I just hooked up Vonage--now I have a question about security

[Horse with no Name]

Since this moves over cable lines, then does that mean that Bushco can't listen in on my conversations?

[mcscajun]

1. Bush and anyone else with a packet sniffer.

Plus, you've moved away from true 911 to the Voice Over IP 911, who are required to relay your call to your local 911 center.

[RB TexLa]

4. You can call the fire department and police department directly

They still have 10 digit numbers you can dial.

[mcscajun]

5. Absolutely. I'm just pointing out one issue that many overlook.

That is all. :)

[Horse with no Name]

9. I still have a landline hooked to my outlet

and they are required to leave 911 service.

[mcscajun]

10. Glad to hear it. I get nervous about anyone I know abandoning their

landline altogether. Too many issues with that.

[Horse with no Name]

12. True.

If I lived in a large city, it might make me more nervous.
However, I am less than a mile from the police station and the nearest hospital.
It's a built in safety net.:)

[Kurovski]

2. So then, do you have to remain connected to the internet 24/7

in order to have a phone line?

[Horse with no Name]

14. Yes.

You have to have a broadband connection, but it will forward your calls to any other number of your choosing (my cell phone) should your internet connection be disrupted.

[LiberalArkie]

3. You have more protection with land line and IP phone.

They have to at least appear to get a court order with landline phones, With IP they have a box already there in the ISP just sniffing away..

[Horse with no Name]

6. But can they pick up voices

or just internet sites that I look at?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

11. Yes, they can pick up voices.

None of the VoIP providers, ANYWHERE, is using encryption. Yet.

Not to appear arrogant, but Yours Truly might have some say in the matter in the near future.

The good news is that, if there's enough VoIP traffic, looking for suspicious speech becomes increasingly impractical unless they already have a lead.

[Rosco T.]

15. Incorrect... Skype has always been encrypted... n/m

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

17. But its protocol is secret. You don't know how they handle the encryption

or whether there's some backdoor or not. Only an open protocol can be truly secure. Someone mentioned zfone below, I think it's the best thing out there right now.

[lastknowngood]

7. download zfone free encripts voip and is very secure here is the

link

http://www.philzimmermann.com/zfoneproject/EN/home/index.html

This is the same guy who came up with PGP.

[pat_k]

8. Years ago I worked as a techwriter on a VoIP switch (Voice over Internet

. . .one of the technical requirements -- and it wasn't an easy one to satisfy as I understand it -- is the ability for law enforcement to trace and tap.

Something that, when used properly in a functioning constitutional democracy, where tracing and tapping require court order, you want. (e.g., a person who gets threatening calls certainly would want law enforcement to be able to trace and tap those calls)

[mike_c]

13. there's good news and bad news....

First, since the comms go over the internet, they are available to anyone with a packet sniffer, and you can bet that the NSA monitors every message, even if only via automated systems.

The good news is that since internet comms are digital, strong encryption is MUCH easier than for an analog system. It is slowly becoming available-- check here for info on ZPhone: http://www.philzimmermann.com/zfoneproject/EN/home/index.html. The main problem is that the router used to hook up your analog phone does not have hardware support for encryption, so you need to use a software VoIP client and connect computer-to-computer with someone else running a similar client. That is probably VERY secure, but it isn't what you're looking for. Yet.

[ddeclue]

16. Actually it becomes much easier...

it's just more internet traffic to be routed through the NSA offices in Maryland...




Doug D.
Orlando, FL