Superfast / Infinity / FTTC broadband orders can now be placed on some Addingham lines
http://www.superfastwestyorkshire.co.uk/news/110/27/17-April-2015
Ahead of schedule too.
Friday, 17 April 2015
Friday, 20 March 2015
Addingham Broadband Update 1
Copy of email circulated to Addingham Civic Society
Next generation broadband upgrade under way
In addition to the recently announced speed upgrades to the
Virgin Media network, and perhaps of more interest as many people in Addingham
still cannot connect to the Virgin network. Superfast West Yorkshire http://www.superfastwestyorkshire.co.uk/
have started work installing a Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) broadband upgrade in
the village that will allow much higher internet speeds down phone line based
broadband.
Addingham is part of phase 4 of the Superfast West Yorkshire
(SFWY) plan, which is scheduled between January and June 2015. With
a final link for some premises, whose lines connect direct to the exchange, due
by September 2015. (Ironically this was the first cabinet seen to be
installed).
The SFWY project is funded by the government under its BDUK
programme to provide 90-95% of rural premises ‘superfast’ (>24Mbps) internet
speeds. The remit of the plan is to provide these speeds to those who
do not already have access to such speeds. So in Addingham this
means that only premises in postcodes who do not have access to the Virgin
network are due to be upgraded, however due to a quirk of how FTTC is delivered
it is understood more people than that will get a choice.
FTTC involves installing new cabinets in the street next to
the existing BT telephone wiring cabinets to inject a faster broadband signal
onto the phone line closer to the customer premises. Because (according
to SFWY, and I have not been able to prove them right or wrong) all except one
of our cabinets serve premises without Virgin coverage, only the cabinet 9E(?)
(serving Moor Park Drive, Moor Park Close and Moor Park Crescent ) will not be
upgraded.
So 5 out of the eventual 6 cabinets in Addingham will get
FTTC presence (the new cab 5 being in front of the exchange for the phone lines
that go direct) giving all customers connected to those cabinets a choice of
FTTC service from whichever Internet Service Provider they choose. (For
those with the choice of Virgin they can of course stay with Virgin too using
their cable network)
FTTC can deliver speeds of up to 75Mbps downstream.
Although some longer lines may get less than this, speeds should be in the
region of 30+Mbps.
Technically speaking installation of FTTC cabinets in an
area opens up the possibility of supply of a product called Fibre To The
Premises on Demand (FTTPoD), which can reach speeds of over 300Mbps. If
this is enabled then individuals, or more likely companies, can individually
make a request to have FTTPoD supplied. However the ‘construction’ costs
(ie BT digging the ducting into the street from nearest cabinet to your
premises and blowing the fibre down it) will all form part of the installation
costs to the end customer which can be many thousands of pounds. It is
not clear if FTTPoD will be offered in Addingham.
Friday, 23 January 2015
It's been a long time since I posted here, and longer since I first mentioned faster broadband for more people in Addingham. But there is some important news to share on this front.
Superfast West Yorkshire is the local BDUK project charged with ensuring that 90% (or later 95%) of premises have the choice of connecting to a 'Superfast' (24mbps or more) in one form or another.
It's important to qualify at this stage that BDUK (in the interests of making the funding go further and benefit more people) is about providing access to those who do not yet have access to any superfast service rather than necessarily giving anyone a choice of provider.
This is particularly important in Addingham as some years ago parts of the village were fortunate enough to have been cabled by Virginmedia, who as well as TV services can provide superfast broadband over the same cables. Presence of a Virginmedia service in an area of the village should exclude that area from the Superfast West Yorkshire (SFWY) project (BDUK plans to a postcode level).
SFWY will be deploying Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) style broadband, as described in the really easy to understand video at BT Openreach's Big Build page.
A quirk of this deployment though is that anywhere there is a street telephone wiring cabinet that serves customers who cannot get a Virginmedia service will be upgraded. Thus hopefully 'accidentally' giving all customers served by that cabinet a choice of any broadband provider who will activate the FTTC service built by BT Openreach.
As I understand it so far Addingham's phone cabinets will be upgraded as follows, which is a direct quote from SFWY.
