VOIP Resources

VOIP System Caution

2010-12-17T00:00:00-05:00

Okay, okay, the new voip connection has been great. But this is a warning about security. I will put up more recommendations shortly. I have recently had my external port hacked. They hacked into the default Ext 100 and start placing international calls.

Certainly, the first think I have done is to close external access until I am confident I am less exposed. The second thing I have done is to add a password to dial international phone number. The third is to improve the security of the passwords on all the SIP accounts.

This is a form of Cyber Crime which really isn’t on law enforcements radar, it is difficult to determine who has made the attack and difficult to prove…

Heed this warning and make sure your system is very secure prior to setting up remote extensions. Currently I can’t be called or place calls from work on my home phone… I will fix it shortly and let you know what I have found.

VOIP PBX Wins in Primary

2010-10-05T00:00:00-05:00

More good news with my Asterisk Based VOIP PBX. This political season was totally avoided!

I know many poeple that complained about all the political poles and informationational calls during the primary. I can tell you that I talked to ZERO political parties but have seen several come into the VOIP system.

That does not go for my poor PBX Server. We received approximately 35 calls up to the election, several from caller ID 999-999-9999. There were a few numbers that had already been black-listed, but it seams like the "Boiler Rooms" where they place these calls cannot handle the Voice Menu to select the proper resident. All of the non-black-listed calls died while selecting a resident to dial. There were a few longer "calls" to the AVR (Automated Voice Response), most likely playing their recording to the computer.

What a clean, rest-ful time in the house during a usually busy "dinner" phone call season. Again, VOIP is the way to go, it puts you in control of who can use your phone to contact you. This free Asterisk PBX system has been great so far, until next time.

My Own Voip Phone Service

2010-08-24T00:00:00-05:00

The Asterisk VOIP system has been running great for a while now. We have about 10 numbers black-listed (hope my wife doesn't find out her parents can't all anymore... he he he). The phone is now under our control. We can talk to people whom we wish. We can even send voice messages to each other. Life is good.

Ultimately, I have developed my own VOIP IP based phone service based upon my old Analog phone line into the house. But how is it cheaper. It really isn't much cheaper yet! I have extended my reach to another Asterisk VOIP system and tied them together. This has given more "Outbound" phone lines to the house. Now the call that comes in for the girls can be routed through the PBX and out to the other VOIP server and to their Cellular phone. I have installed X-lite softphone on my PC to place calls through my house from anywhere I am on the internet. I also have a Google Android Cellphone and have installed SIPdroid on my phone and can place Voice over IP based calls over my data plan rather than paying for more minutes.

So, it is getting cheaper, and certainly more flexible as I learn the power of having your own VOIP PBX!

Getting help with Asterisk/Trixbox

2010-08-06T00:00:00-05:00

At first site, I figured that it would be difficult to setup the Trixbox system. I did know some Linux and was very familiar with Windows, but there just was not much of that involved.

The TrixBox ISO was truly an instant ignition. The CD booted up on my system and walked me through the process. It was a very simple process. Once the Trixbox installation CD is done, I used a web browser to setup the extensions, SIP Lines (if needed), and rest of the PBX configuration. This is the point when the VOIP system can be custom to your needs.

The import part about the process is I was never alone. The internet has brought everyone’s experience with VOIP and Trixbox into a single place. That place is the internet! If I needed help for something, I searched for it.

For example; I needed to setup a Grandstream GXP-2000 IP phone to my new VOIP system but had no clue how to do it. All I did was search for “setup Grandstream GXP-2000 phone on trixbox”. This returned about 8,000 sites to review. I ended up using www.voip-info.org, www.grandstream.com, and the TrixBox supporters site Fonality.com forums.

These are some of the best places to find help for Trixbox, but you can also access Asterisk.org or other asterisk forums as that is the underlying PBX VOIP software installed with the instant ignition.

Voip flexibility "Black List"

2010-08-01T00:00:00-05:00

Okay,

All I can say is WOW. Voip is a wonderful addition to any home or business. I have had the Asterisk VOIP PBX setup now for a while. I hated getting calls from sales folks, politicians, as well as charities. Once they got you on the phone they made it difficult to say no. Not that I don't like to donate to charities, as I do and quite a bit. I like to choose them and I check them out. The random call on Sunday night just isn't enough time for me to check out the charity. Frankly, it kinda stinks as well, the pressure to save this or help that just isn't want you want on a quiet Sunday family night.

