Learning English through Social Issue

Sexy photos of teen models are polished in magazines and you fell that these photos have a negative impact. Write a letter to the editor describing the situation and suggesting what the media, teenagers and parents can do about it. Dear Editor, It has been brought to the limelight that sexy photo of teen models has become prevalent lately. Stakeholders from different walks of life have various perceptions about this issue. As a major stakeholder myself, a teenager, I would like to voice my opinion towards this hot topic.Seeing sexy photos of teen models on magazines is no longer a new thing to Hong Kong citizens. The emergence of teen model was fostered under the opening mindset of HonkKongers. I cannot deny the hard fact that teen model is the output of the change in citizens' mindset and people cannot exploit the existence of a certain industry, in this case the teen model industry, but my stance point is that the prevalence has gone too far. What I mean by â€Å"the prevalence ha s gone too far† is that provocative photos of teen models started to appear in places that they are not suppose to be.A case in point is the â€Å"intrusion† of teen model in the annual book fair. This sparked intense discussion and controversy while I opted to take the stance agreeing that it create negative trend to the practice. On a macro view, not only has the prevalence of teen model and their provocative photos create negative rend to the book fair practice, but also posed detrimental imparts to the community as whole. In the first place, the popularization of teen models sexy photos promotes pornography as well as inappropriate-open minds towards sex in teenagers.In the long run, it can constitute various serious problems, such as teen pregnancy, teen abortion and compensated dating etc. As Juveniles are the future pillars of the society, we cannot let them go astray. Secondly, it also worsens the reputation of some related industry such as the fashion and model industry in Hong Kong. Foreign industries may deem that of Hong Kong is low-profile and end up avoid cooperating or collaborating with Hong Kongs fashion workers. Consequently, Hong Kong may suffer a loss in foreign investors in this field.Before the negative influences have gone any further, media, teenagers and parents should put their heads together to address this situation and procrastination Media clearly has the responsibility to halt this situation. It should promote healthy image of models and avoiding publishing provocative photos of models considering the audience of their products. As for teenagers, since they are easily affected by things and people around, it is very important for them to learn how to distinguish between right and wrong, so as to make sure they don't receive any nappropriate information.Parents also play a vital role in adolescences' life especially when they hit puberty. They are at too tender an age to identify inappropriate messages on their own. T herefore, they need parental guidance. Parents are thus incumbent in leading their children through this tough period without letting them fall prey to obscene information. Problems cannot be solved without concrete efforts. I hope the current situation can be changed and wish the media and all teenagers healthy developments.

Research paper about Marijuana Essay

Marijuana marijuana or marihuana, drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa (see hemp) or C. indica; the latter species can withstand colder climates. It is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world, following only caffeine, nicotine, and alcoholic beverages in popularity. In the United States, where it is usually smoked, it also has been called weed, grass, pot, or reefer. The Plant C. sativa grows as a common weed in many parts of the world, and drug preparations vary widely in potency according to climate, cultivation, and method of preparation. Mexico, Paraguay, and the United States are the top marijuana-producing nations worldwide. C. indica is a shorter, hardier variety with rounded blue-green leaves, grown in Afghanistan for hashish. Most marijuanas grown in the United States since the late 1980s are hybrids of the two and yield a much more potent product than the marijuana of the past. The resin found on flower clusters and top leaves of the female plant is the most potent drug source and is used to prepare hashish, the highest grade of cannabis. The bud of the female plant, called sinsemilla, is the part most often smoked as marijuana. The Drug The effects of marijuana vary with its strength and dosage and with the state of mind of the user. Typically, small doses result in a feeling of well-being. The intoxication lasts two to three hours, but accompanying effects on motor control last much longer. High doses can cause tachycardia, paranoia, and delusions. Although it produces some of the same effects as hallucinogens like LSD and mescaline (heightened sensitivity to colors, shapes, music, and other stimuli and distortion of the sense of time), marijuana differs chemically and pharmacologically. The primary active component of marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), although other cannabinol derivatives are also thought to be  intoxicating. In 1988 scientists discovered receptors that bind THC on the membranes of nerve cells. They reasoned that the body must make its own THC-like substance. The substance, named anandamide, was isolated from pig brains in 1992 by an American pharmacologist, William A. Devane. Marijuana lowers testosterone levels and sperm counts in men and raises testosterone levels in women. In pregnant women it affects the fetus and results in developmental difficulties in the child. There is evidence that marijuana affects normal maturation of preadolescent and adolescent users and that it affects short-term memory and comprehension. Heavy smokers often sustain lung damage from the smoke and contaminants. Regular use can result in dependence. The Legalization Question With the increase in the number of middle-class users in the 1960s and 1970s, there came a somewhat greater acceptance of the view that marijuana should not be considered in the same class as narcotics and that U.S. marijuana laws should be relaxed. The Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1970 eased federal penalties somewhat, and 11 states decriminalized possession. However, in the late 1980s many states rewrote their drug laws and imposed stricter penalties. Beginning in 1996, however, a series of states began enacting medical marijuana laws (two fifths of the states now have one), and in 2012 voters in the states of Colorado and Washington approved the legalization of marijuana. Opponents of easing marijuana laws have asserted that it is an intoxicant less controllable than alcohol, that our drug-using society does not need another widely used intoxicant, and that the United States should not act to weaken UN policies, which are opposed to the use of marijuana for other than possible med ical purposes. In 2013, Uruguay became the first nation to legalize the growing, selling, and use of marijuana, a move it undertook in part in an attempt to undermine drug cartels. Uruguay’s legalization, which was a source of controversy in the country, also was critized by international authorities for contravening treaties to which Uruguay was a party. Medical Uses Controversy surrounds the medical use of marijuana, with proponents saying it is useful for treating pain and the nausea and vomiting that are side effects of cancer chemotherapy and for restoring the appetite in people with AIDS. Its active ingredient, THC, was synthesized in 1966 and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985; synthetic THC is available by prescription in pill form as dronabinol (Marinol) and nabilone (Cesamet). Proponents of medical marijuana say it is not as effective as the herb and is more expensive. In addition to THC, another cannibis derivative (or cannabinoid), cannabidiol (CDB), is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and also moderates THC’s psychoactive effects. A 1999 U.S.-government-sponsored study by the Institute of Medicine found that marijuana appeared beneficial for certain medical conditions, such as nausea caused by chemotherapy and wasting caused by AIDS. Because of the toxicity of marijuana smoke, however, it was hoped that further research might lead to development of new delivery systems, such as bronchial inhalers. A number of studies since 1999 have shown that smoked marijuana has pain-reducing effects when compared with marijuana stripped of its cannabinoids. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has opposed legalization of the medical use of marijuana, citing law enforcement issues and the possibility that some would use it as a pretext to sell marijuana for nonmedical use, and the FDA said in 2006 that, despite the 1999 report, that marijuana â€Å"has no accepted or proven use in the United States.† Proponents, disregarding the law, have set up networks for the distribution of the drug to people who they judge will be helped by it and continue to lobby for its legalization for medical use. In 1996 California enacted the first state law permitting the use of marijuana for medical reasons, and about one third of the states now have some sort of medical marijuana legislation. As a result of a Supreme Court ruling in 2005, however, these laws do not protect medical users with a prescription from federal prosecution. In 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder ordered that federal prosecutors not focus on persons who  clearly comply with state medical marijuana laws, but federal law enforcement officials have moved to close many so-called marijuana dispensaries despite compliance, arguing in part that many prescriptions for marijuana are not justified medically. Another, lower court ruling permits doctors to discuss medical use of marijuana with their patients but forbids them to help patients obtain the drug. A number of countries, including Canada, permit the medicinal use of the drug. History of Marijuana Use Marijuana has been used as an agent for achieving euphoria since ancient times; it was described in a Chinese medical compendium traditionally considered to date from 2737 BC It also has a long history of use as a medicinal herb. Its use spread from China to India and then to N Africa and reached Europe at least as early as AD 500. A major crop in colonial North America, marijuana (hemp) was grown as a source of fiber. It was extensively cultivated during World War II, when Asian sources of hemp were cut off. Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia from 1850 until 1942 and was prescribed for various conditions including labor pains, nausea, and rheumatism. Its use as an intoxicant was also commonplace from the 1850s to the 1930s. A campaign conducted in the 1930s by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) sought to portray marijuana as a powerful, addicting substance that would lead users into narcotics addiction. It is still considered a â€Å"gateway† drug by some authorities. In the 1950s it was an accessory of the beat generation; in the 1960s it was used by college students and â€Å"hippies† and became a symbol of rebellion against authority. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse potential and no accepted medical use. Most marijuana at that time came from Mexico, but in 1975 the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop by spraying it with the herbicide paraquat, raising fears of toxic side effects. Colombia then became the main supplier. The â€Å"zero tolerance†Ã‚  climate of the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981–93) resulted in passage of strict laws and mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana and in heightened vigilance against smuggling at the southern borders. The â€Å"war on drugs† thus brought with it a shift from reliance on imported supplies to domestic cultivation (particularly in Hawaii and California). Beginning in 1982 the Drug Enforcement Administration turned increased attention to marijuana farms in the United States, and there was a shift to the indoor gro wing of plants specially developed for small size and high yield. After over a decade of decreasing use, marijuana smoking began an upward trend once more in the early 1990s, especially among teenagers, but by the end of the decade this upswing had leveled off well below former peaks of use.

