DO YOU HAVE BACK ISSUES OF 26001 If not, look what you're missing!

1984

AHOYI -an Introduction to 26<Xl. FBI GOES AFTER ADS HACKERS -FBI Investigator unwlttlngly reveals tactics and recent activities.
FLASH LlCA dlscusses GTE raids, AT&T credit cards, wireless phone trouble; THE TRUTH BEHIND THOSE. 9999 NUMBERS -a toll free error
story, DATA. vanous White House extenSions; HACKING ON TELENET-how to's of Telenet use; ESS ORWELL'S PROPHECY the first In a
series on the fun and dangers of ESS, FLASH directory assistance changes, computer air-ban. AT&T credit cards, etc . SOME THOUGHTS
ON GARBAGE PICKING--flrst of a series of trashing for valuable Information as related to a diSCUSSion of !;rosstdlk, DATA COUNTRY
CODES---every last country code for overseas dialing, THE CONSTITUTION OF A HACKER-a diSCUSSion of hacking, ALTERNATE LONG
DISTANCE MCI-hlstory, systems, and services; FLASH 71R Connecticut Wiretaps, Sweden person numbers, etc , THE FIRST ATOMIC

BOMB-an InSide story on the ?vent as related to our nation's phone system, DATA ARPANET HOSTS --list of acceSSible hosts, WHOSE
STRIKE WAS THAT ANYWAY? -a startling analYSIS of summer 83 phone strike, THE TROUBLE WITH TELEMAIL ----dIscussion of GTE's
IrresponSibility In protecting their systm, FLASH AT&T credit cards, portable prisons. 414's plead, etc . A TRUE SAGA O F
TELECONFERENCING--what con happen on a teleconference, DATA MCI ACCESS NUMBERS-DIALUPS FOR MCI MAIL, PHONE BOOK
COLLAGE #1 ----ou r artistic heritage In phone book designs; THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF A STEP OFFICE - -dISCUSSion of inS and outs of
antiquated phone systems; IBM'S AUDIO DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM-USing vOice messaging technology, FLASH 414 sentencing. equal
access, bank record privacy, etc. THE WOES OF HAVING A SMALL-TIME RURAL PHONE COMPANY -a true story, DATA AVAILABLE
NETWORKS ON THE DEFENSE DATA NETWORK-a lIst IncludIng base addresses, EASYLINK ACCESS NUMBERS, ARPANET HOPPING
AMERICA'S NEWEST PASTIME -how It works and tipS for Its use, ELECTRONIC SWITCHING ADVANCES ,-some of tile possible services
and drawbacks; FLASH: Directory assistance charges, 2600 writer Indicted, demise of E-COM. etc; THE DARK AND TRAGIC SIDE OF THE
GREAT BREAK-UP-a frank diSCUSSion; LEITERS_ sysop problems, 518 789 an XY step, etc , DATA E-COM ACCESS NUMBERS ---dIal ups
for the (now-defunct) serVice, NY TELEPHONE "LEITER OF DOOM" -a copy of a law enforcement monitOring notIce, "LOOK OUT, HE '5 GOT
A COMPUTERI" -a defense of the hacker viewpoint, MCI MAIL THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES -an analYSIS of the well knovvn faulty E-mail
post-I--lay" payphone
system, FLASH_ computenzed meter-maid. blue box arrests, anti-hack legislation, INTRODUCING THE CLEAR BOX'
deVice, LETTERS: new SWitching equipment, 99 scanning, repulsive operator story, etc , SPf:CIAL REPORT TRW -BIG BUSINESS IS
WATCHING YOU-how to use TR.W, and an assessment of the potential of thiS system. BUT HOW DOES IT WORKl a llnple explanation of
the phone system, wiring. voltages, black boxes. flng, etc . PRIVACY LOST-a review of DaVid Burnham's book "The Rise of the Computer
State", BE NICE TO YOUR TELCO -how IndiViduals are abUSing their tekos, FLASH Big Brother In Miami, NASA computer break In
computer export controls, 800 directOries; LEITERS phone scramblers, page numbers, tlilcker's book, etc , OAT A CNA NUMBERS -list of
CNA's, A HACKER'S GUIDE TO AN AREA CODE--a Simple scheme to help "map out" exchanges In your area, HISTORY OF BRITISH
PHREAKING-an account of the tllstory and tectlnlques, MORE ON TRASHING-what to look for, where to go. how to dCt, A FRIEND IN HIGH

PLACES -story of a fnendly operator; FLASH NSA inseCUrity, hacker caught, private directOries, LEITERS phone 1<Xp, WATS, TAP, etc_.
DATA A NON-COPYRIGHTED DIRECTORY, NY TELEPHONE "BIG BROTHER" LEITERS-touch tone Without permISlon, etc, GETIING
CAUGHT HACKER'S VIEW-a story of the personal effects of hacking; VITAL INGREDIENTS -what makes the ptlOnes work operators,
switching. FLASH NSA wants better phones, crime-computer VictIm, wiretap loopholes, 911 attacker caught LETTERS BBS diSCUSSion,
Comsec Letter, Computer Crime Data, others; DATA NY TELEPHONE SECURITY NUMBERS, MCI ANECDOTE ----ads. vulgarisms. MCI
chairman profile; PHONE BOOK COLLAGE #2, EXPLORING CAVES IN TRAVELNET-an mterestlng extender explained. FUN WI TH
FORTRESS FONES-what a pay phone does, how- people beat them. FLASH,' SS computer foul ups, Alrione, Wiretaps, 81 8, pay phone attack,
LEITERS book 1151. Silver boxlnY, another hacker's Vlevv, DATA IC'S AND CARRIER IDENTIFICATION CODES -gUide to 950 exchange, MCI
MAIL "TROUBLE LEITER" -the h:Hassment begins. A TIME FOR REFLECTION -the year In reView, MCI MAIL AND EASYUNK -electronic
mall horror stones; THE SCARIEST NUMBER IN THE WORLD-true story, FLASH campaign computer, Pentagon by pilOne. students bog
computer, electronic JaiL federal ptlOne upgrade; SURVEY --reader survey responses, SOME, BUT NOT ALL ELECTRONIC MAIL SYSTEMS,
list and price compansons plus .'olce messaging companies, REACH OUT AND GOOSE SOMEONE -lJst of many unique dial 1I numbers

1985

THOSE HORRIBLE HACKERSSTRH<E AGAIN-analysIs of Newsweek InCident; WIRETAPPING AND DIVESTITURE - a lineman discusses
these tOPICS, GEITING IN. THE lhCK DOORa gUide to some popular operating systems Including TOPS, 10, TOPS-20, and UNIX, 2600
INFORMATION BUREAU: our phone bill. our thanks, and other notices; FLASH' IRS and telco data, GEISCO, KKK computer, LETIERS BBS
nglHs, Easylink, Canada loops, Ifltern.atlonal phreak day, BITNET TOPOLOGY--a schematiC of the BITnet, THE THEORY OfBLUE
BOXING" history, future, and how they are used. TRASHING ALASKA STYLE -a real trashing adventure story, SURVI:YING THE
COSMOS --a beginner's gUide to COSMOS, Bell's computer program. FLASH phreak roundups. real TRW crime, 26(X) BBS, 8CX) data,

