TAP YIPL/TAP_and_YIPL_Collection_CD.iso/PHREAK/GENERAL/BECOPHRE.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1996-06-22 | 17KB

From: [e-mail] (NiteJoker)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (NiteJoker)
Newsgroups: alt.2600
Subject: PHREAKING - A guide for beginners
Date: 31 Aug 1995 01:51:22 -0400
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Message-ID: <423ikq$[e-mail]>

Simple, easy to read, and informative.  Don't get caught.  Read the

disclaimer.



                          /-------------------\
                         | Becoming A Phreaker |
                         +---------------------+
                         |The Quick n' Easy Way|
                         \---------------------/
                             /-------------\
                            < By NightJoker >
                             \-------------/


So, you want to be a phreaker, and you want to do it the Quick 'n Easy
Way, eh?  Well, no fear, your obdn't servant, NightJoker is here!  if
you've been a wannabe phreaker for years, but don't have the patience
or know-how to make some of the more advanced boxes, this is for you.

This file will show how to make one of the easiest boxes, which will
make your life fun, and your enemies cringe (OK, maybe not *cringe*
exactly, more like be really pissed off...).  Using readily availible
parts from your nearest Radio Shack, you too can be up there with the
ranks of Cap'n Crunch (well, you'd actually have to do something pretty
damn daring or revoulutionary, but practice, practice, practice!).

Notice the lack of ALL CAPS or an│n«oy#╢ing gi╚£bb≡█eri╞sh.  This is
easy to read, easy to follow, and lots of phun.  I've done my best to
make it so that the instructions can be followed if some of the the
ASCII art gets fucked up in the transfer.  Just wing it.

The BEIGE Box

The beige box is the primary source of entertainment for the phreaker.
With some experience, you can successfully make long distance phone
calls, obscene/prank calls, and other stuff, all on someone else's
bill. The beige box is simply a ripoff linemans handset.  You know, the
bright orange ones that you see linemans holding while they cling to a
telephone pole? But of course, no phreaker in their right mind is going
to climb up a pole! You're going to stay nice and safe on the ground.
All this is is a normal phone with a special cable.  Simple.

The construction:

    Now using the minimmum of parts, you could create a basic beige
box.
(1) Phone cable with the wires color-coded
(1) Telephone
(2) Alligator clips, green and red.

It's best to use an X-Acto-style knife, or a utility knife.

Now, find a phone cable (the one that goes between the wall and phone,
not the handset cable).  It should be a couple feet long.  Carefully
slice it open near on plug - do it slowly, and not too deep, so that
you dont cut any wires. Peel it open slightly, and if you see several
wires that are colored, great. If all you see is some wires that aren't
colored, forget it, that'll be too hard (tape it up with some scotch
tape, maybe your mom won't notice).

Now that you've found your cable, cut off one end, a few inches from
the connector.  Save this connector (with a few inches of cable) for
later.  Slice the covering back 3-4 inches, and cut it off, leaving the
colored wires intact. There sould be four wires - red, green, black,
and yellow.  To be able to use the wire for other things later, tape
the black and yellow paralell to the cable, so they won't get into the
way.  Now, strip abot a half an inch of the red and green wires.  To
strip it, take your knife, and lay the cable on a hard table. Take the
red wire, and press it to the table with your finger, about 2 inches
from the end.  Taking the knife, position it about a half an inch from
the end, the point on the wire. Slowly and gently, swipe the knife AWAY
from you, towards the end of the wire.  You should make a thin cut
along the wire. If you have not cut all the way through, do it again.
Carefully separate the wire from the insulation.  You should have a
wire, with the end splitting into a piece of insulation and a piece of
wire.  Cut off the insulation - dont cut the wire!  Do the same thing
for the green wire.
Now, you should have a phone cable, with a connector at one end, and a
sripped green and red wire at the other end.
Go to the nearest electronic store.  They should sell little baggies of
alligator clips with colored plastic sheathes - make sure they don't
have wire attatched to them.  These cost about $1.50.  Buy (or
otherwise get) a bag that has a red and green clip. Now, take your red
and green clips, and slip the sheathe off of them.  They should slide
right off, and leave the metal clip that has a small screw attatched to
it, or a tab with a hole in it.  Unscrew the screw until there is
enough space to wrap the wire around it. Wrap the properly colored wire
around it, and screw it in.  Or, stick the wire in the tab, and wrap it
around a few times, until ther is no stripped wire left.Give it a
little tug to see if it's secure.  Put the sheathe back on.  Do it to
the other wire.     OK, you now have a phone cord, that has a plug at
one end, and a red
and green alligator clip, attached to the same colored wires, at the
other end.    Your're done!
  +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
  |     *Into Your Phone                     Attach the clips to these|
  |     *                                                       ,     |
  |     *                                        +++Black.......,...  |
  | +-----+              /   /              +++++               ,  .  |
  | +-+   |-------------/---/------------+++++++++++++++Red,,,,,,  .  |
  | +-+   |-----------//--//-------------+++++++++++++++Green,,,,  .  |
  | +-----+          /   /                  +++++                  .  |
  |                                              +++Yellow..........  |
  |                                                                .  |
  |                                                                .  |
  |                                 Tape these back.................  |
  +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE:  If you (A) can't find the right cable, or (B) are too damn lazy,
Radio Shack sells cables with a standard phone connector at one end,
and spade lugs connected to the colored wires at the other end.  Just
cut off the connecors, and strip the wires.

