With the ridiculous amount of email spam circulating out there (some estimates put this at staggering 82% of all emails), it’s hardly a surprise that VoIP would be the next target. With calls being cheap and the technology readily available, spammers have little to discourage them from adding SPam over Internet Telephony (SPIT) to their repertoire. SPIT has the possibility of being even more annoying that your run of the mill spam because, unlike Spam email which you can ignore or delete at your leisure, SPIT calls happen in real time and disrupt your day. SPIT can also eat up your VoIP bandwidth, lowering the quality of your calls and clogging up your voicemail with the same annoying junk that gets filtered out of your email.
Luckily, SPIT attacks are still fairly rare, at least in the American market; but in the past few years with the explosion of VoIP usage the amount of potential targets for SPIT has grown, making it a more worthwhile endeavor for spammers. As VoIP becomes more widely used, the growth of SPIT is almost inevitable, so it makes sense to set up your VoIP to take care of unwanted calls before they ever become a problem. Here are a few tips on methods you can use to help keep SPIT out of your VoIP system. Read the rest of this entry »
As VoIP becomes ever more popular, the security of these systems becomes more of a concern. VoIP can be vulnerable to a number of attacks due to the nature of VoIP calls. In short, VoIP traffic flows across the Internet in unencrypted packets, which means anyone that has access to the network between sender and recipient can intercept these packets — essentially allowing them to create a recording of your conversation. How can you help secure yourself against these types of attacks?
One way to help protect your privacy is to encrypt these conversations so that they aren’t simply floating around out there for potential hackers to latch onto. Be advised, however, that some of the best encryption methods aren’t something any layperson can do. They’re at the network level and would be better left for the IT department to handle. Read the rest of this entry »
The introduction of Apple’s iPhone has been heralded by many as a device to revolutionize the telecommunications sector. To some degree, this is true. What the iPhone does, it does well, with sleek and innovative design. But the problem lies in what the iPhone doesn’t do, which to a degree might actually be more important than what it does do. Because at $500–$600 it isn’t exactly a bargain buy. Apple may soon have a fierce competition on its hands with rumors swirling around about a similar device being released by Google. The mysterious Google Phone is in a unique position to take advantage of the weaknesses of the iPhone and provide consumers with a superior product. As of yet, Google Phone exists only in blurred Loch Ness-esque pictures floating around the Internet. If and when it does finally release, here are some features I’d like to see that could really put the squeeze on the iPhone. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the greatest advantages of VoIP over traditional phone service is its versatility, but with the wide array of new features coming out it can be hard to keep track of all of the options that are available. Don’t feel bad, unless you are attached at the hip with your computer it can be almost impossible to keep up- but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be enjoying the same features as those with a less healthy attachment to their computer. Here are a few ways to get you started using your VoIP in ways that you might not have thought possible. Read the rest of this entry »
When a body of independent auditors and experts recommended that the State of California consider open-source software and Voice over Internet Protocol telephony (VoIP) as two measures to cut costs in 2004, that was the signal that open source and VoIP should unite. After all, what’s better than free software? Open source projects in other fields like medicine have revolutionized the tools used in ultrasound, x-rays, surgery, radiology and even data. Why can’t the same happen with communications? (Hint: it can.) Open source is better, because you have access to the code. What’s better than open source? Open source that’s focused on VoIP. That’s what you get here — 74 open source apps tucked into categories that you can use “as is” or change to fit your specific VoIP needs.
The following apps and resources are categorized by SIP, H.323, IAX, and RTP protocols and include clients, libraries, gatekeepers, and any other open source resource available for those specific protocols plus PBX and IVR platforms. You’ll also find tools like faxware, voicemail apps, and middleware that applies to one or more of the previously mentioned protocols. Read the rest of this entry »
So you’ve seen the ads for VoIP. With the growing popularity of VoIP it’s hard to miss them and even harder to ignore the kind of savings they promise. But like any new technology, VoIP doesn’t come without a few kinks. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t switch to VoIP. But before you take the plunge you should make sure your experience will be a refreshing one. Here are a few tips and precautions to make sure your transition to VoIP doesn’t leave you wishing you hadn’t been so hasty to dump your traditional service. Read the rest of this entry »
The following table shows your options for free VoIP service and lists the top ten free offers and trial periods from quality VoIP providers. Of course, no VoIP service is 100% “free”, however if you use an online coupon you can get a free trial period and a very good rate. In our opinion, the best free VoIP offers/coupons for residential service are:
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So you’ve bought into VoIP, but your voice still sounds like it’s at the end of a long string and a tin can. And your phone? Well, you might be able to dress it up, but can you take it out? Plus, the VoIP critics are driving you nuts because you constantly need to defend your VoIP choice against your friends’ and family’s objections.
How do you remedy these situations? For starters, you can use these 27 tips, tricks and tutorials listed below. The success that you experience from implementing these tools might vary among companies or models. But, they’re guaranteed to help you overcome any doubt that you might harbor about your VoIP choice. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are not already familiar with VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or vVoIP (video and voice over IP), it’s a means to voice and video calls from a computer. Most VoIP services also let you call to regular phones. VoIP is a great way to save money on long-distance calls, as PC-to-PC calling is free, as is some PC-to-phone calling. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) refers to a variety of TV-watching services on the Internet, and loosely includes streaming video.
Here’s a short-list of some things that might be nice to give as holiday gifts this year, for the VoIP-er in your life. I am going purely on specifications and my knowledge, not necessarily because I’ve tried something (although I have tried some). These are in no particular order, and are not endorsements of any product or service. The suggestions are for both mobile and stationary VoIP calling. Read the rest of this entry »
The consumer market for VoIP grew by over 250 percent in 2005. This refers to people who actually subscribed to a VoIP service, which amounts to over 3 million people. That number is expected to nearly triple in 2006, and be nearly ten times in 2009. [C|Net News] Call audio quality is going to be an issue sooner or later, if it has not become one already.
Besides hardware-based VoIP, many more people are using soft clients such as Skype, including some PDA users, without any subscription plan. Some may even be using the voice capabilities of IM (Instant Messaging) clients such as Google Talk or MSN Messenger. For Skype alone, there are an estimated 100 million users worldwide.
Up till now, people may be putting up with poor call quality, simple because for soft client users, VoIP calls are very cheap or even free. My own experience suggests poor audio quality is fairly common. If you’re a VoIP soft client user, here are a few things to consider, to improve your audio quality: Read the rest of this entry »