LEITERS Bell problems, telco discount. marine calling, many questions; 2600 INFORMATION BUREAU - acronym list of useful teleptlone
Jargon, NAZI BSS A CHALLENGE TO HACKERS-the role of the hacker, ARE YOU A PHREAK??? -humourous review of phreaklng, HOW TO
GET INTO A C 0, -a tour of a centrai office, FLASH, custom calling. Kenyan pay phones, hacker coke machine, IRS computer screw-up,
LETIERS reading liSt, tracing afld law enforcement. UNIX Into, NSA phone n, 26(X) INFORMATION BUREAU -Interesting phone numbers,
how to dlnl a telephone, New Yort.. Tel message, CNA LIST, NSA CIPHER DISK, WHAT A WHITE BOX CAN DO -how to build and the use of a
portable touch-tone generator; A PHONE PHREAK SCORES -another successful SOCial englneenng story, HACKING PACKARD --useful
Information about the HP2000; FLASH: talking clock, computers for communists, robot kills man, war games, Silver pages. LETT ERS Tom
TCllnpldls. secure telephones and cryptography; 2600 INFORMATION BUREAU-MILNET hosts by location, PEOPLE EXPRESS TO BE
HACKED TO PIECES --a look at People's nevv anonymous reservatIon service, HOWTO RUN A SUCCESSFUL TELECONFERENCE --complete
gUide to Alliance TeleconferenCing SerVice, FLASH hacker bust, police hacker, Reagan doesn't dial kids, dlal-a"dlrectory, LETIERS
computer networks, Silver boxes. 950, remob. tracing, 2600 INFORMATION BUREAU--Alllance TeleconfererlClng materiaL iNTERESTING
PHONE NUMBERS; UNBELIEVABLE ADVERTISEMENT, GUIDE TO THE tSRAELI PHONE SYSTEM, SHERWOOD FORES T SHUT DOWN BY
SECRET SERVICE, SOME WORDS ON HACKER MORALITY, OUT OF THE INNER CIRCLE REVIEWED-an ex-hacker s new book, FLASH who

invented the phone, porno phone wiretap award, AT&T computer steals, LETIERS Information charges, AT&T cutoff, marine calling, 2600
INFORMATION BUREAU-BCX) prefixes by state; SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING goodbye to meter readers, Thai phone books. tracking
deVIces, TINA, 'Call Me' Card; FROM SHERWOOD FOREST INTRO TO HACKING-what to do and not to do, INTERESTING THINGS TO DO
ON A DEC-20-how to use varluus commands and some things to look for, BANKING FROM YOUR TERMINAL A LOOK AT PRONTO ElectroniC banking, how It WO! K.S With a focus on Chemical's system, FLASH $2 billion error, lIT crackdo-Nn, monitoring, 2600
INFORMATION BUREAU-Mllnet TAC dlalups by locatton; SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING MCI goes optical, 1CX)% ESS, GTE bigger than
AT&T, SEIZED! 2600 BUllETIN BOARD IS IMPLICATED IN RAID ON JERSEY HACKERS-an accurate account of the Private Sector BBS,
COMMENTARY THE THREAT T0 US ALL-what BBS seizures mean; FLASH_ 2600 a hacking victim. Middlesex Courthouse, MOVING
SATELLITES, ,WHAT WAS Rft..LLY GOING ON]---polnt by POint correction of New Jersey prosecutors' fallaCIOUS charges, WHY
COMPU rERS GET SNATCHEO-- .....hy law enforcement seizes equipment. SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TOASK --pruvocatlvequestlons
about these events, HOW CAN SYSOPS PROTECT THEMSELVES?; A GUiDE TO VMS ,how to use DEC's VAX operatlnQ system, THE
INFINITY TRANSMIITER--an ole bug explained; REACHING OUT ON YOUR OWN-blue boXing verification, PURSUIT FOR PEOPLE-GTE
Telenet s computer to computer !lnk.,up serVice, FLASH phone-In registration. BOO word numbers, war game addICt, hacker extortionISt.
2600 INFORMATION BUREAU-- Telenet directory 01 Interesting addresses, SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING Dick Tracy toys, computer
directory aSSistance, Bell propag.mda films. Europe standardIZIng telcoms, MANY FAMiliAR TONES, AND THEY CALL US CROOKS] - ,story
of a phone phreak who can't sei' hiS expertise, AN INTERESTING DIVERSION------call dlverters and how they are abused. MORE INFO ON
VMS -second IOstallment of an ndepth gUide to VMS, FLASH ,---computer electIons, big phone bill, Navy phreaks, phone booth captures
man, U:: TIERS' BBS suggestIon, ':01 leges are a goldmlne, recommended reading; 26CXJ INFORMATION BUREAU---8lue Box plans, THE NEW
AT&T HOSTAGE PHONE--unbeLlevable ad, SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING hackers scare bUSinesses. DuPont bypasses telco, computer

campaign Info, phone compute.s, divestiture woes, RSTS A TRICK OR rwo --some aspects of thiS operating system, THE SECRET
REVEALED-the problem with GTE's GTD#S SWItch, HISTORY OF ESS, EQUAL ACCESS MAY NOT BE HEQUAL TO MODEMS-some
problems that may anse, FLASH, columnist attacks AT&T, feds dial-It too much, little town phones, Spnngsteen mania, LEITERS some
advice, CIC's and free calls, British phreak, blue boXing gone?; CHASE BANK is CRACKED; 2600 INFORMATION BUREAU - many Interesting
test numbers; SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING' aVOId phones In storms, rural unequal access, police cellular phones, toll-free from wherel,
AT&T to read e-mail; OUR WISHES FOR '86 AND BEYOND-some of what we'd lIke to see In the future; FUN WITH COSMOS --how to
mterpret and use parts of the phone company computers; FLASH French phones, racist banter. Cltyphone; SURVEY-reader survey
responses, 2600 INFORMATION BUREAU-BBS numbers, SYSTEMATICALLY SPEAKING AT&T e-mail. German phones, super pay phone

Page l

2600 Magazine

Spring 1988

(continued on inside back cover)

calls in such a way as to he completely

,""pring has arri'ed. A nd thi is the

spring iSS"ue

(f 2600.

(Jur new quarter(1'

undetectahle, additiom to our pre'ious

format ha allowed us a hit more time to

articles on 18\1 computer ytems, and

put together a more cohe'i'e magazine.

an interesting look at the world of phone

We hope you're pleed with the re.ult.

phreaks and computer hackers which

Ve'er hefore have so many pages heen

printed in a hacker puhlication. There

contrasts with the way 'e actually see

ourselves. Plu' all kinds of numbers,

are so many topics to discuSS" that are

codes, displays, and reproductions that

relevant to our "cause". In this issue,

oUl?ht to make it all more interesting.

you'll find pieces about distrous

We've got 'o much to say and an

telephone systems, the effects of

increa\inl? number of ways to say it. (Jur

hecoming dependent on computers,

larger hut leSS" frequent schedule gives us

ways of eavesdropping on telephone

hoth the time and the space we need.

STAFFBOX
Editor-In-Chief
Emmanuel Goldstein

Office Manager

Production

Bobby Arwatt

Mike DeVoursney

Cover Art
Ken Copel

Writers: EriC Corley, John Drake, Mr. French, Chester

Holmes, Lex Luthor, Phantom Phreaker. Bill from RNOC,
DaVid Ruderman, Bernie S, Silent SWitchman, Mike Yuhas,
and the usual anonymous bunch.

26()() (/.).) \ (}7.JY-385I ) /\ I,uhl",/rct/ (1IIlJr/t'rll

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2600

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cpring 1 988

2600,\fagazine

Page 3

monitoring phone calls

This public domain article, wntten a couple of
years back, was obtained from ARPA NET It
goes into technical detail on receivmg microwave
l i n k e d t el ep h on e con v e rs a t i on s u s i n g
con ventional and widely a vailable ham satellite
equipment and/or plain satellite TV receiving

equipment. Our thanks to the subscriber who

sent It in.

Regretfully, we don't know who

originally wrote the article.

Now that Congress has chosen to attempt to

p a t c h a m a s s i v e ho l e in the secu r i t y of
communications i n the U . S. w i th a badly drafted
law that does not require or even encourage
carriers to implement solut ions that act ua l l y
i ncrease real securi ty, I thought I would repast an
article I wrote a year ago about a major aspect of
the real probl em . I hope by so doing to remind
everyone that even with a draconi an l aw in place
it is st i l l very easy to i ntercept many regular
telephone cal ls and data circuits.
N othing i n the Electronic Commun ications
Privacy Act of 1 986 req u i res or even part icularly
encourages carriers to i ncrease the security of
rad iO or sate l l ite l inks. Listeners who get caught
can be punished , but nothing has been done to
make l isten ing harder.
The k i nds of intercept ion I describe are now
h i g h l y i l l e g a l u n d e r t h e new l aw , but the
equ i pment req u i red is very widely avai lable (and
has Important legitimate uses that make a ban on
sale or possession very unlikely) and the act of
interception can be carried out in total secrecy
and is nearly impossible to detect from a
distance. The justice department has stated that
they do not intend to seriously enforce the rad io
portions of the l aw which have been genera l l y
recogn i zed to be unenforceable even by the b i l l's
sponsors . So the law , whi le dracon ian , really
won't have much of a deterrent effect even as
respects casual l i steners . And casual listeners
are not the real problem.
Yes , it is possible, and not even very difficu l t .
S ome years ago i t was poi nted o u t that 68
percent of long distance telephone trunks went
by g round based microwave . And while the long
distance carriers have been working (under some
pressure from the N SA and White H ouse) to
convert these c i rcuits to optical f i bers or at least
coaxial cable there are st i l l many routes that use
microwave or sate l l i te hops . I don't know an

