08.31.07

News - Tips to help you stay safe online

Posted in Dating advices, Dating tips at 12:13 pm by

There are now thought to be more than 200,000 malicious programs in existence - the vast majority of which are aimed at subverting Windows PCs.

These problem programs can arrive via e-mail, instant messenger, through your internet connection or even your web browser if you visit the wrong website. The threats are so numerous and appear so fast that Windows users must feel under siege.

While there is no doubt that attacks on PC users are getting more sophisticated, it is possible to avoid the vast majority of problems by taking some straight-forward steps and exercising some common sense.

If you are worried about your computer it is possible to scan it via the web to see if it is infected. Companies such as Trend Micro, Kaspersky and Microsoft all offer free scanning services.

Organisations such as the Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert) also offer advice on how to set up a safe net connection.

The first piece of security software every PC user needs is some anti-virus software. It must also be regularly updated to ensure it protects you against the latest threats.

One of the ways that virus writers try to catch out anti-virus software is by pumping out enormous numbers of variations of their malicious creations. Good anti-virus programs use heuristic techniques to spot viruses that have not been formally identified but have all the characteristics.

STAYING SAFE ONLINE Use anti-spyware and anti-virus programs On at least a weekly basis update anti-virus and spyware products Install a firewall and make sure it is switched on Make sure updates to your operating system are installed Take time to educate yourself and family about the risks Monitor your computer and stay alert to threats Hi-tech crime: A glossary

Many PCs now come with anti-virus installed and though an annual subscription can seem expensive, it might be cheap when you consider how much it could save you if it stops your bank details being stolen.

As well as retail versions of anti-virus there are now some free programs that do a good job of protecting you. Avira, Avast and AVG all produce free anti-virus software.

Microsoft now sells a package of security programs but, so far, they are only available to US users.

A firewall is also an essential piece of security software for PC users. Newer versions of Windows XP have a firewall built in and this will give you protection against nuisance attacks and many of the more serious ones.

HI-TECH CRIME PLANS The BBC News website is running a series of features throughout the week Tuesday: What did we catch in our honeypot? Wednesday: Anatomy of a spam e-mail and hackers face to face Thursday: How to spot a phishing scam

However some people feel that the Windows XP firewall is a bit limited in its features. Many anti-virus programs have a firewall bundled with them.

There are free firewalls available too from firms such as Comodo and Zone Alarm.

To block some of the attacks it can also be useful to connect to the net via a hub or router. Often these have a firewall built in and, even if not, will do a good job of blocking a lot of the low level attacks.

Increasingly simply browsing the web can subject you to all kinds of dangers. Specially crafted websites can initiate so-called “drive-by downloads” that exploit weaknesses in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser to install programs you never asked for.

Google has started warning people if they hit an unsafe site

At best these will annoy you with pop-up ads, at worst they will let someone else take control of your PC. Anti-spyware software will help stop these taking hold and help you clean up your PC if you do get hit.

There are add-ons for browsers, such as McAfee’s Site Advisor that warn you about potentially harmful sites. Also Google has now started warning when you are about to visit a potentially unsafe site. Search sites such as Scandoo will also flag sites loaded with malware.

These days adware tends to be very aggressive and it is far better to avoid an infection than try to clean up afterwards.

Security experts recommend migrating away from Internet Explorer to a browser such as Firefox or Opera. At the very least they say to keep Microsoft’s browser up to date with patches.

Anti-spyware activists Suzi Turner and Eric Howes run a website that lists the bogus security products to help you avoid falling victim. Microsoft makes free anti-spyware but there are many other products from firms such as Lavasoft and Spybot.

With Windows it is also important to keep your system up to date. Windows XP now regularly nags people about upgrades and Microsoft produces security patches on a monthly basis.

Phishing gangs try to steal confidential details

Microsoft recommends automatic updating so patches are downloaded and applied as soon as they become available. As the time between the announcement of a vulnerability and it being exploited is shrinking, it pays to act quickly.

The other things you can do to stay safe fall into the realm of common sense. To begin with never open an attachment on an e-mail you were not expecting - even if it appears to come from someone you know.

