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Too Good To Be True? Republic Wireless $19 Unlimited Wireless Plan Is Now Truly Unlimited.

Dec 23, 11 5:02 PM

Back in the early November, I had mentioned of Republic Wireless which offered $19 unlimited wireless plan per month, but I also pointed out how Republic Wireless $19 unlimited wireless plan could only truly be unlimited if users hogged their Wi-Fi networks so users would not have to be throttled when limited minutes, texts, and data are running out.  Well, Republic Wireless has just turn up the heat by offering truly unlimited, $19 unlimited wireless plan per month.  I feel I’m in love again.

According to Gizmodo‘s article “That Unbelievable $19 Unlimited Data/Voice/Text Plan Is Truly Unlimited,” Republic Wireless is now allowing customers to use the minutes, texts, and data as they see fit without having to worry about getting throttles, and the plan is still only $19 per month.  I do somewhat worry what if Sprint decides it doesn’t like this idea some months down the road?  After all, Republic Wireless is piggybacking Sprint’s wireless network.

Oh, never mind, don’t you worry too much, because if you are worrying about Sprint, then you never know how good it might feel when having unlimited minutes, texts, and data for your smart phones.  Did I use smartphone as in its plural form (i.e., smartphones)?  See, even if you get two or three smartphones with Republic Wireless, it seems you are saving so much money still that you might just have to give them customers of AT&T-Verizon-other-big-wireless-carriers your arrogant smirks, because you can do so.  So, don’t hold back you smirky, you.

Update:  I forgot to tell you that you don’t have to sign a contract to use Republic Wireless $19 unlimited wireless plan!  Give me five!

Source:  http://gizmodo.com/5870753/that-unbelievable-19-unlimited-datavoicetext-plan-is-truly-unlimited

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Unknowingly To Smartphone Users, Carrier IQ Rootkit Secretly Tracks and Logs User Data

Dec 2, 11 1:43 AM

Some smartphone users plus myself are horrifying that there is a rootkit software known as Carrier IQ being installed on many phones.  OK, if you don’t already know what is Carrier IQ, let me tell you so far what I have heard about this software.  Carrier IQ is acting like a rootkit, because users cannot force disable it or stop it from running.  Whenever a program or software is categorized as rootkit, it means such a program or software is hiding itself from users’ knowledge, consequently allowing itself to do various things behind the scene without users’ consents.  Many hackers have known for installing rootkits onto users’ operating systems so they can manipulate the operating systems to their advantages.  Carrier IQ is categorized as rootkit since it does not clearly make itself known to smartphone users;  Carrier IQ is able to record unique keycodes and logging normal and encrypted browser data (i.e., HTTPS).

Since the discover of Carrier IQ presence and capabilities, some wireless carriers are denying that they have approved Carrier IQ to be installed on smartphones.  AT&T and Sprint have confirmed to the mass that they use Carrier IQ to diagnose and improve their wireless networks.  HTC and Samsung, the two popular smartphone makers, are somewhat unclear on their parts with Carrier IQ, but they acknowledge of knowing Carrier IQ is required to be installed on their handsets by various wireless carriers.  Apple confirms that the company once too had used Carrier IQ on their handsets.  Apple says the company has stopped supporting Carrier IQ on iOS 5, and future updates will have Carrier IQ to be removed completely from Apple products.  Microsoft assures customers that Windows Phone operating system does not use Carrier IQ.  RIM and Nokia deny to have supported or installed Carrier IQ on their handsets.

Check out the YouTube video right after the break to see Carrier IQ in action on a HTC smartphone.  In the YouTube video, Android security researcher and developer, Trevor Eckhart, demonstrated that Carrier IQ was able to record his keystrokes by assigning unique key codes to the keystrokes.  Furthermore, he showed that Carrier IQ was able to log his normal and encrypted browser data.  Even scarier, Trevor Eckhart showed that he could not disable Carrier IQ on his HTC device.

I have an iPhone which runs iOS 5, and according to Apple that if I had turned on Diagnostic & Usage feature, it means that my iPhone is probably allowing Carrier IQ to do its things.  Luckily, with iPhones that run iOS 5, users can turn off the Diagnostic & Usage feature to turn off Carrier IQ.  According to Computerworld, to turn off Carrier IQ on iPhones that run iOS 5, users need to follow the steps below:

  1. Open up Settings app
  2. Access Location Services
  3. Scroll all the way down and access System Services
  4. Switch Diagnostics & Usage from ON to OFF

I’m not sure if Diagnostics & Usage feature is an opt-in feature or not, because I don’t remember that I had opted in with such a feature.  Nonetheless, I’m glad Apple allows users to turn off this feature so Carrier IQ won’t be able to do its nasty things.

Sources:  http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/which-phones-networks-run-carrier-iq-mobile-tracking-software/64500,
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9222336/
How_to_turn_off_Carrier_IQ_on_your_iPhone?taxonomyId=84, http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9122334-researcher-secret-software-tracks-phone-users

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Republic Wireless Offers $19 Unlimited Wireless Plan Per Month

Nov 8, 11 5:35 PM
A wireless icon

Image via Wikipedia

I can’t help myself for feeling giddy.  Republic Wireless has the best wireless deal in town?  I’ve never heard of Republic Wireless till today, because I’ve never read or heard anybody talks about them before.  I would have care less about Republic Wireless if they haven’t announced that they’re offering unlimited wireless plan for $19 per month.  Wait, what are the catches?

It seems that Republic Wireless relies on the probability of not everyone will hog the wireless network, therefore it would be OK for them to allow a Hybrid Calling technology where smartphones will hog WiFi network whenever WiFi is available.  This is one of the catches of Republic Wireless’s $19/month unlimited wireless plan.  This catch goes on dictating how users cannot abuse the wireless network.  Repeated abusers will be booted out of the wireless network or the service altogether.

So, how much bandwidth can one use on Republic Wireless’s wireless network?  Republic Wireless at now allows 400 minutes of talk, 600 MB of data, and 200 texts for each month.  In my opinion, WiFi does make a big different!  To tell the truth, 400 minutes of talk, 600 MB of data, and 200 texts for each month on wireless network seems to be very stingy.  It’s more of like for emergency usage.  With that being said, I don’t mind to piggyback ride my WiFi network for calling someone or surfing the web or send text messages at all.

Republic Wireless hints that they might roll out an application that will allow different types of smartphones to use their Hybrid Calling technology.  For now, it’s only possible for certain specific modified Android smartphones to tap into their Hybrid Calling technology.  It’s unclear to me what Android smartphones would that be!

Source:  http://www.pcworld.com/article/243389/republic_wireless_rolls_out_19_
unlimited_voice_data_text_service.html#tk.rss_news

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