Page 4

2600 Magazine

Spring 1 988

exact f igure but I think i t would be reasonable to

guess that at least 40-50 percent of long
distance trunks Include a microwave or sate l l i te
hop . And some 75 percent (approximately) of
long hau l microwave relays use the 3.7-4 .2 Ghz
band which IS readily receivable by a TYRO.
Most long haul microwave systems use FM
modu lat ion and f requency d i vision multiplexing
( FDM) of single sideband suppressed carrier
voice channe l s . Some sate l l i te systems also use
this modulation. U nfortunately , FM-F DM- S S B
modulation is quite easy to receive w i t h simple
and W i dely ava i l able equipmen t . Recovering the
contents of a specific channel is very easy , which
opens up the poss i b i l i ty of mon i toring random
phone cal l s to a specific g roup of dest inations or
mon itoring spec i f ic pri vate l i ne data or voice
CI rCUits (which are assigned to a mult iplex slot
for long periods of t i me).
The quest ion of whether a TYRO cou ld be used
to mon itor phone conversat ions has been raised
on the net. The answer is that With the add i t ion of
a s t a b l e general c o v e rage s i n g l e S i d e b a n d
recei ver (such a s an ICOM R-71 or a Kenwood
R -2000 or the receiver section of a modem
transceiver) connected to the unf i l tered and
unc lamped v i deo output (provided for connecting
stereo adapters and descramb lers), a TYRO can
be used to l i s t e n to F M - F D M m u l t i p l e xed
telephone Signals from both celestial and ground
based sources
Further, W i th a stab le down b l ock down
converter that converts to the U H F TY band and
one of the scanner type recei vers designed to
cover thiS band, one can also receive some of the
single channel per carrier (SCPC) Signals that
carry telephone ClrCUI ts to more remote places
(along with network rad io feeds , M uzak , and
various broadcast data services such as the AP
and U PI news services ). (Some signals are
dithered and require some form of closed loop
AFC to receive them. )
This vulnerab i l ity has been wel l known in
security c i rcles for many years , but as the
number of TYRO systems has Increased to over a
m i l l i o n , the probl em assumes a s o m e w h a t
different perspective. In 1 976 M i tre estimated
t h a t it w o u l d c o s t $5 0 , 000+ to i n t e r c e p t
microwave telephone calis , and wou ld require a
1 0 foot d ish. In that era a 1 0 foot dish wou ld

with a TVRO
attract much at ten tion . Today one can buy a
TV R O system w i t h a 75k L N A and an 8 - 1 2 foot
dish for $1 000-$1 500. and a lmost nobody w i l l
give t h e system a second g lance as TV RO's are
commonplace . A 75k L N A beats the 1 0- 1 2 db
n o i se f i g u re rece i v e r t h a t Mi t re based i t s
calcu lations o n by a very substantial amount .
A n d t h e c u r r e n t g e n e rat i o n o f com p u t e r
control lable general coverage S S B recei vers are
much cheaper demu l t iplexing devices than the
synthesizer and selective vol tmeter that seemed
necessary in 1 976 .

"One should 110t presume

thaI a lung

dist ance

telephone call is pri\,ate. "

The ex istence of a l l these m i l lions of recei vers

t hat can pick up both celestial and ground-based
telephone circuits means that one shouid not
presume that a long d i stance telephone ca l l IS
private And more important ( because t hey are
much easier to f i nd In F DM complexes), nobody
shou ld assume that a private leased line is secure
( un less the long d istance camer has spec i a l l y
routed I t v i a lig h twave ( much more secure) or
coaxial cable (somewllat more secure) for Its
en t i re path ( ObViously conventIOnal wiretaps
also have to be considered If there is some reason
to bel ieve that some i nd iVidual or organ ization
has a strong enough reason to be interested in
your communicat ions to take the risks involved
in actually physically tapping your lines )
Background

Communications satel lites carry telephone

t raff i c in severa l fOmlats. The principle fonnats
are:
Multi Cham.1 systems
1. FDMA-PSK-TDM-PCM.

U sed on a n umber of transponders on 4 and 1 2

Ghz sate l l i tes . H eavily used b y private bUSiness
for tie lines and other leased l i ne services.
somet imes mixed with dat a . Quite secure if
encrypted . Not easily intercepted by private
ind i vidua l s .

2 . TDMA-PSK-TDM-PCM.

U sed on S B S ( 1 2 Ghz) satel lites as the

p r i n c i p l e access t e c h n i q u e . T h e r e f o re S B S
Skyline service and some M C I service (they are
now both owned by I B M) is protected t h i s way .
used also on some 4 Ghz t ransponders. Very
difficult for private indiv iduals to intercept even if
not encrypted . Some ci rcuits are encrypted,
some not. TDMA is felt to be the heavy use
satel l i te access technique of the future as it
offers very efficiel it use of t ransponder power and
dynam ic a l l ocation 01 "ystem capacity to those
links wh ich are currently active . When combined
with encryption it is quite secure
3. FDMA-FM-FDM-SS8,

Standard modu lation used on almost all

t e r r e s t r i a l l o n g h a u l t e l e p h o n e m i c rowave
c i rc u i t s . U sed o n s e v e r a l 4 Ghz d o m s a t
t r a n sp o n d e r s a n d m o s t o l d e r m u l t i chan n e l
I n telsat l i nks. Wideband F M -F D M signals can be
readi l y recei ved by standard TVRO receivers. and
an indiv idual channel can be easily picked out of
t he mul tiplex signal w i th a garden variety general
coverage S S B communications receiver Very
easy for private ind iv iduals to intercept .
4. CDMA-TDM-PCM, otherwise known II sprall

spectrum.

C D M A or spread spectrum techniques are

w i dely used on md!tary satcom l inks because of
t h e i r sec u r i t y and resis t a n c e t o Ja m m i n g
Intercepting and decoding wel l designed secure
spread spec t rum signals IS diff icu l t even for large
well equipped Intelli gence agenc i es Decod ing
some of the commercia l spread spec t rum data
sig n a l s can be ac co m p l is h e d b y a p ri v a t e
Individual w i t h t h e r i g h t equ ipment. b u t I S
moderately difficu l t.
Single chan ..1 systems

5. FDMA-FM otherwise known IS SCPC-FM.

S i ngle Channel Per Carrier is used to transmit

one single nbFM telephone channel between two
poi n t s . A transponder carries many such FM
carriers at one t ime. Freq uenc ies used are often
coord i nated by a cen t ral stat ion when the cal l is
set up. and may only be u sed for the duration of
t h e c a l l This t e c h n i q u e i s u sed f o r
commun ications with remote p laces that rarely
need more than a few C i rcuits at once . Can be
relatively eas i l y i ntercepted by a wide band
scanner connected to a very stable block down
,"'pring /988

2600 .\lagazine

Page:;

;::

:;:
::...
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.:

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monitoring phone calls

converter. Easy for private individuals to

either a satellite transponder carrying an FM

6. FDMA-PCM. otbIrwiu known II SCPC-PCM or

the I F bandwidth with a filter as some

This technique is the international standard

transponders carry more than one FDM-FM

signal), or pointing the antenna at a nearby
terrestrial microwave transmitter and tuning the

Intercept.

SPADE-

:' Intelsat method of establishing telephone

connections between places that don't have

enough

traffic to warrant permanently assigned

FDM trunks. Each direction of each telephone

.s call is assigned a channel by the central control

station. Stations transmit a PSK keyed carrier on
that channel for the duration of the call. Each
carrier contains one 8 Khz sampled PGM
bitstream along with some error correction and
synchronizing bits. As far as I know encryption is
not used. The signal can be intercepted by a

FDM-SSB signal (this may involve restricting

receiver for maximum signal.

Once the FDM-FM signal has

been tuned in,

the single sideband receiver can be used to

search the baseband (typically .3 Mhz to 6 or 8
Mhz) for telephone conversations, data

transmissions, and other private line circuits.

Individual channels will appear as USB or LSB
signals at precise 4 Khz intervals. In fact, the
whole baseband is organized into 1 2 channel
groups, 60 channel supergroups, and 600
channel mastergroups according to a standard

sophisticated individual but intercepting it

requires a rather large dish as the effective

frequency plan (the AT&T plan as usual is

radiated power per carrier is very much less than

d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e GGIlT o n e u s e d

domsat SGPC carriers use. A few domestic

satcom SGPC users use PCM. probably with

intemationally).

some

form of encryption. Hard for a private

individual to intercept.

