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By mitsubishi · Posted
Why Russian scammers use TheBat! Let me ask you two questions: First, what would you think if you knew that the person writing you was using a commercial software application typically used by businesses? Second, what would you think about receiving e-mails from a mail client from someone claiming that they were using an Internet Café? If you do not understand either of these two questions, your vulnerability to being scammed is much greater. There are two pieces of background information that will help you understand why understanding the context of these two questions is important: First, managing the large number of scams that are necessary in order to identify a victim is difficult. The solution is to use a commercial software application that has the following characteristics: 1) The Scammer needs an e-mail client that can manage large amounts of e-mail from many different e-mail accounts (using the same e-mail account for communicating with many victims can be problematic since once identified as a Scammer, there are enough Blacklists that the e-mail account will be readily recognizable). 2) The Scammer needs an e-mail client that can sort messages from different e-mail accounts into threads do that the dialogue over time can be managed - this allows "customization" of the communication with the victim to help avoid suspicion (not answering questions or ignoring important information can tip off a victim that something is wrong. 3) The Scammer needs a way to reduce the amount of effort required to communicate with all their victims. Second, as the scale of the scamming activity increases, the Scammer will have a problem using a web e-mail service: 1) E-mail service providers, once aware of a scam, can involve law enforcement agencies and can identify other victims and send out warnings - the Scammer needs to minimize, as much as possible, traces of their scamming activities. 2) Most people would never consider using an e-mail application from an Internet Café (which many Scammers claim to be using) since all of their mail would be left on the computer they were using! If someone is using an e-mail application of any kind (Outlook Express, Outlook, etc.) while stating that they are using an Internet Café warning lights and a siren should be going off. Now that we have identified the characteristics, we can discuss two simple tests that you can do yourself: First, as soon as possible, ask the person that you are corresponding with where they live. With this information, you can inspect the e-mail message header (most e-mail clients will show this information as "message header" or "show original message") - the part that you are looking for looks like this: Received: from 192.168.0.4 (29.214.dialup.mari-el.ru [195.161.214.29]) (authenticated bits=0) by mailc.rambler.ru (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id jBHJSM2V039983 for ; Sat, 17 Dec 2005 22:29:30 +0300 (MSK) Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 22:26:48 +1100 From: scammer X-Mailer: The Bat! (v2.01) Step one is to find out where the message actually came from - for this example I am using an e-mail where the woman claimed to be using an Internet Café in Cheboksary, Russia. I enter the following URL into my web browser: https://www.ripe.net/perl/whois Next, I enter the IP address from the line that starts with "Received:" which is: 195.161.214.29 And enter it into the "Search for" field on the web page, which returns the following results: person: Nikolay Nikolaev address: Volgatelecom Mari El branch address: Sovetskaya 138 address: 424000 Yoshkar-Ola address: Russia MariEl Republic phone: +7 8362 421549 phone: +7 8362 664435 fax-no: +7 8362 664151 e-mail: nnb@relinfo.ru nic-hdl: NN-RIPE source: RIPE # Filtered I am expecting the address to be Cheboksary and Chuvash Republic - I am not expecting the address to be Yoshkar-Ola and MariEl Republic! Actually, I already had a warning flag in the e-mail header: Received: from 192.168.0.4 (29.214.dialup.mari-el.ru [195.161.214.29]) If the e-mail actually came from Cheboksary, I would expect to see the following: person: Medukov J Alexandr address: 428000 Cheboxary Lenin av 2a phone: +7 8352 662912 e-mail: master@chtts.ru nic-hdl: MJA4-RIPE source: RIPE # Filtered How did I get this information? Simple, find a government or business URL in the city you are interested in and enter it into Ripe. You may need to identify the IP address by using the PING command - this will turn a text URL into an IP address that can be searched on Ripe. I will not go into this more, since this topic wanders off topic a bit. The important thing to note is that the city and republic do not match what was expected - there are a lot of people on this and other web site forums that can assist you if you need more help. The second test is to examine the message header and look for "X-Mailer:" - in our example we find the following: X-Mailer: The Bat! (v2.01) This means that the person sending me the e-mail from a supposed Internet Café is using an e-mail client application. By now, "Red Alert" should be flashing! Why would someone use an e-mail client from an Internet Cafe? Well, most normal people would not - so this is very likely a scam! Now that I have covered how you can test your own e-mails for scamming attempts, I want to return to the technology topic. The Bat! (also known as TB! And TB) - I will use TB! From this point on - is an e-mail client application (a program that runs on a personal computer) that is marketed towards companies and individuals that need to manage large volumes of e-mail. The OECD refers to a category of company as a Small to Medium-Sized Enterprise - an SME for short. Smaller SME's often have very limited budgets and cannot afford specialized Sales and Marketing, Customer Service, and other forms of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Our laboratory supports a group company that helps smaller SME's adapt TB! for their business. I mention this because TB! Has been associated with both Spamming and Scamming - the product is legitimate and is a valuable tool for many businesses; unfortunately, the same features that make TB! effective and efficient for companies, also provide a similar benefit to Scammers. There are two features that Scammers find particularly useful: 1) TB! supports a sophisticated macro programming language and a sophisticated ability to manage templates - predefined text that can be dynamically changed by the macro programming language to respond to e-mails. This allows a technically competent person to create a Scamming system that has a high degree of automation while at the same time allowing the scammer to add custom text in predefined areas within the template. The more people that the Scammer can correspond with, the more likely a victim can be found. 