Aztec Civilization Essay Research Paper The Aztec

Aztec Civilization Essay, Research Paper The Aztec Indians created a great civilisation in Central Mexico, making its extremum in the 1500 s. Being late reachings to the country, and because of their strong adjacent states, they were forced to populate in the boggy western countries of the Lake Texcoco. Because of the boggy milieus, the Aztecs used clay to make illumination islands in the swamps. These islands are called chinampas, or drifting gardens, and were used as agrarian lands. On these fertile islands they grew maize, squash, veggies, and flowers. Bing an agriculturally dependent imperium, the Aztec s faith was based extremely on the forces of nature and worshipped them as Gods. The God of war, Huitzilopochtli, was the most of import divinity. They had many other of import Gods, such as Tlaloc, the God of rain, Quetzalcoatl, the God of air current and of acquisition, and Tenochtitlan, the Sun God. The Aztecs believed in order to pacify these and many other Gods that they needed to execute human forfeits. The chief intent of the great Aztec pyramids was, in fact, human forfeits. They besides believed that there were lucky and luckless yearss for baptism and to declare war on, which were decided by a priest. Most art and architecture in the Aztec civilisation was based on their faith. There are many brilliantly colored wall paintings and pictures on walls and on bark which depict spiritual ceremonials, along with big graven images of Gods. One of the most astonishing and celebrated of the Aztec s art works is a immense calendar rock that weighs 22 dozenss and is 12 pess in diameter. On the rock is a image of what the Aztecs thought the existence was like. The Sun God is in the center, with the celestial spheres environing it, and images of people made out of cherished rocks. The Aztec signifier of authorship was in pictographs, or little images typifying objects or sounds. The Aztec enumeration system used pictographs besides, and was based on the figure 20. For illustration, a flag represented 20, a fir tree R epresented 20 times 20, or 400, and a pouch represented 400 times 20, or 8000. The capitol of the Aztec Empire was Tenochtitlan, which was built where contemporary Mexico City is. It was given the nickname Venice of the New World, because it had many canals. During the height of the Aztec civilisation, the population of this great metropolis numbered more than 200,000. This made it one of the most populated metropoliss in the ancient universe. The metropolis was connected to the mainland by 3 causeways, which, when flooded, served as protective butchs. In the metropolis aqueducts, which was likely the first type of indoor plumbing, brought fresh H2O into places. Many people used canoes to go through the metropolis. Most of the houses were made up of clay and distorted branchlets, but the aristocracy and priests had plastered brick or rock houses. In 1519, Spanish adventurer Hernando Cortes and more than 500 other Spaniards landed on the shores of Mexico in hunt of gold. The Aztecs welcomed the Spaniards and gave them gifts, because they thought they were Gods. Cortezs became greedy when he saw the tremendous sum of wealths that the Aztecs had. He took the Aztec leader, Montezuma, surety, and forced him to curse commitment to Spain. There the Spanish remained without opposition until, in Cortes absence, one of the officers massacred over 200 Aztecs while they had gathered for a spiritual ceremonial. This caused the Aztecs to revolt, and they drove the Spanish to the sea. Montezuma was killed in the combat, so he was replaced with a new leader, named Cuitlahuac. He merely ruled a few months, and so he died of a disease. Montezuma s nephew Cuauhtemoc so took over. The Spanish retreated to a nearby metropolis and rallied together to siege Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs were no lucifer for the Spanish arms, and they surrendered in Augus t of 1521. This marked the terminal of the last of the staying Native American Indians. Today, most of the posterities of the Aztec civilisation live in Mexico, where the Aztec Empire used to boom.

Data warehouse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Data warehouse - Essay Example using involves integrating data from different sources and combining it on a common platform, and keeping the data history as a way of tracking the information coverage within an organization. Understanding the features of the data warehouse and the issues surrounding this technology is crucial for its application in the public domain. Data warehouse has a number of key features that aid in the storage, processing and analysis of information. One of the key features is the data integration feature within its core. This feature is particular crucial in combining information from both external and internal sources. External sources include the external market factors such as the competition while the internal features include sales from different branches of the organization. The integration features helps to combine information required in processing decisions that affect the whole organization. Secondly, the data warehouse has the SQL Server that allows in merging of information, changing data capture and management of information. The analysis feature in the data warehouse helps in processing of the information depending on the particular queries. The queries are inputs that allow computation of specific variables that the management requires. Another key feature includes the reporting services that include the r eporting scalability and server scalability. This is the output feature that presents key information required for decision making (Bhansali, 2009). The combination of these features makes it possible to obtain data, combine it and synthesise it according to specific requirements of the user. One unique function of data warehouse is to aggregate information and store it. The warehouse architecture comprises of operational databases that provide information for the data warehouse. The warehouse gathers information from all these operational databases and combines it. Another crucial function of the warehouse is the storage of information within a common

Uninsured patients in relation to nursing practice in America Essay

Uninsured patients in relation to nursing practice in America - Essay Example The health insurance practice is one in which an insurance company (signs an undertaking with an individual to provide heath care services if and when necessary with a commitment by the issues to make regular payments in this regards).The uninsured patient is therefore a person who for one reason or the other is unable to have this kind of commitment to his or her health. A study of the nursing practice as it obtains in America presently would reveal the fact that attention is concentrated on the insured patients in hospitals to the detriment of the uninsured patients. As not all uninsured patient may query for Medicaid. This therefore poses a question "Is the health policy one for a review" Particularly as it concerns the uninsured and the nursing practice. It is reported that the rate of increase in the uninsured population is at an average of 1 Million people per year from 1987, which culminated into over 32 million adults without health insurance in the United States as at 1998. (permanenete journal 2003). For most of these uninsured people it is by no wish of their own that they found themselves in their present state. Most neither quality for Medicaid nor the insurance care packages. Despite the fact that many of these insurance patients desire no much for health care packages it is beyond their reach by reason of the uninsurance labels they wear. This inability has without doubt complicated seemingly easy - to - handle medical cases, when you consider illness like Cancer where routine checks could reveal a tomour at an early stated of development and for which subsequent application of chemotherapy man prevent the tumor from further development or get it This is the standard practice in nursing, however this routine check man be unavailable to the insured. A possible question at this junction is: should health uninsurance loom larger than the Medical needs of a patients. While we may agree that there is no strength forward and easy answer to this question, an attempt will be made to justify it as much as possible. The major pre-occupation in the minds of the leaders in any nation is the welfare of its citizens. This therefore suggests that irrespective of the background and circumstances surrounding any one of its citizens they all should be entitled to the same level of care and treatment. So many factors combine to contribute to the inability of some patients to meet with their private health insurance needs, factors like infrastructure job conditions - (low paying and part-time jobs) not covered by the health care packages. The unwillingly uninsured patients in this scenario look up to the government of the day to come to their aid and resume. A government's sensitivity and rapid response in this direction will go along way as much as flaming the embers of patriotism among its citizenry. While this may be largely true, it is not also a hidden fact that there are many things that compete for the attention of the government and policy makers. The health sector is only an aspect of an entire spectrum that is exerting pressure in the government for attention. State security, education, unemployment, state of the economy etc. are pact of this spectrum. The resultant of this that a lid is placed over what can be spent on any given sector considering the limited resources available. Budgetary constraints as this make it very difficult to engage in very robust healthcare programs that will adequately provide for the needs of the uninsured patients. Although it is arguable that if the priorities of the government of the day are well spelt out, a drastic reduction in foreign aid and grant could be made thereby making funds available for the uninsured patients. Existing health policy needs not be static in a dynamic world environment. The citizens of a country are the target of any nations health policy an the effects if not having a proper health insurance for individuals is really

Adding, and organize Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Adding, and organize - Assignment Example The involvement of United States in the gulf war was to condemn the actions of Iraq. From the article, the main reason to why Iraq conceded the gulf war was because of air and missile combat. The author of the article â€Å"The Impact of the Gulf War† expounds on how the war led to a long list of slaughters on the Basra road. The gulf war was regarded as a great victory to the United States military. This war was considered inevitable. The strategies that were put forward by Saddam Hussein to fight the imperialists were a mere fantasy of a dictatorial leader that did not work. In connection to this, Hill in his article asserts that the main reason for the Gulf War was to bar Hussein from becoming the dominant power in that region as well as from controlling OPEC. From the gulf war, it was noted that despite the military success that was recorded in the war, the experience of the Gulf war changed the viewing point of the military towards the society and the status of the military in the society. The morale of the military will be a lasting influence of the gulf war. It has been noted that no conclusions can be made on the abilities of the soviet equipment from the gulf war. Despite the fact, the Iraqis were using the equipment from the soviet and were trained by the soviet they were not using the soviet tactics and strategies. According to Nordhaus, the author of â€Å"The Economic Consequences of a War with Iraq† the war also led to the disarming of Iraq of its deadly weapons as well as removing leadership that was posing challenge to the U.S. the Saddam Hussein regime had been as disastrous for the economy of Iraq and other aspects of the Iraqi society. The economy of Iraq was tumbled to a disastrous state. Initially, most of the Iraqi economy was dependent much on the production of oil. Iraqi oil production peaked during those periods when the country was not constrained

Comparison Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparison - Research Paper Example This concise overview will further analyze the history of public health and look at the difference between the community health and public health. Public Health Resources Public health refers to the medical approach that covers the health issues of the entire community. Public health resources facilitate providing health services to the public through an integrated and coordinated approach. The public health resources range from the health infrastructure to the health personnel and the health information services. Public health has several core functions, which include the monitoring and assessment of the populations and communities health and identifying priorities and problems (Cromley & McLafferty, 2011). Further, public health contributes in the public policies formulation to address the national and local priorities and problems. Lastly, public health ensures that citizens access cost-effective and appropriate care, which includes services of health promotion, health care evalua tion, and disease prevention. The practice of public health in Clinton County occupied a central place to ensure public welfare of her residents. Public health in Clinton County has contributed immensely in disease diagnosis, disease prevention, health promotion and prolonging life through community efforts organized for environment sanitation (Cromley & McLafferty, 2011). ... Clinton County is situated in Pennsylvania State; most of the public health resources in these localities are similar. These resources provide residents with continuous evaluation of the community's healthcare needs, as well as epidemiology and surveillance. Further, both Clinton County and Pennsylvania State have public health resources that track the patterns of treatable and preventable diseases, referral services to patients who require such services. Other resources include immunization services, public health response and emergency planning, environmental protection and community awareness through outreach programs. The national public health resources are broad, and they do not concentrate on any single provision. Instead, the national public health resources are general, and they are disbursed to the respective counties and states to ensure that they reach the citizens (Cromley & McLafferty, 2011). Therefore, the national public health resources cover the entire nation, and t he resources facilitate the health activities at county and state levels to ensure that the public receive high quality health services. The history of public health services dates back to 1798 after an act was passed to cater for the health needs of merchant seamen who were injured. In 1870, the entire hospitals were controlled by the state from a central point; this happened to give room for efficient supervision. The hospitals that were controlled from a central place formed the Marine Hospital Service. The scope of this hospital service widened, and the hospital started to undertake other complex activities besides caring for the seamen. In 1902, the Marine Hospital Service was controlling the spread of diseases through quarantines.

Lung Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lung Cancer - Essay Example Lung cancer originates in the lungs. Cancer is a disease that is usually associated with the wild growth of abnormal cells. In lung cancer, abnormal cells grow in an uncontrolled way in both or one of the lungs. Due to the fact that the cells are abnormal, they do not develop into healthy tissues and do not play any roles similar to those of normal lung cells. As abnormal cells continue to grow, they develop into a large mass known as a tumor. In a case where the tumor is located in the lungs, it can interfere with the lungs normal functions. DNA, which is a genetic component found in cells is contained in all body cells. Duplication of DNA occurs every time a mature cell divides to form new cells. For this reason, the new cells also contain DNA. Cells that are formed from the division of a mature cell are identical to the original cell in all ways. In the case where the cells are abnormal, this is usually related to a DNA error or mutation. This is usually the case in cancer. A lung cancer cell is a result of a series of mutations. Cells undergoing mutation can still function as normal cells; during this stage, the cells are said to be precancerous. With time, the cells become cancerous and it is during this time that they stop functioning as normal cells of the lungs. Lung cancer may be primary or secondary. This is usually determined by the point of origin of the growth of abnormal cells. This is because in some cases, cells travel from the original tumor to other parts of the body and continue growing there.