Never reply to spam e-mail messages as that just confirms your address is live and makes it more valuable. Be wary of any e-mailed message about online financial accounts you own. Learn to spot the signs of phishing e-mails.

Apple users who feel confident that they are invulnerable to attacks should also take steps to protect themselves.

While virus attacks are virtually unheard of, the platform can be subject to malware and adware.

The firewall on an Apple computer should be switched on and common sense regarding potential phishing attacks should be applied.

Originaly from Source

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08.30.07

News - Holiday questions

Posted in Dating advices, Dating tips at 12:02 pm by

Travel expert Peter Nunn and Kim Winter from Holiday Which? answer your questions on holidays.

Tina is getting married next year and wants to know if there is a good time to book her honeymoon? Do holiday companies offer discounts for early booking?

The two main times companies offer discounts for any type of holiday is when brochures are first launched and when they can’t sell holidays!

Tina is likely to have specific dates of travel (i.e. just after the wedding), and therefore won’t be able to take advantage of any really late breaks - which are often the best deals to be had.

It also depends on whether Tina goes with a company with a special honeymoon package, which often throw in free champagne or an upgraded room.

Some of these companies include: Hayes & Jarvis, Kuoni, BA Holidays, Thomson, Thomas Cook and smaller companies can be found on the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) website.

The key thing to remember is that weddings are beautiful but also stressful, so if you book your honeymoon early, you’ve dealt with it and can spend a long lead up period looking forward to it. Companies are also more likely to give you better add-ons the further in advance you book

Like all holiday buying, shop around and ask what special deals the company can do for honeymooners and dont be afraid to ask for a little bit of extra icing on the cake!

Craig has some friends coming from New Zealand to holiday in the UK for three months. Is there a bank account they can open without showing proof of a UK address? This would help cut down on the bank fees on each transaction.

No is the short answer. You need all sorts of documents to open an account today for various legal reasons, including stopping money laundering etc.

The best thing for Craig’s friends to do is check with their own bank in New Zealand and see if it has any special arrangements for withdrawals. Westpac for example has a “Handycard” that can be used at ATM cash machines for savings accounts. But Visa and MasterCard have to be used for credit accounts.

Just remember to check to see what you will be charged to use the ATM. Ultimately, the answer to Craig’s question is for his friends to use a combination of traveller’s cheques, credit cards and cash - the same as if a British holidaymaker was going to New Zealand.

Karen is going on holiday to New York in August - where will she get the best exchange rate deal from UK sterling to US dollars? Should she take sterling cash with her and exchange it when she gets over there?

Rates change on a daily basis so it’s difficult to give the definitive answer on the absolute best place. The good news however is that lots of places now do commission free deals (e.g. Post Office, Thomas Cook, Lunn Poly, Tesco etc.). But make sure you are still getting a good rate of exchange. The Post Office for example says it will always be as competitive as the main high street banks.

The difference between changing pounds for dollars in the UK or the US is minimal. If you change before you go, you’ve got the local currency ready to use as soon as you step foot on US soil (and airport Bureaux de Change can offer poorer rates). Just make sure you don’t change more than you’ll use for the whole holiday, otherwise you may have to pay a commission charge when you get back

Mark asks why can’t he access the exchange rates quoted on TV - it was $1.79 but the best rate that he could get on the high street was $1.66 plus 2% commission?

Rates quoted on TV and in newspapers etc. are what’s known as “mid” rates (i.e. an average between the buy and sell rate). It’s effectively an average, so you never get what you see!

The “Buy” and “Sell” rates apply to the place you’re getting your currency from. Sell rates are always higher, because the foreign exchange outlets want you to buy from them. Buy rates (i.e. the rate at which they’ll buy currency from you) is always lower because it takes into account their charges!

And don’t forget there are now a number of places offering commission free currency

Mike is going to Spain for his holiday and wants to know what is the cheapest way to make phone calls on his mobile? Should he buy a phone cards or just text people?

Whatever Mike does, using a mobile phone in Europe is expensive. And hence the reason why all the major phone companies have come under a lot of criticism for the high cost of using mobile phones abroad.

