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Tim Bray

Snom Phone Security

We remind all snom phone customers about the security advice at http://wiki.snom.com/FAQ/How_do_I_secure_my_phone

In particular the advice to set an admin mode password on the phone. The web interface of the phone can be accessed using the admin mode password. The default of `0000` is not secure.

A http password alone is not enough to protect the web interface of the phone.

If an attacker can access the web interface of your phone, they can dial a call, which might result in fraudulent calls being made.

New Blog

You may have noticed we have a new blog!

We have a new design and are using a new blog software (wordpress). The old blog was a little bit dated. With the new setup, we hope to have more members of staff from ProVu writing interesting articles for you.

For the technically minded. We are using Nginx as the webserver and caching layer. The site is fully secure with DNSSEC and TLS. And the site is dual stack with IPv4 and IPv6.

You can test our TLS setup using SSLLABS. You should find we score an a+.

Prosys Updates – better order status

There have been a couple of improvements to Prosys, ProVu’s online customer portal.

Order History – our order history page will now show more details. In particular, whether the order has been shipped or delivered. We’ve just moved information that was buried through 2 clicks, into the main history page.

For prosys users,

https://secure.provu.co.uk/prosys/order_history.php

Click to Buy – there are now `click to buy` buttons in our pricelist and in the item information screens in prosys.

Our systems are under continuous review, and we will keep adding the features that our customers request. If you have feedback or suggestions, please contact ProVu.

If you don’t have a username and password to use Prosys, please request one from your account manager.

Prosys update

We’ve done large update to ProSys, our secure online portal for phone ordering, provisioning and management.

There should be no user visible changes. All the work is in the back end.

If you find any problems, comments or suggests please get in touch.

DPD for bigger deliveries

Most ProVu deliveries are shipped using either DPD or APC.

Up until now, we have only used DPD for shipments which fitted in one box. For shipments in multiple boxes DPD was a special option and the prices were worked out manually by our sales team.

From today (7th March 2016) we will be offering DPD as an option for all deliveries up to 100 Kg. (about 50 phones).

The pricing is in ProSys and you can choose DPD from the drop down menu.

For larger orders, DPD tends to be a bit more expensive than APC. But we know some customers like the txts and emails that DPD can send to your end users to update on delivery status.

The background is that DPD is pricing based on the number of parcels in a delivery. APC price based on the total weight of the shipment. For DPD we have to estimate how many boxes each delivery will fit into.

As with all new services, we value your feedback. If you see something which doesn’t seem quite right, please get in touch. 01484 840048

Shipping options

Shipping Improvements

Today we have updated the order form in prosys for our trade customers. We now have some more flexible shipping options.

There are 2 main changes.

Automatic pricing for exotic destinations

Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scottish Highlands and Islands, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Isle of Wight.

The order form will now correctly price shipments to all of the above destinations on APC, DPD and Parcelforce.

If you have a larger consignment going to these destinations, then it is worth giving our sales office call to check if we can get a better quote.

DPD

We now offer DPD as an alternative shipping option.

We have used APC as our primary UK courier for many years. They offer a really good service and good systems integration.

But we had some customers who wanted an alternative option.

DPD offer:
– an SMS with a 1 hour delivery window
– Competitive prices to Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man on a 2 day service.
– More detailed online tracking.

Things to note:
1) Cut off for DPD is 3pm. APC is 5pm.
2) DPD not so price competitive on larger shipments.

IX Leeds 4

IX Leeds are holding their 4th event on 4th December 2014. The event is free to attend and is being held at AQL in Leeds.

http://ixleeds.net/event/ixleeds4/index.html

IX Leeds is an internet connection point is Leeds. It allows networks to peer in a neutral location. Peering is settlement free interconnect of internet providers. That’s the techie bit.

The other bit is that community around the internet exchange. If you are interested in how the internet works, or you work for a ISP, or you want to be an ISP, or your business depends on the internt, then come along and meet the people behind making the internet better in the north of England.

(If you are an ITSPA member, then the date conflicts with the ITSPA christmas lunch in London, so double check your diaries)

Snom IPv6 Firmware

Snom have a beta version of IPv6 capable firmware for their SIP phones.

This is for Snom 7xx and 8xx phones.

The magic is that this firmware is dual stack. It runs IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time. It works well. I’m really impressed – this has got to make a Snom the most capable IPv6 SIP phone on the market today.

If you have an IPv6 capable network and SIP server, then please do test it out. Let Tim@ProVu know your feedback.

Some details on the Snom Wiki

Firmware Download

870 with no rainbow Swirl

Snom870s come with default screen background with has a swirly rainbow.

We’ve had a few customers recently complain their phone is faulty because of a mark on the screen.

The good new is that the 870 is a completely customisable phone. So using prosys we can now provision a plain background. If you want this on your 870, please ask your account manager.