band and song name. It's free at first, but then you get charged.

• GOOGL: Send a text message to GOOGL (46645) with a search query, like "Chinese restaurants, Times Square" or "Weather 11215" or "Define existential" and you'll get a free text message right back from the search company.

• 1-800-555-TELL: Much like the Google service, except it's with voice not text. Call the number and you'll be walked through menus from which you can access sports scores, business listings, stock quotes and more.

• Popularity Dialer: popularitydialer.com. This is more for kicks. Let's say you've got a meeting coming up that you know you'll want to be distracted from or a date you know you'll want to break off early. You can schedule this service to call you at a pre-planned time. A male or female voice (your choice) will come on the time and start talking, like it's a real friend or a real interruption.

• 1-800-FREE-411: Free directory assistance. You have to listen to an advertisement, but at least you don't have to pay $1 or $1.50 for every call.