Organizational Change Final Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Change Final - Assignment Example Apart from the increase in salaries, workers are motivated by various factors such as increased commission, training, freedom to join trade unions, training, gifts, holidays, promotion and increased responsibilities among other factors. On their part, the management team should ensure that employees are involved in the decision making process and that a proper management style is adopted. For example, employees should be provided with a chance to provide feedback on the various issues affecting their organization. In this way, they feel as part and parcel of the entity thus taking every measure to safeguard the image of the company. One of the notable global companies that have been successful in meeting the needs of its consumers at the local and international market is Walmart Stores Incorporation. Walmart Incorporation, a US based firm with over two million employees has not only maintained a strong brand but also it has created a stiff competition in the retail industry. This pap er discusses the strategies that Walmart Company needs to emulate in order to bring change and bring about a transformation in the organization. Company Overview With its headquarters based in Bentonville US, Walmart Company was established in 1962 by Sam Walton. The company started to trade its shares in the New York Stock Exchange in 1972 thus making it to generate significant amount of capital that it used in its expansion strategies. Based on the effective leadership of Robson Walton and Doug McMillon, the chairman and the president respectively, the company has established more than 8,500 stores in 15 countries thus making it to effectively face off it competitors including Tesco and Target Companies. Due to its strong brand image and strong promotional and advertisement strategies, Walmart has continued to enjoy high sales and sustainable profitability. For example, in 2013, it generated total revenue of US$ 469.162 billion while its total net income stood at US$ 16.999Â  bil lion. Similarly, the company total assets in 2013 stood at US$ 203.105Â  billion while the operating income was US$ 27.801Â  billion. Walmart Stores US, the biggest division makes a significant contribution on the company sales. This is based on the establishment of wide range of products that meets high demand as the result of the US high population as well as quality brands that meets the needs of its customers. The three notable outlets that make up Walmart Stores US include Supercentres, Walmart market and Discount Stores (Lichtenstein, 2009). One of the key strategies that have made Walmart to attain a competitive position in the market is its focus of attracting large number of customers from various regions by introducing brands that matches with their cultural background. For example, in its effort to attract the Hispanic communities, the company established the Supermercado de Walmart in 2009 that offers wide range of food products among other brands that are highly deman ded by the community. As a result, the company has maintained a strong positive relationship with the consumers an aspect that has made it to continue enjoying high sales and profits (Sandra and Scott, 1997). Other operating divisions for the company include Vudu, Walmart international, Sam’

Mergers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Mergers - Essay Example Specifically, an analysis of the market would be conducted. This entails understanding if the market is growing, or if the competitors are cannibalizing each others’ members. Additionally, reviewing ease of entry into the market is done. This is achieved through reviewing the growth of new competitors in the market. Assessment would be conducted to understand if the new competitors have taken significant market share or if the market is locked in among the current players. Reputation in the market: Conduct an assessment of the image, brand, and the member service reputation of the merging credit union. Reputation can be effectively assessed by using the Better Business Bureau, industry associations, and social media sites. Viability of membership groups: Viability of membership groups would be investigated. This is through review of the major SEG and garnering the stability of the industry. Review is also conducted on the membership opportunity and geography of the membership. Major contracts: Review all employment agreements, major supplier, equipment leases, and legal agreements. Determine what line of business or products have been outsourced. Due to the size of the merging credit union they may have third parties perform multiple activities including engaging directly with members. Review the contracts to determine termination timelines and that the contracts clearly define expectations and responsibilities of the third party to help ensure the contacts enforceability, limit the credit unions liability, and mitigate disputes about performance. Leased: If the branch is leased, then review the lease and any amendments. If the lease term is under 18 months, analyze the cost of a move. If the term is over 18 months; financial analysis would be done based on location, accessibility, easements, adequate space, and the cost of renovations. Assets: Cash, securities, and loans. Assess asset classes in real

Argument. Men and particularly princes Essay Example for Free

Argument. Men and particularly princes Essay Argument Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Men and particularly princes should be very careful when making their decisions and they should not be concerned by the making decisions that always favors their subjects and friends but they should be concerned more on the outcomes of their decisions and whether those decisions will benefit their state. I strongly believe that there should not be procedures and methods set to be used by princes in dealing with their friends and subjects. This is because different situations require to be handled differently since the societies keeps changing and therefore, princes should not follow set procedures and methods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Princes are judged by their subjects through their qualities which will make their subjects either to praise them or to blame them. However, it would be very difficult for the princes to fulfill all the qualities that their subjects expect them to have due to human nature. Therefore, princes should be very careful to escape from bad reputation of those vices which would make them lose the state.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I agree with the statement that a quality which seems to be a virtue, if pursued may end up destructing the individual who decides to pursue such a quality; while another quality which appears to be a vice, if an individual decides to pursue such a vice might end up being more beneficial to such an individual and to the society. Therefore, princes should be very prudent when making decisions since a quality which seems to be vice may end up being a virtue, and vice versa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Princes can be generous which seems to be a virtue but may end up giving them a bad reputation among their subjects. This is because such princes maybe generous and end up using up all their resources or overburdening their subjects with excessive taxes and doing everything possible in order to the funds. This quality of generosity may give such princes a bad reputation and his generosity may end up offending their subjects thus hating their princes. Also through not being generous may lead them to appear to be a miser according to their subjects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For instance, Pope Julius II although he used his generosity to attain papacy however he decided to end his generosity in order to reduce the expenditures so as to be able to wage war. Therefore, princes should use any virtue such as generosity in a way that will not harm them. In this regard, princes should avoid overburdening subjects or becoming poor as a result of their generosity. Also, in order for a prince to avoid destroying their rule they should not mind being branded as misers since this would be a key vice that would help them to rule their subjects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although princes should avoid being cruel and should be merciful but they should be very careful not to abuse their mercy. This is because being too merciful may be abused which may lead to disorder in a state resulting to increased crimes thus harming the society at large. For instance, although cesare Borgia was regarded cruel, he was able to restore order, peace and unity in Romagna through his cruelty. Therefore princes should not mind being refereed to be cruel in their attempts to keep their subjects loyal and united. It would be much safer for princes to be feared than being loved by their subjects. In this regard they should do anything to ensure that there is order, peace and unity in their states even if it means taking someone’s life for the benefit of their states at large. This may result to some of their subjects hating them however, this would be less harmful to them and also it would beneficial to their states at lar ge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Princes should not care much on keeping their promises to their subjects and in some circumstances the princes are supposed to manipulate their subject’s mind with shrewdness if this would be more safer for them and also if this would be more beneficial to their state. Princes must be aware of how to deal with different situations since fulfilling their promises in some circumstances would bring harm to them and to their subjects. In such situations such princes should be wise and know how to deceive their subjects to avoid fulfilling their promises where they feel that keeping their words would bring harm to their state or to themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this regard, princes are not necessitated to have all the good qualities but it is very important for them to appear as if they have them. This is because having those all qualities and practicing all of them would bring more harm. For example, appearing being faithful, religious, merciful, trustworthy and humane among other good qualities would be necessary and princes should know how to practice them in different situations, however, practicing all of them would lead to more harm than good as subjects would misuse them to cause disorder which may increase the crime rates which would be harmful to the states. References Machiavelli, NiccoloÃÅ'â‚ ¬. The prince. Belle Fourche: NuVision Publications, 2004. Print. Source document