2) TB! is designed to work with multiple e-mail servers simultaneously. This makes it very easy for the Scammer to use numerous "dummy" e-mail accounts for Scamming unsuspecting victims (TB! downloads and erases the e-mails from each e-mail server making it harder for investigators to track what was happening). An e-mail client such as Outlook Express or Outlook Professional and most web e-mail clients such as Yahoo and Hotmail do not offer this level of sophistication. TB! is also very affordable at less than USD $60.00 - well within the means of the typical Scammer. TB! is a product of RIT Labs, which is based in Moldova. This article was produced by the Enterprise Systems Architecture Laboratory (ESAL) located in Stockholm, Sweden. Reuse of this information free of royalty is hereby granted providing that this notice is included in any reproductions. Our footnote. Beware!! recently scammers started using other mass-mailing programs (those are usually used to send spam). In particular: FC'2000, Becky and CommuniGate Pro.@rambler.ru>@email.com> -
By mitsubishi · Posted
Even if you're in the UK the scammer here can still operate. you see how he's obsessed woith scamming people because he keeps showing you his research. Its what he's always planning- so transparent Check if something might be a scam 5-6 minutes Scams can be difficult to recognise, but there are things you can look out for. You can use our online scams helper to get advice that’s specific to your situation. Online scams helper We'll use your answers to the questions to give you advice on: how to check whether something might be a scam what to do if you've been scammed Recognising a scam It might be a scam if: it seems too good to be true – for example, a holiday that’s much cheaper than you’d expect someone you don’t know contacts you unexpectedly you suspect you’re not dealing with a real company – for example, if there’s no postal address you’ve been asked to transfer money quickly you've been asked to pay in an unusual way – for example, by iTunes vouchers or through a transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Union you’ve been asked to give away personal information like passwords or PINs you haven't had written confirmation of what's been agreed If you think you’ve paid too much for something Paying more for something than you think it’s worth isn’t the same as being scammed. Usually, a scam will involve theft or fraud. You have other rights if you think you’ve overpaid. If you think you’ve spotted a scam If you’ve given away money or information because of a scam, there are things you should do. Check what to do if you’ve been scammed. If you haven’t been scammed but you’ve seen something you think is a scam, you should report it. Find out how to report a scam. If you’re not sure if something is a scam, contact one of our scams advisers. They'll give you advice about what to do next. Protecting yourself online There are things you can do to protect yourself from being scammed online. Check you’re buying from a real company You can search for a company's details on GOV.UK. This will tell you if they're a registered company or not. If you’re buying something on a site you haven't used before, spend a few minutes checking it – start by finding its terms and conditions. The company’s address should have a street name, not just a post office box. Check to see what people have said about the company. It’s worth looking for reviews on different websites – don’t rely on reviews the company has put on its own website. Also, don’t rely on seeing a padlock in the address bar of your browser - this doesn’t guarantee you’re buying from a real company. Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust - for example, if you get an email from a company with a strange email address. Doing this could infect your computer with a virus. Make sure your antivirus software is up to date to give you more protection. Be careful about giving personal information away Some scammers try to get your personal information – for example, the name of your primary school or your National Insurance number. They can use this information to hack your accounts. If you come across sites that ask for this type of information without an obvious reason, check they’re legitimate. Sometimes your log-in details can be made publicly available when a website is hacked. This means that someone could use your details in a scam. Check whether your accounts have been put at risk on Have I Been Pwned. Make your online accounts secure Make sure you have a strong password for your email accounts that you don't use anywhere else. If you’re worried about remembering lots of different passwords, you can use a password manager. Some websites let you add a second step when you log in to your account – this is known as ‘two-factor authentication’. This makes it harder for scammers to access your accounts. Find out how to set up two-factor authentication across services like Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Outlook and iTunes on the website Turnon2fa. Pay by debit or credit card- never pay a penny to anal 75 Pay by card to get extra protection if things go wrong. Read our advice on getting your money back after you’ve been scammed. Know how your bank operates Check your bank’s website to see how your bank will and won’t communicate with you. For example, find out what type of security questions they’ll ask if they phone you. Find out about recent scams You can sign up for email alerts on Action Fraud’s website to find out about recent scams in your area. You can also check recent scams on Action Fraud’s website, and find out about common financial scams on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website. -
By mitsubishi · Posted
