Pre-paid Mobile Internet Surfing in Austria

The offer seems quite compelling: pre-paid Mobile Internet surfing, using an anonymous card which you can buy in a supermarket.

But does it work?

Here's the link to the offer: http://www.yesss.at/diskont-surfen/angebote.php

It's sold in Austria through a chain of German supermarkets, which go by the name of Hofer. They take cash, so anonymity is assured.

They sell an unlocked modem (the Huawei E220, with HSDPA/UMTS/GPRS/GSM compatibility) for €69.99, and a pre-paid SIM card with (allegedly) 2 GB of data for 20 Euros -- with optional bonus cards selling additional blocks of 2 GB for the same rate.

I then struggled to make it work. Frankly, it was a real pain. Plugging it in to my Windows XP laptop, I saw the E:\ drive with all necessary files appear momentarily -- then disappear a few seconds later. Maybe it's a problem with some security software on my laptop, but I simply couldn't make it install under Windows. The support web site offers a Windows Vista download, but no files for XP -- you're meant to install direct from the USB connection.

So, I then tried my MacBook Pro. The software for this is on their Web site -- but once again, it was a bust. I was able to download and install the software, but couldn't configure it -- it failed each time I tried to add the APN information.

Finally, I got out my trusty Asus eee PC, running the standard Xandros distribution. I plugged it in, was prompted for the PIN, then configured the APN (which for this network in Austria is web.yesss.at), and clicked connect... and it worked perfectly.

So, here we have a system which struggles with Windows XP and OSX 10.5, yet works like a charm with Linux. Of course, I intended all along to use it with my eee PC, so I am quite pleased it works, but am still a little frustrated I couldn't get it working with the other systems.

Update: looking into the tariff options is interesting. Basically, they have two tariffs, one for light occasional use, and the other for heavy users. Both tariffs cost 20 Euros -- but for a heavy user, that 20 Euros buys 2 GB of data, while for an occasional user, it buys only 1 GB of data. The difference? As a heavy user, you must consume all of your 2 GB in one month, while occasional users get a year to consume the credit.

My first Knol

OK, I decided to dip my toe into the Knowledge Management new wave (apart from tinkering with various articles on wikipedia over the years.) I have therefore published my first Knol, on the subject of Financial Fraud and Risk Management. Feel free to check it out.

The Kerviel File

There has been a lot of ink printed about Jérôme Kerviel, the trader at Société Générale who cost the Bank US$7.2 billion. This is a classic case of failure of controls, which shows that there was a culture of lax oversight and enforcement.

Two recent articles caught my eye -- from the Wall Street Journal, and The Register. The former is a cogent analysis of what went wrong with the controls, and how the bank was forced to unwind the position, possibly contributing to the recent global hiccough on the world markets.

Especially noteworthy is the old chestnut of an employee who fails to take holidays -- the classic danger sign which every auditor is trained to look for. How could SG's internal revision department not see this as a red flag? It's a clear indicator that an employee doesn't want their position to be too closely inspected -- especially in one where such huge risks are being taken. Ostensibly, however, Kerviel's position was one of arbitrage, which should eliminate risk -- however, for reasons which have yet to be revealed, his counter trades were not covered, or were fictitious.

It was also interesting that the Deutsche Börse's Surveillance unit was the first to alert SG to the volume of trades -- but Kerviel himself blocked this, and it wasn't until a month later that in order to cover a masive profit! (which turned into a loss in a matter of days), a brokerage house was involved in the cover-up, which triggered a credit check, which forced his back office to investigate further, and led to his recall from holiday and eventual dismissal (which even now, isn't yet formalized due to French corporate culture.)

The Register's take is even more interesting, suggesting a number of ways that the trades could be masked. Once again, the classic techniques of "borrowing" passwords from colleagues, and the triviality of fudging the figures in Excel sheets used for reporting, highlight just how vulnerable most major Banks might be in this area. I especially recommend reading the comments from industry insiders, that suggest such abuse of systems and lack of formal oversight is endemic.