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning

Impact of Government Curriculum on Teaching and Learning Governmental Control Over Curriculum and the Impact on Teachers as Skilled  Professionals Introduction Caldwell and Hayward (1998) state that the need for reform in England’s school system was realized in 1976 (p. 1). Yet, it was not until 1988 with the Education Reform Act instituted under Margaret Thatcher that a â€Å"national curriculum, national tests† and control of the schools by the government began to become a reality (Caldwell Hayward 1998, p. 1). Murnane and Steele (2007) contend that national involvement in the public schools was intended to support the learners, as well as the teachers (p. 15). However, because of the continued awareness by governments that Western educational institutions were lagging behind the accomplishments of Eastern schools, continued changes in the area of education and government’s control over it have completely altered the educational landscape (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). This is because of an adopted neo-liberalist policy approach that has favored markets over learners and policies over teacher effectiveness (Apple 200 1, p. 182). As a result teachers are becoming â€Å"deskilled† and incapable of maintaining their own control over their effectiveness in the classroom (Hall 2004, p. 3). As this control subsides, therefore, teachers are leaving the profession due to frustration and an inability to maintain their professional capabilities in the schools. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Neo-Liberalism Apple (2001) indicates that there was once a â€Å"classical liberalism† that existed in relation to the schools and those policies related to education that impacted teachers and students (p. 182). However, Apple (2001) states that as time has progressed the classical liberalism of the state policies has been altered toward a â€Å"neo-liberalism approach† (p. 182). According to Apple (2001), it is important to understand the differences between these two types of views of education because these differences are at the core of the educational issues that schools in many countries face today (p. 182). Olssen (1996) defines classical liberalism in the schools as a method of â€Å"freeing those within the schools from state control† (p. 337). Olssen (1996), on the other hand, specifies that neo-liberalism supports the state’s role in controlling education by â€Å"creating a market†¦[that involves] the conditions, laws and institutions necessary for its operation† (p. 337). Apple (2001) argues that when an education â€Å"market† is, therefore, created it is a market that seems to suggest â€Å"individualization† (p. 182). However, the individualization of the market is subjected to the controls of the government and the policies that force parents, teachers and students to act in a certain manner, leading to the end results that the state intended from the start (Apple 2001, p. 182). This is because the actions of the entities connected to education are restrained by the boundaries set forth in the policies of the government and as those boun daries become more tightly fixed the actions of the parties are more predictable. Choice and Influence on Teachers Apple (2001) expands on this notion by examining the middle class in society (p. 182). Apple (2001) stipulates that when parents of different nations in the middle class are given the opportunity of school choice the government knows that those parents will naturally begin placing their own criteria and/or expectations on schools (p. 182). Consequently when parents are unhappy with the curriculum at one school the teachers at the school are forced to alter that curriculum in order to meet the demands of the parents or they will loose the students within that school (Apple 2001, p. 182). The loss of students within a school means the loss of government funding, the loss of jobs, the lack of teacher’s ability to provide resources and ultimately the loss of the school itself in the community. Therefore, as Apple (2001) indicates, the government policies may be suggesting that people have a greater choice; yet, what is actually occurring is a more significant control of schools th rough the ability of parents to actively use choice to influence curriculum in relation to the schools (p. 182). As parents influence how the curriculum is created, consequently, teachers are placed under greater scrutiny and are forced to expand their offerings in the classroom – even if these offerings include learning that the teacher is not knowledgeable or skilled in. Brooker (2003) contends that the manner in which parents and private entities are capable of influencing the education of students is evident in the United Kingdom with the inclusion of computer technologies in the elementary classroom (p. 261). Over the past decade there has been such a significant increase in the demand for computer technology training of young students. Yet, those schools that do not conform to this expectation are loosing students (Brooker 2003, p. 261). In general this is because parents, manufacturers and the government insists that if children are not trained in the use of computers at an early age they will not be capable of competing with their peers or those in the outside world later on (Brooker 2003, p. 261). Yet, Brooker (2003) argues that technologies in the classroom has impacted teachers negatively due to the fact that many of today’s teachers are not skilled in the use of computers and they are not capable of acquiring the knowledge needed to instruct their students adequately (p. 261). This is because, in general, many schools fail to provide teachers with new training that will support the increase in the instructional scope and teachers do not have the ability to seek outside skill training and maintain their work schedule at the same time. New Teacher Training The concept of choice and control offered by the government is also being reflected in proposals by government entities associated with initial teacher training (Apple 2000, p. 1). Apple (2000) specifies that in the current educational climate what is being considered is the â€Å"deregulation† of teacher training as a means of promoting competition among institutions of higher learning (p. 1). Essentially what this causes to occur is that colleges and universities are freely allowed to choose their own approaches to teaching and teachers have the choice of training institutions that they prefer. However, as time progresses it becomes apparent to schools and the communities that support them which teachers are trained effectively and which are not (Apple 2001, p. 182). This occurs when standardized test scores are revealed from students, reflecting directly back on the teacher’s abilities to educate (Apple 2001, p. 182). As a result, when enough teachers from a particul ar institution are incapable of developing learners that can pass standardized tests that institution begins to realize a decline in enrollment (Apple 2001, p. 182). Although teachers in training are given the choice of schools to attend and colleges are given freedom in determining how those teachers are training, ultimately it is the governmental control of policies that impacts whether or not the institution of higher learning will survive and what curriculum will be used to teach teachers in society. In the neo-liberalist approach to education there is evidence that the freedoms that are being given to colleges and universities are instead tools that negatively impact teachers entering the profession, often with the new teachers being unaware that they are ultimately slated for failure before they even begin their careers. Able Students Ball, Bowe and Gewirtz (1994) stipulate that governmental control over education further impacts teachers and curriculum due to the fact that teachers and schools begin to attempt to avoid students with special needs and â€Å"seek out able children† (p. 19). This is because special needs students require a greater amount of teacher time, teacher expertise and teacher interaction with students that takes away from the teacher instructing â€Å"able† students who do not have special needs (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). In England, Ball, Bowe and Gewitz (1994) state that this intent to encourage able students enrolling in schools by teachers and administrators is directly related to the â€Å"publication of performance indicators such as examination league tables† because schools find it difficult to explain that test scores may be low due to an abundance of special needs students (Ball, Bowe Gewitz 1994, p. 19). Yet, Gerwitz, Ball and Bowe (1995) further argue that control of the curriculum and teacher performance is also related to the students of different cultures (p. 6). For example, in England it is known that African American students traditionally have difficulties in the schools because of the large segment of this population that is impoverished (p. 6). Poverty is correlated to the abilities of the students, with those in the impoverished classes historically performing less successfully on standardized tests (Gerwitz, Ball Bowe 1995, p. 6). Apple (2001), therefore, states that this causes teachers to develop curriculum that targets students who are more capable of learning and ignores those students that standardized testing was intended to support in the first place (p. 182). Fragmentation Allen and Ainley (2007) contend that as time progresses the governmental control over the curriculum in the schools is continuing to expand, impacting how teachers not only teach, but changing what is taught to students, causing a fragmentation of teacher control over their own labor (p. 1). An example of this exists within English schools as education reform is focused on vocational education for students beginning at age 14 (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). According to Allen and Ainley (2007) the government came to the conclusion that there was a decline in students graduating from schools with marketable skills and this impacted their success after public schooling (p. 1). The issue, therefore, became less concentrated on a student’s ability to read, write and perform simple math and more on specifically training students to function in specific jobs once they have left academia (Allen Ainley, 2007, p. 1). Allen and Ainley (2007) indicate that this brings about two specific issues. First, while teachers in the United Kingdom have indicated that they do not support this policy, teacher organizations throughout the country have ignored teacher protests and called on educators to ensure that the policies are successful (Allen Ainley 2007, p 1). Second, programs for vocational training are being largely created in schools that instruct low income or impoverished students, with those students in high performing schools working with a traditional curriculum (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1). What this means is that while governmental policies are once again suggesting that there is choice in relation to education, the policies are ensuring that only those choices that support what the government deems appropriate for education will be made (Allen Ainley 2007, p. 1; Chitty 2004, p. 160). Furthermore, Murnane and Steele (2007) state that this causes teachers to be inundated with having to cope with a curriculum that is ever-changing and that they believe they no longer have control over (p. 15). As a result teachers are leaving the teaching profession in vast numbers and this is creating a greater shortage in the teacher workforce than ever before (Murnane Steele 2007, p. 15). Conclusion Duggan and Pole (1996) suggest that the dissatisfaction in the teacher workforce began to be ever apparent in the 1990s (p. 139). Hall (2004) states that this is an issue that has increased over time because of policies such as â€Å"the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies in primary school and the Key Stage 3 Strategy in secondary schools†, as well as the inclusion of technologies and standardized testing that â€Å"constricts teachers† and their capabilities throughout the curriculum (p. 3). According to Hall (2004) the types of control connected to the schools and the deskilling of teachers are endless (p. 8; Appendix 1). Consequently there is an increased teacher workload, decreased teacher satisfaction and a reduction in the number of teachers that want to or are capable of instructing students in the manner in which government and/or society demands. For the future of education in the Western world this could mean that the attempt by government to regulate education and create more successful outcomes for students in England has the opposite effect, as is indicated by Hall (2004, p. 3). The research indicates that the original intent of education to create students that were capable of being productive citizens after their educational careers ended became extremely complex when it was realized that Western students did not achieve at the same rate as Eastern students. Therefore, a neo-liberalist policy toward education by the government was adopted, suggesting that choice was available to parents, teachers and students and that a greater freedom in education would exist. Yet, the research also demonstrates that the idea of choice was restricted by the policies related to education that were adopted by the government and that these policies minimalized the choices that actually existed. Moreover, these neo-liberalist policies became so intricately woven within education that the choices made by those connected to education could be predicted and manipulated with ease. For teachers this has meant that they are overworked, under-trained and unprepared for the demands o f the modern educational system and given few options as to how they can overcome these issues. This knowledge provides serious implications for the educational system because as teachers continue to become frustrated due to their increasing deskilled status they are leaving the teaching workforce. This knowledge provides evidence that the neo-liberalist policies that have been adopted in the United Kingdom are not achieving the end results as once forecast and that there is perhaps a need to reconsider these policies in order to ensure that teachers that are the foundation of education retain the skills and knowledge that is necessary to instruct society’s children. Appendix 1 (Hall 2004, p. 8). 1. Regulated market control: metaphors of the market and consumer demand are imposed upon schools; success and profits go to those who best meet consumer demand. Teachers’ work is evaluated in terms of measured outputs set against cost. Competition is the key element in relations between schools. (Ball, 1994) 2. Technical control: this is embodied in structures rather than people – in, for example, notionally ‘teacher proof’ teaching materials and text books, and in specified competences (Apple, 1988, 1996) 3. Bureaucratic control: hierarchical power is embedded in the social and organisational structure of institutions – jobs are differently divided and defined, have different salaries, and supervision, evaluation and promotion arrangements. The potential for establishing a career operates as a control mechanism. 4. Corporate control: the focus of the institution is on economic rather than social good. A competitive ethos prevails. Managers focus on economic goals. The head teacher is perceived more as a line manager than as a first among professional equals. 5. Ideological control: hegemonic beliefs – for example, that a good teacher has certain characteristics – become part of the dominant ideology within schools. These ideas and beliefs are reinforced in pre-service and in-service training. Certain conceptions of teachers’ work become naturalised – for example, a move away from child-centred discourse to market based discourse. 6. Disciplinary power: Foucault (1977) shows how, by means of the technologies of power – hierarchical observation, normalising judgment and examination –individuals are ‘disciplined’ into ways of understanding their work. Minor procedures and routines are specified (times, dress, expected responses) in ways that become anonymous and functional within a school; teachers and others within the school regulate their own behaviours to meet these expectations. Smyth describes this as a ‘triumph of technique over questions of purpose’ Bibliography Allen, M. and Ainley, P. (2007) Education make you fick, innit? London: Tufnell Press. Apple, M. (2000). Power, meaning, and identity. New York: Peter Lang. Apple, M. (2001). Markets, standards, teaching and teacher education. Journal of  Teacher Education. 52(3): 182-207. Ball, S., Bowe, R., Gewirtz, S. (1994). Market forces and parental choice. In S. Tomlinson (Ed.), Educational reform and its consequences (pp. 13-25). London: IPPR/Rivers Oram Press. Brooker, L. (2003). Integrating new technologies in the UK classroom. Childhood  Education. 79(5): 261-289. Caldwell, B., and Hayward, D. (1998). The future of schools: Lessons from the reform  of public education. London: Falmer Press. Chitty, C. (2004). Education policy in Britain. London: Palgrave. Duggan, R., and Pole, C. (1996). Reshaping education in the 1990s. New York:  Routledge. Gewirtz, S., Ball, S., Bowe, R. (1995). Markets, choice, and equity in education.  Philadelphia: Open University Press. Hall. C. (2004). Theorizing changes in teacher’s work. Canadian Journal of Education  Administration and Policy. Retrieved January 1, 2009, from http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/hall.pdf Murnane, R., and Steele, J. (2007). What is the problem? The challenge of providing  effective teacher for all children. The Future of Children. 17(1): 15-35. Olssen, M. (1996). In defense of the welfare state and of publicly provided education.  Journal of Education Policy. 11: 337-362.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Technology