useful information to help prtect yourself against the scammer who posts here See an Internet Scam/Fraud? Here's How to Report It Now By 3 minutes What to do if you become a victim Updated November 12, 2019 184 184 people found this article helpful Many victims of internet-based scams and fraud attempts don't report it because they're either ashamed of falling for a scam or they think there's so much of it going on that it's pointless to do anything about it. But, reporting internet fraud and scams helps other people from becoming victims. Here's how to notify the authorities. yuoak / Getty Images How Do I Report Internet Scams/Fraud? Here are some resources you can use to report internet-based crimes and fraud. Internet Crime Complaint Center The Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC) is a partnership between the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations and the National White Collar Crime Center. The ICCC is a good place to report online extortion, identity theft, hacking, economic espionage, and other major cybercrimes. If the crime committed against you doesn't fall into these categories, but you feel the crime is serious enough to report, report it to the ICCC. If it doesn't fall under one of their categories, they may be able to direct you to an agency that does handle it. Better Business Bureau The Better Business Bureau of the U.S. and Canada can help you make complaints against internet-based retailers and other businesses. You can also search their database to see if a merchant has other complaints against them and whether they've been resolved or not. FBI The FBI has an online tips form you can use to report potential cases of internet fraud, including data breaches, denial of service attacks, malware, phishing, and ransomware. The site will link you to the appropriate agency that handles crime reporting for each specific type of crime. FTC The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has an online complaint assistant for consumers who want to report fraudulent activity. Choose from a few complaint categories, including impostor scams, robocalls, pyramid schemes, and much more. Then, answer a few related questions and tell the FTC what happened. Reporting these cases to the FTC helps it recognize patterns of fraud and abuse. eBay Security Center The eBay Security Center helps report auction-related fraud or scams to the proper authorities. You can tell it if you think your account has been hacked and report receiving a fake email. If you are the victim of property theft, the security center provides a way for law enforcement to find out if someone is trying to auction your stolen merchandise. dont forget to like and subscribe -
By mitsubishi · Posted
dontforget to like and subscribe to anti scamming finance.yahoo.com Here's what's in the new law taking on the 'scourge' of robocalls Ben WerschkulDC Producer 8-10 minutes Captions will look like this Caption Languages English President Donald Trump on Monday signed legislation that aims to take on the aggressive robocalls plaguing the phones of unsuspecting consumers. Early this month, the House of Representatives passed the bill, called the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, with an overwhelming vote of 417-3. The Senate passed the bill a few weeks later in a voice vote. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) was the lead House sponsor, and was joined on the Senate side by John Thune (R-SD). In a statement, Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Monday that the new policy “will provide American consumers with even greater protection against annoying unsolicited robocalls.” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who has often called robocall scams a “scourge,” endorsed the action recently on Capitol Hill. The telecom industry has also been supportive. In a statement, Jonathan Spalter said it’s now “clear that government and innovators are united against the criminals who scam and spoof consumers.” Spalter is the president and CEO of USTelecom, an industry group representing phone companies like Verizon (VZ) (Yahoo Finance’s parent), AT&T (T), and a range of smaller telecom providers. View photos Frank Pallone talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Americans were bombarded by 5 billion robocalls just in November alone, according to data from YouMail, a company that makes robocall blocking software. That works out to over 15 calls per person during that month. Here’s what’s in the new law, and how it aims to begin easing the plague of robocalls. New responsibilities on telephone providers A centerpiece of the law is a new mandate for phone companies to try and at least identify calls correctly. The problem — as users know all too well — is that scammers trick people into thinking a call is coming from nearby, or from a legitimate place like the IRS or the Social Security Administration. According to some estimates, consumers lose billions a year when they fall for these scams. YouMail estimates at least 40% of Robocalls, and probably more, involve some kind of spoofing. The guidelines being mandated are known as SHAKEN/STIR, and they are designed to create transparency about where a call is actually coming from. Here’s how the FCC’s Pai explains it: “SHAKEN/STIR involves what’s essentially a digital fingerprint for each phone call.” He added that “this framework will be critical in informing consumers whether the Caller ID information they see is real or spoofed. And it can be used to assist with blocking spoofed calls.” The large carriers are already adopting the SHAKEN/STIR standards and expect to be done by 2020. The legislation aims to ensure that all phone companies — large and small — eventually implement these standards. Deirdre Menard is the CEO of Lucidtech, a company that consults on fraudulent robocalls. She questioned how smaller carriers will be able adopt to the new standards. “I'm not sure that the legislators understand that they're putting [small carriers] in a bit of a Catch 22 position,” Menard said, speaking about high costs that might be required to overhaul their infrastructure. “I think we're definitely building the plane while we're flying it with STIR/SHAKEN,” she added. The law also has provisions to encourage the blocking of illegal calls — although blocking is a significantly more challenging undertaking. Some legitimate calls might be blocked like, say, a robocall from a doctor’s office confirming an appointment. Businesses like Uber also use “call spoofing” for a variety of reasons, including to protect the identity of its riders and drivers. The law also has a provision to allow carriers to offer call-blocking services with no additional charge. This is an attempt to answer one of the critiques levied against some of the previous attempts to crack down on the practice. This summer, the FCC moved to cut down on so-called “neighborhood spoofing.” At the time, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted that the action “refuses to prevent new consumer charges and fees to block these awful calls. That’s not right. We should stop robocalls and do it for FREE.” View photos Jessica Rosenworcel, along with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners, testified before Congress in May 2019. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) In a statement to Yahoo Finance, Rosenworcel says the new law “will give the FCC new tools to crack down on robocalls and help fix this mess for consumers.” New powers for the FCC to chase down scammers The FCC can make rules and take civil actions against robocall scammers, but within certain limits. The new law expands those limits along with the powers of the commission. One example is in the commission’s authority to levy civil penalties on people who ignore telemarketing rules.The new rules also extend to four years the window of time the FCC has to take action against “violations with intent” when a robocall is placed. Senator Josh Hawley has been a supporter of the bill, especially the provision to extend the statute of limitations on prosecutions for illegal spoofing. He says the new law will “hold these fraudsters accountable.” The FCC’s focus on fines and civil penalties has produced mixed results at best. A March investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the FCC has issued $208.4 million in fines against robocallers since 2015, but collected just $6,790. The FCC lacks the authority to enforce its penalties and refers unpaid fines to the Justice Department. A chance of new criminal actions The Federal Trade Commission also plays an important role in stopping robocalls – for example, it maintains the do-not-call registry. In June (with law enforcement partners), the FTC announced a crackdown on marketing calls. The law is designed to encourage government agencies to level criminal charges on domestic robocallers, at least through mandating greater coordination. The legislation creates an “interagency working group” composed of the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC, the FTC, and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. The group, crucially, would be convened by the Attorney General. The group, among other responsibilities would “study government prosecution of violations” — including more criminal penalties on robocall scammers. Criminal penalties would likely have more teeth compared to civil actions. View photos Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) is one of the leaders in the Senate on the robocalls issue. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images) The bill also mandates that the group submit a report to Congress on "the status of the efforts." Overall, new law yuo fucking nigerian scumbag is seen by many as a significant step but only a first one toward solving the robocall problem. As Congressman Pallone noted just before the vote “all of these scams are different, and there is no silver bullet to fix them all.” This story was updated on Dec. 31 after the legislation was signed into law. Ben Werschkul is a producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington DC. Read more: A bill fighting robocalls will have consequences for companies like Uber FCC goes after international robocallers and spam texts Phone companies could begin blocking robocalls by default Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit. -
By mitsubishi · Posted
Brick - Wikipedia Authority control GND: 4067726-6 LCCN: sh85016808 NDL: 00569393 NKC: ph119240 30-38 minutes A wall constructed in glazed-headed Flemish bond with bricks of various shades and lengths An old brick wall in English bond laid with alternating courses of headers and stretchers A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term brick referred to a unit composed of clay, but it is now used to denote rectangular units made of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime, or concrete materials. Bricks can be joined together using mortar, adhesives or by interlocking them.[1][2] Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks are fired and non-fired bricks. Block is a similar term referring to a rectangular building unit composed of similar materials, but is usually larger than a brick. Lightweight bricks (also called lightweight blocks) are made from expanded clay aggregate. Fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials, sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since circa 4000 BC. Air-dried bricks, also known as mudbricks, have a history older than fired bricks, and have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known as brickwork, and may be laid in various kinds of mortar to hold the bricks together to make a durable structure. History[edit] Middle East and South Asia[edit] The earliest bricks were dried brick, meaning that they were formed from clay-bearing earth or mud and dried (usually in the sun) until they were strong enough for use. The oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad, in the upper Tigris region and in southeast Anatolia close to Diyarbakir.[3] The South Asian inhabitants of Mehrgarh also constructed, and lived in, air-dried mudbrick houses between 7000–3300 BC.[4] Other more recent findings, dated between 7,000 and 6,395 BC, come from Jericho, Catal Hüyük, the ancient Egyptian fortress of Buhen, and the ancient Indus Valley cities of Mohenjo-daro, Harappa,[5] and Mehrgarh.[6] Ceramic, or fired brick was used as early as 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities like Kalibangan.[7] China[edit] The earliest fired bricks appeared in Neolithic China around 4400 BC at Chengtoushan, a walled settlement of the Daxi culture.[8] These bricks were made of red clay, fired on all sides to above 600 °C, and used as flooring for houses. By the Qujialing period (3300 BC), fired bricks were being used to pave roads and as building foundations at Chengtoushan.[9] Bricks continued to be used during 2nd millennium BC at a site near Xi'an.[10] Fired bricks were found in Western Zhou (1046–771 BC) ruins, where they were produced on a large scale.[11][12][13] The carpenter's manual Yingzao Fashi, published in 1103 at the time of the Song dynasty described the brick making process and glazing techniques then in use. Using the 17th-century encyclopaedic text Tiangong Kaiwu, historian Timothy Brook outlined the brick production process of Ming Dynasty China: Europe[edit] Early civilisations around the Mediterranean adopted the use of fired bricks, including the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns,[14] and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire, stamping the bricks with the seal of the legion. During the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular in Northern Europe, after being introduced there from Northern-Western Italy. An independent style of brick architecture, known as brick Gothic (similar to Gothic architecture) flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks. Examples of this architectural style can be found in modern-day Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Russia. This style evolved into Brick Renaissance as the stylistic changes associated with the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe, leading to the adoption of Renaissance elements into brick building. A clear distinction between the two styles only developed at the transition to Baroque architecture. In Lübeck, for example, Brick Renaissance is clearly recognisable in buildings equipped with terracotta reliefs by the artist Statius von Düren, who was also active at Schwerin (Schwerin Castle) and Wismar (Fürstenhof). Long-distance bulk transport of bricks and other construction equipment remained prohibitively expensive until the development of modern transportation infrastructure, with the construction of canal, roads, and railways. Industrial era[edit] Production of bricks increased massively with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise in factory building in England. For reasons of speed and economy, bricks were increasingly preferred as building material to stone, even in areas where the stone was readily available. It was at this time in London that bright red brick was chosen for construction to make the buildings more visible in the heavy fog and to help prevent traffic accidents.