7. FM-FDM-FM (SUllClrrllrl on Video t.IIJ.

As most TVRO owners discover. many of the

video feeds contain additional subcarriers that

carry unrelated or tangentially related material.
I ncluded among these are cue and coordination
channels that may occasionally carry telephone
like conversations. There are no regular

"Nothing in the Electronic

Communications Privacy
Act of 1986 requires carriers
to increase the security of
radio or satellite links. "
Most channels have completely suppressed

seem

telephone circuits on video subcarriers however.

carriers, although certain channels will

These subcarriers are trivially easy to intercept

have a carrier in them (but slightly off frequency)

as m o s t TV R O ' s h a v e t u n a b l e a u d i o

demodulation.

On FMFDMSSB

to

which is something called a pilot tone, used to

monitor circuit continuity and control overall
gain. Depending on how archaic the telephone

All it takes to recover FM-FDM-SSB signals is

a suitable wideband FM receiver connected to a
stable general coverage SSB receiver that tunes
the frequency range used for the baseband .

trunk equipment is on a particular trunk. it may

have a 2600 hz SF signalling tone in it when it is
idle which is dropped when the channel is in use
for a call. Trunks which use SF signalling also

TVRO receivers have the correct bandwidth for

many such signals and often incorporate

often use MFKP (multi-frequency key-pulsingthe famous blue box version of tone dialing) to
pass telephone numbers on to the destination

adapt the receiver to the narrow band signals

found on some transponders. And modem general

coverage SSB receivers and transceiver receiver

switch. More modem trunks use GGIS (common

control interoffice signalling) which is a packet
network replacement for the earlier and less

sections with synthesized tuning, digital

frequency display, and narrow IF filters are well

signalling channels to carry all the signalling for

provisions for I F filters that can be used to better

suited to recovering the audio on a particular

channel.
Listening to FM-FDM-SSB signals

can be.

accomplished by tuning the TVRO receiver to

Page 6

2600 MagaziM

Spring 1988

secure in band signalling that

uses

separate

all the trunks in a trunk route.

Obviously, a single signal usually carries only
half a telephone conversation so it is necessary
to use two receivers and TVRO's to pick up both

with

a TVRO

sides of the cal l clearly. Receiving both sides of a

terrestria l c i rcuit req u i res a sUitable location
where both d i rections of transmi ssion can be
picked up , which usua l l y means a site in l ine W ith
the m i c rowave path . Sometimes both d i rections
of transmission from a Single repeater site can be
monitored by a very nearby ( less than a couple of
m i les ) receiver. Many telephone trunks have low
enough echo retum loss so that both part ies can
be heard even when mon itoring only one d i rection
of transmission, so It I S qUite poss i b l e to l i sten to
both sides of some conversations with only one
receiver. Both sides of a sate l l ite F D M C I rCUit can
usual l y be found on the sarne bird but are
sometimes not, and sometimes not even on F D M
satcom a t a l l
I n general, particularly on terrestrial signals
all the channels in a 12 channel group originate
and term inate at the same p lace. The groups and
s u p e r g r o u p s that m a k e up a m a s te r g r o u p
however often orig inate f rom several d ifferent
places . Demodulation to baseband aud io IS
genera l l y done as few times as pOSSi ble on a
trunk or private l ine CIrcuit that connects two
p l aces , the 1 2 channels of its group are shifted to
various frequenCies With i n the baseband of the
different sate l l ite , microwave, or coaxial cab le
FDM signals that carry It to ItS destmatlon , but at
least w ith older multiplexing equipment the
g ran u larity of routing resolution is usua l l y a
g roup ( occasional ly half a group ), and a l l 12 of
t h e c h a n n e l s I n a g r o u p u sual l y e n d u p
demodulated to aud io at the same place
Channels withm a g roup are assigned to
various purposes . Some may carry telephone
trunks , some may carry private l ine data , some
may carry pri vate trunks that belong to large
compan ies , and a certain percentage are reserved
for use as spares. It has long been telephone
company practice to route the telephone tnJnks
between two sw itcillng centers over several
different paths to suppl y redundancy in the event
one path fai ls ( and also to make it harder to
i ntercept a part icular cal l between the two
switches ) Th is means that any g i ven F D M g roup
may contai n trunks from several d ifferent trunk
g roups rather than contai ning all the trunks from ,
for example, Chicago to West Bend .
On PSK TOM

The most secure techn ique In cornmerc lal

servi ce , and probabl y the tech n i que that w i l l

predolll illate o n sate l l ite links i n the future , I S

TDM-PCM (tlille d i V i sion multiplexed pulse code
modu lation) either phase sh ift keying ( usua l l y
Q P S K ) a continuous carrier on a transponder that
may have severa l such carners on it (FDMA
f requency d i V ISion Illu ltlple access ) or keying a
S i n g l e c ame r t h a t o c c u p i e s t h e w h o l e
1 ransponder I n bursts precisely timed so as to not
ovellap other carners from other stations that it
s h a res a trans p o n d e r W i t h ( T D M A-time
d i V ISion Inultlple access ) ,
Te l e p h one tra f f i C o n T D M - P C M l i n k s i s
samp led 8000 tllnes a second a n d converted i nto
8 bit b i nary val ues (In a sort of floating poi nt
format cal led A - l aw or U-Iaw companding that
greatly expands the dynamiC range from softest
to loudest that the channel w i l l handle) (There
are other dig itiZing standards used on sate l l ite
phone l inks but the standard T carrier-D
channel bank IS Widely u sed ) Some number of
these channels (often 24) are combined into a
h i gh speed serial bit stream (often 1 , 554 m b / s )
by send ing one sam p l e from each channel i n
se r i a l f o rm a s a string o f 8 b its fol l owed by a
sample from the next channel and so forth.
Sometimes th is composite bit stream or the b it
stream f rom Indiv idual is encrypted with a DES
chip Error correction and framing bits and
som e t i mes spec i a l c o n tro l c h a n n e l b i ts a re
added . Th is dig ital bit stream IS then scram bl ed
(so It has more predictab le transition statistics
and l ittle or no DC component) by a l i near
feedback sh ift reg ister sequence . The resu ltant
b i t stream IS used to P S K modulate a carrier
which IS upl lnked to the sate l l ite .
Rece i V i n g these F D M A - P S K - T D M - PC M
d i g i t a l t r a n Slll l S S l o n s req u i re s c o m p l ex R F
m o d e m s, a l a rg e e n o u g h d i s h to get a n
acceptable Signal t o nOise ratio ( and BE R ) , and
often requi res knowledge of D ES encryption keys
used ( un less you are a major Inte l l igence agency
a n d c a n b reak D E S ) W h i l e s o m e s u c h
transmi ss i ons that aren't encrypted could be
I ntercepted by a s o p h i st i c ated I n d iVi d u a l ,
particularly one who had access to the R F
m odem and Illu ltlp lexlng hardware used by the
subSCribers , the requi red expert ise is orders of
magnitude greater than that requi red to i ntercept
FM - F M D - S S B S i g n a l s a n d the equ i pm e n t
req u i red IS specialized and not widely avai lable
( Decoders for TDM -PCM b it streams could be

.....pring /988

2600 .Hagazine

Page 7

-:

::;;
::;
-

'"'