The different phone companies do however offer deals if you buy in advance - usually an “international services” package. T Mobile for example has a 55p per minute as it’s cheapest rate - a saving of 45% on its usual tariff. But this shows how incredibly expensive it was in the first place.

Mobile phones are expensive but convenient. If you do plan on using your phone overseas, make sure you have international roaming - something that has to be set up in advance where youll get a pin code. And don’t forget you have to pay to receive calls as well.

Another option to compare to is making a call from your hotel, but this is usually just as outrageously costly. By far the cheapest way to make calls overseas is to buy a phone card locally and make a call from a land line - this can work out at about 5p per minute from Spain

Sarah wants to know how tour operators can advertise a holiday at a certain price but when you go to book it you have to pay extra if you’re single, a one parent family or flying out of a regional airport? And that’s not including paying extra for your meal on the plane, travel to your hotel and making sure you can guarantee a seat next to your partner! It hardly seems fair?

This question has been asked since the beginning of “holiday” time. The answer is that holiday companies argue it’s easier to give a lead-in price because everyone’s different and has different options or bits to add on. For example, someone may want a transfer from the airport to the resort, other people don’t because they’ve hired a car. Hence they wouldn’t want to pay for the transfer.

The other point is that because of the massive growth of no frills airlines which advertise one-way fares, the package holiday companies can only compete by stripping everything out. The profits for holidays have also been stripped to the bone, so any way that companies can claw back some extra cash, they will!

Ben wants to know what is the best way of paying for things when abroad? Should he use his debit or credit card? Travellers cheques or cash?

There is no right answer to this question. It really depends on what you plan on buying and where. You wouldn’t for example produce a fistful of dollars at 2am on the back streets of any major capital around the world. Equally, don’t expect many Sherpas to take credit cards if you’re trekking in Nepal. Its horses for courses - each method has its own use and level of security.

Credit cards will offer some form of protection if you’re buying goods over a certain amount and they turn out to be faulty - or with some cards, if they’re lost or stolen. And if you time it right, you may not have to pay anything for 45 - 60 days depending on when you get your statement through. But watch out for those interest charges if you don’t pay the balance off and accumulate interest. Also, all credit card companies add on a foreign usage of between 1.25 & 2.75%.

Debit cards will take funds directly from your account. That’s great if youre not into credit card debt but there’s no advantage to be taken of credit free periods. You’ll need to check whether your debit card offers purchase protection - some do and some don’t.

Travellers cheques are having a hard time with the convenience of plastic. Still, they’re useful if you’re going to places where credit cards are not taken or there isn’t a convenient hole in the wall. They can also protect you against currency fluctuations - if you buy dollar your travellers cheques before you go, it doesn’t matter if the exchange rate worsens. On the other hand, you could lose out if the pound gets stronger, and travellers cheques may cost you some commission.

Good old-fashioned wads of cash can speak and get things done in any language. But you need to balance between having enough in your pocket to get you through the days/evenings, and not taking too much in case you lose it in some way. It’s always good to arrive in a country with some local currency in your pocket for tips or buying drinks etc. and if you’re in a country where bartering is part of the local custom, hard cash may get you a better deal.

The moral of the money maze is to spread your bets. Whenever I travel, I fluctuate between cash, and plastic but I would use travellers cheques if I were going somewhere where I’d have a problem using credit cards. And one great tip is not only to keep the numbers of your travellers cheques or credit cards in a separate place - but also send this information to yourself on the internet.

Kim Winter shares her holiday knowledge

Mary is 85 years old and takes several short holidays a year plus a month-long holiday in Bermuda.

She has just been informed by her insurance company that they won’t be renewing her policy because of her age - despite never yet having made a claim. Any advice on where she can obtain annual cover?

Companies worth trying are:

08.29.07

News - Over and out?

Posted in Dating advices, Dating tips at 12:22 pm by

“We were alienated from the rest of the world. All the high street shops overstocked with CB. There was going to be this huge demand. It didn’t happen,” notes Mr Crumpton.

Nevertheless, he maintains CB is “still alive and well” - the torch being carried by lorry drivers, off-road 4×4 enthusiasts and caravan clubs. While handheld mobile phone use is now illegal in a car, CB is not.