Addingham Cabs 1, 2, 3 and 4 are in the Superfast West Yorkshire rollout plan, these are currently planned to be delivered in Phase 4; January-June 2015. A new cab will be built to serve the exchange only (EO) lines, this is likely to be in the later stages of the project, by September 2015. There is one other cab that serves premises on Moor Park Drive, Moor Park Close and Moor Park Crescent, this is not being updated as it is already covered by Virgin, as previously discussed. When the cabs have been updated, internet service providers (ISPs) are notified so they can offer services in the area. The lines that were EO will have the same options as the FTTC, because when the new cab has been built for them they will be FTTC. The only difference is they will be updated at a later stage to the other cabs.
My interpretation of this, and I could be wrong, is that everyone in Addingham will get a choice of FTTC, except those served by Cabinet E7(?) - the premises on Moor Park as described above.
For those residents with lines that run direct from the exchange (that do not pass through an existing cabinet) Exchange Only or EO - the good news is they will get a connection choice too (surprisingly this is only a recent innovation!). However some of those people will have very long lines and that will limit the speed somewhat, but hopefully still be in the superfast band.
In terms of those who might miss out - Anyone on Moor Park, or in that area who cannot get Virginmedia today, and any new premises in that area of the village. Anyone in this position should contact Superfast West Yorkshire immediately and (1) register their interest on the website, as well as checking your postcode, (2) make direct contact to ask if you will be covered by the project in future and how.
Since it is January 2015 already there is some visible progress to report (none of this is inside information, just my interpretation of what I can see in the street)
Superfast West Yorkshire is the local BDUK project charged with ensuring that 90% (or later 95%) of premises have the choice of connecting to a 'Superfast' (24mbps or more) in one form or another.
It's important to qualify at this stage that BDUK (in the interests of making the funding go further and benefit more people) is about providing access to those who do not yet have access to any superfast service rather than necessarily giving anyone a choice of provider.
This is particularly important in Addingham as some years ago parts of the village were fortunate enough to have been cabled by Virginmedia, who as well as TV services can provide superfast broadband over the same cables. Presence of a Virginmedia service in an area of the village should exclude that area from the Superfast West Yorkshire (SFWY) project (BDUK plans to a postcode level).
SFWY will be deploying Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) style broadband, as described in the really easy to understand video at BT Openreach's Big Build page.
A quirk of this deployment though is that anywhere there is a street telephone wiring cabinet that serves customers who cannot get a Virginmedia service will be upgraded. Thus hopefully 'accidentally' giving all customers served by that cabinet a choice of any broadband provider who will activate the FTTC service built by BT Openreach.
As I understand it so far Addingham's phone cabinets will be upgraded as follows, which is a direct quote from SFWY.
Addingham Cabs 1, 2, 3 and 4 are in the Superfast West Yorkshire rollout plan, these are currently planned to be delivered in Phase 4; January-June 2015. A new cab will be built to serve the exchange only (EO) lines, this is likely to be in the later stages of the project, by September 2015. There is one other cab that serves premises on Moor Park Drive, Moor Park Close and Moor Park Crescent, this is not being updated as it is already covered by Virgin, as previously discussed. When the cabs have been updated, internet service providers (ISPs) are notified so they can offer services in the area. The lines that were EO will have the same options as the FTTC, because when the new cab has been built for them they will be FTTC. The only difference is they will be updated at a later stage to the other cabs.
My interpretation of this, and I could be wrong, is that everyone in Addingham will get a choice of FTTC, except those served by Cabinet E7(?) - the premises on Moor Park as described above.
For those residents with lines that run direct from the exchange (that do not pass through an existing cabinet) Exchange Only or EO - the good news is they will get a connection choice too (surprisingly this is only a recent innovation!). However some of those people will have very long lines and that will limit the speed somewhat, but hopefully still be in the superfast band.
In terms of those who might miss out - Anyone on Moor Park, or in that area who cannot get Virginmedia today, and any new premises in that area of the village. Anyone in this position should contact Superfast West Yorkshire immediately and (1) register their interest on the website, as well as checking your postcode, (2) make direct contact to ask if you will be covered by the project in future and how.
Since it is January 2015 already there is some visible progress to report (none of this is inside information, just my interpretation of what I can see in the street)
- A new wiring cabinet in front of the exchange premises (for the EO lines)
- An FTTC broadband cabinet in front of the exchange premises (for the EO lines)
- Power laid and an FTTC cabinet on the way at Cabinet 3 (Old Station Way / Mount Pleasant)
- Power work started at Cabinet 2 (Silsden Road)
Sunday, 17 November 2013
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Better broadband
If you want better and more choice of broadband in Addingham & around here, lobby Superfast West Yorkshire http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/politics/broadband-plan-will-not-repeat-digital-region-mistakes-1-5994637
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Why you need good security protection, even if you only visit well known and trusted websites
The BBC reported today that many Britons had been caught out by booby trapped ads on the web last weekend. Curiously I received several calls on Sunday and Monday to sort out machines affected by virus infections from users who were pretty certain they had not been anywhere untoward on the internet.
