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- MORE ON TRASHING
- What to look for, how to act, where to go
- [2600 -- Magazine]
-
- by The Kid & Co. and The Shadow
-
- An inspection of you local Telco office trash receptacles can reveal a wealth
- of documents of great interest to a telecommunications hobbiest. The fone
- company doesn't expect anyone except maybe bums to paw through their refuge,
- and therefore often disposes some interesting materials. In all the
- installation we have investigated, the Company doesn't shred or incinerate
- anything. Most sites have their garbage in trash bags convenient for removal
- an leisurely inspection at home.
-
- A case in point. The authors of this article have been engaged in trashing
- for about three months, finding quite informative info, but when we escorted
- two phriends from the city on an expedition, we didn't know the most efficient
- methods. They came out of the boondocks of New Jersey to inspect the wealth of
- AT&T and Bell installations in the region. They were quite expert at trashing,
- having more experience in the art, so we merely watched and copied their
- technique.
-
- Our first hit of the night was of an AT&T Information Systems office
- building. We gathered a large mass of manuals and binders. Then we moved
- onward to hit AT&T Communcations, the local business office, our central
- office, and another Bell site. After a successful session, we decided to call
- it a night.
-
- We sorted the piles of garbage for things of merit. Our phriends gathered
- the majority of the really interesting items, but we salvaged several things
- of worth. This sorting session was conducted in the center of town, to the
- amusement of passers-by. It was interesting to explain to friends that passed
- by what we were doing. We BS'ed an inquisitive young lady into thinking that
- we were a local group of Boy Scouts cleaning the area as a project for our
- Eagle Scout badge. Following the tendency of the masses to follow falsehoods,
- she complimented us on how clean the town looked, for she had been out of the
- country for the last couple of months. A couple of times we alsmost
- contradicted each other as everyone got into the flow of falsehoods.
-
- Numerous things of interest can be found in Bell trash. Ones that are of use
- to anyone are binders and notebooks with the Bell logo on them, good for
- impressing friends. Also, supplies of Bell letterhead are good for scaring
- phriends. Documents of more interest to phreaks can also be found. Cosmos
- printouts abound in any CO trash. In house telephone directories list
- employees of Bell, goot to try social engineering on. Manuals also have merit
- for the phreak. Maintenance reports, trunk outages reports, line reports,
- network control analysis (NCA), TSPS documents, and lists of abbreviations used
- by the fone company can be found. The latter is of great importance as it
- allows one to decipher the cryptic documents. Bell seems to love ridiculous
- and mysterious abbreviations and anacronyms.
-
- "Looking for Notebooks"
-
- The expert trasher must be willing to physically enter the dumpster. Only
- reaching in for easily obtainable objects misses heavy manuals that tend to
- sink to the bottom. Huge bulky printouts, directories, and obese manuals as
- well as binders settle out of reach. Also, once in the dumpster, inquisitive
- security can't see you.
-
- Speaking of security, what are the dangers of trashing? Well, we don't know,
- having never been caught at it. The basic fact which protects the trasher is
- the ludicrousness of someone stealing your garbage. Probably the most they can
- get you for is trespassing, and most of the time they'll probably just throw
- you off of the property. Good excuses for being around the dumpster are that
- you are passing through on a shortcut, that a ball or frisbee has flown in, or
- you are looking for notebooks for school.
-
- A good way to avoid unnecessary surveillance by Telco employees is to trash
- late at night, after most have gone home. Weekends, especially Sunday nights,
- leave the sites deserted, except for security or janitorial staff. Before
- starting on a trashing run, be sure to reconnoiter the area, and find out the
- schedule of garbage collection. That way you can hit the trash at the fullest
- and most profitable time.
-
- One thing that simplifies trashing runs is the use of a car. A car will
- allow one to hit trash sites farther afield, as well as assisting in the
- removal of bags and boxes of trash to sort at your leisure. Trash sorting
- really n site as it increases the possible time for your
- discovery by security. Removing garbage by foot invites stares and limits the
- amount that can be removed. The car should drop off the trashers and return
- about a half hour later, depending on the amount of trash there. Before
- dropping them off, be sure to investigate if there is any trash in the first
- place for, as past experience has shown, they tend to get quite angered when
- they have spent the last hour staring at an empty trash container.
-
- The on-site trashers should be willng to hop into the dumpster. As we
- mentioned, this maximizes the amount of trash that can be reached. They should
- rip open any bags, shoving the uninteresting ones to the rear and botton of the
- container, while bringing new ones to the forefront. Boxes in the trash should
- be used to carry the documents into the trunk of the car for leisurely sorting.
- This should be done with a minimum of noise and light, if flashlights are to be
- used. The trasher shouldn't attempt to take the best stuff, just to grab as
- much as looks interesting.
-
- At the appointed time, the car should return and pick up the trashers. Boxes
- should be stuffed in the trunk as quickly as possible. Smell won't be much of
- a problem, as all you are taking are papers. Occasionally a bag of coffee
- grinds smells up the works, but you, at all costs, should avoid cafeteria
- dumpsters as the rotting food really reeks, and contains little of value to the
- telecommunications hobbiest.
-
- The car should then drive off to a safe and secluded spot to sort the trash.
- The location should be well lit and have another dumpster handy to throw the
- real trash out permanently. The valuable stuff should be take home and sorted
- according to type. By keeping all of the similar stuff together, patterns can
- be recognized. Here, abbreviation lists come in handy. The date and location
- where the trash is located helps to keep the junk organized.
-
- A carful inspection of local Telco trash receptables can be informative and
- fun. Any real phreak should find out at the least what the switching equipment
- for hishherits area is. Proper trashing technique is gained by experience, so
- climb on in! Well, happy trashing and have a phree day.
-
-
- [Courtesy of Lunatic Labs UnLtd.]
- [Uploaded by Elric of Imrryr]
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- Uploaded by Elric of Imrryr]
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