And there is at least one area where the CB dealers might see growth.

Tiverton Age Concern is using CB radio to combat the feelings of loneliness and vulnerability felt by older people living alone, often in remote areas.

After the charity was left a legacy by a CB enthusiast, it issued 20 pensioners with sets. For a generation where not all are comfortable with the internet, and with many finding mobile phones too expensive, the radios are a godsend.

For an hour every morning, they chat on the radio. Some even have call signs and use slang like asking for an “eyeball”, a face-to-face meeting, says Mary Healey of Age Concern.

“One chap said ‘I can listen to other people talking if I want join in I can but it means the world when you are on your own and have only got the cat for company’.”

All those decades ago, my younger sister (”Angel Eyes̶ met “Arthur Daley” on the CB radio.. she went on it from under the duvet in her bedroom at night, all night and unbeknown to our parents. Once the eight foot long aerial hit the ceiling lampshade and knocked out the electrics in the whole house! I, as older sister thought the whole CB thing was incredibly naff! This “Arthur Daley” lived two roads away in south London and it was love at first “eyeball”.. they got married some years later and now have two lovely little girls! So it wasn’t just for truckers!
debbie, york

I have been on and off CB since the late 80s and I can say it has been a lot of fun. There was a time when it was almost impossible to find a clear channel to talk on - not so these days! We had endless fun on Saturday evenings playing a game of hide-and-seek in our cars using just the signal strength as a finder. The person who found could then go and hide and the game would begin again. Some of the home-bound home-base locals would often listen in to our silly banter as it made them feel part of the community. One year, the local CBers were asked to chaperone the Biggleswade Carnival; we had no trouble relaying messages around the whole town. The local police gave up and used us for messaging as their radios had too many black-spots!

The current consultation from the government has a use-it-or-lose-it approach and we are being encouraged to switch to the CEPT band used in Europe; ironically the very same frequencies used by the original American rigs, but still only FM. We are not too happy with that idea as some EU countries do not regulate their radio users quite as well.10-10 till we do it again…
Gary “The Electron” Myers, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England

Never forget, these idiots used these illegal toys in the complete knowledge that they interfered with emergency radio frequencies causing deaths, aircraft landing equipment, etc and these criminals thought destroying radio controlled models was a “sport” via intentional interuption of the signals, and were menaces on the road (like using a mobile).Criminal Band radio was an accurate term.
Allan, Durham

CBs at the time were the best thing since sliced bread in an age where mobile phones were just a dream (or a brick with a mortgage) and the internet hadn’t even been thought of. The ability to “talk” to multiple people in a chat room type environment was great and FREE! As for foul or abusive language, the community policed this themselves and just refused to give abusers airtime (or drove to their location and boosted transmission power to drown them out).
Fox Hunts with cars (hide and seek) were a weekend occurence. One car hides and the others seek. A general clue given to get you going then track them down using the SwR meter (the closer you get the stronger the signal). Catch you on the flip side!
Mick “MatchMaker”, Bishops Stortford, Herts, UK

Breaker One Nine - You got your ears on good buddy? Anyone recall that East Kilbride near Glasgow was known as Polo Mint City? - because it has lots of roundabouts. And a Skateboard was CB slang for a regular car. So when asked: “Breaker One Nine - What’s your Twenty?” (ie Where are you?) - I’d answer: “I’m the red skateboard heading for Polo Mint City…”
Ken Morton, Glasgow, UK

Quite agree Crazy Cat, Not just long distance drivers used it, my father had a cb radio hidden in a briefcase in his car! The illegality of it added to the fun. The whole family had handles and we used it to keep in touch. It lost its frisson when it went legal!

