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pcg
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pcg
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PostSat Dec 23, 2017 10:57 am 
Waterman wrote:
Recent news reports of hackers draining bank accounts of T mobile customers.
There is a serious security issue with using any smartphone to do banking. All carriers are susceptible to this. It goes like this... 1) Thief steals your phone OR thief convinces carrier to port your account to their phone (they've just virtually stolen your phone). 2) Thief goes online to your bank account and tells bank they can't remember the password and to send a password reset link. 3) Bank sends password reset link (via either text or email) and thief is into your bank account. The real problem is the authentication mechanism in the security paradigm that banks use to protect your account, and two-factor authentication does not help. There are two solutions... 1) Don't own a smartphone so if your cell phone is stolen, you are not susceptible to this. 2) Make Step 3 above impossible to implement by not giving the bank your cell phone number (so they can't text you) and by using a different email address for banking that your smart phone is not capable of accessing from its email client. Then, if you lose your password, the bank can send it to an email address that you access somewhere other than through your smartphone's email client. If you can access your email via the web, then use a VPN app on your smartphone and access the other email account via a web browser. Or access it from a home desktop. And never use a banking app on your smartphone.

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AlpineRose
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PostSat Dec 23, 2017 5:14 pm 
Brucester wrote:
Too much to ask? Am I just a dreamer?
Yes and yes. It's a cell phone. Uses line of site radio waves, not magic. There are already so many butt-ugly cell towers everywhere. Can't have them on every street corner, now can we. Two ways to have a clear conversation (in the traditional sense of the word): 1. In person 2. Landline

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Brucester
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PostSat Dec 23, 2017 11:15 pm 
lol.gif Thanks Rose!

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Old Not Bold Hiker



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Old Not Bold Hiker
PostSun Dec 24, 2017 9:02 am 
AlpineRose wrote:
2. Landline
What's a landline? smile.gif We didn't even bother to get a landline when we moved, after realizing all that we were getting on our landline was spam and scam. No more hovering over the phone at home when waiting for a call. Cell towers only have an effective range of 6-7 miles. Ironically this is because they broadcast a ridiculously small amount of power, which makes them very safe to have around compared to other forms of broadcast communication. People might actually have some basis for their Fear of Cell Towers if they used higher power. The towers can be made to be visually discreet in many ways. The huge ugly towers, such as on Tiger/Cougar mtns are usually a combination of various broadcasting types.

friluftsliv
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Chico
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PostSun Dec 24, 2017 9:13 pm 
boot up wrote:
Cell towers only have an effective range of 6-7 miles.
Well, if your itty bitty phone put out more than 1 watt the range would be greater. As it is you get something like 0.6 watt! "Bag" phones (and last I looked at least one was available) put out a full 3 watts and if you were in fringe areas you had no trouble hitting a tower. Problem is and was they are bulky what with the much bigger battery.

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Malachai Constant
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PostSun Dec 24, 2017 9:57 pm 
Bag phones used the analog AMPS or TDMA networks which shut down in 2008 even if you got a operating one there is no network to connect them to.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Chico
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PostSun Dec 24, 2017 10:31 pm 
Still make em for the newer networks! www.motorola3watts.com Loved my older bag phone! Making a call from practically anywhere (from the vehicle) was never a problem.

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Seventy2002
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PostSun Dec 24, 2017 11:22 pm 
boot up wrote:
Cell towers only have an effective range of 6-7 miles.
Altitude helps. 20-odd years ago I was able to call home from the Skyline Trail on a Motorola flip phone. When I got the bill it said I'd used a tower in Elma. IIRC, that was round 85 miles.

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Chico
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PostMon Dec 25, 2017 7:00 pm 
I remember being concerned as I was roaming when at the edge of my home area. This was back in the day where on some networks you had to call in so the system knew where you were. And you had a "home area" and when you traveled outside that area you were roaming (for extra cash of course). As I mentioned earlier, the 3 watt bag phone could reach out, especially since I had acquired an external antenna. Anyway, was told not to worry. And I don't recall any extra charges. And yes for those who didn't have a cell phone back then, some providers forced you to call in every 24 hours if you wanted to be able to take calls. There was a special number and code as I recall. Kind of a pain but I had signed up with Cellular One who went with European cell technology so the network knew where you were just by turning on the phone. And if someone wanted to call you on those networks, they needed to know where you were and dial a city code to be able to get you. I wanted none of that. At one point I decided to try out a flip phone but was sorely disappointed as the bag phone had spoiled me. (kept trying to get a signal driving down the Teanaway Road towards the highway. With the flip phone, I was in sight of the highway before I got a signal strong enough to call out. With the bag phone I could make calls from the upper north fork. Had a car go into the river once so had to call it in to 911.) Ended up getting a new digital bag phone and was really sad when I had to switch. Considering getting a booster for the truck.

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mike
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PostMon Dec 25, 2017 10:29 pm 
Bag phone price eek.gif Just get a Wlson amp for your vehicle.

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Old Not Bold Hiker



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PostWed Dec 27, 2017 12:02 pm 
Bag phones sort of remind me of the early calculators I used in Engineering school. Massive huge things that had almost no features and were later reduced to the size of a credit card. Must have been really handy and lightweight tossing that bag phone in the backpack? lol.gif It is funny how phones are becoming larger again.

friluftsliv
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Brucester
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PostThu Jan 11, 2018 8:06 pm 
Just called First Hill to Ballard.... I was on a porch on the 5th floor with 5 bars and she was in her living room with 4 bars. Calls got dropped 3 times.... It's really frigging frustrating I gotta tell ya.

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Chief Joseph
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PostThu Jan 11, 2018 9:26 pm 
I would definitely dump t-mobile. Verizon is the best but too pricey for me. I use Consumer Cellular which has great rates and uses ATT towers...but of course it might not work well in Seattle, my experience is in Snohomish county, and it works well.

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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Yana
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PostThu Jan 11, 2018 9:46 pm 
Chief Joseph wrote:
Verizon is the best but too pricey for me.
There are providers that use the Verizon network without the Verizon price tag. Best of both worlds, unless you like contracts. Page Plus is one.

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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AlpineRose
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PostThu Jan 11, 2018 10:02 pm 
Brucester wrote:
It's really frigging frustrating I gotta tell ya.
Again, a gentle reminder, it's a cell phone.

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