[15] The transition from the traditional method of production known as hand-moulding to a mechanised form of mass-production slowly took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. Possibly the first successful brick-making machine was patented by Henry Clayton, employed at the Atlas Works in Middlesex, England, in 1855, and was capable of producing up to 25,000 bricks daily with minimal supervision.[16] His mechanical apparatus soon achieved widespread attention after it was adopted for use by the South Eastern Railway Company for brick-making at their factory near Folkestone.[17] The Bradley & Craven Ltd 'Stiff-Plastic Brickmaking Machine' was patented in 1853, apparently predating Clayton. Bradley & Craven went on to be a dominant manufacturer of brickmaking machinery.[18] Predating both Clayton and Bradley & Craven Ltd. however was the brick making machine patented by Richard A. Ver Valen of Haverstraw, New York in 1852.[19] The demand for high office building construction at the turn of the 20th century led to a much greater use of cast and wrought iron, and later, steel and concrete. The use of brick for skyscraper construction severely limited the size of the building – the Monadnock Building, built in 1896 in Chicago, required exceptionally thick walls to maintain the structural integrity of its 17 storeys. Following pioneering work in the 1950s at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Building Research Establishment in Watford, UK, the use of improved masonry for the construction of tall structures up to 18 storeys high was made viable. However, the use of brick has largely remained restricted to small to medium-sized buildings, as steel and concrete remain superior materials for high-rise construction.[20] Types[edit] There are thousands of types of bricks that are named for their use, size, forming method, origin, quality, texture, and/or materials. Categorized by manufacture method: Extruded – made by being forced through an opening in a steel die, with a very consistent size and shape. Wire-cut – cut to size after extrusion with a tensioned wire which may leave drag marks Moulded – shaped in moulds rather than being extruded Machine-moulded – clay is forced into moulds using pressure Handmade – clay is forced into moulds by a person Dry-pressed – similar to soft mud method, but starts with a much thicker clay mix and is compressed with great force. Categorized by use: Common or building – A brick not intended to be visible, used for internal structure Face – A brick used on exterior surfaces to present a clean appearance Hollow – not solid, the holes are less than 25% of the brick volume Perforated – holes greater than 25% of the brick volume Keyed – indentations in at least one face and end to be used with rendering and plastering Paving – brick intended to be in ground contact as a walkway or roadway Thin – brick with normal height and length but thin width to be used as a veneer Specialized use bricks: Chemically resistant – bricks made with resistance to chemicals Acid brick – acid resistant bricks Engineering – a type of hard, dense, brick used where strength, low water porosity or acid (flue gas) resistance are needed. Further classified as type A and type B based on their compressive strength Accrington – a type of engineering brick from England Fire or refractory – highly heat-resistant bricks Clinker – a vitrified brick Ceramic glazed – fire bricks with a decorative glazing Bricks named for place of origin: Cream City brick – a light yellow brick made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Dutch – a hard light coloured brick originally from the Netherlands Fareham red brick – a type of construction brick London stock – type of handmade brick which was used for the majority of building work in London and South East England until the growth in the use of machine-made bricks Nanak Shahi bricks – a type of decorative brick in India Roman – a long, flat brick typically used by the Romans Staffordshire blue brick – a type of construction brick from England Methods of manufacture[edit] Brick making at the beginning of the 20th century Three basic types of brick are un-fired, fired, and chemically set bricks. Each type is manufactured differently. Mudbrick[edit] Unfired bricks, also known as mudbricks, are made from a wet, clay-containing soil mixed with straw or similar binders. They are air-dried until ready for use. Fired brick[edit] Raw bricks sun-drying before being fired Fired bricks are burned in a kiln which makes them durable. Modern, fired, clay bricks are formed in one of three processes – soft mud, dry press, or extruded. Depending on the country, either the extruded or soft mud method is the most common, since they are the most economical. Normally, bricks contain the following ingredients:[21] Silica (sand) – 50% to 60% by weight Alumina (clay) – 20% to 30% by weight Lime – 2 to 5% by weight Iron oxide – ≤ 7% by weight Magnesia – less than 1% by weight Shaping methods[edit] Three main methods are used for shaping the raw materials into bricks to be fired: Molded bricks – These bricks start with raw clay, preferably in a mix with 25–30% sand to reduce shrinkage. The clay is first ground and mixed with water to the desired consistency. The clay is then pressed into steel moulds with a hydraulic press. The shaped clay is then fired ("burned") at 900–1000 °C to achieve strength. Dry-pressed bricks – The dry-press method is similar to the soft-mud moulded method, but starts with a much thicker clay mix, so it forms more accurate, sharper-edged bricks. The greater force in pressing and the longer burn make this method more expensive. Extruded bricks – For extruded bricks the clay is mixed with 10–15% water (stiff extrusion) or 20–25% water (soft extrusion) in a pugmill. This mixture is forced through a die to create a long cable of material of the desired width and depth. This mass is then cut into bricks of the desired length by a wall of wires. Most structural bricks