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Technology ABSTRACT: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology which attract extra attention and awareness to the world wide business. IP telephonys system will affect the sending voice transmission in the form of packet over the IP network in the VoIP applications. Now a days many industries will use the VoIP technologies to provide the Security. In this project, I provided a variety of VoIP safety intimidation and probable approach to handle the intimidation in VoIP application. VoIP is naturally susceptible to networks attack, like hateful codes (i.e., worms, viruses, Trojans), denial-of-service (DoS), distributed DoS (DDoS), pharming, and (though non malicious) sparkle were crowded. These attacks also spoil grimy system by overriding assets, distracting valid user, compromise private informations, or by demeaning code and records. This break affect the contaminated system, it also destroy the unaffected (or even non-vulnerable) ones. All system associated to the Internet are responsive to hateful code which try to contaminate as much as hosts is probable, cause overcrowding on the network communications. The QoS which is provide to the end user is of highest significance and it is the main issue to implement the VoIP system, since if the exchange is indecipherable then there is no position in giving the service. The major factor which distresses the superiority of services is Latency, Jitter and Packet loss. CHAPTER-1 1.0 Introduction The voice enterprises continuously providing voice conversation services on over broad band by discovering the current market issues and network issues from past 20 years, the voice transition industry undergone various security and network issues to produce better quality voice service to transit on over broad band. The current voice market has been step up into the new level of voice protocols for providing VoIP services during low bandwidth, high level of data and voice transmission provisions. The VOIP technologies allow sharing the resource of WAN for supporting data and voice for saving the cost for transmission process [1]. The VoIP provides many advantages to the enterprises, the migration of voice and telephone application form TDM switch network to IP packet switched network provides many advantages to enterprises during the migration of voice into IP application the enterprises need to provide security to the data applications [2]. However the enterprises need to identify the security issues and employee new techniques to protect against attacks. Security and QoS is a main aspect of VOIP system, the data on voice networks have been attacked by viruses, worms, DOS attacks and other unknown authentication users [3]. The VOIP architecture is a complete network hierarchical structure which is compound with many of the networking devices, the design structure have to ensure that whether the components will cope the unwanted attacks. The protocol structure in a VOIP system is a more sensible factor due to the poor ambitious. Here we introduce the attacks on over VoIP system. VOIP Overview VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol which is the mainly used in the transmission of voice communications through IP network like internet, public switched networks [4]. The concept of VoIP mainly targets of the transmission of voice based messages and applications by using different protocols and is transmitted via the internet. The basic steps involved in the transmission of voice signals through the internet are:  · Conversion of voice to analog and digital signal.  · Compression and conversion of the signal into Internet Protocol Packets to broadcast over Internet. VoIP systems adopt different session control protocols for commanding over the set-up, tear-down of calls and also different audio codecs which allow for encoding the voice signal and allow the transmission. These audio codecs may vary form system to system where some of them are based on the narrow band and some on the compressed speech where some other system may use high fidelity audio codecs. Technologies used to implement VoIP:  · H.323 [12]  · IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  · Session initiation Protocol (SIP) [5]  · Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) [5] 1.1 Problem Definition In the past days the VoIP security is a not a big concern the people were mainly concerned with the functionalities, cost and the usage, but the VOIP communication trend has been encouraged; the VOIP communication system widely accepted by the people; due to the high acceptance of VOIP system the security issues are main concern. However the VoIP services are rapidly growing in the current voice communication system, many unauthenticated users and hackers are stealing the VoIP services and hacking the services from the service providers and re routing to their personal usage. Some of the security standards are not credential they only supports to authentication over calls, but the problem with the service theft. The security concerns will affect on quality of the system, due to the security tools and security solutions will conflict on quality of service. The system will accept the security tools those tools shouldnt decrease the quality. The basic issue of the quality is firewall. The firewall will blocks the calls for security constrains it will not process the signaling which are allocated to the UDP ports. Due to the security issues on VoIP devices will consumes extra time for packet delivery and which consumes extra time during the call; so it may delay the packet delivery, due to the encryption and decryption mechanism will conflict the call time. 1.2 Objectives of the study The basic objective of this is to detect source of attacked packet on over network Ø To formally define the network security problems and unauthorized access incidents Ø To define the most accredited security techniques and security methods Ø To evaluate the prototype system and packet feature mechanism Ø Email and other internet message are easily integrated with the voice applications Ø To support the multimedia applications, which provides less cost effective services for video conference, gaming Ø To supports a low cost, flat rate pricing on the voice communication over the Public Internet and Intranet services. Ø Sends the call signaling messages over the IP-based data Network with a suitable quality of service and much superior cost benefit. Ø Present offline message passing between the users by selecting a user from predefined offline user list Ø Present textual communication 1.3 Research Method Ø Provide authentication to the end users for accessing the VoIP services Ø Design secure VoIP Configuration system Ø Attempt to separate VoIP traffic from normal data traffic using either VLANs or a completely separate physical network. Ø Enable authentication on SIP accounts.Internal Firewalls/ACLs should be cond to block telnet and http traffic from reaching voice VLANs or subnets. 1.4 SCOPE These researches analyze the security and performance issues, it has to research on different security levels and represent various security challenges to modern VoIP system. Ø This research enhance security methods by analyzing the modern security challenges Ø To present various security methods; this security methods are explained in chapter -3 to analyze and investigate the security threats and define the solution for obtaining better performance Ø Balance VoIP security and performance by measuring the services and network traffic Ø To present VoIP protocols for secure data transmission 1,5 Thesis Organization Chatper-1: Introduction: General Introduction of VoIP, problem definition and Research methods Chapter -2: Literature Review: Review of VoIP deployment and review of security issues and performance and VoIP security background and security challenges Chapter -3: Security process: VoIP security process, managing of VoIP security and security process and define the security solutions Chapter -4: VOIP security and performance: Demonstrate VoIP performance , balancing of security and performance of VoIP Chapter -5: Analysis Report: security and performance analysis and investigation reports of VoIP security and performance and complete project report scenario Chapter -6: Conclusion, Future Enhancement, References and Appendices. CHAPTER -2 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Background VoIP is a IP telephony which is used to deliver a voice on over internet; which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol which converts a voice signals to digital voice packets and transmit these packets on over network; for transmitting which uses Internet protocol for coordinating voice packets. VoIP can be deployed in dissimilar kind of IP enabled network like Internet, wireless networks, Ethernet. VoIP is a telephony system which takes voice as a analog signals and which converts it into digital format and transmit on over network by using Intern protocol. VoIP service Types VoIP provides different types of voice service according to the communication media infrastructure; the most common services are as follows Ø Computer to computer based services Ø PC to phone and phone to PC based services Ø Phone to phone based VoIP services [6] Computer to computer: A voice exchange in between system to system is one type of communication provides free VoIPs services which it requires related software applications such as gtalk[8], skype[7], messengers. In this services the users need to install same softwares in their respective PCs and exchange their voices same as Peer to Peer services. PC to phone and phone to PC: It is a combination of Internet and circuit switched telephone system. The VoIP application software receives the voice and hand over to the Internet protocol to communicate on over telephone network. VoIP services provide a services to communicate with phone s by establishing VoIP network; an applications such as Skype, messengers are communicate to the phones by converting respective receiving and transmitting formats. In the Phone to PC services the user can communicate from phones to PCs; user can dial to PCs by calling like normal phones; in this services the PC IP address contains a phone number. The user can dial from phone to assigned PC IP address phone number; Skype is a best example for this kind of services, which allows users to purchase a VoIP services to communicate from phone to PC [7]. The most common devices in these services are Ø VoIP service providers Ø Modem Ø Internet services Ø ATA: Analog Terminal Adaptor, this convert analog signals to voice signals voice signals to analogs singles Phone to phone based VoIP services [6]: Now a days this type of services are using in long distance calls; many communication service provide companies offering long distance calls in very abnormal price by utilizing the PSTN services. VoIP System A Fig- 1 shows a typical VoIP network topology which is a combination of given equipments; the following equipments are 1) Gatekeeper 2) VoIP Gateway 3) VoIP Clients Gatekeeper: A VoIP gatekeeper is a routing manager and central manager in a H 323 IP telephony surroundings. This is an option in a VoIP system which manages end points of a sector. VoIP gatekeeper is useful for managing calls, terminals and gateways. VoIP gatekeeper presents access control, bandwidth control and address translation. VoIP gateway: The VoIP entry convert a voice calls into genuine instant in between Public switch Telephone Network (PSTN) and IP networks. The basic functionalities of VoIP entry are compression, decompression; signal controlling, packetization and call routing. VoIP clients: This equipment represents phones, multimedia PCs 2.1 Security Issues. VoIP Phishing How To prevent VoIP Phishing and avoided getting Trapped You can do prevent VoIP Phishing at home and in your corporation and to avoid yourself and your associates from being keen as a Phishing victim. What is VoIP Phishing and hoe it work VoIP Phishing is a type of assault that lures the user into given personal data like phone number, credit card numbers, and password over a web site. Phishing over VoIP is become uncontrolled as VoIP makes Phishing easers for attacker. Security thread in VoIP While VoIP has become a one of the conventional communication technologies, VoIP user face a serious of security threads lets see this security issues. Firewall A firewall is software is planned to protect a personal networks from illegal access. Firewalls usually block the worthless passage from the outside to the inside of the networks and so on. Over look security You must not look at only at the light side of VoIP. While it is revolutionizing voice and data communication, it does not symbolize some problematic security issues that need that need to be deal with accurately. Quality of Service Issues (Qos) Qos [9] is a basic process of VoIP; if it delivers a good quality of services to the users which are more advantage to the users for saving money; rather than spending much money on other communication services. The Quality is an importance factor for VoIP services providers industries. In Certain level the security issues implementation can degrade the QoS. The security procedures such as firewalls and encryption techniques block the calls and delay the packet delivery. The main QoS issues are Ø Latency Ø Jitter Ø Packet loss Ø Bandwidth problem Latency: Latency represents a delivery time for voice transmission from source to destination. The ITU-T advice that G.114 [10] establish a many time of constraints on one-way latency .To achieve Quality of Service the VoIP calls must be achieve in a limited bound time. The basic issues in latency are Ø Time spent on routers and long network distance Ø Security measures Ø Voice data encoding Ø Queuing Ø Packetization Ø Composition and decomposition Ø Decoding Jitter: The non-uniform packets make a packet delivery delay; which it is caused by insufficient bandwidth. The packets are in out of sequence order, for transmitting voice media it uses RTP protocol; this protocol are based on UDP so that it makes the packet in out of order sequence which degrades the QoS by not resembling the protocols at protocol level. Packet Loss: The packet loss increase the latency and jitter; where group of packets are arrived late will be discarded and allow new packets. The packet loss is associated with data network; due to the low bandwidth and high traffic which delays the packet delivery. Bandwidth: The low bandwidth delays a packet delivery which degrades the QoS by increasing the latency and jitter. The data on over network have to distribute into various nodes; the data have to transmit from one node to another node during this transmission if it encounter any problem which it can delays the packet. The entire network design includes routers, firewall and other security measures. Certain time in the network path some of the nodes are unavailable at that time it doesnt deliver the packets to an end users. 