Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

December 3, 2008 1:24:47 PM CST

Learn about Newser Points »

Internet phone

Internet phone news stories

10 Stories

UK: Web Phone Service Gives Criminals Edge

Authorities want
to expand their online snooping powers

Times (UK) Times (UK) Oct 16, 08 3:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Criminals and terrorists are using VoIP services like Skype to evade law enforcement, sources tell the Times of London, and officials are lobbying for increased access. Police often rely on phone records as evidence, but online calls often leave no trace. “Communications data forms an important element of prosecution evidence in 95% of serious crime cases,” said a security source. More »

More about:  Internet • Great Britain • online privacy • Internet phone • Jacqui Smith • VoIP • Internet privacy

Eavesdropping on Internet
Calls Is Easy

Researchers find potential encryption security problems

MIT Technology Review MIT Technology Review Jun 17, 08 7:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Not only are most Internet phone calls not encrypted, but a bandwidth-saving technique could undermine encryption once it’s implemented. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that a compression method called variable-bit-rate encoding makes it possible for eavesdroppers to identify given phrases in an encrypted VoIP call 50% of the time, reports Technology Review . More »

More about:  encryption • Internet phone • eavesdropping • VoIP

T-Mobile Launching
Net Phone Price War

New plan follows hard on news of wireless price war

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Feb 21, 08 3:00 PM CST
(Newser) - T-Mobile is giving an extra push to the millions contemplating ditching their landlines. The low-cost wireless carrier is launching a new dirt-cheap VoIP service, which lets T-Mobile customers hook up traditional phones to an Internet router and make unlimited local and long distance calls for $10 a month, the Wall Street Journal reports. Vonage, the most prominent VoIP provider, charges $25 per month. More »

More about:  Verizon • AT&T • telecommunications • telecom industry • T-Mobile • Internet phone • VoIP • Vonage

Cell Bills Trump Land Line Charges for 1st Time

Americans have 250M mobiles, 170M home lines

Associated Press Associated Press Dec 18, 07 4:45 PM CST
(Newser) - US households racked up bigger cellphone than land line bills in 2007 for the first time ever, analysts say. Only 6 years ago, households spent three times more on residential phone bills than on mobiles, a disparity that shrank to an average difference of only $28 by 2006. Now, with more Americans cutting land lines altogether, experts say cells reign supreme. More »

More about:  cell phones • cell phone industry • text messaging • telephone • Internet phone • land lines

New Tools Will Mash Up Phone, Mobile, & Net

Ribbit debuts platform to blend services across all your connections

Reuters Reuters Dec 17, 07 3:04 PM CST
(Newser) - A startup called Ribbit today unveiled a tool to let developers create voice communication applications that unify Internet-based and traditional telephony services, including phones and text messaging. Developers can include voicemail and calling functions, and can embed their apps in Web pages and Web-based services, reports Reuters. The platform supports Internet calling systems such as Skype. More »

More about:  telecommunications • startup • software developers • Internet phone • IP telephony • platforms

Globetrotting iPhone Users Get Flat Rate Data Plan

Company responds to roaming rage

Apple Insider Apple Insider Nov 2, 07 5:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Traveling iPhone users rejoice: AT&T is offering flat rate international data plans for the trendy Apple handset starting at 25/month for 20MB of data, reports AppleInsider. That's after irate customers complained about running up huge bills from accessing the Web at roaming rates while overseas, when the iPhone automatically checked email several times an hour if that feature wasn't deactivated. More »

More about:  Apple • cell phones • iPhone • AT and T • Internet phone • phone service

UK Provider Unveils Skype Mobile Phone

Free calls over the Internet for users in five countries at launch

BBC BBC Oct 29, 07 5:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - British mobile phone provider "3" is unveiling a handset which lets users make free calls over the Net using Skype. The phone won't let you use Skype to make cheap calls to any phone number, like you could over the Internet, but still represents a new level of availability for the service. "Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena," chief executive Michael van Swaaij tells the BBC. More »

More about:  cell phones • Skype • Internet phone • IP telephony

Vonage Settles Patent Dispute, Sees Shares Rise

Longer-term troubles still loom for vexed Internet phone provider

New York Times New York Times Oct 26, 07 7:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Troubled Internet telephone company Vonage gained a "new lease on life" yesterday when it settled a longstanding patent infringement dispute with rival Verizon. Vonage share prices shot up 70% in after-hours trading on the heels of a settlement that observers see as a "big win for Vonage," the New York Times reports. More »

More about:  lawsuit • Verizon • AT and T • Internet phone • stock price • Vonage

How To Hack VoIP Companies

Convicted hacker Robert Moore says 'it's so easy a caveman could do it'

InformationWeek InformationWeek Sep 26, 07 5:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Robert Moore, a 23-year old facing a two-year prison sentence for hacking Internet phone service companies, tells Information Week that getting illegitimate access to the phone services was "so easy a caveman could do it". Moore said that sloppy systems administration left obvious security holes, such as the use of default passwords, in place in about 70% of companies he scanned. More »

More about:  Internet phone • Voice over IP

Skype Blames Crash on Windows

Millions of updates, reboots fried VOIP service, company says

PC World PC World Aug 20, 07 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Skype's mysterious failure last week was caused by a routine Windows update, the company says. Millions of users downloaded the new software, rebooted their computers, and tried to log into Skype at the same time, crashing the net phone service, PC World reports. It's still unclear why previous Windows updates didn't do the same thing, however. More »

More about:  Internet • Microsoft • communication • Windows • Skype • Internet phone • VoIP

10 Stories

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser a team of editors and writers culls the most important stories from hundreds of U.S. and international sources and reduces them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. It's the Newser guarantee: we can take any report or column or video and pack what you need to know into 120 words or less. Newser's short-form aggregation, visual format, and unique information tools help you get more of the kind of news you want, in a quicker and more entertaining way. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »