Securing Your Internet Phone System

Running phone calls over an Internet Protocol network can save money by reducing per-call fees and taxes. But security considerations can eat into your savings - or swallow them whole - if the bad guys bring down your voice network.

Here are a few potential problem areas with a telephone system based on Internet protocols, according to Gartner's Meta Group:

1. Calls may be intercepted.

2. Other network services may be open to attack because of vulnerabilities in the telephony implementation.

3. Internet-based phone equipment can be used to make unauthorized calls or commit fraud.

4. Voice service may be degraded or interrupted. Attacks can …

US govt to NY judge: Jail Madoff without bail

A prosecutor on Monday asked that Bernard Madoff be jailed pending trial, saying the disgraced financier violated an agreement with the court by mailing watches, jewelry, cufflinks and mittens worth more than $1 million to relatives and friends.

"The defendant's recent actions amount to obstruction of justice," Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt told U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis at an hour-long bail hearing. The prosecutor said one package of items that was accompanied by a handwritten note from Madoff may alone be worth more than $1 million.

The judge ordered both sides to submit written arguments this week and said he would rule later.

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Suicide or foul play? Debate still going on

After a quarter of a century, the death of Marilyn Monroe stillstirs enough questions to sustain a small industry of Monroe booksand a thriving cult of conspiracy-theorists.

Did mobsters bug the bedroom of the quintessential Hollywood sexsymbol in a bid to blackmail her alleged lovers, John and RobertKennedy?

Did Robert Kennedy, then U.S. attorney general, break off arelationship with Monroe on the very day she died?

Did Kennedy brother-in-law Peter Lawford destroy a suicide notefrom her?

Those are among the questions that, for Monroe buffs, stilllinger from the apparent suicide that stunned the world Aug. 5, 1962.

While doubters scoff, …

Woods Weeps for Father After British Win

HOYLAKE, England - Tiger Woods bottled up his emotions when he buried his father in May. Even as he stalked the brown, baked links of the British Open on Sunday, his steely focus never wavered. Until he tapped in his final putt.

That gave him his third claret jug, his 11th major championship, but the first victory he couldn't share with Pops. And that was all too much for him.

"I saw this coming last night," said Steve Williams, the caddie and confidante who stood with him at Earl Woods' gravesite. "He played at the Masters, and it was the only time I saw him try too hard. Today, there was a calmness about him. No doubt he wanted to win this for him."

Woods …

3 Mexican students confirmed killed in Colombia's cross-border raid in Ecuador

Three Mexican students have been confirmed killed in Ecuador during a cross-border raid earlier this month by Colombian troops who were hunting a guerrilla leader.

Five Mexicans _ three men and two women _ were at the camp near the border with Colombia during the raid, which killed 25 people including Raul Reyes, the public face of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Dental records helped forensic experts identify the bodies of Mexicans Soren Ulises Aviles Angeles, 29, and Fernando Franco Delgado, 28, police morgue director Marcelo Jacome told The Associated Press on Friday.

At a news conference, Alvaro Gonzalez told reporters …

CT evaluation better with photo: study

Radiologists given photos of the patients whose CT scans they were reading were more meticulous in interpreting the images, a study found.

They reported more details and said they felt more empathy for patients who were otherwise strangers, according to the research done by an Israeli team being presented today at McCormick …

40 UNDER FORTY: David Beturne

David Beturne: 35

Director of Program Services,

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County

David Beturne says it's very simple to make a difference in a child's life. It's a belief he is passionate about, and one that has led him year after year to raise thousands of dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County via its annual Bowl for Kid's Sake.

"Children are the most vulnerable population," he said, adding that he was lucky to grow up in a nurturing family with parents who were positive role models.

His desire to ensure that every child knows that someone cares inspired Beturne to choose his career field and go above and beyond his job …