:::
__

monitoring with TVRO

bui l t by a ski l l ed person f rom ava i l ab l e chips

relatively easi l y , but the PSK high speed R F
modem technology u sed would not be easy for
2 even a ski l led perso'l to dup l i cate wi thout
substantial resources.) Presumably few if any
cas u a l l i s t e n e rs i n t e r c e p t T D M-PCM rad i o
c i rcuits; t he on ly l isteners to such t ransmissions
are t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e a g e n c i e s a n d perhaps
i ndustrial spi es who can afford to buy the
necessary hardware to l isten to the i r competitors'
private c i rcuits. And more and more users of such
l i nks are encrypt ing them W i th DES ( which IS
relatively easy as the i nfonnation is a lready in a
digital fonnat ) .
T D M A-PS K-T D M-PCM s i g n a l s are m u c h
more complex than most FDMA-PSK -TOM-PCM
signal s . This is natural since a l l t raffic is
transmitted by hav ing each station on the
network transmit a burs: of very high speed (tens
of mb/s) data in an assiuned lime slot round robin
fashion. I nc l uded in the burst is a l l of the traff ic
that stati on has w i th every other stat ion on the
network. Every other station moni tors a l l the
bursts f rom stat ions it is In commun icat ion with
and picks out the channels that correspond to I tS
i ncoming traffic . I n many such systems , burst
lengths and t ime slots are dynam ical ly assigned
by a master ground stat on computer as cal l s are
;::s

set up and tenni nated . Each station is capable of

receiving and decoding the bursts transm i tted by
every other station I t talks to, so I f the channels
are not encrypted i t could mon itor much of or a l l
the t raffiC going through the transponder
The burst fonnats are complex and contain
error correction , status and control channels, cal l
setup channels, and so forth. And the bursts are
scrambled just as in the cont i nuous carrier TOM
case. I ntercep t i ng and demodu lating such a
signal wou ld be a major task and is p robably
s om e t h i n g t h a t h a s o n l y been done ( b y
i n te l l i g e n c e a g e n c i es) b y us i n g p e r v e r t e d
versIOns of the ground station hardware and
f i nnware used by the system . In add i t ion to the
complexity of the task of sort ing out the digital
i nformation and f i nding the right t ime slot from
the right burst to ret rieve the channel of i nterest ,
the very high speed fast lockon R F modems used
to demodulate the bursts are themselves non
trivial devices . I suspect that even pervert ing the
f i rmware In a leg i t imate g round term i nal is
complex enough so that no private indiVidual
cou ld eas i l y accompl ish i t w i thout access to a lot
of deta i l ed non-pub l ished I nfonnation (such as
source of the f i rmware and precise details of the
protocol and burst fonnats )

((()11I illuei/ fro/ll pUKe J)

We're happy to announce our affiliation

with another computer bulletin board

system, our third to dIlte. It's located in

Columbus, .'Vebraska and can be reached

24 hours a dIly at 402-564-45/S. We

expect to have more 2600 bulletin
boards on line by the sununer.

We've also been getting a lot of

positive press response in the past couple

of months, including a spot on a most
incredible television program, .'Vetwork 7
on England's Cham;eI4. This program
ought to be seen by every reporter in this
country who wants to do a story on
computer hacking. Instead of looking at
the "problem" of hackers and what they
could be doing to you in the same way
we've seen hundrem of times already,

PageS

2600 .llagazine

.-.,pring /988

the producers of this program looked at

the positive aspects-the adventure,
imagination, and intelligence involved. It
wasn't just that they gave hackers a
positive image-they used their brains

and created a different way of viewing a

topic. That's something we can all use a

bit more of. Our thanks to John Urake

for making this possible.
It's possible the press is finally
growing up and realizing that hacking

involves so much more than electronic

bandits. It's a symbol of our times and

one of the hopel' of the future. If that
sounds crazy to you, wander through
our pages and it may start to make
sense.

VM/CMS CORRECTIONS
by VM

Guru

As 2600 has published Information about

various aspects of U N I X and its cousins, my
atti tude has been more or less ho-hum as I had
l i ttle i nterest i n these systems . When I saw on
the back cover of the November 1 987 and
December 1987 ISSUes that there was some
material on VM/C M S , my interest perked up .
That's a system that I know and love , as I have
been working as a VM system programmer for
many years. The art icle makes It obvious to me
that "Lex Luthor" et al has only a superliclal
knowledge of VM/C M S , I would l ike to take this
opportunity to f i l l in some of the gaps and give
260as readers a more complete picture of V M .
CormIInts on Plrt 1

A few general points to start.

There are two types of VM systems The
f i rst IS (usual l y) fairly smal l , tYPically on an I B M
4331 , 4341 , 4361 , or 4381 They are genera l l y
unmod if ied a n d tend to use the I BM defau l t
names f o r system u se ri d s and o f t en passwords.
Un less you work there , crack ing these systems
w i l l be difficult because they usua l l y have no
data connections to the outside worl d .
The other genera l class of V M system i s
fairly large , run n i ng o n a C P U such a s a 3081 o r
3090. These systems are often modified , bo t h to
prov ide function and security Some of these
mods are described bel ow . Many of these mods
are passed around at conferences , workshops, or
by a conferencing (BBS) system (wh ich w i l l
remain nameless)
The VM system lends itself to mod i f icat ion
because most of the source code is distributed
with it For a long t i me , I BM treated VM as an
orphan stepchild and tried to bury it The users
wou ldn't let them , and I BM finally recognized it
as a going system VM has now passed through
e l e v e n r e l eases , and the t we l f t h has been
announced .
VM (or C P , the two terms are often used
i n terchangeably) is not an "operating system" in
the usual sense of the term . You can't run "Jobs"
( p rocesses) under it Rather, you run operat ing
systems under i t and each user runs an opera t i ng
system . Each logged on user gets a "virtual
machine" to run his operating system in. Each
virtual machine has a C P U , memory (storage),
d i sk s , tapes , and unit record ( card or printer)

dev ices . Some of these correspond to real

deV ices, and others are v i rt ual . A v i rtual disk can
be represented by a sma l l portion of a real d i sk .
U n i t record is usua l l y "spool ed " to/from d i sk .
Most systems these days have no real card
equ i pmen t , and the v i rtual card equipment al lows
data to be passed between users as "card
Images' (80 byte records). All funct ions that
wou ld be buttons, dials, or l ights on a real
m a c h i lle are represe n t ed b y q u e r y o r set
commands to C P i n a v i rtual machine.
CMS is a single user interact ive operating
system that is tai lored to ,un very wel l under V M .
Other operating systems that are of ten run
under VM are batch systems such as MVS ,
DOSIV S E, o r VS1 These can run both batch or
Interac t i ve systems such as TSO, C I C S , I CC F , or
others . (See the d iscussion of D I AL below.) A
second copy of VM can run under VM, and this is
o f t e n used t o test m od i f i c a t i o n s a n d new
releases . Basica l ly, anything that can be run on
the real hardware can be run under VM in a virtual
machine .
V M n a t i v e l y s u p p o r t s t h ree t y pes o f
telminal . These are 3270 d i sp lay (C RT, v ideo)
t e rm i n a l s (Ill m a n y f l a v o rs) , 274 1 /3767
(typewri ter-like terminals), and ASC I I term inals
such as the I BM 3101, m's , and ASC I I C RT's
(such as the VT-100) in l i lle mode . A PC that
emu lates one of these can also be used . To
support A SC I I C RT's in f u l l screen, a protocol
converter is needed . Both hardware and software
versions of protoco l converters are avai l ab l e .
These make the ASC I I C RT look to the V M
system a s if i t were a 3270 terminal . Various
escape sequences are used to simu late 3270
functions that the ASC I I C RT may not have .
To cover Lex Luthor's article point by point
(When I refer to commands , I w i l l use the I BM
s t a n d a rd n a m e s S o m e i n s t a l l a t i o n s have
mod i f ied these names . )
While it was late in corning , VM has had
o n l i ne help for some t i me . I t's slow , it's c l umsy ,
but i t's there . Enter " H E L P H E L P" to get started .
Whi l e the system i s somewhat
cumbersome , that's mainly because of the wea l th
of funct ions ava i l ab l e . I f you found it hard to
l earn, then either you d idn't have the manuals
that are needed , or you had a poor teacher (or
!-'pring 1988

2600 Magazine

Page 9

-.
"

:::

is

VM/CMS CORRECTIONS
;; both). VM/CMS is just too big to pick up on your

=:-

.S";:
co

E;

own without some guidance.

I won't comment on the acronym list except
to say that it only scratches the surtace.
The "." prompt is only seen logging on via
an ASCII terminal, and is a "go ahead" signal.

Most other terminals supported by VM can have

their keyboards locked by VM It can be tumed
off, and a common modification is to replace it,
sometimes with a "bell" character.

as well as show other information.

Some VM security packages use a

password up to 24 characters long. (More on

them later.)
Lex is correct that the only currently used
IBM logon qualifier is "NOIPL", but others such
as terminal type or altering the virtual storage

size are common mods. An obsolete qualifier of

"MASK" used to be used to tell VM to type a

mask (overprinted lines of ".", "H", and "S " ) so

The "VM/370 ONLINE" prompt (followed

that when you typed your password over the

by the list of acceptable commands in newer

versions of V M ) is the only IB M-supplied
connection prompt. It is often replaced by the

mask, it could not be read. MASK is now the

system or company name. The other connection

option.

default, and will be ignored if entered. Most

larger installations use the password suppression

responses Lex mentions are from front end

A common mod is that if an invalid userid is

processors or networks, and precede the actual

entered, prompt for the password anyway, and

connection to the VM system.

then reject the attempt no matter what password

While some other IBM systems do require

it, it is not correct that userids (or passwords or

even commands) in VM ICMS have to start with a
letter. An all numeric userid or password is valid
(but not commonly used). and the "national"

characters " $ ", "@", and "#" can also be used.

