[ale] I used to thing that MS was going to take over the world,

[DJ-Pfulio]

Running a PBX helps, I suppose. 

I stopped doing that around 2008 and pay $5/month for someone else to
connect my $35 SIP-ATA to the rest of the world. If you don't have
excellent internet or have someone in the house who could need 911
services, this isn't a good idea. Stay with POTS ... or keep a dumb
POTS phone connected to the line. No need for a plan. 911 service works
from any connected POTS phone, always. Same for cell phones, even
without a cell plan.  I've called 911 just one time in my life. It was
for a fire in 1989.

There my settings are a little customized. I don't recall the details,
but think all calls claiming to be from my NPAXX are blocked since the
main number is nowhere near where I live, I don't visit that part of
Georgia and don't know anyone there. Also block all international
calls that are outside the 1+ world (so Canada and the Caribbean aren't
blocked), but that can be customized.

Block anonymous callers. And don't answer the phone unless it is
someone I know or I'm expecting a call from an odd number.  I don't
give out any number except my SIP number which rings at the house and
on the cell. When I'm home, if just the cell phone rings, it is spam by
definition.  I'm not tied to any cell phone. Lost it for a week or
two last year and didn't notice.  A few years ago, I let the money run
out (PAYG plan) and didn't notice for a few months.

I avoid giving out any phone numbers or email addresses whenever
possible, especially to large businesses or the govt. Just because
there is a place for those on a form doesn't mean we have to provide
them. Sometimes it might be a slight inconvenience, but usually not. If
they don't have the data, it cannot be leaked.  Heck, the DMV asked for
both - I refused.

Websites that ask for a phone number don't get one from me, unless it
is for a financial transaction. My twitter accounts (for fun) don't
have a phone number. My google accounts (for fun) don't have a phone
number. Amazon keeps asking for a phone number. Switched NatGas
providers last fall - refused to provide an email address. You would
have thought I'd killed their child. Some places didn't have any way to
sign up new accounts without an email!  That needs to be illegal for
all utilities.

Email and phones are a hot button topic for me. Sorry for the rant.

Anyway, happy to share my phone setup with anyone. Just join a Sunday
ALE-NW meeting. If you do it while we are using Jitsi, I can log into
my SIP provider and get all the settings.


On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 15:41:45 -0400
Byron Jeff <byronjeff at clayton.edu> wrote:

> How does one eliminate the spam calls? My head will explode if I get
> yet another phone call about my car's extended warranty. I don't even
> own a car! ;-) (JK).
> 
> BAJ
> 
> On Wed, Apr 29, 2020 at 03:35:42PM -0400, DJ-Pfulio via Ale wrote:
> > The scammers are out this week!
> > 
> > I even got fired from my job yesterday, by the VP of HR of my
> > 1-person company. They CC'd the CEO, thankfully. ;)
> > 
> > All this week, lots and lots of invoices for FedEx, DHL, UPS have
> > been arriving via email too.  All dropped into spam.
> > 
> > Haven't gotten any spam phone calls in a few months, perhaps
> > longer, so that's been nice.
> > 
> > 
> > On Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:36:43 -0700
> > Alex Carver via Ale <ale at ale.org> wrote:
> >   
> > > On 2020-04-29 10:32, Jim via Ale wrote:  
> > > > but I just received an email from my doctor's office that
> > > > include the following instructions:
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > "On your phone go to SETTINGS - SAFARI - CAMERA (change to
> > > > ALLOW) and MICROPHONE (change to ALLOW)"
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > Does anyone know where the SAFARI settings are on my Android
> > > > phone?
> > > > 
> > > > :-P
> > > > 
> > > > Jim.    
> > > 
> > > They're under the Serengeti menu, duh.  
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>