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- This textfile was leeched from LSD's Grapevine Magazine Issue #12
- If you wish to use it for other productions please check with the author
- of the article or LSD. If this save article function is abused it will
- not be included in future versions.
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- S A T E L L I T E H A C K I N G F I L M N E T
-
- T H E S A G A C O N T I N U E SWell it finally happened on the 24th
- August 1992 at 12.01am the battle of
- Filmnet against the Astra pirates took
- By XL a new turn. For years the pal service
- had been the most hacked and pirated
- system in the whole of Europe. The
- This issue I won't just concentrate on switch to D2mac was well publicised
- Astra but mention a few of the the decision to drop it and go to a
- satellites that are up there. much more secure system had been
- planned for at least a year. The
- Hey some amazing stuff has happened problem was its only a small majority
- since starting this article, well of the Benelux countries that are
- Videocrypt has been cracked there are served by Astra. The rest of the
- a lot of confirmed reports of this. country is served via a cable system
- Filmnet has been hit very very hard. that is used on the Eutalsat
- Read later on as i'm not retyping it satellite.
- all now!
- What happens is on Eutalsat still it
- was found that the cable systems could
- not handle the D2mac signal. So it
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- presents a bit of a problem the only They intend to drop the power of the
- system they know works via cable is Eutalsat transmission to a level that
- the current system i.e. the very is only pick-upable by the very large
- pirated one. So at the same time cable dishes. Now in order for us to
- D2mac appeared on Astra full-time it watch it we would need a 3m or bigger
- was dropped on Eutalsat. Now Eutalsat dish in our garden, just for the one
- is receivable from England via a channel. So unless your next door
- modification to your sat dish and neighbour happens to be Joderal Bank
- system for under 100 and now the then its goodbye pal service.
- pirate decoder manufactures are
- selling the mod. This is another This fetches me onto my next point the
- thorn in the side for Filmnet, but not D2mac transcoders/decoders the only
- to be out done they have modified the option that is left is now that of
- cable receivers dishes which is using a D2mac receiver that converts
- practically sod all cost to them by the D2mac back into Pal for our tv
- making the dishes very very big. The viewing. The receiver accepts the
- reason is its only used for cable and Filmnet card (obtained through naughty
- there is no real reason why the home means) and converts it into a
- users would want to watch this service watchable picture. Now rumours are
- so they have a very good ace up there flying around about Sky wanting to
- sleeve. corner the market with its film
- channels. Let's face it if there is
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- only that choice then you have to advertising their equipment as
- subscribe don't you. Well Sky soon untouched and banging an extra 100 on
- are to launch a D2mac encrypted top of the price. What will happen
- channel and if they do. Well the though is the public will soon find
- chances then are that you will have to out which manufactures have done this
- go out and buy a D2mac receiver and if and when the sales of that one item
- you do somehow you will get a Filmnet reach zero they wont be to pleased.
- card.
-
- So they are asking the manufactures to R E D H O T A N D D U T C H
- incorporate a mode into the D2mac
- decoders that makes them not This channel is broadcasting via the
- unenecrypt Filmnet. You see on a Eutalsat satellite using a very old
- D2mac service the channel has to system of encryption invented by the
- broadcast an information band. The BBC called S.A.V.E. they say they
- decoder uses this to display what your intend after enough people have
- watching etc. All that needs to be subscribed switching to a more secure
- changed is for it to ignore one system. Strange wouldn't it of been
- particular piece of info and you don't better to of used a more secure system
- get to watch the channel. This is in the first place. They charge 90
- pleasing the sellers of D2mac for a subscription the problem already
- equipment because now they are faced is there are already lots and
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- lots of old SAVE pirate decoders out an announcement that they have had
- in the Uk. So all mr public did was some 65000 enquires for their film
- dig it out to watch a free channel. service with some 3000 to 4000
- subscribers with more on the way.