Most of these were from what I call 'ransomware' which complained that the machines were infected and demanded money for an 'upgrade' to remove them. Thankfully these were straightforward to remove for good.
To get to my point; Probably these users like the ones quoted by the BBC were served infected ads from a reputable website who was supplied the ads in turn by another reputable company whose own systems had seemingly been compromised in some way.
I'm not sure if it was the same thing but while loading an innocuous page from ebay about bathroom accessories, by Symantec security software blocked 'attempted suspicious activity' quite likely in my opinion given the circumstantial evidence that this too may have been one of these infected ads.
It's only an opinion, but piad for AV software is more comprehensively reliable than free versions, and saves users from the hassle of recovering from situations like these.
Most of these were from what I call 'ransomware' which complained that the machines were infected and demanded money for an 'upgrade' to remove them. Thankfully these were straightforward to remove for good.
To get to my point; Probably these users like the ones quoted by the BBC were served infected ads from a reputable website who was supplied the ads in turn by another reputable company whose own systems had seemingly been compromised in some way.
I'm not sure if it was the same thing but while loading an innocuous page from ebay about bathroom accessories, by Symantec security software blocked 'attempted suspicious activity' quite likely in my opinion given the circumstantial evidence that this too may have been one of these infected ads.
It's only an opinion, but piad for AV software is more comprehensively reliable than free versions, and saves users from the hassle of recovering from situations like these.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Action Fraud want you to report all scam email
Action Fraud - The UK national fraud authority want you to help disrupt fraudsters by reporting scam emails
also covered by the BBC
also covered by the BBC
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Don't fall for this scam
Previously I've written about an antivirus/antimalware scam where people are seemingly randomly selected for a cold call and conned into paying for services from fake companies having been convinced their computer has a problem.
Well in the last week I took a call from a new customer who had unfortunately fallen for a variant of this scam and paid up over £150 to the caller concerned. The caller claimed to be from Microsoft and it lasted over an hour where the caller was given and took control of the user's computer where they ran a number of 'tests' which showed some positive results which they then offered to clean up for money and a sign up to a 3 year plan. The only way to contact the company for service was to leave a message on a UK answering service and wait for a call back.
Although steps were taken to make sure that the customers computer was indeed clean, it appeared that in this case they had probably installed a legitimate freeware tool to scan the users computer and used the results to scare the user into paying for a very very simple service. Although traces of the remote control program were left behind no other malware appeared to be present - this appears to be different to other forms of this scam.
My customer was left with a whole heap of work cancelling cards, payments and changing bank details to escape from this, as well as paying for my time to ensure their machine was secure again.
Please don't fall for these cold call scams and if you do seek professional help from someone you trust or have recommended, as well as reporting the fraud to Action Fraud so that some concerted effort can be made to shut some of these operations down.
Get Safe Online
Well in the last week I took a call from a new customer who had unfortunately fallen for a variant of this scam and paid up over £150 to the caller concerned. The caller claimed to be from Microsoft and it lasted over an hour where the caller was given and took control of the user's computer where they ran a number of 'tests' which showed some positive results which they then offered to clean up for money and a sign up to a 3 year plan. The only way to contact the company for service was to leave a message on a UK answering service and wait for a call back.
Although steps were taken to make sure that the customers computer was indeed clean, it appeared that in this case they had probably installed a legitimate freeware tool to scan the users computer and used the results to scare the user into paying for a very very simple service. Although traces of the remote control program were left behind no other malware appeared to be present - this appears to be different to other forms of this scam.
My customer was left with a whole heap of work cancelling cards, payments and changing bank details to escape from this, as well as paying for my time to ensure their machine was secure again.
Please don't fall for these cold call scams and if you do seek professional help from someone you trust or have recommended, as well as reporting the fraud to Action Fraud so that some concerted effort can be made to shut some of these operations down.
