For a longer list, I highly recommend reading Luca’s post – it is very insightful. 

Frederik Hermann – netzkobold

Frederik Hermann is Director of Global Marketing for JAJAH. A professed marketing communications and social media professional and originally from Germany, Frederik moved to the Silicon Valley to take the role at Jajah.

Jajah, is the world’s most innovative communications company, offers flexible, next-generation telephony solutions for consumers and businesses. JAJAH’s award-winning communication services make it easier for people to stay in touch using any device.

Follow Frederik at: http://twitter.com/netzkobold

Jeff Pulver – jeffpulver

Wow, what can you say about Jeff Pulver that hasn’t already been said?!?! Well, if you are new to VoIP, here is what you need to know: he is a bit of a pioneer and visionary in the world of VoIP, founder of the one time ‘Pulver media empire’ (which went bankrupt in 2008). Most importantly, Pulver is the chief writer of what’s referred to as “the Pulver Order”, which was adopted in 2004 by the Federal Communications Commission as the first FCC ruling regarding internet protocol communications. The order ruled that computer-to-computer VoIP is not a telecommunications service. He coined the term purple minutes to describe value-added IP network traffic. (from Wikipedia). Now he is working in the world of social communications, unified communications and HD Voice.

Follow Jeff at: http://twitter.com/jeffpulver

Mark Spencer – markster

Another guy that hardly needs an introduction, Mark Spencer is the  creator’ of Asterisk, the largest and most popular open source VoIP project and currently also the CTO and Founder of Digium, the company that ‘owns’ the open source project.

Follow Mark at: http://twitter.com/markster

Craig Walker – cwalker123

This is a guy, you might start hearing about if you haven’t already, what with the buzz happening around the recently dusted off Google Voice project (that just might one day go beyond its limited US Beta). Why would you hear about Craig? and why should you care what he has to say? Well, he is the former CEO of Dialpad as well as the former CEO of GrandCentral, which was purchased by Google and re-launched as Google Voice

Follow Craig at: http://twitter.com/cwalker123

Om Malik – OM

Om Malik, and the GigaOM network. Not specifically VoIP, but technology and telecommunications with lots of VoIP thrown in. Evangelists and connectors that you wouldn’t want to miss. There are lots more that should be on this list, if you can think of any more let me know and I will update this post.

Follow OM at: http://twitter.com/om

Luca Filigheddu – Filos

Luca Filigheddu is an executive with 10 years of management experience in VoIP, Social Media and Product Marketing as well as a well recognized expert in the VoIP market.

He’s currently CEO at Abbeynet, an italian company which develops technologies and services in the field of IP Communications since 1999. Abbeynet is the company behind services like Chocophone, Abbeyphone,Sitòfono and Hictu!.

Follow Luca at: http://twitter.com/filos

   

John Chambers, Cisco

 

OK, well, this is NOT twitter and you can’t follow him, but come on, you have to follow this guy anyway you can because he is the 900lb gorrilla in any room talking about VoIP. You can’t have a top list of anything Internet/telecom and not have John Chambers on it! You can follow what he does on video on youtube – see what he has to say.

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Well, now you can! If you have aniPhone or iPod Touch, the SipPhone on iPhone  ($6.99) from VNetCorp allows you to make and receive office calls from any wireless hotspot, anywhere in the world, without using your regular cellular phone service. Your iPhone becomes an extra office phone that rings when your desk phone does, for free! Think of it as a cordless phone that works while you are in the office and also from any wireless hotspot.

To set up your iPhone as a wireless SIP phone this is what you need to do:

1. First, in whatever PBX or Voip service you use, create a new endpoint and write down the SIP ID (or just get a SIP ID)

2. You will also need the IP Address of your PBX or Sip Server 

3. You will also need your account name and password (if your system requires one)

4. Then simply download the SipPhone iPhone application through the App Store (search for “SipPhone on iPhone”) and configure it.

1. Open SipPhone, Tap Accounts, then Tap Edit.

2. Tap ‘+’ and you should see the following:

3. Tap Domain and enter the LAN IP address that you wrote down earlier.

4. Tap Username and enter the SIP user/account name that you wrote down earlier (for example, 10007.)

5. Tap Password and enter anything as a password; some systems do not require a password, but SipPhone requires you to enter one.