2.2 VoIP protocols There are numbers and numbers of network that can be working in organize to offer for VoIP communiquà © service .In this part we will center no which the general to the best part of device deploy. Almost each machine in the globe use a standardization called real time protocol (RTP) for transmit of audio and video packet between the networks. IETF is the founder of RPT. The consignment layout of numbers CODE are define in RFC 3551 (The section â€Å"RTP profiles and pay load format specification† of RCF. These sections address items.). Though pay load format section are define in document also published by the ITU (International telecommunication union) and in others IETF RFCs. The RTP mostly deal with issue like packets order and give mechanism to help the address wait. The H.323 [7] standard uses the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RTP protocol to transport media between endpoints. Because of this, H.323 has the same issues as SIP when dealing with network topologies involving NAT. The easiest method is to simply forward the appropriate ports through your NAT device to the internal client. To receive calls, you will always need to forward TCP port 1720 to the client. In addition, you will need to forward the UDP ports for the RTP media and RTCP con-trol streams (see the manual for your device for the port range it requires). Older cli-ents, such as MS Netmeeting, will also require TCP ports forwarded for H.245tunneling (again, see your clients manual for the port number range). If you have a number of clients behind the NAT device, you will need to use a gate-keeper running in proxy mode. The gatekeeper will require an interface attached to the private IP subnet and the public Internet. Your H.323 client on the private IP subnet will then re gister to the gatekeeper, which will proxy calls on the clients behalf. Note that any external clients that wish to call you will also be required to register with the proxy server. At this time, Asterisk cant act as an H.323 gatekeeper. Youll have to use a separate application, such as the open source OpenH323 Gatekeeper H.323 and SIP Have their origins in 1995 as researchers looked to solve the problem of how to computers can indicate communication in order to exchange audio video files.H.323[12] enjoy the first commercial success due to this fact those who are working on the protocol in ITU[12] worked quickly to publish the first standard in the year 1996. While support of the two protocols on a single gateway is critical, another integral part of dual-protocol deployment is the ability for H.323 gatekeepers and SIP proxies to interwork and share routing capabilities. One method that was introduced to support time-to-market requirements uses routing interaction between a Cisco SIP Proxy Server and an H.323 gatekeeper. The business model for some carriers using the Cisco Global Long Distance Solution is to provide origination and termination of voice-over-IP (VoIP) minutes for several other service providers. This business model has been very successful with deployment of H.323-based services, but these Cisco customers would also like to attract additional SIP-based service providers. Ideally, these customers would like to use their existing voice-gateway infrastructure to support additional SIP-based offerings. Cisco has provided these carriers with a way to add new SIP services by adding capabilities to the Cisco SIP Proxy Server to allow it to â€Å"handshake† with an H.323 gatekeeper using the H.323 RAS protocol. By enabling a SIP proxy server to communicate with an H.323 gatekeeper using RAS location request, location confirmation, and location reject messages and responses, a Cisco SIP Proxy Server can obtain optimized routing information from VoIP gateways that have been deployed in the service providers network. The Cisco architecture allows for protocol exibility and enables, one call-by-call basis, use of a particular session protocol. This exibility allows customers to deploy SIP networks on proven packet telephony infrastructures, while still maintaining core H.323 functionality within their networks. With the ability to support the connection of customers and carriers using either rotocol, service providers can offer a variety of application hosting and sharing services, and be more aggressive in pursuing wholesale opportunities via new services. Some principles for coexistence that are critical for successful multiprotocol deployments are transport capabilities across time-division multiplexing (TDM) interfaces, dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) processing capabilities and fax relay support. In deployments where both protocols are used, it is important that there are no performance limitations related to the call mix between SIP and H.323 calls, and that there is no significant deviation in calls-per-second measurements compared to a homogeneous SIP or H.323 network. Cisco gateways provide support for coexistence of SIP and H.323 calls beginning with Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(2)XB. Above illustrates packet voice architectures for wholesale call transport and 2 illustrates termination services for application service providers (ASPs) where SIP and H.323 are used simultaneously for signaling. Reasons for VoIP Deployment When you are using PSTN line, you typically pay for time used to a PSTN line manager company: more time you stay at phone and more youll pay. In addition you couldnt talk with other that one person at a time. In opposite with VoIP mechanism you can talk all the time with every person you want (the needed is that other person is also connected to Internet at the same time), as far as you want (money independent) and, in addition, you can talk with many people at the same time. If youre still not persuaded you can consider that, at the same time, you can exchange data with people are you talking with, sending images, graphs and videos. There are two main reasons to use VoIP: lower cost than traditional landline telephone and diverse value-added services. Low Cost Higher multimedia application: Traditional telephone system requires highly trained technicians to install and custom configuration. Companies find the need to call the service of specialist to implement, simple tasks like moving adding a phone. Modules such as ‘voicemail and the additional lines are the part of perpetual cycle of upgrades and modifications that make telephony support a very profitable business. The methodology use to implement PSTN business phone system is well understood and the industry is very mature. Hence company can make a purchase with the confidence that if they are installing a traditional system it will function and include an excellent supported infrastructure. IDC reports the number of VoIP ports shipped in 2005 will be equal to traditional analogues deployment. Non to be taken lightly, the average lifespan of a voice system range from 5-10 years. In 5 to 10 years, an analogues telephone system will be the exception as opposed to the telephone standards. Qualified technicians, whom are required to work on propriety system, will be difficult to come by. In addition, the prospect of telephone manufacture going out of business or the technology simply being repulsed by a more agile and less costly alternative, are both risks that must be taken into account in well informed decision. Fortunately a company can take few preventive to protect them from outdated system. One such step is use of standards technologies that are back by a number of company and possibly trade group as opposed to a single entity. In VoIP space a good example is session Initiation Protocols, SIP. SIP is supported by the large majority of vendors and is considered the industry standard protocol for VoIP. Beyond analogue lines that terminate from an ISP, The traditional telephony market does not have much interoperability. For example it is not be integrate an Avaya PBX with a Nortel PBX. Hidden cost can be substantial in any technology deployment. The downtime experienced with buggy or poorly implemented technology, in addition to the cost of qualified consultants to remedy such as Challenges of VoIP: Though VoIP is becoming more and more popular, there are still some challenging problems with VoIP: Bandwidth: Network which available is an important anxiety in network. A network can be busted down into many nodes, associations and produce a big quantity of traffic flow, therefore, the availability of each node and link where we only focus on the bandwidth of the VoIP system. An in a data network, bandwidth overcrowding can cause QoS problems, when network overcrowding occur, packets need to be queued which cause latency as well as jitter. Thus, bandwidth must be accurately reserved and billed to ensure VoIP quality. Because data and voice share the same network bandwidth in a VOIP system, the necessary bandwidth condition and allocation become more complex. In a LAN surroundings, switches usually running at 100 Mbps (or 1000 Mbps), upgrading routers and switches can be the effective ways to address the bandwidth bottleneck inside the LAN. Power Failure and Backup Systems: Traditional telephones work on 48 volts which is supplied by the telephone line itself without outside power supply. Thus, traditional telephones can still continue to work even when a power breakdown occurs. However, a backup power system is also required with VOIP so that they can continue to operate during a power breakdown. An organization usually has an uninterruptible power system (UPS) for its network to overcome power failure, [14] Security: As VoIP becomes too popular, the issues related to VoIP network are also very progressively and more arising [15]. W. Chou [16] has investigation the different security of VoIP investigation the different and also given some optional strategies for these issues. In reference [17], the authors also outline the challenges of securing VoIP, and provide guidelines for adopting VoIP technology. Soft phone: Soft phones are installed on system thus should not be used where the security is an anxiety. In todays world, worms, viruses, Trojan houses, spy wares and etc are everywhere on the internet and very complex to defend. A computer could be attacked even if a user does not open the email attachment, or a user does nothing but only visit a compromise web site. Thus use of soft phones could bring high risks for vulnerabilities. Emergency calls: Each traditional telephone link is joined to a physical location, thus emergency tune-up providers can easily track callers locality to the emergency send out office. But dissimilar traditional telephone lines, VoIP technology allows an exacting number could be from anywhere; this made emergency services more problematical, because these emergency call centers cannot get the callers location or it may not be possible to send out emergency services to that location. Although the VoIP providers provide some solutions for emergency calls, there is at rest need of manufacturing principles in VOIP surroundings. Physical security: The most significant issue in VoIP network is Physical security. An attacker can do traffic psychoanalysis once actually they access to VoIP. In between server and gateway, like to determine which parties are communicating. So the physical security policy and some controls are needed to control the VoIP network access mechanism. Otherwise, risks such as insertion of snuffer software by attackers could cause data and all voice connections being intercept. Wireless Security: Connection in wireless network nodes were integrated with VoIP network which receives more and more popular and accepted [18]. The wireless networks are very feeble as compared to Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). The algorithm for 802.11 is week because WEP can be cracked with public available software. This is the major project in wireless network for example the more common and popular WiFi protected Access (WPF and WPA 20) which administrated by Wi-Fi Alliance are providing more significant security in improvement, the WPA protected is also integrated with wireless technology in VoIP. CHAPTER -3 Related Work 3.0 Security Studies Voice of Internet Protocol is the next generation telecommunications method. It allows to phone calls to be route over a data network thus saving money and offering increased features and productivity. All these benefits come at a price, vulnerability. It is easier to attack and exploit a voice and data network. VoIP will need extra security measures beyond the standard security that is typically implement for a computer network. Many issues need to be addressed such as type of attacks, security, quality of service and VoIP protocols. Voice over IP (VoIP) is a one of the most challenging technology in todays market. The importance of VoIP is rapidly growing, many vendors introducing VoIP services with advanced technologies for improving quality of services and security. In this chapter I am discussing about security models and security process. 3.1 VoIP Security Process: There are many VoIP protocols in the market. Some are proprietary while others are open standards. The two most popular open protocols are H.323 and SIP. They were designed by two different organizations and operate slightly differently. They both have problems with the use of random ports problems with NAT translations and firewalls. Security for VoIP devices and VoIP network is a complex process, securing of VoIP protocols and data streaming invokes at many stages. The most common VoIP vulnerabilities are as follows Ø Software Related: Ø Device related Ø Protocol related Ø System Configuration related Ø Application level attacks 3.1.2 Software Related Vulnerabilities: The basic flaws in software vulnerable are operating services and functions problems and quality, operating system interface and administrations [19]. Software application interfaces, software application logic Ø Software applications Ø Application interfaces 3.1.3 Device Related Vulnerabilities: One of the most common security threats effects on VoIP hardware devices. In early days the most of the VoIP systems are designed with limited energy power, computing power. Due to the heavy competition in the market many vendors are keeping low cost, they are designing with low cast VoIP hardware devices but due to the changes of software applications, other system infrastructure the system need to regularly updates the device. The most common hardware devices in VoIP are Ø PCs Ø Telephone adaptors Ø Modems Ø VoIP phones 3.1.4 Protocol Vulnerability: The main protocols in VoIP are H.323 [12] and SIP (Session initiation protocol), these two protocols are commonly used in VoIP hardware system [19]. These protocols overwhelmed with security issues. SIP protocol is a complex protocol which maintains the security in SIP RFC. In SIP the network address translation crack security and which doesnt examine firewalls. H.323 is an International Telecommunication Union standard for audio and video communication across a packet network (National Institute of Standards and Technology 2005). There are four types of devices under H.324: terminals, Gateways, Gatekeepers and Multi-Point Conference Units. The terminals are phones and computers. Gateway provides an exit to other networks. The Gatekeeper handles addressing and call routing while the MCU provided conference call support. H.323 uses other protocols to perform other vital tasks. UDP packets using the Real-Time Transport Protocol transport all data. H.225 handles registration, admissions status, and call signaling. H.235 also handles all security and has four different schemes call Annexes. â€Å"H.323 is a complicated protocol†. SIP Vulnerabilities Overview The below shows a SIP call flow using SIP and UDP protocols, user can send a voice call through proxy server, the p Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Technology Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Technology ABSTRACT: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology which attract extra attention and awareness to the world wide business. IP telephonys system will affect the sending voice transmission in the form of packet over the IP network in the VoIP applications. Now a days many industries will use the VoIP technologies to provide the Security. In this project, I provided a variety of VoIP safety intimidation and probable approach to handle the intimidation in VoIP application. VoIP is naturally susceptible to networks attack, like hateful codes (i.e., worms, viruses, Trojans), denial-of-service (DoS), distributed DoS (DDoS), pharming, and (though non malicious) sparkle were crowded. These attacks also spoil grimy system by overriding assets, distracting valid user, compromise private informations, or by demeaning code and records. This break affect the contaminated system, it also destroy the unaffected (or even non-vulnerable) ones. All system associated to the Internet are responsive to hateful code which try to contaminate as much as hosts is probable, cause overcrowding on the network communications. The QoS which is provide to the end user is of highest significance and it is the main issue to implement the VoIP system, since if the exchange is indecipherable then there is no position in giving the service. The major factor which distresses the superiority of services is Latency, Jitter and Packet loss. CHAPTER-1 1.0 Introduction The voice enterprises continuously providing voice conversation services on over broad band by discovering the current market issues and network issues from past 20 years, the voice transition industry undergone various security and network issues to produce better quality voice service to transit on over broad band. The current voice market has been step up into the new level of voice protocols for providing VoIP services during low bandwidth, high level of data and voice transmission provisions. The VOIP technologies allow sharing the resource of WAN for supporting data and voice for saving the cost for transmission process [1]. The VoIP provides many advantages to the enterprises, the migration of voice and telephone application form TDM switch network to IP packet switched network provides many advantages to enterprises during the migration of voice into IP application the enterprises need to provide security to the data applications [2]. However the enterprises need to identify the security issues and employee new techniques to protect against attacks. Security and QoS is a main aspect of VOIP system, the data on voice networks have been attacked by viruses, worms, DOS attacks and other unknown authentication users [3]. The VOIP architecture is a complete network hierarchical structure which is compound with many of the networking devices, the design structure have to ensure that whether the components will cope the unwanted attacks. The protocol structure in a VOIP system is a more sensible factor due to the poor ambitious. Here we introduce the attacks on over VoIP system. VOIP Overview VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol which is the mainly used in the transmission of voice communications through IP network like internet, public switched networks [4]. The concept of VoIP mainly targets of the transmission of voice based messages and applications by using different protocols and is transmitted via the internet. The basic steps involved in the transmission of voice signals through the internet are:  · Conversion of voice to analog and digital signal.  · Compression and conversion of the signal into Internet Protocol Packets to broadcast over Internet. VoIP systems adopt different session control protocols for commanding over the set-up, tear-down of calls and also different audio codecs which allow for encoding the voice signal and allow the transmission. These audio codecs may vary form system to system where some of them are based on the narrow band and some on the compressed speech where some other system may use high fidelity audio codecs. Technologies used to implement VoIP:  · H.323 [12]  · IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  · Session initiation Protocol (SIP) [5]  · Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) [5] 1.1 Problem Definition In the past days the VoIP security is a not a big concern the people were mainly concerned with the functionalities, cost and the usage, but the VOIP communication trend has been encouraged; the VOIP communication system widely accepted by the people; due to the high acceptance of VOIP system the security issues are main concern. However the VoIP services are rapidly growing in the current voice communication system, many unauthenticated users and hackers are stealing the VoIP services and hacking the services from the service providers and re routing to their personal usage. Some of the security standards are not credential they only supports to authentication over calls, but the problem with the service theft. The security concerns will affect on quality of the system, due to the security tools and security solutions will conflict on quality of service. The system will accept the security tools those tools shouldnt decrease the quality. The basic issue of the quality is firewall. The firewall will blocks the calls for security constrains it will not process the signaling which are allocated to the UDP ports. Due to the security issues on VoIP devices will consumes extra time for packet delivery and which consumes extra time during the call; so it may delay the packet delivery, due to the encryption and decryption mechanism will conflict the call time. 1.2 Objectives of the study The basic objective of this is to detect source of attacked packet on over network Ø To formally define the network security problems and unauthorized access incidents Ø To define the most accredited security techniques and security methods Ø To evaluate the prototype system and packet feature mechanism Ø Email and other internet message are easily integrated with the voice applications Ø To support the multimedia applications, which provides less cost effective services for video conference, gaming Ø To supports a low cost, flat rate pricing on the voice communication over the Public Internet and Intranet services. Ø Sends the call signaling messages over the IP-based data Network with a suitable quality of service and much superior cost benefit. Ø Present offline message passing between the users by selecting a user from predefined offline user list Ø Present textual communication 1.3 Research Method Ø Provide authentication to the end users for accessing the VoIP services Ø Design secure VoIP Configuration system Ø Attempt to separate VoIP traffic from normal data traffic using either VLANs or a completely separate physical network. Ø Enable authentication on SIP accounts.Internal Firewalls/ACLs should be cond to block telnet and http traffic from reaching voice VLANs or subnets. 1.4 SCOPE These researches analyze the security and performance issues, it has to research on different security levels and represent various security challenges to modern VoIP system. Ø This research enhance security methods by analyzing the modern security challenges Ø To present various security methods; this security methods are explained in chapter -3 to analyze and investigate the security threats and define the solution for obtaining better performance Ø Balance VoIP security and performance by measuring the services and network traffic Ø To present VoIP protocols for secure data transmission 1,5 Thesis Organization Chatper-1: Introduction: General Introduction of VoIP, problem definition and Research methods Chapter -2: Literature Review: Review of VoIP deployment and review of security issues and performance and VoIP security background and security challenges Chapter -3: Security process: VoIP security process, managing of VoIP security and security process and define the security solutions Chapter -4: VOIP security and performance: Demonstrate VoIP performance , balancing of security and performance of VoIP Chapter -5: Analysis Report: security and performance analysis and investigation reports of VoIP security and performance and complete project report scenario Chapter -6: Conclusion, Future Enhancement, References and Appendices. CHAPTER -2 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Background VoIP is a IP telephony which is used to deliver a voice on over internet; which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol which converts a voice signals to digital voice packets and transmit these packets on over network; for transmitting which uses Internet protocol for coordinating voice packets. VoIP can be deployed in dissimilar kind of IP enabled network like Internet, wireless networks, Ethernet. VoIP is a telephony system which takes voice as a analog signals and which converts it into digital format and transmit on over network by using Intern protocol. VoIP service Types VoIP provides different types of voice service according to the communication media infrastructure; the most common services are as follows Ø Computer to computer based services Ø PC to phone and phone to PC based services Ø Phone to phone based VoIP services [6] Computer to computer: A voice exchange in between system to system is one type of communication provides free VoIPs services which it requires related software applications such as gtalk[8], skype[7], messengers. In this services the users need to install same softwares in their respective PCs and exchange their voices same as Peer to Peer services. PC to phone and phone to PC: It is a combination of Internet and circuit switched telephone system. The VoIP application software receives the voice and hand over to the Internet protocol to communicate on over telephone network. VoIP services provide a services to communicate with phone s by establishing VoIP network; an applications such as Skype, messengers are communicate to the phones by converting respective receiving and transmitting formats. In the Phone to PC services the user can communicate from phones to PCs; user can dial to PCs by calling like normal phones; in this services the PC IP address contains a phone number. The user can dial from phone to assigned PC IP address phone number; Skype is a best example for this kind of services, which allows users to purchase a VoIP services to communicate from phone to PC [7]. The most common devices in these services are Ø VoIP service providers Ø Modem Ø Internet services Ø ATA: Analog Terminal Adaptor, this convert analog signals to voice signals voice signals to analogs singles Phone to phone based VoIP services [6]: Now a days this type of services are using in long distance calls; many communication service provide companies offering long distance calls in very abnormal price by utilizing the PSTN services. VoIP System A Fig- 1 shows a typical VoIP network topology which is a combination of given equipments; the following equipments are 1) Gatekeeper 2) VoIP Gateway 3) VoIP Clients Gatekeeper: A VoIP gatekeeper is a routing manager and central manager in a H 323 IP telephony surroundings. This is an option in a VoIP system which manages end points of a sector. VoIP gatekeeper is useful for managing calls, terminals and gateways. VoIP gatekeeper presents access control, bandwidth control and address translation. VoIP gateway: The VoIP entry convert a voice calls into genuine instant in between Public switch Telephone Network (PSTN) and IP networks. The basic functionalities of VoIP entry are compression, decompression; signal controlling, packetization and call routing. VoIP clients: This equipment represents phones, multimedia PCs 2.1 Security Issues. VoIP Phishing How To prevent VoIP Phishing and avoided getting Trapped You can do prevent VoIP Phishing at home and in your corporation and to avoid yourself and your associates from being keen as a Phishing victim. What is VoIP Phishing and hoe it work VoIP Phishing is a type of assault that lures the user into given personal data like phone number, credit card numbers, and password over a web site. Phishing over VoIP is become uncontrolled as VoIP makes Phishing easers for attacker. Security thread in VoIP While VoIP has become a one of the conventional communication technologies, VoIP user face a serious of security threads lets see this security issues. Firewall A firewall is software is planned to protect a personal networks from illegal access. Firewalls usually block the worthless passage from the outside to the inside of the networks and so on. Over look security You must not look at only at the light side of VoIP. While it is revolutionizing voice and data communication, it does not symbolize some problematic security issues that need that need to be deal with accurately. Quality of Service Issues (Qos) Qos [9] is a basic process of VoIP; if it delivers a good quality of services to the users which are more advantage to the users for saving money; rather than spending much money on other communication services. The Quality is an importance factor for VoIP services providers industries. In Certain level the security issues implementation can degrade the QoS. The security procedures such as firewalls and encryption techniques block the calls and delay the packet delivery. The main QoS issues are Ø Latency Ø Jitter Ø Packet loss Ø Bandwidth problem Latency: Latency represents a delivery time for voice transmission from source to destination. The ITU-T advice that G.114 [10] establish a many time of constraints on one-way latency .To achieve Quality of Service the VoIP calls must be achieve in a limited bound time. The basic issues in latency are Ø Time spent on routers and long network distance Ø Security measures Ø Voice data encoding Ø Queuing Ø Packetization Ø Composition and decomposition Ø Decoding Jitter: The non-uniform packets make a packet delivery delay; which it is caused by insufficient bandwidth. The packets are in out of sequence order, for transmitting voice media it uses RTP protocol; this protocol are based on UDP so that it makes the packet in out of order sequence which degrades the QoS by not resembling the protocols at protocol level. Packet Loss: The packet loss increase the latency and jitter; where group of packets are arrived late will be discarded and allow new packets. The packet loss is associated with data network; due to the low bandwidth and high traffic which delays the packet delivery. Bandwidth: The low bandwidth delays a packet delivery which degrades the QoS by increasing the latency and jitter. The data on over network have to distribute into various nodes; the data have to transmit from one node to another node during this transmission if it encounter any problem which it can delays the packet. The entire network design includes routers, firewall and other security measures. Certain time in the network path some of the nodes are unavailable at that time it doesnt deliver the packets to an end users. 