Certain characters are used as editing

is entered.

Messages waming of exceeding the invalid

password threshold are sent to the system

o p e r a t o r a n d /o r t h e s y s t e m s e c u r i t y
administrator. I t i s also recorded In the system's
joumal (accounting) file.

is a logical line

The reason that "BONEHEAD" (to use Lex's

example) is "not valid before logon" is that

end. It can be used to separate multiple

because of the extensibility of VM/CMS,

commands or data lines entered at one time on

one terminal line. An at sign ("@") is a character

command, either local to one user, a group of

delete character. One Oimore at signs will delete

users, or systemwide.

the same number of previously entered

characters, perhaps saving the retYPing of a long
line. For example, if "aaa@@bc" is entered, it

find any passwords that are the same as the

userid, or are still at the IBM-supplied defaults.

characters. A pound siqn

("#")

would be interpreted as "abc". For total foul-ups,

the cent sign will tell VM to ignore everything to

the left of it so you can start again For ASCII
terminals that don't have a cent sign, the VM
system uses the left square bracket instead. And

BONEHEAD could very possibly be a valid

In a large system, it will be very unlikely to

Many security packages force a user to change

his password at regular intervals.
Just because you see a userid, don't make

any assumptions about what it does. For

comes into play. If any of them is preceded by a

example, a large American university has a userid

up and running which is the name of the security
package they use. It's a dummy, and the security
package actually runs under a very innocent

double quote, the character pair will be treated as

userid.

pound sign without being used as an editing

character. All of these can be changed to

operating system running in a virtual machine is a

what do you do if you want to enter one of these

characters as data? That's where the fourth one
a single data character; I.e. "# will be treated as a

The DIAL command is used when the

multi-user system such as TSO, CICS, ICCF,

whatever character (not A-Z or 0-9) you wish or

they can be tumed off. The character-delete is
often set to a backspace character if the terminal
has that key (most IBM typewriter terminals

connection between a real terminal, and a virtual

port defined for the multi-user system Security
in this case is the responsibility of the multi-user

don't). The "QUERY TERMINAL" command will

system, except that an available mod requires a

display the current settings of these characters

password to do a DIAL. Other available mods

Olll Illucd Oil /JiI!{C / l)

Page 1 0

2600 Magazine

another copy of VM, etc. DIAL establishes a

Spring / 988

BELL ATLANTIC CUSTOMERS RECENTLY RECEIVED THIS BLURB ON A

PLASTIC BAG CONTAINING THEIR NEW YELLOW PAGES. WE'RE GLAD
SOMEONE'S FINALLY REALIZED THE DANGERS THAT YELLOW PAGES
CAN POSE TO KIDS.

Spring 1988

2600 Magazine

Page 11

:?'

VM/CMS
force specific real terminals to connect only to

connected to an SNA network, but no users are

specific ports (or port groups).

currently logged on from it

A message to the operator as Lex suggests

::- will bring the security administrator down on you

in many systems. In
most VM systems, the

.
;; operator could not give you the password, as he

has no access to the directory. In many larger

On a QUERY USERS response, the number

of USERS and NET will be the number of users in

the first and last parts respectively of the QUERY

NAMES list. The DIALED number is the number
of users connected to multi-user systems.

systems, the OPERATOR id (which doesn't have

One type of multi-user system you could

to be called OPERATOR) is disconnected and is

DIAL to is called a "session manager". This

OPerator). PROP will respond to routine

allows you to create several "Logical Terminals"

and log each one onto a different userid (or DIAL

messages, and route others to "logical operators"

to a different system). These logical terminals

.::: running a program called PROP (PRograrrmed

such as disk operator, tape operator, or security

will show in a QUERY NAMES list as " Lxxx "

admin.
On the monitoring and recording of invalid

where xxx is a three-digit hex number which can

range from 000 to FFF. For logical terminals, the

and privileged commands, this is available as

part of standard VM. Because the VM monitor

program accepts the data that is to be displayed

function has high overhead, it is (usually) not

the keyboard. In many systems, creation of a

logical device is made a privileged function to

done on a regular basis, but is tumed on for

on the teonlnal, and simulates entering data on

sample periods or when a problem is suspected

reduce the likelihood of a hacker making a "trojan

horse". The session manager allows you to

will record all valid and invalid command usage

and the resources that the command consumes

SWitch between your various sessions, with the

active one showing on the real terminal. Session

with minimal overhead

The QUERY NAM!':S command could

(on a

managers are usually used with video terminals

(CRTs).

large system) show several hundred logged on

users. An available mod limits it to users in the

"Whi l e t he system is

There are mods and packages available which

same group as yours, either by using the account

code or a portion of the userid. The order shown

has no connection with the order that users
logged on. It is simply following an intemal
chained list of all users, and it stops when it gets
back to you. This list has three parts. Above the

somewh a t cumbersome,
thats mainly hecause qlthe
1'

larger systems) hex number following the userid

of

fu n c ti OilS

availahle. "

"VSM-...... " line, users are logged in with

locally attached (or in some cases, TYMNET or
its ilk) terminals. The tnree-digit (four in some

e a II h

A disconnected user (shown on a QUERY

NAMES as HDSC") can remain logged on

indefinitely. It will only be logged off by the

is the hex hardware address of the terminal. If

system after 1 5 minutes (modifiable) if it tries to

your userid is shown in this section, your userid

read from the terminal it doesn't hve. DSC users

will be the last one in the list. The "VSM-.

"

line identifies the "VTAM SERVICE MACHINE".

This is the link into an IBM SNA (System
Network Architecture) network Users listed
below there are connected to VM through a
V T A M network wh ich could span many
processors and many m:les. The name following
the userid is the LU (Logical Unit) name of the

are usually service machines such as security,

accounting, utility, database, and other
functions. Some large systems have 50 to 1 00 of
them running

"Userid NETLOG" is located on your logon,

and contains information on files that you SEND

to others, and that you RECEIVE from others. It
is logged when you receive the file. not when

terminal, which is used as a network address.

they send it to you The "USERID" In the name

These two portions of the list will be absent if the

will be your userid, not the userid you sent the file
to.

VM system is not connected to an SNA network.