Mad Pony, Bristol

In response to Ian Macbeth, Leeds, the toll bridge in Selby is now free…. so does this warrant the re-naming to “Freetown”..?!!
Mark, “Paytown”, North Yorkshire

I was born in 1981. My Dad was constantly on the CB. He was a newleywed, but paid more attention to the CB than his new family. He met another woman, started sleeping with her. It broke up my parents marriage and cost me my father. He set up home with the other woman and had a family with her. It’s much the same as the horror stories you hear about internet chatrooms nowadays! Technology changes, people don’t!
Helen, Edinburgh

As an Army instructor in the late 1980s it was fun trying to eradicate ‘CB-speak’ from trainee radio operators! But only last Friday I went to a friend’s house and discovered he uses a CB set to keep in touch with his elderly dad down the road!
Megan, Cheshire UK

Well its still being used in Leicester and Leicester Control is still there with “Red Rust” and the gang (Hi Rob).
A lot of people i meet dont even know that CB still exists.It still has the music and swearing but its only like that on the calling channel.CB lives on though so get those radios from the loft and get back on the air
Dave “Cubwolf” Smith, Leicester

I had an imported AM ‘rig’ and a home made antennae. Everytime I transmitted I blanked out every television set in a quarter mile radius! I think that kit like mine was probably the reason it was illegal in the first place.
Sean Clark, Loughborough

1 - 9 for a copy! When at secondary school, as recent as 15 years ago, I persuaded my parents (both original ’80’s’ CB-ers) to utilise the aerial still up that tree in the garden to give me my own CB. At that time there were still several people at school with the same idea, using their parents equipment that had been lying unused for several years. I met my now husband on the CB, and before mobile phones or SAT NAV, never went any distance in the car without plugging in the CB. Essential if you got lost - always an obliging trucker to assist. Sometimes tempted to plug back in to see if the stalwart enthusiasts are still waiting for a copy!
vicky, Moray, Scotland

CB was a really big part of my teenage years. I met my now best friend on-air “Red October”. Does anybody remeber the “Fox Hunt”. We all had Minis (Mine was the best) and used to be up all through the night trying to find other cars. Those were the days hiding in the middle of roundabouts!
Martyn “NightHawk”, London

“DX-ers”, (long-distance CB enthusiasts), took the hobby as seriously as their licensed HAM counterparts. I spent many pleasant evenings chatting on side-band to America, Jamaica, Brazil, even Australia. OK, it was illegal, but the authorities didn’t seem to mind. The 30ft antenna towering over my house was fairly obvious!
“Kamikaze”, Maputo Mozambique

I’m surprised that so few truckers use it now. As someone who commutes down part of the accident-prone A14 ‘Highway from Hell’, I am amazed at lorries blithely passing the A428 exit and heading up towards a Huntingdon tailback, when a CB would have warned them to divert….
Kit, Cambridge, UK

When we lived in a fishing town in Scotland my two sons had CB and their not too intelligent readheaded friend had the handle ‘Red Herring’ and couldn’t understand why no one came back to him! A friend of mine’s handle was ‘Schoolboy’ so we could say Schoolboy do you copy?
Alex Mitchell, Stockport, UK

In the earlie 80’s I ran a small country hotel in East Yorkshire. I found it quite amusing that young “CB’rs” would spend a couple of hours in the bar chatting to each other, then go to the car park, sit in their cars next to each other and talk to one another on their CB’s. As they say in Yorkshire “Thre’s nowt so queer as folk”
John Pheasant, Nottinghamshire

I used to use the CB a lot. I spoke to guys with cool handles like ‘The Outlaw’, and ‘Spiderman’, it felt like I was part of something dangerous, a rebellion if you like. We were subverting the Government and played by nobodys rules, not even our own.

Eventually I went along to a meeting and realised I was speaking with a group of 30-something, basement dwellers who drove 50CC scooters. I sold my rig soon after, the magic was gone.
Greg, Wick, Scotland

The best part of it was the names for places. My favourite was “Paytown” for Selby where there was a toll bridge.
ian macbeth, leeds

I was very actively involved with legal CB in Leicester, with the very well known “Leicester Control” on ch23. This group of enthusiasts were famous for giving accurate directions to truckers in our area. I also wrote a monthly column for a CB Radio magazine. What killed CB was the internet and the availablility of mobile phones and computer-based communications. It was fun whilst it lasted and many CBers went on to tke the RA exams. But I never forgot Roger “Red Rust”, Jeff “Murgatroyd”, Sid “Sunray” and many, many others. Yes the bucketmouths and music-players were a pain, but I made some very good friends.
Rob “Captain Jack” Davis, formerly Leicester, now Telford

It does bring back fond memories of hooning around Tamworth and surrounding villages on a pushbike with friends to arranged “eyeballs” with other “breakers”. Often it seemed that a lot of my peers while on CB radio were about 20+ years older than me but most treated my curiousity with respect and even more information.