The Risks are clear -- any employee who is granted privileged access needs an appropriate level of oversight and relevant controls, however tedious, which are required to prevent similar events from unfolding in even the most reputable of institutions. And despite the progress of industry regulation and self-policing in the past dozen years since the collapse of Barings' Bank, not enough is being done.

The remedies are not very difficult -- clear segregation of duties, independent risk management, enforcement of policies, and regular rigorous audit -- but they are not being adequately applied, and until European Bank Managers experience personal liability (as their cousins in the USA are starting to feel with Sarbanes Oxley), we will continue to see collapses, possibly even larger than the latest fiasco.

Vienna Review Newspaper

I am proud to be associated with the Vienna Review newspaper, who are launching their new Web site next week. I've been privileged to assist the capable team of students and staff, who are making the transition onto the Web.

Already published for several years as one of Vienna's few English-language newspapers, the title has prospered under the leadership of experienced journalist and professor, Dardis McNamee, who draws upon the talents of her students and several willing external volunteers, who donate their time to produce an impressive print publication.

Update March 2009

One year later, and we have relaunched the website, based on a new platform called ProsePoint, a variation based on Drupal. ProsePoint is much better suited to the needs of an on-line newspaper, providing better layout and control, as well as editions, author bios, comments, and much more.

A Prayer for Everyone

The Agnostic Prayer

Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that I be forgiven for anything I may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness.

Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which I may be eligible after the destruction of my body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a way as to insure my receiving said benefit.

I ask this in my capacity as my elected intermediary between myself and that which might not be myself, but which may have an interest in the matter of my receiving as much of said benefit as it is possible for me to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony.

Ramen.

New developments in SPAM?

I have fought SPAM off and on for nearly ten years, having administered mail servers for large organizations, but these days, I leave it to Google, by routing all my email through their excellent systems.

However, occasionally one slips through, and this one happened to catch my attention.

ATTN:
I am Mr Mike Leonard,a registered and legitimate private loan lender. I give out loans to Individuals,families,student,Organization, Business Men and women that needs financial assistance at the interest rate of 3%
Loan is given out in Pounds, Euro and $US. The MAXIMUM I give is 5,000,000 both in pounds and $US and the MINIMUM is 5,000 pounds and US$ so if you are really interested contact us for more information on how the loan can be transfered to you.
There is one Question i have to ask i hope you are serious? Because we give out loan to serious minded people and those that we know they can pay us at the stipulated time that was agreed.
Loan that is more $10,000,000M can be given to those that falls only on this category.

Manager of a company
A private Holder
A broker in banks
A director in any office or company
A high investor of a company
If you are interested you have to fill this application form below.
*Applicant full name:....................................

* Applicant Contact Address:..............................

* Phone No:.....................................

* Country:.......................................
* Age:.............................................

* Marital Status:................................
* Amount Required As Loan:............................
*Proposed Terms/Duration Of Loan:..................
.
*Annual Income:..................................

*Occupation:......................................

Mode of Payment:
* Payment by bank to bank transfer
* Payment by bank certified check(courier)
************************************
Fill this for and get back to us so that my loan terms and conditions will be sent to you. If you are interested i need you to get back to us via mike.leoloans@gmail.com and you will be glad you did!!!
Best regards,
Sign;
Mgt.

And also this one:

Earle Crane to brad.boyce

If you have your own business and want:

- IMMEDIATE cash to spend ANY way you like.
- Extra money to give the business a boost.
- A low interest loan - NO STRINGS ATTACHED

http://www.nowdthis.net.cn

Without investigating too much, I note that the first link is a relatively new approach (for me at least), to what I expect is a two-fold attack:

• Advance fee fraud -- they will "process" the loan, but will expect some payment to facilitate the transfer, which of course will never happen


• Identity Theft -- full disclosure of Bank Account and related details will of course be required.