are made by this method as it produces hard, dense bricks, and suitable dies can produce perforations as well. The introduction of such holes reduces the volume of clay needed, and hence the cost. Hollow bricks are lighter and easier to handle, and have different thermal properties from solid bricks. The cut bricks are hardened by drying for 20 to 40 hours at 50 to 150 °C before being fired. The heat for drying is often waste heat from the kiln. Kilns[edit] A brickmaker in India – Tashrih al-aqvam (1825) In many modern brickworks, bricks are usually fired in a continuously fired tunnel kiln, in which the bricks are fired as they move slowly through the kiln on conveyors, rails, or kiln cars, which achieves a more consistent brick product. The bricks often have lime, ash, and organic matter added, which accelerates the burning process. The other major kiln type is the Bull's Trench Kiln (BTK), based on a design developed by British engineer W. Bull in the late 19th century. An oval or circular trench is dug, 6–9 metres wide, 2-2.5 metres deep, and 100–150 metres in circumference. A tall exhaust chimney is constructed in the centre. Half or more of the trench is filled with "green" (unfired) bricks which are stacked in an open lattice pattern to allow airflow. The lattice is capped with a roofing layer of finished brick. In operation, new green bricks, along with roofing bricks, are stacked at one end of the brick pile. Historically, a stack of unfired bricks covered for protection from the weather was called a "hack".[22] Cooled finished bricks are removed from the other end for transport to their destinations. In the middle, the brick workers create a firing zone by dropping fuel (coal, wood, oil, debris, and so on) through access holes in the roof above the trench. The advantage of the BTK design is a much greater energy efficiency compared with clamp or scove kilns. Sheet metal or boards are used to route the airflow through the brick lattice so that fresh air flows first through the recently burned bricks, heating the air, then through the active burning zone. The air continues through the green brick zone (pre-heating and drying the bricks), and finally out the chimney, where the rising gases create suction that pulls air through the system. The reuse of heated air yields savings in fuel cost. As with the rail process, the BTK process is continuous. A half-dozen labourers working around the clock can fire approximately 15,000–25,000 bricks a day. Unlike the rail process, in the BTK process the bricks do not move. Instead, the locations at which the bricks are loaded, fired, and unloaded gradually rotate through the trench.[23] Influences on colour[edit] The fired colour of tired clay bricks is influenced by the chemical and mineral content of the raw materials, the firing temperature, and the atmosphere in the kiln. For example, pink bricks are the result of a high iron content, white or yellow bricks have a higher lime content. Most bricks burn to various red hues; as the temperature is increased the colour moves through dark red, purple, and then to brown or grey at around 1,300 °C (2,372 °F). The names of bricks may reflect their origin and colour, such as London stock brick and Cambridgeshire White. Brick tinting may be performed to change the colour of bricks to blend-in areas of brickwork with the surrounding masonry. An impervious and ornamental surface may be laid on brick either by salt glazing, in which salt is added during the burning process, or by the use of a slip, which is a glaze material into which the bricks are dipped. Subsequent reheating in the kiln fuses the slip into a glazed surface integral with the brick base. Chemically set bricks[edit] Chemically set bricks are not fired but may have the curing process accelerated by the application of heat and pressure in an autoclave. Calcium-silicate bricks[edit] Swedish Mexitegel is a sand-lime or lime-cement brick. Calcium-silicate bricks are also called sandlime or flintlime bricks, depending on their ingredients. Rather than being made with clay they are made with lime binding the silicate material. The raw materials for calcium-silicate bricks include lime mixed in a proportion of about 1 to 10 with sand, quartz, crushed flint, or crushed siliceous rock together with mineral colourants. The materials are mixed and left until the lime is completely hydrated; the mixture is then pressed into moulds and cured in an autoclave for three to fourteen hours to speed the chemical hardening.[24] The finished bricks are very accurate and uniform, although the sharp arrises need careful handling to avoid damage to brick and bricklayer. The bricks can be made in a variety of colours; white, black, buff, and grey-blues are common, and pastel shades can be achieved. This type of brick is common in Sweden, especially in houses built or renovated in the 1970s. In India these are known as fly ash bricks, manufactured using the FaL-G (fly ash, lime, and gypsum) process. Calcium-silicate bricks are also manufactured in Canada and the United States, and meet the criteria set forth in ASTM C73 – 10 Standard Specification for Calcium Silicate Brick (Sand-Lime Brick). Concrete bricks[edit] A concrete brick-making assembly line in Guilinyang Town, Hainan, China. This operation produces a pallet containing 42 bricks, approximately every 30 seconds. Bricks formed from concrete are usually termed as blocks or concrete masonry unit, and are typically pale grey. They are made from a dry, small aggregate concrete which is formed in steel moulds by vibration and compaction in either an "egglayer" or static machine. The finished blocks are cured, rather than fired, using low-pressure steam. Concrete bricks and blocks are manufactured in a wide range of shapes, sizes and face treatments – a number of which simulate the appearance of clay bricks. Concrete bricks are available in many colours and as an engineering brick made with sulfate-resisting Portland cement or equivalent. When made with adequate amount of cement they are suitable for harsh environments such as wet conditions and retaining walls. They are made to standards BS 6073, EN 771-3 or ASTM C55. Concrete bricks contract or shrink so they need movement joints every 5 to 6 metres, but are similar to other bricks of similar density in thermal and sound resistance and fire resistance.