From CB radio and the contacts I made there I joined an organisation called Search & Rescue to assist members of the public, sporting events in the town etc - which eventually evolved to become a fully fledged British Red Cross Society members unit M16. So to Prinz Eugen, The Red Baron (and Snoopy), Viking and all the others of M16 - those really were fun days of my youth!
John Somers, Chesham, Buckinghamshire

I was a student in Leeds around 1981, trying to fly radio controlled gliders. My legal RC equipment used the correct alloted frequency of 27 Mhz or so. The illegal CB equipment used the same. This ‘CB interference’ was not appreciated by my RC glider. So, to gain some revenge back at my digs in Leeds I would wait in the evening until the local CB’ers came on the air by listening in with my ‘world bands’ capable radio / cassette and then turn on my radio contol transmitter and proceed to cause interference on their goings on. I know it worked because the incredulous voices would complain of the number ‘dB they were pulling’ dropping as I twiddled the control on my RC transmitter.
Steve Crutchley, St Albans, UK

Fond cb years remembered well, sitting in your car on the highest local hill trying to call out to others on hills across the country and if you were lucky recieving copies from abroad as well, great fun in its hey day but nothing like it was. Still got mine, gathering dust in some cupboard, you never know one day it might see some copies again. ‘Over and out’.
Andrew “Meatloaf”, Solihull, West Midlands

In 1981 I met my first boyfriend using my dads CB. Sitting in the car on the front drive I opened up a whole new world and a whole new group of friends, as a teenager who was bullied badly at school it was heaven to talk to people who didn’t have a clue who I was or what I looked like (or even where I was). Now my teenage daughter is on MSN night after night and we are endlessly warned about the dangers, in reality its no different to the CB, use it safely and its not a danger…

I soon left home and the fun of my dad’s CB set, however I wont ever forget cold winter nights sitting in his car chatting away feeling like any teenager anywhere, as if the world were at my feet. 10-10 till we do it again, Hot-Lips signing out.
Wanda “Hot Lips”, Welwyn Garden City

“Illegal for no good reason” and “harmless”? Not really. The reason ‘legal’ CB was introduced, using FM (a different mode, on a very slightly different frequency), was that FM transmissions cause a lot less interference than AM (as in illegal CB). It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, the illegal users didn’t grasp the problems that they could have been causing to legitimate, and probably a lot more important, users of the radio spectrum.
Rob, Newcastle

The UK legal sets have restricted power and operate on FM, which reduces the transmission range. Due to the way sunspot activity affects us the early CBers could often talk to people in the States. I know people who were into CB in the early days who subsequently passed the exams to become Radio Amateurs so they could get back to talking to people on the other side of the world.
Darren Jones

Brilliant! I was “on the rig” for about 10 years - I had a severe stammer and it was my way of talking with people I’d (probably) never meet. As it happened, I met a girlfriend on there, and we had a great time. It was full of friendly people and I made many friends. The only downside was dismantling the 30ft antenna in my garden when a thunderstorm approached!
Edward Byard, Oxford

I remember using CB’s in the early 90s and by then it was becoming a joke - the sets were available for peanuts so many people would buy them and then mess around ‘on-air’. It just became a noisy mess where you couldn’t hold a real conversation without someone butting in and making silly comments. It was a great idea but spoiled by the same people who now cause trouble on on-line chatrooms. Technology changes - people dont…
Craig, Perth

All I remember is girls coming on air and dropping heavy hints their parents were out and why don’t you pop round to say hi. The rest of the evening consisted of a bunch of teens champing at the bit in a Vauxhall Viva outside some house realising you’d been had yet again and there were no girls, not there anyway.
Iain, UK

