My Experience With Tesco Mobile

Having owned many smartphones, been on every network and being a great fan of new technology, I was eager to get my hands on a new phone as my girlfriend had recently bought an iPhone 5C, someone in my family bought an iPhone 5S, but I wanted to try out Windows mobile. I've used android and think it's over-rated and doesn't have that nice polished feel to it like iOS and the more I hear about Windows mobile, the more tempted I was to see what it's all about.

I looked around online and eventually came across the Nokia Lumia 920 for just £15.50 a month from Tesco Mobile. The phone itself was free and the tariff included 500mb of 3G data, 250 mins and 5000 text messages per month - more than enough for my needs. So, without much hesitation, I ordered the Nokia Lumia 920 from Tesco on Monday 20th January, 2014.

After looking on forums, most people got their phone within 2 working days of ordering. 3 days passed, then 4...I began to get a little anxious, so I called up and spoken to a Tesco Mobile representative who told me in a rather sarcastic, obnoxious voice that: "Mobiles take 3-5 WORKING days to arrive" with a real emphasis on the word 'working'. Nothing I didn't already know, but I still didn't get a dispatch notice on the 4th day.

The weekend went by and on Monday 27th, I still hadn't had a dispatch email. I called up Tesco Mobile and asked what was going on. I spoken to a guy who passed me onto a lady who said that the system they use to check the e-agreements was 'rubbish' and it wasn't working. She called me back 15 minutes later to tell me that my phone hadn't even been dispatched and was sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

She told me that she would ensure that:

1. The phone was sent out via next day delivery
2. I would get money added onto my account as Tesco had taken money out of my bank account and they hadn't honoured their 3-5 days delivery promise

Tuesday 28th January passed - absolutely nothing. No post. No dispatch email. No sign of the phone. At the time of writing, it's Wednesday 29th January. I have just got off the phone with Tesco Mobile. I was passed around to 3 different people, including a guy called Travis who passed me onto the Technical Team.

The technical team rep then told me that he can see I've called a few times, the notes on my account say that someone should have given me a call today (but they haven't). He told me that he's passed on the message to give me a call before 5pm today.

It's 3pm now, that means Tesco have 2 hours to call me. If I don't get a call back, I will be cancelling the contract because this is the worst possible customer service I have ever come across. I've spoken to no less than 6-7 reps for Tesco Mobile and 9 days after my order, I am still without a phone, without a dispatch notice and without any idea as to where the phone actually is. Oh, and did I mention Tesco have already charged my account with my first monthly payment?

EDIT: Tesco didn't call me back. I had to call them, only to be told "The Tech team have gone home, i'll get them to call you back tomorrow". Yeah - sure you will Tesco.

I will be cancelling my contract with you. 

Automation In Computer Forensics

Automation. It's a word that is synonymous with Computer Forensics. It's a fantastic topic to debate and one which I find myself thinking about alot. What exactly is meant by automation? Is automation a good thing? Should we automate processes?

For my final year project at University, (after much deliberation) I decided to design and develop software. Initially I had wanted to research current anti-forensic techniques and look at how an examiner can look for and beat anti-forensic techniques; however, after countless hours of research, I found that the topic of automation kept popping up and the debate over whether Forensic software should be automated or not was on-going.

The issue with automation in Digital Forensics, according to some, is that a Forensic Examiner may become 'dumbed down' if he/she uses this type of software and that knowledge in the field could decrease because hey, who needs to know where to find things like a volume serial no. is in hex? Software converts it all for us! (Sarcasm.) Those arguing for automation, say that automation is good in terms of speed and numerous other positives. The opposition then state that speed may reduce quality. Reduced quality means that a case wont be as helpful in court and may even be thrown out. If the case is thrown out, your (bad) reputation may precede you later on down the road.

The argument is fascinating and one that divides people; in fact, that argument was the catalyst that pushed me into designing and developing scripts for my final year project because I wanted to know the answer, or at least investigate the issue in more depth. As the project evolves, i'm constantly asking myself whom I agree with more. It's a tough call and it wouldn't be wise to make a rushed decision, therefore I will conclude this post at a later date, with a final word on whether automation is a good, or bad thing in world of Digital Forensics. 

How To Unlock BT Home Hub 3.0(A)

A friend of mine needed to downgrade his BT Home Hub 3.0 Type A. He had looked all over for instructions and the RMS firmware file. It seems that the RMS file is elusive and rather hard to track down. After a while we managed to find the following website: http://karooforums.net/index.php?topic=2363.0

Which had info on downgrading. If you are looking for the file: HUB3A_4.7.5.1.83.8.57_prod.rms, you can download it from here.

Happy downgrading!

Season To Taste or How To Eat Your Husband...

In a bizarre twist from the usual, Computer-related posts, i've decided that this blog is to be for anything and everything; and what better post to start with, than Natalie Young's new book. I've pre-ordered it - yes, i've pre-ordered a book! Believe it or not, i've never pre-ordered a book before. Video games, CD's - yes, but never a book. I must say, i'm rather looking forward to it popping up on my Kindle as soon as it gets released. So far, all we've got to go on (unless you were lucky enough to receive an un-finished copy of the book, as some Amazon customers seem to have done) is the tagline and the blurb.

 The tagline:  Always let the meat rest under foil for at least ten minutes before carving...

 And the blurb: Meet Lizzie Prain. Ordinary housewife. Fifty-something. Lives in a cottage in the woods, with her dog Rita. Likes cooking, avoids the neighbours. Runs a little business making cakes. No one has seen Lizzie's husband, Jacob, for a few days. That's because last Monday, on impulse, Lizzie caved in the back of his head with a spade. And if she's going to embark on the new life she feels she deserves after thirty years in Jacob's shadow, she needs to dispose of his body. Her method appeals to all her practical instincts, though it's not for the faint-hearted. Will Lizzie have the strength to follow it through?

The tagline sends a shiver down my spine. As a recent vegetarian-convert, the thought of meat and knives/carving makes me feel uneasy. What scares me the most, is that, the title and the tagline suggests that the meat Lizzie is resting underneath the foil, is that of her husband's remains. Reading the blurb confirms that not only does Lizzie know about this; but she was the one who killed him, violently. Now, I had to order (well, pre-order) this book because I want to know what Lizzie will do. Will she dispose of the body? Will she come to her senses and realise she has committed a vicious, inhuman act of murder? Will she get away with it? I have so many questions, as i'm sure do you.

When you think of the word 'dispose', you think bins, trash, junk and the like. The connotations of the word 'dispose' don't spring to mind when we're talking about a human-being. When I first read through the blurb, I thought that Lizzie had killed her husband and the story would be about her coming to terms with her actions and perhaps turning herself in to the police, after feeling guilty. The front cover, however, depicts a scenario that I hadn't thought about, or didn't want to think about for that matter. With the meat under foil (according to the blurb) and a knife and fork making the front cover, it hints towards Lizzie being the opposite of the ordinary housewife that we're lead to believe she is. Either way, it looks like Season To Taste is going to be a dark, deeply disturbing, sinister roller-coaster ride into the mind of Lizzie Prain. I'm in the queue and i'm going to wear a crash helmet and hold on tight for this one...

If you dare to find out more, check out my review for this book, which should be up towards the end of January.

 Thanks for reading!