6. Tap Save, Tap Done, then Tap the on/off toggle button to turn SipPhone on.

3. Now all you have to do is connect your iPhone to your WiFi network. 

That’s it! You can now make and receive VoIP calls with your iPhone or iPod Touch using a wireless connection and not using up Cell minutes.

NOTE: To use SipPhone on an iPod Touch, you will also need a microphone or a headset with a microphone.

Image via Wikipedia

A very basic tutorial from techcentric.org on how to STOP VoIP security threats , CAIN, ARP and MITM attacks. Explains that an ARP Poisoning attack is a man in the middle attack (intercepting data in this case VoIP packets).

They recommend that you use SKYPE instead of SIP to avoid man in the middle attacks; or download ZPhone, it works with most SIP clients, or put your VoIP calls on VPN.

See the SIP protocol diagram (right)more information on what is happening during a SIP based VoIP call

Not the most insightful tutorial and a few people have commented that there were a few inaccuracies or that it was too basic, I thought it was a great tutorial for a ‘first timer’ trying to get a handle of what is going on with VoIP security threats. I would definitely need more details from here though.

1. IP level Threats – shared with the web and email and others, common knowledge to many people already
2. Protocol and application specific threats, based on the way the SIP protocol is designed and is implemented, these VoIP security vulnerabilities can result in misdirected calls, terminated calls, and general call disruption
3. Content related VoIP Security threats, the interfere with the media stream (the voice or video call)

Hackers may ty to tap your call and retrieve all sorts of information. They can retrieve conversations, but also VoIP phone numbers or user identities. When they retrieve this information, they can use your VoIP to make calls themselves. Some hackers may even record your call and use your voice to make calls.

There are a few ways to avoid these security problems. The first is encryption. Encryption works in the same way as when sending credit card information. The data is sent over a safe connection. Another way of averting security issues is by separating VoIP data and other Internet data by using a so-called VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). The call quality may suffer under these measures. But both methods are an option if calls are to be kept secret.

Viruses sent with VoIP data could also be a risk factor, although this threat hasn’t been seen yet. Viruses don’t only overload the network, but they also reduce the quality of calls.

Another issue is SPIT – Spam over Internet Telephony. Instead of receiving e-mails you receive calls from companies that try to sell you their services and products.

How secure is my VoIP? Certain services maintain security through encryption or the use of a VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network). There are certain things consumers can do themselves.

1. A firewall will protect your computer from malicious attacks. 
2. All downloads should also be checked for viruses or other threats. 

VoIP hardware on the other hand can be unstabilized or shut down if it receives certain types of data. 
Certain Internet phones are sensitive to data piracy. For individuals these security issues may not be of importance. But businesses have sensitive conversations over the Internet. They have their own gateways and equipment, which makes them an easy prey for DOS attacks (Denial of Service) and other assailments. 

If you want to switch over to VoIP instead of PSTN all you need to do is choose a VoIP service provider. Most of these providers are situated in the United States. Some VoIP service providers are: Vonage, BroadVoice, iConnectHere and Lingo.

For a monthly fee of $8-$20 they will provide you with features such as voicemail, call forwarding and unlimited calls in certain areas.  For VoIP You need a broadband modem, an ATA ( Analog Telephone Adapter) or IP phone. Both the ATA and the IP phone have a number assigned to it, regardless of your IP ( Internet Protocol ) address. This way, others can contact you wherever you are.

Most people are assigned with a new IP address by their service provider whenever they log on. Others have a permanent IP address which never changes. In both cases you will need a VoIP provider. This way people will be able to contact you through your username instead of your IP address.

As mentioned before VoIP is user-friendly and it’s a low cost service. Most providers offer VoIP for free, they only charge when you make calls to the Public Switched Telephone Network Different VoIP Providers have different protocols. SIP, H.323 and LIAX are only a few of the protocols.

The most popular system for VoIP is Skype. Skype has a proprietary protocol. This makes it hard to connect to the Skype network from another VoIP provider. On the other hand Skype makes up for that with their service SkypeIn. This service allows you to receive calls from standard phone networks.