It’s still going strong, especially with 4×4 owners. The license is a complete waste of money as it hasn’t gotten rid of the foul language or the music on channel 19, but it’s getting better. You’d be surprised how many people are still using it, and it’s superb on the motorway!
David Jacobs, Hinckley

As a young kid living in rural Kent in the early 80s there wasn’t much to do of an evening. My memory of CB was sitting on Channel 14 - reserved for meeting other users, endlessly calling “one-four for a copy” and hoping someone would start chatting to me. In those days, people didn’t worry so much about children talking to complete strangers over the airwaves like they do now about internet chat rooms!
Tom “Lard”, Chelmsford

When off roading with others, CBs the best free all day conference call you can get and theres no limit to the number of participants. You dont get that with mobiles.
David Edwards, Chester

It’s still a great way to communicate between vehicles travelling closely together such as groups of truckers, caravaners, any vehicle marque clubs and for off-road driving. No cost for calling, no issues with network coverage and one person can instantly communicate to everyone else in the group. I got into CB in the early days but it’s better now because the airwaves are less cluttered and your less likely to get some idiot interupting you!
Chris, Nr Faversham, United Kingdon

My local Mini club uses CBs to make sure we all keep in touch, how sad do we sound? We often travel a long distance to shows and rallies and it’s nice to make sure we are all headed in the right direction should we get split up in traffic. Believe me - this is an absolute god send when going through the middle of London.
Philippa “Fluffy” Kruman, Cambridgeshire

It was through the interest of repairing CB and as a spin off two-way radios that I arived in my profession of communication engineering. Today I have work across Africa. That’s a big 10-4 good buddy… 10-10 till we do it again… we gone…
John “Septic Knuckles” Buckham, Lusaka, Zambia

Please dont perpetuate the old myth that CB’s were responsible for interference on radios, TV’s, hifi’s etc - they were not in the majority of cases. The electronic equipment at the time had unsophisticated ‘front ends’ which poorly discriminated between radio and audio signals, hence it was the receivers fault.
Yellow Horse, whitehaven, cumbria

As a 14 year old boy there was only one real reason for CB - girls. CB opened up a whole new way of finding girls and we certainly made the most of it!
Charles Codrington, Bedford

My first introduction to CB was at a training session for new hunt saboteurs when a hand-held unit was passed around and experimented with. They were a godsend for co-ordinating large numbers of ’sabs’ at a single hunt and all the sab vans and Landrovers could be seen with the 5-foot aeriels. Of course the hunts soon worked this out and would buy their own units to jam us out. Everythings switched to mobile phones now.
Roger, Derby

I was a member of a CB club when I was about 12 - I didn’t think it was illegal as a) I only had 2 channels b) I could never get a signal or anyone to talk to and c) all the cool dudes had a car to put their radio in - I only had my Grifter although it was tooled up with American emergency sirens - nice.
Kevin Wilkinson, Hornchurch

Breaker One-Nine, what’s your 20? I Hammer’d Down on the A3 I eyeballed a Kojak with a Kodak so I pulled in behind a Suicide Jockey.
Max Allen, Her’sham ‘69

My father was a reader for the local ‘News for the Blind’ in the Deal area. Filled the gap between local newspapers and regional radio.
simon mallett, UK Maidstone

Breaker 1-4 for a copy? CB radio at its time was a fun thing to do. I personally met some great friends and the fun of ‘catching the skip’ and talking to CB users in other countries was just amazing. Things move on and so does technology - its in the process of being replaced by VOIP and wireless openzones, but I feel there is always a need for a general public frequency band - in what form though, who knows.
Nigel Underwood, Bristol, UK

I was a CB-er for a few years in the early 80s and enjoyed it enormously. My first rig was second hand and I used to have it in my bedroom with a ‘mag mount’ attached to the radiator! I then had a 50-50 pole out the window, but I used to take it in when the wind got up. I briefly went back on air in the early 90s to avoid the road jams, but it was not the same. Good days - ‘What’s yer 20?’ ‘I’m on yer back door good buddy.’ Looking back I must have sounded an idiot!
Mike “Hunchback” Wilks, Ruardean, Glos

