February 2010 Newsletter | ProVu Communications

February 2010 Newsletter

Happy New Year from ProVu Communications!

In this edition we have news of:


Recent Goings-on at ProVu!

It's been an eventful beginning to 2010 at ProVu. Despite the snowy weather at our Yorkshire offices and all around the country - we have still been fully operational with deliveries finding their way to their destinations safely.

Congratulations to Muhammad who spent his Christmas holidays getting married! After a wonderful three day long celebration in Pakistan, he's officially a newlywed! We wish our best to Muh and his bride for a healthy and happy life together.

Unfortunately, the snowy weather didn't leave us without causing some problems first. Paul became a casualty of the wintery weather, slipping on black ice outside the ProVu office and breaking his arm. By the power of VoIP and a trusty Snom phone he's still working from home - albeit one handed!

Caroline managed to dodge the white snow in favour of white sands by spending Christmas and New Year in the Cayman Islands. The bad weather still affected her, with flights being cancelled due to conditions at UK airports. She was stranded in the Caribbean a week longer than planned, but is now safely back in the office (shivering away with the cold)!

Now the snow has melted away, we're getting back to normal and on with our plans for 2010. Beginning with the first ProVu Snom Accreditation Training Course of 2010 next week, to preparing for trade shows and exhibitions throughout the year.


PS: If you're not too squeamish, here's the X-ray of Paul's broken arm! Get well soon Paul!


The Snom 870 - Highly Commended at the ITSPA Awards 2009

snom870_black

In December, Peter, Ian and Tim headed down to the ITSPA Awards Ceremony at the House of Commons in London.

Along with it being an opportunity to gosSIP and catch up customers, we were also there to support the Snom 870 - a nominee in both the 'Best VoIP Hardware' and 'Most Innovative VoIP Hardware' categories.

The Snom 870 was highly commended in the 'Most Innovative VoIP Hardware' section.


Congratulations to all nominees and winners.


Key Feature Recap

  • Touch screen high-resolution TFT colour display (4.2 inches, 480x272 pixels, 25 bits colour depth)
  • Available in black or white
  • Gigabit pass through
  • WiFi connection via Snom WLAN USB WiFi stick
  • 12 freely programmable virtual keys
  • Power over Ethernet
  • 5 way conferencing
  • 12 different SIP identities
  • 29 Keys, 5 LED's
  • Photographic caller ID
  • 2 USB ports
  • Secure client certificate authentication

Trade and volume pricing, along with stock status is available to view on our Online Price List

If you do not currently have a username and password to access this information, please contact us and we will be happy to supply you with one.

For ProSys customers, the product part codes PVSnom870 and PVSnom870-B are now live enabling you to place orders on-line.


ProVu - SIP Security Alert

sipsecurity

This is nothing new, but just recently we've learnt of several more recent automated attacks on IP based phone systems.

We cannot stress more to ProVu customers how important it is that you use secure strong passwords. It's been the case for years when considering passwords for email addresses and online banking - don't treat your PBX systems and VoIP account passwords any differently.


The two latest instances we've seen called numbers in Sierra Leone. The scam is that the owners of the robot also own the premium rate line so they are effectively siphoning money from you to them.

Approximately £4500 was burnt in the course of around 24 hours of constant calling. In both cases the user/owner of the PBX was running one or more extensions with passwords set to the same value as the extension number.

This is a serious problem but it is very easy to guard against, provided you use passwords which are different to the extension number.

Sark

Releases of SARK starting from V2.1.14 generate strong passwords for your extensions when you create them. Protect yourself by using a strong secret password that isn't the same as the extension number.

Snom

Under the latest firmware (V6 onwards), it is not possible to retrieve a password back out of a Snom phone. ProVu can provision account settings onto Snom phones, prior to or after despatch.

If you do have extensions with passwords the same as the extension then we would strongly recommend that you change them as soon as possible in order to survive any attacks you may receive.


Click to view our document, detailing the rough sequence of events when an attack occurs.


ProVu Public Service Announcement - The Snom PA1!