The second link is more interesting. Visiting the site (which seems to use a Chinese DNS name), shows a Web server based in Beijing (which should ring alarm bells), for someone claiming to be "E2 Finance". At first glance, it might even be legitimate -- I can't figure out the angle, compared with the first one which seems more obvious. Perhaps they really are offering finance? Naaah. They're Spammers. Spammers lie. Ergo, they are simply a Phishing site, which will use any disclosed info for identity theft.

The obvious risk here -- trusting what one reads on the Internet, and entrusting financial information to unknown persons.

P.S. I heard a very funny comment on the local FM4 radio station this morning. I think it was daddyd (Dave), who suggested that the U.K. had actually proactively engineered a superb response to the current economic downturn -- by "accidentally" releasing in a series of incidents the identity information of more than half the U.K.'s population, this was going to provide a major boost to the only area of the economy which is currently experiencing double-digit growth -- identity theft. Respect, mate. I like the cut of your jib, and would subscribe to your newsletter.

And now for something completely different...

A little humour at this festive time...

---

Phone Menu at the Mental Health Institute

Hello, and thank you for calling the Mental Health Institute

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly

If you have multiple personalities, press 2, 3 and 4.

If you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, press 5 but do it v-e-r-y- s-l-o-w-l-y and carefully.

If you are dyslexic, press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6. Now press 9. Now press 6.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mothership.

If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8. If you have short term memory loss, press 8.

If you have schizophrenia, listen very carefully and a small voice will tell you the number to press.

If you have a nervous disorder, fidget with the hash key until a representative comes on the line.

If you are co-dependent, ask someone to press a number for you.

If you are depressed, don't bother to press any numbers. No one will be able to help you anyway.

If you are paranoid, you don't need to press anything. We know who you are, we know what you want, and we know how to reach you.

If you suffer from low self-esteem, please hang up because all our operators are too busy to talk to you.

---

Christmas Carols for the Insane

1. Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?
2. Multiple Personality Disorder - We Three Kings Disorientated Are
3. Dementia - I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas
4. Narcissistic - Hark The Herald Angels Sing About Me
5. Manic - Deck the Halls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and...
6. Paranoid - Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
7. Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
8. Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
9. Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent Night, Holy, ooh look at the froggy - Can I have a chocolate? Why is France so far away?
10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells.

End of the year

While the calendar year still has more than a week to run, for many of us, the Winter Solstice is a time of reflection, and marks the end of the year on a much older calendar. Half way between Samhain and Imbolc, the shortest day (and longest night) of the year is traditionally a time for renewal of hope -- in the certainty that the light will return, that the days will lengthen, and the power of the cold is slowly weakening (although often, some of the worst weather follows the solstice.)

This has been a year of many transitions and inflexion points, both for myself and some around me. I've learned a few lessons, and have had to grapple with some challenging topics, some of which are previous topics in my blog. Business has had its ups and downs (especially with the extreme delays in decision-making by some customers), but I haven't ever regretted leaving my last job, more than seven years ago, and running my own company (for the third time.)

Another characteristic of the solstice is that everything around us in Nature is showing signs of death or decay. Trees have lost their leaves, grasses and plants have died away, many birds and small animals have disappeared. But all is not what it seems, because we know that the green shoots of spring are not far away. Gradually, the ground squirrels and hedgehogs will come out of their hibernation, and the birds will return, along with the insects, frogs and lizards. I guess there is a lesson there, although it doesn't make it any easier to climb stairs, or get out of a nice warm bed on a chilly morning. Perhaps it's because we all have slightly different rhythms, and suspect the renewal of spring isn't always an option.

Still, I feel that our beliefs and internal dialog are important characteristics of making our journey through life a positive one -- the old Hermetic axiom, "As a man thinks, so he becomes."

Wild Geese -- A Poem by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

I don't often quote poems on my Blog, but this one is pretty good, and reflects my mood today quite well. Happy Eid to all Muslims, as they celebrate the end of Ramadan.