How to use it:

How old is your house?  If it was built or if the phone system was
upgraded within the last 20 years, go to the side of the house where
your gas and electrical meters are.  You should find the power box
(where the breakers are) that wierd things with all the pipes and a
meter (the gas thingie), and, maybe, a grey box with some wires
attatched to it.  Now, this might be your cable hookup, but if there's
a Bell logo on it, that's probably it.  If you can't find it, look in
the backyard.  Once you've found it, see if there is some sort of bolt
on it.  If it dosen't have one, reach under the box, and find the edge
of the cover.  Grab it, and pull down and out.  It should open up.  If
it dosen't, try the sides, or the top.  If it sitll dosen't, look again
for a bolt.  If there is one, go to the handy-dandy hardware store, and
get yourself a 7/16 inch hex driver.  This should open up the box.
This can also be used to open up other kinds of telco switch boxes.
Once you have it open, you may see several things:

= Four wires, red, green, black, and yellow, hooked up to four posts by
a screw.

= A bunch of wires - look for the red, green, black, and yellow ones.

= If you live in an apartment building, a bunch of rows of plastic,
with metal tabs sticking out of them.  There should be wires coming out
of most of the tabs, that are colored red, green, black, and yellow.
They should be labeld with apartment numbers or phone numbers.  Look
for yours.

= One or two thick cables, connected to something else.  This is a
cable box, bozo.  If you want free cable, figure it out.

= A shitload of spiders.  Get the RAID.

Now, get a phone - the ones that are the "slimline" kind are the best,
or the kind that are just a handset, and no base are better.  Plug your
modified cable into this.  Making sure that the switch for the handset
is down, clip the red clip to the post/terminal witht the red wire.
This is the RING terminal. It's usually on the right - remember the
phreakers adage: ring-red-right. Connect the green clip to the green
wired post/terminal.  Make sure they are firmly attached, and not
touching any other wires.  Now, pick the phone up, and (hopefully) you
should hear a dial tone.  If not, adjust the clips (can't touch any
other posts, remember!).  If that dosen't work, then switch the clips
(if that's the problem, just switch the colored insulation on the
clips).

    +--------------------------------------------------------------+
    |             The Telephone Network Box                        |
    |              +--------------------+                          |
    |              |                    |                          |
    |  Green ---------->x<........>x --------- Red                 |
    |              |         .          |                          |
    |              |         .          |                          |
    |              |         ............... Put the clips on these|
    |              |                    |                          |
    | Ignore ---------->x          x<--------- Ignore              |
    |              |                    |                          |
    |              |                    |                          |
    |              +--------------------+                          |
    +--------------------------------------------------------------+

If you live in an apartment building:

    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                  ............Yellow                         |
    |                  .                                          |
    |                  .  .........Black                          |
    |                  .  .                                       |
    |             +----.--.----+                                  |
    | Green Tip.... -  -  -  -.....Red Ring                       |
    |             | -  -  -  - |                                  |
    |             | -  -  -  - |                                  |
    |             | -  -  -  - |   The Telephone "Punchdown Block"|
    |             | -  -  -  - |   Usually found in office and    |
    |             | -  -  -  - |   apartment buildings.           |
    |             | -  -  -  - |   NOTE: TIP and RING might be    |
    |             | -  -  -  - |   switched, depending on the     |
    |             | -  -  -  - |   building.                      |
    |             | -  -  -  - |                                  |
    |             | -  -  -  - |                                  |
    |             | -  -  -  - |                                  |
    |             +------------+                                  |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------+

NOTE:  first try this on your own line.  That way, you can fiddle with
it all you want, and not get in trouble (unless someone's on the
phone). Congrats!  If it works, great!  If it dosen't, go back and
check what you did.

The Phun You Can Have:

Obviously, this has to be good for something!  Remember, this is
literally and extension of their phone, keep that in mind.    So here
is some stuff:

= Make free calls.  Hopefully, the box is somewhere secluded.  Make all
the calls you want!  But, tell the person that you may have to hang up
quickly.  Tell them that when this happens, they should hang up quick,
too.  Don't stay on for too long!  You can get caught this way, if
someone tries to call alot, or someone picks up the phone and hears
someone else having a convesation!  Be careful.

