Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-20/amns0426.zip/AMNS0426.TXT

Text File | 1992-04-26 | 12KB | 239 lines

NEWSLINE RADIO - CBBS EDITION #51 - POSTED 04/26/92

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     Check with your local amateur radio club to see if NEWSLINE
can be heard weekly on the air in your area.

     Articles may be reproduced if printed in their entirety and
credit is given to AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE as being the source.

     For further information about the AMATEUR RADIO NEWSLINE,
please write to us with an SASE at P.O. Box 463, Pasadena, CA
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                                             NEWSLINE

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Some of the hams of NEWSLINE RADIO...

WA6ITF WB6MQV WB6FDF K6DUE W6RCL N6AHU N6AWE N6TCQ K6PGX N6PNY
KU8R N8DTN W9JUV KC9RP K9XI KB5KCH KC5UD KC0HF G8AUU DJ0QN and
many others in the United States and around the globe!!!

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[767]
                           MICHAELS

   The next door neighbors of Tuscon radio amateur Joe Michaels,
W4DDV, have lost their federal court legal battle to have the
ham operator ruled as being a common law nuisance. An Arizona
trial court has found that the FCC, and only the FCC has
exclusive jurisdiction of Radio Frequency interference matters,
and that state courts are precluded from remedying any alleged
private nuisance caused by interference from the operation of a
nearby ham radio operator.
  On April 25th, 1991, the neighbors Arthur Still and his wife
brought the action against Michaels in the Federal District Court
for Arizona. Still's alleged that Michael's ham radio operations
were an obstacle to their enjoyment of life, that it decreased
their property value and generated health hazards through the
generation of electro-magnetic fields.
  But the court ruled that it has considered the preemption
issue and has concluded that the jurisdiction to control
interference over the airwaves is the exclusive province of the
FCC. The court says that it does not have the authority to review
a decision made by the Federal Communications Commission. Judge
Richard Bilby who heard the case says that authority lies only in
the United States Court of Appeals.

**********
                            FINE

   The FCC's enforcement bulldozer is chugging right along with
yet another heavy fine levied against a private radio user. This
time its a CB operator. The commission says that a Notice of
apparent Liability in the sum of $10,000 has been issued to David
Plourde of Lewiston, Maine. This, for his alleged use of a non
approved transmitter and linear amplifier on 27.215 MHz.
   The Commission says that use of a non type accepted
transmitter voided Plourde's authorization to operate a CB
station. They add that he has been the subject of several
complaints since moving to his present location. The FCC also
alleges that Plourde has been less than cooperative in addressing
these complaints.

**********
                TEEN-HACKERS EMBEZZLE MEGABUCKS

   What authorities are describing as a nationwide network of
predominantly teenie-bopper computer hackers is being charged
with making possibly millions of dollars of fraudulent credit
card purchases and of breaking into numerous confidential
credit-rating files.
   As many as a thousand hackers ranging in age from fourteen to
twenty five years have shared this information for at least the
past four years according to San Diego Detective Dennis Sadler.
Sadler and other law enforcement officials nationwide are now in
the process of rounding up the rest of the group.
   In Kettering, Ohio two teens are facing felony charges for
allegedly being a part of the nationwide network. The two
youngsters age seventeen and fifteen, were charged earlier this
month according to Detective Tom McEwan. A Juvenile court will
determine their penalty if they are convicted in an upcoming
trial.
   Some of the information obtained by the hackers came from the
Atlanta, Georgia based Equifax Credit Information Service.
Equifax, one of the nations three largest credit bureaus, has a
database that includes 170 million credit files but it is
believed that fewer than twenty five files were compromised.
   Detective Sadler explained that the teen-hackers had the
ability to create credit card accounts and make fraudulent credit
card purchases. Officers accidentally stumbled on the nationwide
hacker network while investigating a local case of credit card
fraud in the San Diego area. An alleged hacker arrested in late
March  provided the information of the rings existence to both
police and to the F.B.I. In addition to the arrests in Ohio and
California, seizures of computers and related items have been
made in New York City, Philadelphia and Seattle.  Its unknown if
any of those involved are hams.