The last portion will be missing if the system is

Page 12

2600 Magazine

Spring 1988

CORRECTIONS
Comments 011 Pa rt 2

6 Search for a command prev iously loaded

The second part of the art icle on V M / C M S is
'nto the transient a rea . (An 8k buffer In the
Just as full of errors and m i sconcept ions as the
nucleus . )
f i rst . As i n part one , I will address Lex s art icle
7 . Search for a nucleus reSident comman d .
poi n t by po int w i t h expansions and asides as
8 . Search f o r a f i le With f i letype M O D U L E o n
appropnate .
a n y curren t l y accessed d i sk . I f found , the
Local commands : This IS one of the strong
M O D U L E: ( exec u t a b l e c o d e ) IS l o a d e d a n d
POints of V M / C M S , that IS, I I can be extended
branched t o .
w i t h l ocal commands . These can be in any of the
9 . Search f o r a v a l i d abbrev iation o r t runca t i on
three f l avors of exec languages ( interpreted
of a nurleus extension M ost C M S ( system
command processors) or any comp i led language
suppl i ed ) commands can be abbreviated to the
To execute I t , Just have it on any d i sk that I S
min imum l engttl that IS not amb iguous
avai lable to y o u ( private, pub l i c ) an d cal l I t by
1 0 . S e a r c h f o , a v a l i d a b b reV i a t i o n o r
name . Get t i ng back to "W H O I S ' , I am surprised
t runcation o f a commaJ i In the t ransient area
that V M U T I L is shown as a stat istical mach i ne .
1 1 . S e a r c h f o r a v a l i d a b b re V i a t i o n o r
That name is ( usua l l y ) u sed for a n I BM program
t runca l i on o f a command reSident I n the nuc leus
of the same name that IS t i mer and event dn ven
1 2 S e a r c h f o r a v a l i d a b b reV i a t i o n or
for a vanety of purposes . The W H O I S output may
truncation of any other CM S command
be a red herring .
1 3 . Search for a C P command
As an aside , C M S has a complex scheme to
1 4 S earch f o r a v a l i d a b b re V i a t i o n o r
locate a comman d . When you enter a l ine at t he
truncation o f a C P command
term i na l , C M S takes the f i rst blank del imited
Password chan g i ng at many insta l lat ions is
word , uppercases it, and truncates I I to eight
under control of a d i rectory maintenance or
characters If it's longer Then it goes through the security syste m I n many cases, the system
fol lOW i ng search . If any step of the search f i nds forces users to change their passwords at regu lar
the comman d , I t stops there . I f t hey all fai l , you
I fl t e r v a l s , a n d s o m e a r e s m a r t e n o u g h t o
get an error message
remember the last n passwords and W i l l preven t
1 . Search for an EXEC W i t h a f i letype of E X EC
you f rom re-uslng the same password over agai n
t h a t I S re S i d e n t I n s t o rage I f t h i S search f o r a wh i le
succeeds , the proper EXE:C I n terpreter ( t here are
Re privi leged commands The sysprog call
three exec languages avai lab l e ) IS called tu determ i ne the pnv c l a sses of a logged on u se r
Interpret t he file.
( there are 32 pOSSible c lasses (A Z and 0- 5 )
2 . Search for a f i le w l l h fi letype of E X EC 011
only seven o f which are u sed in star;,j ard I BM
any currently accessed disk . C M S uses the code ) by exam i n l llg real storage I fl the C P U I t
'standard search order" ( f i lemodes A- Z ) The t akes class C o r E t o exam l fle rea l storage V M Ifl
table of acl i ve ( open ) f i les IS searched f i rst . An concert W i th various security 01 mOil i lonng
open f i le may be used ahead of a f i le that reSides packages can record cMlmand usage , bo th failed
on a disk earl ier in the search order .
and successfu l . I n V M proper, t h i S mon itor
3. Search for a valid synonym ( system and funct ion I S h i gh overhead and i s ( usua l l y ) used
user supplied synonym l ists ) for a storage only for sample intervals or when a problem is
resident EXEC .
suspected . O ther packages are avai lable that
4 . Search for a valid synonym for a d i sk w o u l d m o n i t o r c o m m a n d s w i t h m i n i m a l
:::'
resident EXEC .
overhead
5 . Search for a nucleus extension command .
In the Q SEARCH output , the 1 9 E ( Y ) d i sk
These are storage resident commands that can
is usua l l y used to stare any commands that are
replace or front end standard or user commands,
local to t h i S system . The 1 90 ( S ) disk IS usua l l y
or can be unrelated to standard commands and t he I BM supp l ied code The Y / S means that If a
j ust kept residents to reduce overhead of load ing request to get something from the S d i sk is
them mu l t iple t imes . Some commands make issued , and I t IS not there , the Y disk will be ::::
themselves into nucleus extensions the f i rst t ime searched as an extension of the S d i sk . The
they are cal led so that subsequent ca l l s w i l l have vol ume name (also known as the vol i d or volser)
lower overhead .
.pring 1988
2600 ,1 1agazine
Page 13
-

VM/CMS CORRECTIONS

i s not processed b y C M S .

The l i lemode letter is the same as the d isk

:; the l i le resi des on is accessed as . II you release

. ( logical detach ) a disk and access it as a different

f letter, L l ST F I L E w i l l then show the same f i les

::- with the new letter . I f you add the option
"LABEL" to the L l STF I L E , a lot more inlonnatlon

:; lor each I i le w i l l be shown . This includes the l i le

size , record lonnat ( 1 l xed or variable ) , record

length , last updated date- t ime , etc

In the l ist 01 l i letypes , there are some
erro rs . System help f l ies have a l i letype 01
" H E L Pxxxx " where ")()()()(" IS a subpart 01 the
system such as "C M S " , "C P" , " R EXX" , etc .
These help I i l es are ( usua l l y ) lound on the 1 9D
d i sk . U nder the LAN G U A G E S item, programs
wri tten in rexx wou ld nonnal l y have a f i letype of
EX EC . L I ST I N G I i les can contain anyth ing . Their
dist inguishing characteristic is that they usua l l y
con tain printer carnage control characters a s t h e
l i rst byte 01 each l i ne . M O D U L E l i les can be any
executable program , system or local . TEXT IS
usual ly used for compi ler output . X E D I T is the
f i letype used for X E C iT ( the system edi tor)
macros , which are usua l l y writ ten I n rexx or
exec 2 . The ed i tor can create a l i le of any f i letype
Lex's deSCription 01 the f i lemode numbers IS
essen t i a l l y correc t . There are many ways to
break the f i l emode zero security so I t should not
be rel ied upon .
Re Passwords The "PASS=" keyword is
op t io n a l . If used , be sure to put a space after I t . ( I
am not sure i l that was a typo o r a Lex error )
There IS no VM restric t I On to using the same
password lor login and d i sk s , and a l l three disk
passwords can be t he same Some security
systems fomid thiS, and I t I S not a good Idea in
any case
Re the Q DA S D command shown . I I you
have gotten onto a privi leged I d , this W i l l show
the real dasd that the ell t l re system has . In this
case , a "Q V i rtual DAS D request Will show your
own d i sk s . In the d i splay as shown , "SYSRES" is
the volser of t he real disk that these mlnldlsks are
a part of A part ial listing of the real d i sks might
look l i ke thiS
"

DASD 1 30 CP OWNED VM I PO E 0044

DASD 154 CP SYSTEM SYSW K I 000 1
DASD 249 ATTACH TO VSEIPO 246

What t h i S l ist i n g shows IS that VM I PO E on

rea l address 1 30 , IS "OWN ED by C P ( I . e . , I t
Page 14

2600 '\lagazUu!

contains one o r more system data areas ) , and the

curren t l y l ogged on users have 44 m inidis ks on
this pack . ThiS can be 4 4 users a l l with the same
m i n i d l s k , 44 d i f f e re n t m r n i d l s k s , or some
comb i nation . SYSWK1 I S on 1 54 , has no system
data areas , and at the moment is i n use by one
user w i th one m l n i d i sk . Real address 249 is
attached ( ded icated ) to user VS E I P O as his
V i rtual address 246
There IS noth i ng In t h e D I R M A I N T package
that requi res its userid to be D I R M A I N T . It of ten
I S because that is the defau l t name unless the
sysprog changes II durrng installation The D I RM
L I N K command can only be done I f you know the
password for the l i nk mode you are ask ing for.
nle d i sk 's owner I S n o t i f i ed when you get a l ink in
t h i S way Many D I RM A I N T commands can be
l o c a l l y d i sabled as an option dUring installat ion
Enter D I RM 7 for a l ist 01 commands, or D I RM ?
command for deta i l s on a g i ven command
The system d i rectory can have any name
but usua l l y has a f l l et ype of D I R EC T . Another
common nanle IS V M U S E R S . Where Lex shows a
"tYPical" en try in U S E R D I R ECT , Ignore the l ines
start i ng W i th V M U 0 1
These are sequence
numbers In columns 73-80 01 the f i le which have
been broken I I1to 2 l i n es for some reason . Most

l ikely you or t ile system has defau lted the l i ne

len g t h of the term i nal to 72 . The two storage
sizes ( 1 M and 3M ) are the defau l t size and the
maximum you can ask for (With the D E F ine
STO Rage command ) The I P L staternellt says
to automatically I P L ( I n i t ial P rog ram Load ) the
systerll ilamed C M S at logon . The C O N S O L E l i ne
def ines that the user's logon tellll inal IS to look
l i ke a 32 1 5 ( I BM typewrr ter tellll inal ) at address
OOD 009 or 01 F are more common l y used
conso le add resses . The three S P O O L staternen ts
def ine the V i rtual card reader, card punch , and
l i ne printer ava i l able to t h i S user The three L I N K

statemen ts get access t o the C M S systenl d isks

In conc l USion , I hope that I have been able t o
correct most of the errors and misconcep t ions
that Lex has g i ven you . As he d i d , I have om i t ted
several t h i ngs that wou ld be dangerous for a
hacker to k,lOW abou t V M Internals There were a
lot of holes In a V M / C M S SYSterll but most of
these have been plugged by I B M or users I hope
that both Lex's art ic les and m i ne have been of
Interest to the readersh i p of 2600

."pring /988

Hi
3
f ;:
a

T H E S E A R E W E A T H E R T R A K C O D E S . W H E N D I A LI N G T H E
W E A T H E R T R A K S E R V I C E , S I M P L Y E N T E R O N E O F T H ES E TO R E C E I V E
T H E F O R ECAST F O R T H A T P A R T O F T H E W O R L D . W E U N D ERSTA N D
TH E R E A R E SO M E H I D D EN C O D E S A S W E L L. T H E N E W Y O R K ACCESS
N U M B E R I S ( 2 1 2) 355- 1 2 1 2 . TO F I N D OUT THE N U M B E R N EA R EST Y O U ,
C A L L 800-247-3282 O R ( 2 1 4 ) 556- 1 1 22 .