Get Safe Online
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Want faster broadband? Vote now BT - The Race to Infinity
BT are giving everyone the chance to vote for which areas get the next generation of faster broadband. Ensure the Ilkely and Addingham area is well represented, we don't get great ADSL broadband speeds here, and we might be in with a chance.
BT - The Race to Infinity
BT - The Race to Infinity
Monday, 15 November 2010
Fake Antivirus and Antimalware - now they phone you up to scare you!
Interesting article on the BBC entitled Warning over anti-virus cold calls to UK internet users covering some findings from the Get Safe Online annual report.
Not content with scaring people into clicking on links and fake dialogue boxes to get users to install malicious software on their computers, organised gangs are now cold calling people on the phone and scaring them too.
Don't fall foul of this (and don't be scared off using the internet either). Read the oceans of good advice out there on sites like Get Safe Online and others that are linked from my previous posts, as well as the useful links section on the Addingham IT website.
Not content with scaring people into clicking on links and fake dialogue boxes to get users to install malicious software on their computers, organised gangs are now cold calling people on the phone and scaring them too.
Don't fall foul of this (and don't be scared off using the internet either). Read the oceans of good advice out there on sites like Get Safe Online and others that are linked from my previous posts, as well as the useful links section on the Addingham IT website.
Sunday, 7 November 2010
Fake Antivirus and Anitmalware Update
Previous posts have been updated linking to useful information by BBC Click
Friday, 15 October 2010
BBC First Click
BBC launches First Click campaign with resources to help get first time users online - Great initiative!
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Choosing secure passwords...
...can be a nightmare if you have lots of websites to log in to. However this tip from Mozilla on how to create strong passwords that you can remember without ending up writing them down is a good place to start.
The direct link to a video on the same subject - How to choose strong passwords on youtube
The direct link to a video on the same subject - How to choose strong passwords on youtube
Half of UK Wifi networks can be hacked in seconds
Good survey data and news coverage on wireless security again today, example here from the Telegraph and others.
See my previous posts on wireless security as well. Get in touch if you're concerned and want a wireless checkup or help securing your network.
See my previous posts on wireless security as well. Get in touch if you're concerned and want a wireless checkup or help securing your network.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Fake Antivirus or Antimalware - look and think before you click
This post has been taking shape in my mind for a month or two now, and its writing becomes more pressing every time I visit a customer who ends up with one of these problems.
I'm getting a steady stream of customers coming to me asking for help in cleaning off stubborn infections like this. Recent examples include -
- Internet Security 2010
- Antivirus 2010
- Antimalware Doctor
- AntivirusGT
- Security Tool
The problem usually starts with an email, or a website, or website popup window that puts a message on your screen stating that some sort of action needs to be taken by your antivirus software; for example, a problem has been found and needs to be fixed urgently. The problem is that this is often a picture made to look like a genuine window with buttons to click on and adorned with colourful shields that look just like those used by Windows and popular security packages. These are designed to tempt you to absent-mindedly click your agreement (probably thinking you're helping to protect yourself).
Once you make that first click you are often taking steps to install a replacement for your current security measures, which will then do some or all of the following, and often a lot worse -
- install other malware, viruses or adware
- pretend to scan your computer, report falsely that it has infections
- demand payment to 'upgrade' your protection to a version which can remove the infections (whether real or not)
- slow your pc down
- stop you accessing many administrator features of Windows in case you use them to try to remove the problem software
- disable or divert Windows Security Centre alerts
These infections are increasingly difficult (but thankfully not impossible) to remove, so prevention is better than cure.
So the next time you get a message in a window like this and before you click anything - have a think about the following points -
- is this really a message from my own antivirus, or does the logo look a bit different
- is this just an advert type message in a web browser sidebar or popup window
- is the name or wording a bit different to what you normally see
- go to your current antivirus or security software control panel and see if any problems are reported there too
- if in doubt don't click, close all windows and get your existing software to start a full system scan
- don't install or replace security software without being very sure of its source and where you're downloading from or what the source of the program is
With increasing capability in Windows these programs now often rely on tricking you into clicking something to allow the program to be installed. Don't unwittingly be part of one of these rogue programs getting onto your own machine.
Update 07/11/10 - BBC Click has recently covered the same issue
For help removing one of these problem programs, for preventative advice, or help installing better security protection contact Addingham IT.