- As the previous owners of SAVE had They estimate that it would take a
- tried almost every scramble path pirate operation some three months to
- available to them this puts this put full production of SAVE pirate de-
- channel in a bit of a spot. All the scramblers into operation. Then get
- decoders are hardened against them them into homes. The announcement
- upgrading and most people are watching goes like this. Red hot dutch here to
- it free anyway. In fact old copies of stay. The industry need to make a
- Elector magazine even carried diagrams decision. You could hack manufacture
- for build your own decoders plus and sell pirate decoders we estimate
- detailing by clever analysis all the this would take you about three
- upgrade paths possible for SAVE. If months. In three months we will
- that's not handing it to you on a launch cryptovision. All save de-
- plate then what isn't. scramblers will then become useless to
- you. Costing your company a fortune
- I've just got hack watch the Euro in effect. Short term gain - long
- black box scrambling magazine. Its term pain. Red Hot Dutch. Don't hack
- the underground magazine for satellite it join it.
- watchers. Red Hot and Dutch have made
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- Now they have put a big carrot in do brag about how secure videocrypt
- front of the people who sign up is. The security is in the card
- subscribers for the service. As long upgrades that they do card 05 to 06 to
- as a subscriber signs up for Red Hot block the card overwrite hack that
- Dutch they will send the person who appeared cost SKY 7 million pounds
- signed them up a monthly commission that's 'a lot of zero's. This was a
- cheque for say 2 each and of course if major software rewrite and to have
- you have a lot of subscribers you get anti hack software, with the addition
- a lot of money. Maybe if SKY had done of a larger memory and voltage
- this the dealers would of been a lot circuits. So far the hacks have
- happier to actually subscribe people. involved inserting the card into a
- For a sports subscription they get circuit board and then into the
- nothing. For signing up both movie decoder.
- channels they get 10 and of course 5
- for a single. Payed sometimes up to 6 Well the nightmare has come true the
- months away. chip in fact the housekeeper chip is
- very much compromised. What you do
- now is replace the chip inside the
- V I D E O C R Y P T T H E H A C Kdecoder i.e. it has to be unsoldered
- and a new rewritten chip put in its
- The hack on videocrypt has bowled sky place. This chip has all of the card
- a real wobbly. They always and still zap routines removed so it is
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- impossible to turn the card off now. Publications, 22 Viewmount, Waterford,
- Whilst it is making things very Ireland.
- difficult for Sky. There is also a
- rumour going around that the main Telephone Fax from Uk 010 353 5173640
- highly protected algorithmic chip the
- highly secure microscramble processor
- has been read. This has been done in Note: Hack watch news is informative
- the United States the problem is that it will not show you illegal crack and
- now it has been extracted the hackers do this stories. It collates True
- are having a problem understanding the information and smashes the rumours
- cryptoalgorythims. Be they found it monthly, and is distributed through
- will be a bleak day for Videocrypt and out Europe. Most of the magazine rely
- Sky the rumour is that its only a very on the information contained within
- short amount of time. the news letter for their stories. It
- is very well presented and if you want
- More Next Month! to find the behind the scenes stories
- you shouldn't be without this. Please
- You can subscribe to Hack Watch News note I get nothing from pushing this
- send for details or phone with your magazine.
- access, visa number to:
- Filmnet has had quite a scare
- John McCormacs Hack Watch News. Mc2 appearing in the Uk has been a massive
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- amount of white cards. These cards
- had no logo or stamping on them but
- contained all the necessary bits in
- order to run on Filmnet. After a
- large investigation it appeared they
- allegedly were being sold direct of
- the production line in the factory by
- employee's before they had been
- stamped or embossed making them
- untraceable. (Where there's a will
- there's a way). This little avenue of
- pleasure has now been stopped.
- Filmnet are checking records to see
- what cards are missing from stock so
- they can turn them off.
-
- Keep watching and catch you soon!
-
- end.
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