Now, back to Asterisk... The inventors of the system have a very nice solution! Well, here is what you do to solve the problem. You simply BLACK LIST them on the PBX. This can be done by any phone after the phone call is over. Simply dial the feature code assigned to black listing [*30] by default. You can list number ahead of time if you wish right on the maintenance screen. There are many websites which list irritating phone numbers.

Next time the caller rings your VOIP system, the PBX directs the caller directly to a message. The default is “This number has been disconnected”. What a time savings when it comes to callers you would rather not deal with in the future!

VOIP is the solution, try it out!

Incoming calls for the family, VOIP way...

2010-07-28T00:00:00-05:00

Now the Trixbox, Asterisk VOIP (Voice over IP) system is up and running, it is time to kick the tires to see what it can do. I setup an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to help direct callers to the proper family member. Now everyone has their own phone extension and voicemail box on the system.

When some calls, they will enter the number of the person they are trying to call: 1 - me, 2 - Mom, 3 - etc... Once they select who they wish to speak with a number of different things could happen. For me and Mom, the system rings our phones in the house. I have grouped all the common phones together as a ring-group, actually 2 groups of the same type (I will explain). Any time we get a call, it is sent to this group, and the phones ring. Also, the caller ID is prefixed with a ME: or MOM: so we know to whom the call is intended (this is why 2 ring-groups were needed). If no one answers, each group knows which mailbox to send the call, again programmed in the ring-groups. Also, when a voicemail is left, a copy of that message is Email to us, great for times when we are away from the house.

If the call is for one of the Kids, the call is routed to their Cellphone. They all have a cellphone with voicemail. They live with the device. The only thing required for this feature is a 2nd phone line to carry the outbound call to the cellphones. This can also be done over a SIP trunk, Skype, and a few other options. I had access to a 2nd line so I used it to take the VOIP call and turn it around into a regular outbound analog phone call.

So far, VOIP is great!

Voip now installed

2010-07-25T00:00:00-05:00

The 5 family members were the main reason. Boy did I like taking notes for others in the house and waiting until 11:30PM at night when they got home to delivery the message. I will miss that immensely. VOIP has changed my life. Here is what I have done.

Okay, so I loaded up a version of TrixBox and got to configuring my VOIP system. I still had the analog phone line in the house so I redirected this to Asterisk, the free PBX software bundle with the free TrixBox instant ignition. I installed an FXO device from Grandstream that took the analog line and made it digital. I got a 4 port, there are likely less expensive solutions than the GXW4104 from grandstream. You need an FXO (Foreign eXchange Office) which takes your analog line coming into the house and converts it to a digital connection.

I also got an FXS (Foreign eXchange Subscriber) that worked with Asterisk. I got a LinkSys RT32P2, be careful, so of these are locked to a provider and you can't configure the to work. You want an Unlocked version. This allowed me to connect back into the analog phone system in the house. Ultimately, slipped a PBX between the incoming analog service from the phone company (using a FXO) and the actual phones in the house (using the FXS). The FXS is an analog version of a IP Phone.

Now my system is fully installed! I am now ready to find out more than what the system will do for us...

Grandstream GXW-4104 FXO Analog Gateway - VPN gateway - 4 ports - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet - external

Grandstream Enterprise 4 Lines IP Phone

The world of Voip!

2010-07-25T00:00:00-05:00

I wanted my phone to do exactly what I wanted. The phone company never provided the service that worked for me. I wanted to receive and originate phone calls, they did provide that service. With a family of 5, the 1 phone line they provice just doesn't cut it.

VOIP is the solution, if you are a computer pro, you should consider building your own Asterisk VOIP PBX system. There are serveral out of the box solutions such as FreePBX and TrixBox. These are FREE solutions and well used around the world.

You do need a little hardware to get you going. I used an old cheap windows XP PC. You will not keep the operating system, as Asterisk will run under a CENT OS Linux operating system. You really don't need to know much about Linux for this to work. Most of the configuration is done via GUI (web based Graphical User Interface).

Depending upon what you are trying to do, your VOIP system may cost you a few hundred dollars in hardware. Asterisk is free software and well community supported!