SnomPA1

The Snom PA1 is a new audio device, which allows SIP VoIP phones to be used as an extension of any public address system. Ideal for broadcasting announcements or playing music, either through connecting to external speakers or a headphone connection.

Install the PA1 to walls or ceilings. Power either via a power supply unit connection or through PoE.


The Snom PA1 can link with all SIP based VoIP telephones, business IP PBX platforms and also any existing installed public address amplifier and paging systems.

Main Features:

  • Voltage feed via network (PoE): IEEE 802.3af, class 3
  • Ethernet: 2 x IEEE 802.3, 10/100 Mbps switch
  • SIP communication and Multicast
  • Central configuration and maintenance
  • Web interface menu
  • Remote volume configuration
  • 4 Watt power amplifier, class D (loudspeaker not included)
  • Key for announcement of IP address and for resetting
  • 2 LED status indicators
  • For maintenance purposes: two 3.5 mm jacks for headphone connection
  • 4 freely programmable output pins, configuration via web interface
  • Robust housing for wall-mount

Trade pricing, along with stock status is available to view on our Online Trade Price List.

If you do not currently have a username and password to access this information, please contact us and we will be happy to supply you with one.

For ProSys customers, product part code Snom-PA1 is now live enabling you to place advanced orders on line.


Gigaset A580IP Pricing - Price Held for Current Stock

The Gigaset A580IP has had a face lift, with new exterior packaging and 'technology refresh'. Working towards development of a Gigaset provisioning system, you will see that A580IP's now have MAC addresses on the units. Other additional features on the products information services have also been improved. Including weather updates, temperature guides and horoscopes.

Due to these improvements, pricing for A580IP has slightly increased.


ProVu are holding pricing on A580IP for current stock. Place your orders now to ensure you benefit from the lower pricing, while stocks last.

Trade and volume pricing, along with stock status is available to view on our Online Price List

If you do not currently have a username and password to access this information, please contact us and we will be happy to supply you with one.

For ProSys customers, the product part codes A580IP and A58H are now live enabling you to place orders on-line.


Grandstream VoIP Phones - 2010 Special Offer!

From February 2010, ProVu are running a 'Grandstream VoIP Phone Offer' for the BudgeTone200 and GXP1200 VoIP Phones. While stocks last!

All phones are latest UK specification and are supplied with normal warranty terms.

bt200Grandstream BudgeTone 200 - ProVu Price £35.00!

gxp1200Grandstream GXP1200 - ProVu Price £50.00!


Prices quoted are ex VAT.

Provisioning is in place for all Grandstream VoIP phones - ask us about pre-configuration or endpoint management.

The promotional pricing, along with stock status is available to view on our Online Trade Price List. ProSys customers are able to place orders as normal and benefit from this pricing.

If you would like to place an order or discuss this opportunity further, please email us or telephone our office on 01484 840048


Snom Tip - Snom 870 New Firmware Release

870

Snom's Development and Support team have now released Firmware 8.3.6

This version is recommended for all customers which have experienced any initial stability problems with their Snom 870 VoIP Phones.

If you have a quantity of Snom 870 VoIP phones which you wish to have running on this latest release - speak to us about endpoint management, provisioning and scheduled firmware upgrades.


Bug Fixes:

  • Fixed proper random seed generation
  • If setting block_url_dialing is enabled, the edit-mode button is disabled now
  • Fixing how number guessing handles tbook-search, recognises new tbook attributes and multi-number records
  • Enabled backlight control (SCPP-1076)

Further Information:


****NEW**** Yealink Tip - Remote Phone Book

yealink

Currently the Yealink T22P, T26P, T28P models all support the remote phone book feature.

XML phone book enables phones to access an XML formatted phone book located on a http server.


Ex-Demonstration Stock

ProVu have a number of demonstration Snom, Siemens and Linksys products available at very reduced prices. All products are of high quality and available for next day delivery.

Please note that these items are subject to a reduced warranty period and no technical support is included with the purchase.

A full list and details of all the products available at a reduced price can be found at: ProVu Ex-Demonstration Stock


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