I'm getting a steady stream of customers coming to me asking for help in cleaning off stubborn infections like this. Recent examples include -
- Internet Security 2010
- Antivirus 2010
- Antimalware Doctor
- AntivirusGT
- Security Tool
The problem usually starts with an email, or a website, or website popup window that puts a message on your screen stating that some sort of action needs to be taken by your antivirus software; for example, a problem has been found and needs to be fixed urgently. The problem is that this is often a picture made to look like a genuine window with buttons to click on and adorned with colourful shields that look just like those used by Windows and popular security packages. These are designed to tempt you to absent-mindedly click your agreement (probably thinking you're helping to protect yourself).
Once you make that first click you are often taking steps to install a replacement for your current security measures, which will then do some or all of the following, and often a lot worse -
- install other malware, viruses or adware
- pretend to scan your computer, report falsely that it has infections
- demand payment to 'upgrade' your protection to a version which can remove the infections (whether real or not)
- slow your pc down
- stop you accessing many administrator features of Windows in case you use them to try to remove the problem software
- disable or divert Windows Security Centre alerts
These infections are increasingly difficult (but thankfully not impossible) to remove, so prevention is better than cure.
So the next time you get a message in a window like this and before you click anything - have a think about the following points -
- is this really a message from my own antivirus, or does the logo look a bit different
- is this just an advert type message in a web browser sidebar or popup window
- is the name or wording a bit different to what you normally see
- go to your current antivirus or security software control panel and see if any problems are reported there too
- if in doubt don't click, close all windows and get your existing software to start a full system scan
- don't install or replace security software without being very sure of its source and where you're downloading from or what the source of the program is
With increasing capability in Windows these programs now often rely on tricking you into clicking something to allow the program to be installed. Don't unwittingly be part of one of these rogue programs getting onto your own machine.
Update 07/11/10 - BBC Click has recently covered the same issue
For help removing one of these problem programs, for preventative advice, or help installing better security protection contact Addingham IT.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Gmail converstaion view
Not much of a post, but big news if, like me, you disliked this feature because although grouping related 'conversations' together seemed useful (like threading in other applications) Gmail's view never really made sense to me in use. Covered by ZDnet Gmail now allows you to switch off the conversation view.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Searching for free stuff online might cost you more than you think - be aware and avoid the risks
Two useful articles to bear in mind when you search for free stuff online. Don't let it put you off searches for legitimately free items, but be aware of the risks.
ZDnet - 'Free' searches increase chances of malware
Cnet - Searching for free stuff online can be costly
ZDnet - 'Free' searches increase chances of malware
Cnet - Searching for free stuff online can be costly
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Recovery disks
Recently I've been called out to more and more machines where the hard drive has completely failed and customers don't have access to the manufacturer recovery disks or Windows media to restore their system.
PCPro has just done an article this topic here The Recovery Disk Rip Off
In most cases these days new machines don't come with recovery CD/DVD included. The software required is often in a hidden partition on your hard disk. Which is great if you're recovering from virus or software crashes, but if your hard disk becomes physically faulty for any reason then you lose everything.
So, if your machine is still working or whenever you get a new one, look for the instructions on how to burn your own copy of the recovery media to some blank CD/DVDs before you end up stuck without and have to pay the price for new ones and wait several days for them to turn up before you can get back online.
PCPro has just done an article this topic here The Recovery Disk Rip Off
In most cases these days new machines don't come with recovery CD/DVD included. The software required is often in a hidden partition on your hard disk. Which is great if you're recovering from virus or software crashes, but if your hard disk becomes physically faulty for any reason then you lose everything.
So, if your machine is still working or whenever you get a new one, look for the instructions on how to burn your own copy of the recovery media to some blank CD/DVDs before you end up stuck without and have to pay the price for new ones and wait several days for them to turn up before you can get back online.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Microsoft report increasing attacks on Windows XP vulnerability
Microsoft are reporting in one of their technical blogs that a rapidly increasing number of attacks are taking place on an unfixed issue with Windows XP Help and Support centre.
Concerned users should turn off the feature as described here until a fix is issued
Update: The fix for this has been issued, make sure you have downloaded by Windows Update.
Concerned users should turn off the feature as described here until a fix is issued
Update: The fix for this has been issued, make sure you have downloaded by Windows Update.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
More wireless security
If I haven't already convinced you in previous posts to secure your wireless internet connection; Google's blunder with its Streeview cars collecting too much data when capturing network id data for geolocation services is yet another good reason. Have a good read - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10391096.stm
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