Category Archives: VoIP

Have you downloaded Asterisk? (Your competitor probably has)

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Asterisk is a registered trademark of Digium

Asterisk is a registered trademark of Digium

Asterisk® (a registered trademark of Digium, Inc.) simply makes sense. Take one part open source software, one part VoIP, one part PBX, and combine. What do you have? A software so popular, more than 1.5 million downloads occurred in 2008 alone.

Team Forrest can help you implement an Asterisk solution to fit your exact needs. Popular implementations include:

  • Integrating VoIP to save money on Telephone Services
  • Using Asterisk to power Call Centers (both inbound and outbound)
  • Easily integrating telecommuting / presence
  • Creating a powerful, yet affordable, business class phone system

For more information on how Team Forrest can help you, contact us today for a free consultation.

Additional readings:

FBI and Asterisk Security? Relax, Breathe, and Read

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Recently, the FBI issued an advisory warning users that Asterisk (the open source VoIP / PBX software) could be compromised and then used in vishing attacks. First, If you are running an old verison of Asterisk, you should upgrade to the newer one. Any Team Forrest client that is concerned should contact helpme@teamforrest.com for a free evaluation. If you’re not a Team Forrest client, email, call, or contact us to check your platform for you— free of charge.

Secondly, don’t worry. From what we can tell, this is an old bug fixed in March of 2008. But, as always, you should run the most recent stable version of Asterisk. Not for the FBI warning; but mostly because it resolves other issues discovered. The nature of software is to find, fix, and update. Not a big deal. Again, if you’re concerned, contact Team Forrest today for a free evaluation.

For more info, please check out:

Asterisk (created and maintained by Digium) is free, open source software provided under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Asterisk is the most popular open source VoIP software available, with the Asterisk Community being the top influencer in VoIP.

VoIP Users Conference via SIP

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UPDATE — Got HD? You can now connect to the VoIP Users Conference in HD Quality thanks to ZiPDX

The VoIP Users Conference gathers weekly on Fridays to discuss all things VoIP. Free, and open to the public, participants can listen live or download archived recordings.

There are three main ways to access the live conference:

  1. via SIP directly
  2. via HiDef SIP directly
  3. via PSTN (see below for the number)
  4. via the Talkshoe client

VoIP Users Conference via SIP

Recently, several participants experienced difficulties in connecting to the conference using SIP. The issue dealt with DTMF recognition and prevented the participant from entering the conference number and pin.

Thanks to the power of SIP, this problem can be circumvented using a SIP Header. Adding the SIP Header of Subject: <passcode>22622</passcode><pin>YOURPIN</pin> will bypass the DTMF needs and enter you into the conference automatically.

Using Asterisk, a SIP Header can easily be added to your dialplan. For example, if you wanted to dial *10 to reach the VoIP Users Conference, you would modify your extensions.conf to contain something like:

exten => *10,1,NoOp(VoIP Users Conference Fridays at 12pm EST. Replace YOURPIN with your talkshoe pin)
exten => *10,n,SIPAddHeader(Subject: <passcode>22622</passcode><pin>YOURPIN</pin>)
exten => *10,n,Dial(SIP/talkshoe@vuc.onsip.com)

VoIP Users Conference via Hi Def SIP

If you have an HD Voice / Wideband capable phone, you can connect directly to the conference using g722 at the following SIP URI:

  • sip:200901@login.zipdx.com

So, in Asterisk’s extensions.conf, it may look something like this:

exten => *11,1,NoOp(VoIP Users Conference Fridays at 12pm EST. g722 connection)
exten => *11,n,Dial(SIP/200901@login.zipdx.com)

REMEMBER! To use the wideband (g722) bridge, you need a wideband capable phone.

PSTN, Talkshoe, and Web

The VoIP Users Conference meets every Friday at 12pm Eastern Standard Time. More information can be found by following these links:

Residential VoIP expecting Large Growth

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VoIP Tech Chat posted an interesting article regarding the expected increase of VoIP in the residential market. The article discusses the switch of residential users from such providers as Verizon and at&t to cable companies, VoIP providers, and cellular services.

While many Residential users may want to use a simple service such as those provided by cable companies, we also believe some households can greatly benefit from their own networked VoIP system — such as Asterisk or Trixbox.

With telecomuting becoming a more accepted method of work, a local Asterisk solution can separate work calls from home, provide a powerful business presence, as well as saving money on regular household calls.

Plus, the use of a dedicated computer for your phone system can also provide your home with a centralized server for storage, media, and data back-up. Talk about a win / win.

For more information on how Team Forrest can help, please call +1 (212) 937-7844 today.

AstriCon 2008

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AstriCon, the official conference for the Asterisk PBX system, starts Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008. Fred Posner will be attending AstriCon this year and looks forward to meeting fellow users, developers, and fans of the Asterisk software.

If you are attending AstriCon, please give Fred a call at 212-937-7844 x501.

AstriCon is sponsored by many big names in the VoIP industry, including Digium (the premier sponsor and creator of Asterisk). Asterisk is free, open source software provided under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Asterisk is the most popular open source VoIP software available, with the Asterisk Community being the top influencer in VoIP.

FEMA voicemail system hacked

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A hacker used an old-school technique to hack into the FEMA voicemail system and make $12,000.00 worth of calls to the Middle East and Asia. FEMA, which is under the Deparment of Homeland Security, should be very thankful to Sprint; it was Sprint that noticed the calls and stopped long distance access.

Lessons learned? If you’re allowing your voicemail system to initiate outbound calls, its a good idea to lock it down. Use good password. Require passwords to be changed from the default. And, really only allow outbound calls when absolutely required.

Read more about the FEMA incident at VoIP Tech Chat.