Being a “radio ham” (and taken the Morse test) on air officially, we had our own share of idiots who transferred to CB to be “rebelious”. Mobiles and text are cheaper, and with Internet phones, will return to the few as before who experiment and who - ironically push forward communications as we now know it.
Graham, Northampton

Half the fun of CB was because it was illegal - and illegal for no good reason. It was a harmless and fun way to cock a snook at authority. 10-10 ’til we do it again, good buddies.
Mark “Crazy Cat” Esdale, Bridge, Canterbury

In my experience the only use that people made of their CB sets was talking about their CB sets to other owners!!
I tried to get the idea going of a voluntary community info service. Where people with special knowledge on a subject would spend a few hours on air offering advice about local directions, medical advice, DIY help, cooking tips, fixing TVs or whatever. It might have taken off but the killjoys would have swamped it with endless music or noises and ended it pretty quick.
Nigel Andrews, Worthing, United Kingdom

I remember the CB craze. Only a few (richer)kids in our school ever got involved, as the cost was enormous. A large antena was needed and the cost of the equipment was a lot(in those days) for people counting out their pocket money. A few boffs would venture to Tandy’s and buy stuff but it was never as big a craze as people said it was with the young- more with 20+ age group- and they were working people who were just a bit sad and imagined they were trucking an 18 wheeler. Come in rubber duck! Very much like a Sinclair C5 - rare as chickens teeth
Mark Smith, Southampton UK

Talk about government control! People find a way of making the world smaller and benefitting all that use it and just because the government cannot tax or control it they make it illegal.
Jack, Sidcup, UK

I asked an American friend of mine what happened to CB? Apparently its alive and well and living in the USA.
This article is the first I have heard about CB in the UK for years.
Anthony, Cardiff

Oddly enough yesterday I was driving down I65, Chicago to Indianopolis, and stopped off at a coffee shop - which had a large CB section - rigs, whips, mikes, etc. It seems CB never went away for the US trucker community!
Peter, Loondon UK

I used to take my C.B. set away to sea with me in the early 1980s. For a 4 watt set the reception and transmission at certain times of the day was out of this world once away from the UK. The best “copy” was with the Island of Guernsey and a guy sat in his “roller skate” on Brighton sea front while I was off the coast of Ghana, west Africa. a distance of some 4000 miles! The UK legal sets were only supposed to have a range of 12-15 miles.
Chris “Wooden Horse”, Grimsby, England

“It was seen as heavy-handedness from a country that up until recently demanded that many long-range amateur radio users take a Morse Code test.”. Until recently it wasn’t ‘heavy-handedness’ by the British, it was an intenational requirement that radio amateurs demonstrated their competence in morse code. That has now been removed. Britain was the first to change its licence, although many countries retain morse code as a requirement for short-wave transmissions by amateurs.
Paul, Ayia Napa, Cyprus

CB was intended to be a local community facility. The equipment was low powered and antennas inefficiently short. Unless you lived a a remote area of the country it was a disaster from the start. A basic setup could transmit and receive for many miles and in or near cities the nutcases took over and filled the airwaves with abuse rendering it useless for its original intention. It seems to have been left to lorry drivers and taxi firms now. Many dedicated CB-ers went on Amateur Radio courses and took up that hobby.

However with all types of technology based hobbys of the 60’s 70’s 80’s they have succumbed to the computer and mobile communications. Many young amateurs and “proper” C.B’ers went on to be trained and employed in Communications or Technology based careers.
Mike, Hull

It became increasingly annoying towards the mid/late eighties to have someone use it as a Radio Station! I remember one Sunday morning whilst trying to chat to a freind, all 40 channels where being used and over half where complete morons! blocking channels with music. one was sending out just bleeps and squeals…At least these days we are only subjected to those who seem to have a passion for it. You listen, you join in….you switch off! easy!
Kathy, Cambridge

We used CB (FM) in Zambia in the 80’s as communication tools for anti-poaching operations, for free communications and even the Neighbourhood Watch base and operations vehicles used them. Fun to use, but almost valueless in highly built up areas where they require line of sight (unless the weather was ‘with you’). Great fun for a few years, I even used them as late as 1998 at my own safari camp.
Alister, Rugby, Warwickshire

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