In order to make calls with VoIP, you will need a telephone which can be connected to the World Wide Web. If you wish to use a standard phone with VoIP you can get an Analog Telephone Adapter. This will digitize your voice and enable you to make phonecalls with VoIP. This adapter has an Ethernet connector and a regular connector. Ethernet connectors are the same as regular phone connectors but they are wider.

The ATA will save you money, because you won’t have to buy a new phone. Normally VoIP services will provide you with an ATA. But an IP phone will offer you many perks and extras that come with your VoIP account, such as call display, voicemail and call routing. Also, when you buy your own IP phone you may get a discount on your monthly fee. You can still take advantage of some of these extras with an ATA, but you will have to configure your VoIP account at the service provider’s site.

All IP phones have an LCD display for caller ID and phone configuration. Of course the phones differ, ranging from simple phones for personal to complex machines for commercial use. Advanced models have features such as speakerphones and programmable keys. It is also possible to use wireless phones within an IEEE 802.11b wireless network.

IP phones give you the option to route certain calls. You no longer have to do this for each call individually. Anonymous calls for example can be routed to your voicemail or another number. Your IP phone can also be used to store names and phone numbers. Every call that comes in can be added to your phone and edited or deleted.

VoIP stands out because of its convenience, quality, but also because of its low cost. Not only is the monthly fee lower than PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) but VoIP also offers features without charging for them.

Despite the fact that VoIP is a great service, there are still a few loose bolts. When switching to VoIP from a traditional phone service it may not be possible t o keep your old phone number. The service offers local phone numbers in some areas. Check with VoIP and your current phone company if this service is available in your area.

Certain VoIP services will redirect your 911 calls to emergency call centers close by, if you have registered your address with them in case you need 911. But, once connected to the emergency center the operator will not be able to determine your location if you can’t speak. Especially for elderly people it is advised to either stick to the traditional phone line or to always have a cell phone nearby.

In case of a blackout VoIP comes with a battery backup. Only during long blackouts the batteries will go empty. For these types of situations it is also advised to keep a traditional line or a cell phone.

If you consider these to be minor flaws and you wish to switch over to VoIP, the first thing you need to do is choose a VoIP service provider.

The difference between the many providers out there is their rate for long-distance and overseas calls. So pick a provider that suits your type of calling most. You can also choose to have multiple phone numbers. If you were to have local numbers in different cities, people who call you in those cities will only pay the local tariff. Pick a VoIP service that will keep your costs at a minimum, and ask for a local number.

To use VoIP you need a broadband cable or DSL modem, a router and perhaps an IP phone. You can also get a modem and router in one. To set VoIP up you need to follow two easy steps: Plug the router into the modem and the IP phone into the router. No fuss, no muss. 

If you’re not sure if VoIP is something for you, then try it out without any charge. If you have a headset and a sound card you can download VoIP software and call anyone anywhere. Skype, Free World Dialup and Net2Phone are some of the popular names you might want to consider. These ‘soft phones’ are user-friendly and they charge you nothing as long as you don’t call a cell phone or landline.

When choosing for VoIP you have a number of options when it comes down to the type of phone you wish to use. You can use a headset, Internet phone or an ATA. Internet phones resemble real phones. Some have number pads, ring like real phones and they are used in the same way. In order to use these ‘soft phones’ you also need VoIP software. The phones are to be plugged in the USB port or sound card.

The ATA gives you the opportunity to connect your traditional phone to your modem. Most VoIP providers will give you the ATA free of charge when you sign up. It connects to a broadband DSL or cable modem. When using an ATA you don’t need a computer to make phone calls. The ATA isn’t only handy because it’s easy to use – you simply pick up your phone and dial – but you can take it with you anywhere, connect it to a modem and make phone calls wherever you are. Calls will be redirected to your ATA with no extra charge.

You may also choose an IP phone. IP phones are plugged into the modem (Internet phones are plugged into USB ports or sound cards). The IP phone has integrated hardware and software. All your numbers can be stored in the phone and it has features like caller ID.