[24] Compressed earth blocks[edit] Compressed earth blocks are made mostly from slightly moistened local soils compressed with a mechanical hydraulic press or manual lever press. A small amount of a cement binder may be added, resulting in a stabilised compressed earth block. Optimal dimensions, characteristics, and strength[edit] Comparison of typical brick sizes of assorted countries with isometric projections with dimensions in millimetre For efficient handling and laying, bricks must be small enough and light enough to be picked up by the bricklayer using one hand (leaving the other hand free for the trowel). Bricks are usually laid flat, and as a result, the effective limit on the width of a brick is set by the distance which can conveniently be spanned between the thumb and fingers of one hand, normally about 100 mm (4 in). In most cases, the length of a brick is twice its width plus the width of a mortar joint, about 200 mm (8 in) or slightly more. This allows bricks to be laid bonded in a structure which increases stability and strength (for an example, see the illustration of bricks laid in English bond, at the head of this article). The wall is built using alternating courses of stretchers, bricks laid longways, and headers, bricks laid crossways. The headers tie the wall together over its width. In fact, this wall is built in a variation of English bond called English cross bond where the successive layers of stretchers are displaced horizontally from each other by half a brick length. In true English bond, the perpendicular lines of the stretcher courses are in line with each other. A bigger brick makes for a thicker (and thus more insulating) wall. Historically, this meant that bigger bricks were necessary in colder climates (see for instance the slightly larger size of the Russian brick in table below), while a smaller brick was adequate, and more economical, in warmer regions. A notable illustration of this correlation is the Green Gate in Gdansk; built in 1571 of imported Dutch brick, too small for the colder climate of Gdansk, it was notorious for being a chilly and drafty residence. Nowadays this is no longer an issue, as modern walls typically incorporate specialised insulation materials. The correct brick for a job can be selected from a choice of colour, surface texture, density, weight, absorption, and pore structure, thermal characteristics, thermal and moisture movement, and fire resistance. Face brick ("house brick") sizes, (alphabetical order) Standard Imperial Metric Australia 9 × 4⅓ × 3 in 230 × 110 × 76 mm Denmark 9 × 4¼ × 2¼ in 228 × 108 × 54 mm Germany 9 × 4¼ × 2¾ in 240 × 115 × 71 mm India 9 × 4¼ × 2¾ in 228 × 107 × 69 mm Romania 9 × 4¼ × 2½ in 240 × 115 × 63 mm Russia 10 × 4¾ × 2½ in 250 × 120 × 65 mm South Africa 8¾ × 4 × 3 in 222 × 106 × 73 mm Sweden 10 × 4¾ × 2½ in 250 × 120 × 62 mm United Kingdom 8½ × 4 × 2½ in 215 × 102.5 × 65 mm United States 7⅝ × 3⅝ × 2¼ in 194 × 92 × 57 mm In England, the length and width of the common brick has remained fairly constant over the centuries (but see brick tax), but the depth has varied from about two inches (about 51 mm) or smaller in earlier times to about two and a half inches (about 64 mm) more recently. In the United Kingdom, the usual size of a modern brick is 215 × 102.5 × 65 mm (about 8 5⁄8 × 4 1⁄8 × 2 5⁄8 inches), which, with a nominal 10 mm (3⁄8 inch) mortar joint, forms a unit size of 225 × 112.5 × 75 mm (9 × 4 1⁄2 × 3 inches), for a ratio of 6:3:2. In the United States, modern standard bricks are specified for various uses;[25] most are sized at about 8 × 3 5⁄8 × 2 1⁄4 inches (203 × 92 × 57 mm). The more commonly used is the modular brick 7 5⁄8 × 3 5⁄8 × 2 1⁄4 inches (194 × 92 × 57 mm). This modular brick of 7 5⁄8 with a 3⁄8 mortar joint eases the calculation of the number of bricks in a given wall.[26] Some brickmakers create innovative sizes and shapes for bricks used for plastering (and therefore not visible on the inside of the building) where their inherent mechanical properties are more important than their visual ones.[27] These bricks are usually slightly larger, but not as large as blocks and offer the following advantages: A slightly larger brick requires less mortar and handling (fewer bricks), which reduces cost Their ribbed exterior aids plastering More complex interior cavities allow improved insulation, while maintaining strength. Blocks have a much greater range of sizes. Standard co-ordinating sizes in length and height (in mm) include 400×200, 450×150, 450×200, 450×225, 450×300, 600×150, 600×200, and 600×225; depths (work size, mm) include 60, 75, 90, 100, 115, 140, 150, 190, 200, 225, and 250. They are usable across this range as they are lighter than clay bricks. The density of solid clay bricks is around 2000 kg/m³: this is reduced by frogging, hollow bricks, and so on, but aerated autoclaved concrete, even as a solid brick, can have densities in the range of 450–850 kg/m³. Bricks may also be classified as solid (less than 25% perforations by volume, although the brick may be "frogged," having indentations on one of the longer faces), perforated (containing a pattern of small holes through the brick, removing no more than 25% of the volume), cellular (containing a pattern of holes removing more than 20% of the volume, but closed on one face), or hollow (containing a pattern of large holes removing more than 25% of the brick's volume). Blocks may be solid, cellular or hollow The term "frog" can refer to the indentation or the implement used to make it. Modern brickmakers usually use plastic frogs but in the past they were made of wood. The compressive strength of bricks produced in the United States ranges from about 7 to 103 MPa (1,000 to 15,000 lbf/in2), varying according to the use to which the brick are to be put. In England clay bricks can have strengths of up to 100 MPa, although a common house brick is likely to show a range of 20–40 MPa. Use[edit] In the United States, bricks have been used for both buildings and pavements. Examples of brick use in buildings can be seen in colonial era buildings and other notable structures around the country. Bricks have been used in pavements especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The introduction of asphalt and concrete reduced the use of brick pavements, but they are still sometimes installed as a method of traffic calming or as a decorative surface in pedestrian precincts. For example, in the early 1900s, most of the streets in the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were paved with bricks. Today, there are only about 20 blocks of brick-paved streets remaining (totalling less than 0.5 percent of all the streets in the city limits).[28] Much like in Grand Rapids, municipalities across the United States began replacing brick streets with inexpensive asphalt concrete by the mid-20th century.