= Getting someone in trouble.  Call a radio station (most have caller
ID).  Start cussing your brains out.  Say that everyone should worship
satan, fuck jesus, eat SPAM, or whatever.  Hopefully, they'll track the
number down.  Or call a bomb threat to the police.  They'll always
trace the call.  Perhaps, call the operator, and start fucking around.
NOTE:  don't do this to someone you don't  know.  Only do it to real
pricks who deserve it.  And DON'T call 911.  Their response is shitty
already, don't make it worse for some guy with a shard of glass in his
skull.

= Eavesdropping.  Get a phone that has a MUTE button.  Tape it down
SECURELY!  If you hold it down, the line could get noisy, and they
might get suspicious.  Record it, and blackmail 'em if it's juicy! But
be careful, extortion is a federal offense.

Some Tips:

Try to look inconspicuous - don't go wearing a hot pink raincoat.  If
going a night, wear dark clothes.  Keep all your stuff in a small
backpack.  Case the place first - look to see if there's a car in the
driveway.  Are alot of lights on?  Look for the box in the obvious
places - if you can't find it, skip it. Try to find a house that looks
empty, or has alot of bushes by the box.  If you crouch, and it's dark,
you might not be seen by the idle jogger or walker.  If you're really
paranoid, wear a fake moustache.  Also, wear some kind of gloves.
People are paranoid, and might get the box dusted.  (You can never be
too careful!) If someone does pick up the phone whale you are doing
your stuff, either hang up, or, for a better chance at them  not coming
out, say something like "Oops, must be a crossed line."  Maybe say
something about the phone guys doing something on the poles this
morning.  In either case, LEAVE FAST!  Don't forget to close the box,
or they'll know someone was there.  And always tell the person you are
talking to that you might have to leave quick and they should hang up
quick also.
If you are over 21, try to look like a telco guy.  Get a
fishing tackle box, and but your stuff in it.  If someone hears
something on the line, and then see's a telco guy walking away, they
might not get suspicious.  Or, if you can get a REAL telco outfit,
complete with belt with all the tools, and an orange/blue/yellow hard
hat with the local service logo, get real ballsy, and knock on the door
and say "Hello ma'am/sir, I need to run some line tests, we've been
having some problems with the trunk lines, and I need to check some of
the houses on this block.  Could you not use the phone for the next
half an hour?  Thanks."  Try not to piss in your pants.  Right before
you leave, tell them "All done here, thanks."  Remembet to spraypaint
the phone orange. Oh, and another thing, don't do it in your own
neighborhood!  Someone might see you, or there might be a nosy old guy
across the street, and he might say "Joe, I saw that kid of Marty's
snooping around today."  Busted.  Also, be wary of "Neighborhood Watch"
areas - this is full of people with binoculars and 911 on the speed
dial. If someone happens to see you messing with their stuff, look as
innocent as possible.  Say something like "My friends dared me to do it
- they said I was chicken unless I went to someone's house and called
them!  Please, don't tell anyone!  My parents will KILL me!
Pleaseohplease!.  Oh god, uncle Gene's gonna kill me!  Oh Jesus,
please!  I was just trying to prove something to my friends!"  Maybe
start to sob.  You might just get off with a lecture.  If you are
wearing some sort of disguise, maybe try to make a run for it.  Ditch
the disguise, and make like nothing happend. Another thing - you may
want to buy a 10-20 foot cable, so you can connect to their phone box,
and sit in the bushes a bit away, and have your phun.

Advanced Stuff For The Beige Box:

If you know what you are doing, here's some suggestions:

= Wire a switch in line with the microphone so you can flip it in and
out of the circut.  This is a helluva lot cleaner than a MUTE button,
but make sure to switch it on or off before you pick up the phone, so
there won't be any abnormal noise.

= If it's the kind that is just a handset, you might want to install a
switch for an on-off switch, instead of having the switch on the bottom
down.

= Wire an "in-use" light into it, so that you don't pick up the phone
on someone.

Remember, you are treading into illegal territory.  Don't get caught,
unless you like dishing out 100,000-200,000 buckaroos and/or having
"Crusher Moe" breating down your neck for 1-5 years.  And don't brag
about your phun openly - who knows, maybe Ma Bell is listening!  Brag
behind a name (like me!).

DISCLAIMER
I, the guy named NightJoker, do not accept any responsibility
for any damage you, the reader, may cause.  I will not pay bail, be
your lawyer, or bake cakes with hacksaws in them.  If you get caught,
you are screwed, because I can't help you.  In other words:  it ain't
my fault!