What is Phreaking?

I read about it in 2600. Not really sure what it is though.

Either through computer software or other devices.

Phreaking is to phones as hacking is to computers.

into the long distance system.

Started out using a Cap'n Crunch whistle that came in the cereal boxes. It projected the perfect tone to enter a free long distance phone call.

The phone system is actually just a big computer. Phreaking is the act of hacking it in various ways, including generating specific multi-frequency tones known to be 'control' tones, building electronic boxes to generate the same, etc...

In the 'good old days', the main point of phreaking was to make free telephone calls to unlikely people, such as Richard Nixon's home phone, or the Ambassador of China's house, etc...

That is why so many underworld types would buy the boxes. The calls could never be traced.

Brown box, blue box, etc.?

This is the same as was generated by the Cap'n Crunch whistle, and is used by the phone system to take over an operator's line.

A red box makes the tones produced by dropping coins into a pay phone. It doesn't work as well as it used to, since they changed the way pay phones work after this came out (now you don't usually get a dial tone until you put money in). In actuality, There is really only a 'nickel' tone. A quarter is registered by playing the nickel one rapidly five times, etc...

A black box supposedly keeps the phone company from realizing your phone is 'off hook' leading to free untraceable calls.

Then there are a bunch of 'one offs' you find here and there. Here is a list of some of them:
http://www.security.teleactivities.net/hacking/phreaking/

on edit:
None of the boxes are tremendously useful until you learn some specific intelligence about your local phone network, such as line service access numbers (used by phoneco technicians), etc...

Is in fact, tremendously useful. It is a telephone lineman's handset -- essentially a phone set that has alligator clips on so you can attach it to any old line, such as your neigbor's or the local Wal-mart, or any structure you can sneak up to and tap into their phone line from the outside.

The Captain Crunch Whistle and the blue and red boxes no longer work, except in places like Sascatchewan. Likewise the black box.

Too bad it's obsolete.

We got rid of our phone line recently; now have broadband phone using an old push button number!

Had to retire the rotary... :cry:

You just have to sneak up to a building and mess around with their phone-box at the side of the building or the pole. This is trespassing. You will probably get away with it if you wear brown or grey coveralls and a cap.

The rest of them were really more fun to use and build, but the phone companies figured out how to make them non-functional fairly quickly.

Or other transmission sources of data indirectly/illegally. Check these sites:

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci550525,00.html

http://www.disappearing-inc.com/V/vaneckphreaking.html

http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/46209/Dark_Tip_Van_Eck_Phreaking.html

Edited to add: This is specifically van eck phreaking... an extension.

Phone Phreaking is hacking the phone system. van Eck Phreaking is using the magnetic fields of computer monitors to copy what's on the screen of a computer (say if someone had a van Eck Phreaking device under your desk, she could see everything you see on your monitor.)

Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon - awesome book.

KJ

Have you read the Byzantine Trilogy. Some of the same characters are on the loose there as well.

and has multiple windows open so they can't figure out what he's doing? that one?

:7

In the small town I live in there is a 'service' everyone refers to as "01". In the entire exchange (the 3 digit prefix which shall remain nameless) if you don't have a long distance carrier, you dial 0 1 area code number and voila you are connected. This never appears on any phone bill and the caller ID sees you as unavailable. There are some area codes that it doesn't work with, but it works with most. I've never tried an international call, don't know about that.

Almost everyone I know does this. I guess if we ever get caught all of my friends will be incarcerated with me.

Can anybody give me an explanation of why this might be??

I believe "zero" is the the international dial out code is it not? Like dialing a "1" in the U.S. before long distance phone calls.

Does anybody know my answer??

but maybe someone else does.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

:D

Learn something new every day!!! :hi:

:hi:

abraço :hug:

And no, it wasn't dirty, just a little snippy.

My bad.