[29] Bricks in the metallurgy and glass industries are often used for lining furnaces, in particular refractory bricks such as silica, magnesia, chamotte and neutral (chromomagnesite) refractory bricks. This type of brick must have good thermal shock resistance, refractoriness under load, high melting point, and satisfactory porosity. There is a large refractory brick industry, especially in the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Belgium and the Netherlands. In Northwest Europe, bricks have been used in construction for centuries. Until recently, almost all houses were built almost entirely from bricks. Although many houses are now built using a mixture of concrete blocks and other materials, many houses are skinned with a layer of bricks on the outside for aesthetic appeal. Engineering bricks are used where strength, low water porosity or acid (flue gas) resistance are needed. In the UK a red brick university is one founded in the late 19th or early 20th century. The term is used to refer to such institutions collectively to distinguish them from the older Oxbridge institutions, and refers to the use of bricks, as opposed to stone, in their buildings. Colombian architect Rogelio Salmona was noted for his extensive use of red bricks in his buildings and for using natural shapes like spirals, radial geometry and curves in his designs.[30] Most buildings in Colombia are made of brick, given the abundance of clay in equatorial countries like this one. Limitations[edit] Starting in the 20th century, the use of brickwork declined in some areas due to concerns with earthquakes. Earthquakes such as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake revealed the weaknesses of unreinforced brick masonry in earthquake-prone areas. During seismic events, the mortar cracks and crumbles, and the bricks are no longer held together. Brick masonry with steel reinforcement, which helps hold the masonry together during earthquakes, was used to replace many of the unreinforced masonry buildings. Retrofitting older unreinforced masonry structures has been mandated in many jurisdictions. Gallery[edit] Eastern gable of church of St. James in Toruń (14th century) Decorative pattern made of strongly fired bricks in Radzyń Castle (14th century) Porotherm style clay block brick Fired, clay bricks in Hainan, China See also[edit] References[edit] ^ Interlocking bricks used in Nepal ^ Bricks that interlock ^ (in French) IFP Orient – Tell Aswad Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Wikis.ifporient.org. Retrieved 16 November 2012. ^ Possehl, Gregory L. (1996) ^ History of brickmaking, Encyclopædia Britannica. ^ Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (2005), "Uncovering the keys to the Lost Indus Cities", Scientific American, 15: 24–33, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0105-24sp ^ Khan, Aurangzeb; Lemmen, Carsten (2013), Bricks and urbanism in the Indus Valley rise and decline, arXiv:1303.1426, Bibcode:2013arXiv1303.1426K ^ Yoshinori Yasuda (2012). Water Civilization: From Yangtze to Khmer Civilizations. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9784431541103. ^ Yoshinori Yasuda (2012). Water Civilization: From Yangtze to Khmer Civilizations. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 33–35. ISBN 9784431541103. ^ Brook, 19–20 ^ Earliest Chinese building brick appeared in Xi'an (中國最早磚類建材在西安現身). takungpao.com (28 January 2010) ^ China's first brick, possible earliest brick in China (藍田出土"中華第一磚" 疑似我國最早的"磚") ^ 西安發現全球最早燒制磚 (Earliest fired brick discovered in Xi'an). Sina Corp.com.tw. 30 January 2010 (in Chinese) ^ Ash, Ahmed (20 November 2014). Materials science in construction : an introduction. Sturges, John. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 9781135138417. OCLC 896794727. ^ Peter Ackroyd (2001). London the Biography. Random House. p. 435. ISBN 978-0-09-942258-7. ^ "Henry Clayton". Retrieved 17 December 2012. ^ The Mechanics Magazine and Journal of Engineering, Agricultural Machinery, Manufactures and Shipbuilding. 1859. p. 361. ^ The First Hundred Years: the Early History of Bradley & Craven, Limited, Wakefield, England by Bradley & Craven Ltd (1963) ^ "US Patent 9082". Retrieved 26 September 2014. ^ "The History of Bricks". De Hoop:Steenwerve Brickfields. ^ Punmia, B.C.; Jain, Ashok Kumar (2003), Basic Civil Engineering, p. 33, ISBN 978-81-7008-403-7 ^ Connolly, Andrew. Life in the Victorian Brickyards of Flintshire and Denbigshire, p34. 2003, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ^ Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, Brick Kiln Units (PDF file) ^ Jump up to: a b McArthur, Hugh, and Duncan Spalding. Engineering materials science: properties, uses, degradation and remediation. Chichester, U.K.: Horwood Pub., 2004. 194. Print. ^ [1]. Brick Industry Association. Technical Note 9A, Specifications for and Classification of Brick. Retrieved 28 December 2016. ^ [2] bia.org. Technical Note 10, Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry (pdf file) Retrieved 8 November 2016. ^ Crammix Maxilite. crammix.co.za ^ Michigan | Success Stories | Preserve America | Office of the Secretary of Transportation | U.S. Department of Transportation. ^ Schwartz, Emma (31 July 2003). "Bricks come back to city streets". USA Today. Retrieved 4 May 2017. ^ Romero, Simon (6 October 2007). "Rogelio Salmona, Colombian Architect Who Transformed Cities, Is Dead at 78". The New York Times. ^ Alejandro Porcel Arraut (16 October 2018). "Desarrollo inmobiliario en Xoco: relato de ciudades enfrentadas". Nexos (magazine) (in Spanish). Further reading[edit] Aragus, Philippe (2003), Brique et architecture dans l'Espagne médiévale, Bibliothèque de la Casa de Velazquez, 2 (in French), Madrid Campbell, James W.; Pryce, Will, photographer (2003), Brick: a World History, London & New York: Thames & Hudson Coomands, Thomas; VanRoyen, Harry, eds. (2008), "Novii Monasterii, 7", Medieval Brick Architecture in Flanders and Northern Europe, Koksijde: Ten Duinen Das, Saikia Mimi; Das, Bhargab Mohan; Das, Madan Mohan (2010), Elements of Civil Engineering, New Delhi: PHI Learning Private Limited, ISBN 978-81-203-4097-8 Kornmann, M.; CTTB (2007), Clay Bricks and Roof Tiles, Manufacturing and Properties, Paris: Lasim, ISBN 978-2-9517765-6-2 Plumbridge, Andrew; Meulenkamp, Wim (2000), Brickwork. Architecture and Design, London: Seven Dials, ISBN 1-84188-039-6 Dobson, E. A. (1850), Rudimentary Treatise on the Manufacture of Bricks and Tiles, London: John Weale Hudson, Kenneth (1972) Building Materials; chap. 3: Bricks and tiles. London: Longman; pp. 28–42 Lloyd, N. (1925), History of English Brickwork, London: H. Greville Montgomery External links[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to: Bricks Look up bricks in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bricks. "Brick" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). 1911. Brick in 20th-Century Architecture Brick Industry Association United States Brick Development Association UK Think Brick Australia International Brick Collectors Association dontforgettoerwhatwasitiforgetohyeahdontforgettolikeandsubscribe
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