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                           OBRIAN

   Two weeks ago we reported on the way an unfounded rumor spread
by packet radio had damaged the reputation of MFJ Enterprises.
This, after a false message accusing the firm of supplying virus
infected disks went out nationwide.
   Two hams who would not spend the time to check out the source
of unfounded rumors may have damaged the reputation of a pair of
amateur radio software suppliers. At least one says that he has
considered litigation but has decided that its probably not worth
the bother.
   He is Jay O'Brian, W6GO. O'Brian is the co-publisher of the
W6GO/K6HHD QSL Manager List and also supplies DX oriented
software. According to W6GO, a packet SYSOP in Florida sent
him some pre-formatted disks to copy files onto. O'Brian obliged
and then mailed the disks back.
   Later, an associate of the SYSOP found that the disks were
infected with the Michaelangelo virus. It was the SYSOP that had
infected the disks, but in a panic he instead sent out a message
on packet to another SYSOP with the header stating "VIRUS ON
GO-LIST DISK." The text of the message read that the infected
disk had been received from W6GO and contained the Michaelangelo
virus!
  Now, as if this were not enough damage,the message was then
taken put out on a major corporations internal communications
network where it was delivered to hundreds of employees
worldwide. Many of them were amateur radio operators. Several of
those who read the erroneous message immediately called everyone
they could think of, telling them that any disks that they had
from W6GO may contain a virus. No verification was done, and the
false information was just blindly distributed to possibly
hundreds of readers.
   Only after all of this damage had been done to W6GO's
personal and business reputation did the SYSOP bother to call
O'Brian to discuss the problem. W6GO immediately ran various
viral scan programs on all of his disks. He found no viruses.
And, no other sysop reported finding any viruses on their disks.
   In the end, it was determined that the source of the virus on
the infected disks was the complaining SYSOP himself. That he had
wantonly spread false and misleading information concerning the
quality of merchandise delivered by W6GO making the manufacturer
into the victim!
   The bottom line? Well in the past few weeks packet radio has
proven that it is the best back-yard fence ever devised for story
telling. We've had the MFJ rumor, the phony HTX 202 radio
modification and this problem for W6GO. But that's not what
Packet radio is meant to do.
  Maybe everyone had better keep in mind the legal side of the
issue. When you post anything on packet you are not just a
writer. You are also a publisher and are governed by libel and
slander laws. We hope that it won't take a court battle to quiet
down the gossips that seem to be permeating the packet radio
networks nationwide.

**********
                   SAREX vs PACKET EXPERIMENT

   The recent STS-45 SAREX mission was also the test bed for an
important experiment to try and determine if any interference
exists between terrestrial packet and shuttle amateur radio
operations. On Match 24th, the ARRL used its W1AW facility to
issue Special Bulletin requesting that hams document any such
mutual interference and report it to them. These reports go
directly to Rosalie White, WA1STO, Educational Director, ARRL,
225 Main Street, Newington Connecticut, 06111.

**********
                          LAST VOICE

   The Television documentary titled the Last Voice from Kuwait
has been selected as recipient of journalisms prestigious
National Headliner Award. Last Voice from Kuwait is the story of
amateur radio's important role in operation Desert Storm.
Communications were mainly through a brave and daring Kuwaiti
amateur named; Abduljabbar Marafie 9K2DZ. For seven months
Marafie radioed valuable information out of Kuwait.
   Through a small APLINK network of world-wide amateurs, the
information was gathered and then relayed to various United
States governmental and military departments for its informative
content into Iraqi activities inside Kuwait. The 25 minute video
is available from the ARRL and makes an excellent program for
club meetings.

**********
                          SUMMER CES

   The 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics Show will be the first
open to the public in its twenty-five year history. The
Electronic Industries Association which sponsors C.E.S. twice
annually says that it will open the show to general admission on
May 30 and 31. The Summer C.E.S. is held at the McCormack Place
Exhibition Center in Chicago, Illinois. Admission will be $10 at
the door or $8 for advance registration. This show normally pulls
about 50,000 attendees even though access to has always been
strictly limited to those involved in the manufacture,
importation, wholesale and/or retail of consumer electronics and
allied items. The Winter C.E.S. which is held in Las Vegas Nevada
traditionally pulls at least 65,000 industry attendees annually.

**********
                          FR. MORAN

   We are sad to report that one of the worlds most beloved
DXers has passed from the scene. Father Marshal Moran, 9N1MM is
reported to have died the evening of April 13 in a Delhi, India
hospital. According to a posting by Bob Burns, K1RB on Prodigy,
Father Moran's death came shortly after he had been hospitalized
with what was believed to have been congestive heart failure.
   Known to many as the ham radio voice of Nepal, Father Moran
was a Jesuit Priest who had many friends worldwide as a result of
amateur radio. Until his resent illness, 9N1MM could regularly
be found on the 256 DX net.

**********

* * * Newsline Copyright 1992 all rights are reserved. * * *

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