2.2 VoIP protocols There are numbers and numbers of network that can be working in organize to offer for VoIP communiquà © service .In this part we will center no which the general to the best part of device deploy. Almost each machine in the globe use a standardization called real time protocol (RTP) for transmit of audio and video packet between the networks. IETF is the founder of RPT. The consignment layout of numbers CODE are define in RFC 3551 (The section â€Å"RTP profiles and pay load format specification† of RCF. These sections address items.). Though pay load format section are define in document also published by the ITU (International telecommunication union) and in others IETF RFCs. The RTP mostly deal with issue like packets order and give mechanism to help the address wait. The H.323 [7] standard uses the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RTP protocol to transport media between endpoints. Because of this, H.323 has the same issues as SIP when dealing with network topologies involving NAT. The easiest method is to simply forward the appropriate ports through your NAT device to the internal client. To receive calls, you will always need to forward TCP port 1720 to the client. In addition, you will need to forward the UDP ports for the RTP media and RTCP con-trol streams (see the manual for your device for the port range it requires). Older cli-ents, such as MS Netmeeting, will also require TCP ports forwarded for H.245tunneling (again, see your clients manual for the port number range). If you have a number of clients behind the NAT device, you will need to use a gate-keeper running in proxy mode. The gatekeeper will require an interface attached to the private IP subnet and the public Internet. Your H.323 client on the private IP subnet will then re gister to the gatekeeper, which will proxy calls on the clients behalf. Note that any external clients that wish to call you will also be required to register with the proxy server. At this time, Asterisk cant act as an H.323 gatekeeper. Youll have to use a separate application, such as the open source OpenH323 Gatekeeper H.323 and SIP Have their origins in 1995 as researchers looked to solve the problem of how to computers can indicate communication in order to exchange audio video files.H.323[12] enjoy the first commercial success due to this fact those who are working on the protocol in ITU[12] worked quickly to publish the first standard in the year 1996. While support of the two protocols on a single gateway is critical, another integral part of dual-protocol deployment is the ability for H.323 gatekeepers and SIP proxies to interwork and share routing capabilities. One method that was introduced to support time-to-market requirements uses routing interaction between a Cisco SIP Proxy Server and an H.323 gatekeeper. The business model for some carriers using the Cisco Global Long Distance Solution is to provide origination and termination of voice-over-IP (VoIP) minutes for several other service providers. This business model has been very successful with deployment of H.323-based services, but these Cisco customers would also like to attract additional SIP-based service providers. Ideally, these customers would like to use their existing voice-gateway infrastructure to support additional SIP-based offerings. Cisco has provided these carriers with a way to add new SIP services by adding capabilities to the Cisco SIP Proxy Server to allow it to â€Å"handshake† with an H.323 gatekeeper using the H.323 RAS protocol. By enabling a SIP proxy server to communicate with an H.323 gatekeeper using RAS location request, location confirmation, and location reject messages and responses, a Cisco SIP Proxy Server can obtain optimized routing information from VoIP gateways that have been deployed in the service providers network. The Cisco architecture allows for protocol exibility and enables, one call-by-call basis, use of a particular session protocol. This exibility allows customers to deploy SIP networks on proven packet telephony infrastructures, while still maintaining core H.323 functionality within their networks. With the ability to support the connection of customers and carriers using either rotocol, service providers can offer a variety of application hosting and sharing services, and be more aggressive in pursuing wholesale opportunities via new services. Some principles for coexistence that are critical for successful multiprotocol deployments are transport capabilities across time-division multiplexing (TDM) interfaces, dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) processing capabilities and fax relay support. In deployments where both protocols are used, it is important that there are no performance limitations related to the call mix between SIP and H.323 calls, and that there is no significant deviation in calls-per-second measurements compared to a homogeneous SIP or H.323 network. Cisco gateways provide support for coexistence of SIP and H.323 calls beginning with Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(2)XB. Above illustrates packet voice architectures for wholesale call transport and 2 illustrates termination services for application service providers (ASPs) where SIP and H.323 are used simultaneously for signaling. Reasons for VoIP Deployment When you are using PSTN line, you typically pay for time used to a PSTN line manager company: more time you stay at phone and more youll pay. In addition you couldnt talk with other that one person at a time. In opposite with VoIP mechanism you can talk all the time with every person you want (the needed is that other person is also connected to Internet at the same time), as far as you want (money independent) and, in addition, you can talk with many people at the same time. If youre still not persuaded you can consider that, at the same time, you can exchange data with people are you talking with, sending images, graphs and videos. There are two main reasons to use VoIP: lower cost than traditional landline telephone and diverse value-added services. Low Cost Higher multimedia application: Traditional telephone system requires highly trained technicians to install and custom configuration. Companies find the need to call the service of specialist to implement, simple tasks like moving adding a phone. Modules such as ‘voicemail and the additional lines are the part of perpetual cycle of upgrades and modifications that make telephony support a very profitable business. The methodology use to implement PSTN business phone system is well understood and the industry is very mature. Hence company can make a purchase with the confidence that if they are installing a traditional system it will function and include an excellent supported infrastructure. IDC reports the number of VoIP ports shipped in 2005 will be equal to traditional analogues deployment. Non to be taken lightly, the average lifespan of a voice system range from 5-10 years. In 5 to 10 years, an analogues telephone system will be the exception as opposed to the telephone standards. Qualified technicians, whom are required to work on propriety system, will be difficult to come by. In addition, the prospect of telephone manufacture going out of business or the technology simply being repulsed by a more agile and less costly alternative, are both risks that must be taken into account in well informed decision. Fortunately a company can take few preventive to protect them from outdated system. One such step is use of standards technologies that are back by a number of company and possibly trade group as opposed to a single entity. In VoIP space a good example is session Initiation Protocols, SIP. SIP is supported by the large majority of vendors and is considered the industry standard protocol for VoIP. Beyond analogue lines that terminate from an ISP, The traditional telephony market does not have much interoperability. For example it is not be integrate an Avaya PBX with a Nortel PBX. Hidden cost can be substantial in any technology deployment. The downtime experienced with buggy or poorly implemented technology, in addition to the cost of qualified consultants to remedy such as Challenges of VoIP: Though VoIP is becoming more and more popular, there are still some challenging problems with VoIP: Bandwidth: Network which available is an important anxiety in network. A network can be busted down into many nodes, associations and produce a big quantity of traffic flow, therefore, the availability of each node and link where we only focus on the bandwidth of the VoIP system. An in a data network, bandwidth overcrowding can cause QoS problems, when network overcrowding occur, packets need to be queued which cause latency as well as jitter. Thus, bandwidth must be accurately reserved and billed to ensure VoIP quality. Because data and voice share the same network bandwidth in a VOIP system, the necessary bandwidth condition and allocation become more complex. In a LAN surroundings, switches usually running at 100 Mbps (or 1000 Mbps), upgrading routers and switches can be the effective ways to address the bandwidth bottleneck inside the LAN. Power Failure and Backup Systems: Traditional telephones work on 48 volts which is supplied by the telephone line itself without outside power supply. Thus, traditional telephones can still continue to work even when a power breakdown occurs. However, a backup power system is also required with VOIP so that they can continue to operate during a power breakdown. An organization usually has an uninterruptible power system (UPS) for its network to overcome power failure, [14] Security: As VoIP becomes too popular, the issues related to VoIP network are also very progressively and more arising [15]. W. Chou [16] has investigation the different security of VoIP investigation the different and also given some optional strategies for these issues. In reference [17], the authors also outline the challenges of securing VoIP, and provide guidelines for adopting VoIP technology. Soft phone: Soft phones are installed on system thus should not be used where the security is an anxiety. In todays world, worms, viruses, Trojan houses, spy wares and etc are everywhere on the internet and very complex to defend. A computer could be attacked even if a user does not open the email attachment, or a user does nothing but only visit a compromise web site. Thus use of soft phones could bring high risks for vulnerabilities. Emergency calls: Each traditional telephone link is joined to a physical location, thus emergency tune-up providers can easily track callers locality to the emergency send out office. But dissimilar traditional telephone lines, VoIP technology allows an exacting number could be from anywhere; this made emergency services more problematical, because these emergency call centers cannot get the callers location or it may not be possible to send out emergency services to that location. Although the VoIP providers provide some solutions for emergency calls, there is at rest need of manufacturing principles in VOIP surroundings. Physical security: The most significant issue in VoIP network is Physical security. An attacker can do traffic psychoanalysis once actually they access to VoIP. In between server and gateway, like to determine which parties are communicating. So the physical security policy and some controls are needed to control the VoIP network access mechanism. Otherwise, risks such as insertion of snuffer software by attackers could cause data and all voice connections being intercept. Wireless Security: Connection in wireless network nodes were integrated with VoIP network which receives more and more popular and accepted [18]. The wireless networks are very feeble as compared to Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). The algorithm for 802.11 is week because WEP can be cracked with public available software. This is the major project in wireless network for example the more common and popular WiFi protected Access (WPF and WPA 20) which administrated by Wi-Fi Alliance are providing more significant security in improvement, the WPA protected is also integrated with wireless technology in VoIP. CHAPTER -3 Related Work 3.0 Security Studies Voice of Internet Protocol is the next generation telecommunications method. It allows to phone calls to be route over a data network thus saving money and offering increased features and productivity. All these benefits come at a price, vulnerability. It is easier to attack and exploit a voice and data network. VoIP will need extra security measures beyond the standard security that is typically implement for a computer network. Many issues need to be addressed such as type of attacks, security, quality of service and VoIP protocols. Voice over IP (VoIP) is a one of the most challenging technology in todays market. The importance of VoIP is rapidly growing, many vendors introducing VoIP services with advanced technologies for improving quality of services and security. In this chapter I am discussing about security models and security process. 3.1 VoIP Security Process: There are many VoIP protocols in the market. Some are proprietary while others are open standards. The two most popular open protocols are H.323 and SIP. They were designed by two different organizations and operate slightly differently. They both have problems with the use of random ports problems with NAT translations and firewalls. Security for VoIP devices and VoIP network is a complex process, securing of VoIP protocols and data streaming invokes at many stages. The most common VoIP vulnerabilities are as follows Ø Software Related: Ø Device related Ø Protocol related Ø System Configuration related Ø Application level attacks 3.1.2 Software Related Vulnerabilities: The basic flaws in software vulnerable are operating services and functions problems and quality, operating system interface and administrations [19]. Software application interfaces, software application logic Ø Software applications Ø Application interfaces 3.1.3 Device Related Vulnerabilities: One of the most common security threats effects on VoIP hardware devices. In early days the most of the VoIP systems are designed with limited energy power, computing power. Due to the heavy competition in the market many vendors are keeping low cost, they are designing with low cast VoIP hardware devices but due to the changes of software applications, other system infrastructure the system need to regularly updates the device. The most common hardware devices in VoIP are Ø PCs Ø Telephone adaptors Ø Modems Ø VoIP phones 3.1.4 Protocol Vulnerability: The main protocols in VoIP are H.323 [12] and SIP (Session initiation protocol), these two protocols are commonly used in VoIP hardware system [19]. These protocols overwhelmed with security issues. SIP protocol is a complex protocol which maintains the security in SIP RFC. In SIP the network address translation crack security and which doesnt examine firewalls. H.323 is an International Telecommunication Union standard for audio and video communication across a packet network (National Institute of Standards and Technology 2005). There are four types of devices under H.324: terminals, Gateways, Gatekeepers and Multi-Point Conference Units. The terminals are phones and computers. Gateway provides an exit to other networks. The Gatekeeper handles addressing and call routing while the MCU provided conference call support. H.323 uses other protocols to perform other vital tasks. UDP packets using the Real-Time Transport Protocol transport all data. H.225 handles registration, admissions status, and call signaling. H.235 also handles all security and has four different schemes call Annexes. â€Å"H.323 is a complicated protocol†. SIP Vulnerabilities Overview The below shows a SIP call flow using SIP and UDP protocols, user can send a voice call through proxy server, the p