Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai General Chat

Etisalat’s explanation for problems experienced by Blackberry subscribers in the UAE after a “performance enhancing” patch was downloaded is “far from the reality of the situation,” said the IT expert who first discovered the glitch.

A patch issued by the telecoms company for BlackBerry users last week caused many subscribers to experience severe battery drainage and heating of their devices.

Doha-based computer programmer Nigel Gourlay, had claimed the draining was caused by hidden software in the patch that intercepted the user’s communication.

Louie H, the man who discovered the fault and posted it on the official Blackberry forum, told Gulf News: “This statement from etisalat is in no way related to the issue. Programmers have seen the code for this patch and have confirmed that it is designed to send information back to etisalat.”




http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Technology/10331680.html

Etisalat BlackBerry Software Upgrade Aims to Enhance Performance of Devices and Facilitate Handover from 3G to 2G Networks

Abu Dhabi 15 July 2009: Etisalat today confirmed that a conflict in the settings in some BlackBerry devices has led to a slight technical fault while upgrading the software of these devices. This has resulted in reduced battery life in a very limited number of devices. Etisalat has received approximately 300 complaints to date, out of its total customer base which exceeds 145,000.

These upgrades were required for service enhancements particularly for issues identified related to the handover between 2G to 3G network coverage areas.

Customers who have been affected are advised to call 101 where they will be given instructions on how to restore their handset to its original state. This will resolve the issue completely.

What do ya make of it?

being a suitably suspicious kind of guy I didn't download the patch, and for that i am now very thankful. I'll be giving anything Etisalat try to force on me a body swerve from now on.

Once etisalat on their website had released a software that runs in the background - they said it was to block diallers. I started getting suspicious that the real story must be to keep track of internet users' activities.

Then they visted everyone's homes installing these new boxes that promised high speed connectivity and to take advantage of the fiber optic system. yeah right. Again i got my doubts about these boxes - they are probably used to aid in listening in conversations.

And now there's the blackberry software update that runs in the background. many experts have already reported it as highyl suspicious software.

So now what you make of "Big Brother"?

Big Brother is there in all countries. However in some places people get in trouble only if they plan some large crime. In places like North Korea or Burma on the other hand, people not praising the leader enough may get in trouble. At least the UAE is closer to the former than the latter

Go check out www ss8 com - thats what they are installing on the Blackberry. That and other software is running in the background of every net application that you run in the UAE, but yet again they balls up a simple operation like this, priceless.

Its not just the Big Brother factor - its the incidious invasion of privacy and business - who benefits from all this spying and do you trust those you have access to the information gathered to be impartial ?

i was never asked to download any patch - i feel left out

bushra21 wrote:i was never asked to download any patch - i feel left out

This is an anti espionage operation. We're looking at tracking suspicious, mysterious individuals aka James Bonds and the likes.
Not Barbie Dolls

Misery Called Life wrote:

bushra21 wrote:i was never asked to download any patch - i feel left out

This is an anti espionage operation. We're looking at tracking suspicious, mysterious individuals aka James Bonds and the likes.
Not Barbie Dolls

hmph, youve obviously never seen me angry


and i hate barbie dolls they scare me

bushra21 wrote:

Misery Called Life wrote:

bushra21 wrote:i was never asked to download any patch - i feel left out

This is an anti espionage operation. We're looking at tracking suspicious, mysterious individuals aka James Bonds and the likes.
Not Barbie Dolls

hmph, youve obviously never seen me angry


and i hate barbie dolls they scare me

I see, So ur something of a tomboy eh?

Misery Called Life wrote:What do ya make of it?

Its very simple.

Etisalat is going to lose market share because of this.
They lost my upfront confidence and I can easily say, that I will never take etisalat in the near future.

If I had any doubts regarding the selection of a communications provider, before arriving in Dubai, they are gone now. DU is going to get me as a client. Definately not etisalat.

Hell, I even consider to base my residency location based on this fact.

Avoid etisalat to safeguard your freedom!

RobbyG wrote:

Misery Called Life wrote:What do ya make of it?

Its very simple.

Etisalat is going to lose market share because of this.
They lost my upfront confidence and I can easily say, that I will never take etisalat in the near future.

If I had any doubts regarding the selection of a communications provider, before arriving in Dubai, they are gone now. DU is going to get me as a client. Definately not etisalat.

Hell, I even consider to base my residency location based on this fact.

Avoid etisalat to safeguard your freedom!

You really have no idea what you are rambling on about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sage & onion wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

Misery Called Life wrote:What do ya make of it?

Its very simple.

Etisalat is going to lose market share because of this.
They lost my upfront confidence and I can easily say, that I will never take etisalat in the near future.

If I had any doubts regarding the selection of a communications provider, before arriving in Dubai, they are gone now. DU is going to get me as a client. Definately not etisalat.

Hell, I even consider to base my residency location based on this fact.

Avoid etisalat to safeguard your freedom!

You really have no idea what you are rambling on about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If thats the case, please enlighten me

Let me add something to my statement for you:
Etisalat and DU seem to have their own residency blocks to avoid some form of competition among them. If I'm wrong, please discuss since that is what this forum is all about.

So, I've read myself into this blackberry update issue in the last few days (that you can't wouldn't know) and have been discussing this matter with help of twitter.

I think I know more about this Etisalat issue than you Mr. Sage, unless you will show that to be untrue?

Waiting for your share of a discussion...

RobbyG wrote:

sage & onion wrote:

RobbyG wrote:

Misery Called Life wrote:What do ya make of it?

Its very simple.

Etisalat is going to lose market share because of this.
They lost my upfront confidence and I can easily say, that I will never take etisalat in the near future.

If I had any doubts regarding the selection of a communications provider, before arriving in Dubai, they are gone now. DU is going to get me as a client. Definately not etisalat.

Hell, I even consider to base my residency location based on this fact.

Avoid etisalat to safeguard your freedom!

You really have no idea what you are rambling on about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If thats the case, please enlighten me

Let me add something to my statement for you:
Etisalat and DU seem to have their own residency blocks to avoid some form of competition among them. If I'm wrong, please discuss since that is what this forum is all about.

So, I've read myself into this blackberry update issue in the last few days (that you can't wouldn't know) and have been discussing this matter with help of twitter.

I think I know more about this Etisalat issue than you Mr. Sage, unless you will show that to be untrue?

Waiting for your share of a discussion...

For your information I am a customer of Du (Damned Useless) it's not by choice, it is forced upon me. I do however know that Etisalat gives a far superior service this is land line that I am talking. As far as Crackberry is concerned I don't have one and I certainly do not want one.

What happened with the Crackberries is only a symptom of an underlying illness, given the type of tech platform that the Blackberry is, and that the servers are proprietary to RIM it was necessary for Etisalat to purchase client side software and force the install on the subscribed user base (as they could not install it on the RIM message servers) to keep an eye on what you are up to.

It required no great leap of the imagination to figure out that they have already installed monitoring software on the message servers already within their control so anything you send or receive via you Nokia, Samsung etc is already logged and scanned.

My simple opinion is that this is the thin end of the wedge. Issues of security aside (the great excuse for all evils) the commercial aspect of this snooping is gross. For example, no amount of discussion will persuade me that "they" are not one step away from using information gleaned via unconventional means.

Say for example your import export business is not doing so well in this economic climate and you are confidentially discussing alternate financing or relocating your warehousing to a cheaper country - how would you rate your chances going through the airport on your next business trip ?

The issue is governance and the checks and balances that these systems require to be in place before they can used uniformly - do they exist within Etisalat?

Hmmmmm No I don' t think so either !