!}pring 1 988

2600 Magazine

Page 15

An Interpretation
The following article i s one view o f computer
hackers. We 'd like to say right up front that it is
not ours and in fact we :ake exceptIOn to a good
many of the facts presented. We would be most
interested in hearing what the hackers of the
world have to say regarding this perception of
them . Please send us your feedback.

by Clptlln ZIp

The ongoi ng wave of computer crime that is

being reported in the media around the world
shows the ease of computer system break-ins
that are becoming more and more w idespread .
Both the technology and the society have
changed since the birt h of the f i rst computer and
the g rowth of t he computer has come to the
average household in the U S
The speed has increased whi le the size has
sh runk . One simply has to compare the Apple or
I BM personal computer to E N I AC , the f i rst
computer. E N I AC was very large and needed a
smal l electrical sub-sta t i on to operate whi le the
personal computer today runs on batteries or
household electri c . The memory i n E N I AC was
Just about 2k compared to today's personal
computers which commonly have 1 6 Megabytes
of RAM
All of this comput i ng power is now in the
hands of everyday persons and the equipment
can be carried to anywhere in the worl d . I n
add i t ion these people can gain access t o the
computer center of any major and a large number
of m i nor computer sites . H ow? Through the
phone l i nes around the world and the abi l i ty of
such a vast global netwJrk to interface almost
anywhere on the face of the planet . S imply put
the phone and the computer are now one and the
use of dial-up ports to the computer is becoming
standard operating procedure. The reasons are
due to the desire for distributed databases and
the need for a l i of the information to f low over the
phone networks around the worl d . We w i l l now
look at the i ssue of information f l ow over the
phone network and how easy i t is for someone to
gain access to any part of the t ransm ission .

rlllCOll1llUllcations Ind FIlUd

The beg inn ing of the fonnal underground

p h o n e n e t w o rk s t a r t e d in 1 9 7 1 w i t h t h e
forma tion of t h e newsletter ent i t led "Y I PL" or
Page

/6

2600 ,\lagazine

Youth I n tematlOnal Party L i n e . This newsletter

was structured w i t h i nformation on how the
phone company equ ipment would work and ways
to defeat I t . This was a l so see n as a protest
against the V ietnam war and the federal tax that
was p l aced on phone serv ice to help pay for the
war.
The i dea was to be able to place calls to others
w i thout paying any form of t o l l charge . This one
form of to l i f raud was done with the use of
homemade electronic gear known to this day as
the "blue box" . The "box" was able to simulate
the signals of the phone company swi tches and it
cou ld p lace cal l s as if one had the same controls
as a regular AT&T operator.
Calis were placed over to l i - free t runks such as
800 numbers . The phone company, seeing the
probl em , p laced a tone detector on trunks l ooking
for the d istinct tone frequency of 2600 Hertz .
(This tone IS the signal ing f requency for the
long - d i stance t runks to d isconnect but the b l ue
box could st i l l maintain a hold on the t runk and
place cal ls from remote locations . )
O n e o t h e r i n t erest i n g a s p e c t s h o u l d be
ment i oned-the use of a whistle that was found
In the boxes of "Captain Crunch" cereal . The
name "Captain Crunch" was used by the earliest
phone phreak known to the phone system
security force . H I S real name is John D raper and
he was t he f i rst person who used this wh istle
from the cereal boxes and d i scovered that the toy
wou ld produce the exact same tone ( 2 600 H ertz )
that the phone system produced for the seizure of
the trunk l ines needed to make long-distance
phone cal l s .
Other "boxes" also exist . H ere is a bnef l ist
Blue: produces a l l ( S F ) single f requency tones
and ( DTM F ) dual tone m u i l l - f requency Able to
dial without incurring toll charges .
Red: able to produce coin iden t i f ication tones
that correspond to coins placed in a payphone
( n ickel , dime , or quarter)
Green : com retum . This al lows the cal ier to
retum cOins instead of the cOins dropping Into the
coinbox of the payphone
Silver: able to Simulate t he DTM F and have the
ava i l ab i l i ty of generating 1 633 H z . Tones are
used on the Autovon vOice network ( the m i l i tary
phone system ) .
Black: does not al low the connec t ion o f b i l l ing

Spring 1 988

of Comp uter Hack ing

c i rcu i ts t o cal l . M ust b e u sed o n cal l ed party's
l i ne . This IS only usab le on older SW i tches such as
step by step or #2 or #5 Crossbar
CJear: a l lows for calls to be p laced f rom the
new private payphones that block the phone's
rnicrophone unt i l a cOin is inserted But by uSing
all I I n pedence tap type of deVice the speech of
ttle cal ler can be electron:ca l l y p l aced in the
earp i ece and the conversation can proceel'
:; 1Jlly
Cheese : a l lows for a cal l to be placed to 0I1e
l ocat ion and t hen t ransferred to another l oca t l oll
on a d i f ferent l i ne than the original number cal l ed
U sed to h i d e actual location of t h e cal ler f rom
t races by separa t i ng and l so l a t l ny the cal l from
the other l i ne .
There are combi nat ions t o these boxes They
can be red - b l ue or red-green or s l l ver-red - b l ue
But one of the Simplest ways to defeat t ile
phone system wou ld be to use a portable tape
recorder . T h i S wou ld al low for the tones to be
p layed Into the mouthpiece or to use an induc t ion
coupler to enter the tones . ThiS way there IS 1 10
I l lega l eqU i pment to be found and the pholle
phreak can do hiS work

" CO l 7 1putinx p mt 'er is

'W H '

in

the h a n ds of e \' e ry d ay
pers ons and the equipl 7 1el 1 l
can h e c arried

{()

an n t 'here

in the H'orld. "

O ther methods of phone f raud are now taking
p l ace due to the u se of other long distance carner
networks . Carriers such as M C I and Sprint have
had toll f raud problems for years and now are
startmg to compare notes about to l l f raud and
other pert i nent Informat ion . The carners have
recen t l y formed a group that poo ls informat ion
about suspected code abuse . Such Information
Includes phone numbers d i a l ed . called party
name and address , suspected or known t o l l
abusers , and the new prob lem of m u l t i -carner
abuse .
M ost of the known abuse IS being d i rected
f rom the hacker bullet i n boards that post port
numbers and access codes . O t her incidents
Include employee use after hours or j ust plain
f raud by using another person's code .

We w i l l f i rst d i scuss the problem of m u l t i

carrier abuse or "weav ing" t h rough t h e d ifferent
ne tworks. This form of tol l abuse gets ItS name
due to the way that calls are p l aced to the target
phone
In the U S , there are f i ve major long-distance
telecummun ications carriers AT&T , US Spnnt ,
MC I , A l l net , and RC I
I f a cal ler wal l t ed to h i de In the d i f feren t
network s , he cou ld start by d i a l i ng a l oc a l PBX
( Pn vate B ranch t,<change ) and use the PBX as
the f i rst PO l il t of con taf:t to p l ace the cal l . M os t
major P B X ' s today h a v e the ab i l ity to a l low
ou tsiders to gain access to the local telephone
l ine through a sw i tch in the PBX .
This sW itch g i ves the local dial tone and
a l l ows a cal l to be p l aced to the f i rst l oca l access
port of one of the common carners The l ocal port
answers and p laces a carner or system dial tone
across the l i ne and the caller Inputs the access
code , area code , and number to the next target
swi tch
The number Input IS the n umber of a target
sw i tch I n another c i t y and al lows for the cal ler to
h ide I n t he network of Bel l and the f i rst carner
The second targeted sW i tch then answers and
g i ves a system d i a l tone and the process IS
repeated .
111 lS progression w i l l con t i n ue unt i l the final
t arget phone I me is reached S uch tact ics can
conf use even the best t e l ephone company
attempts to trace a cal l So t h e f i na l product o f
the ca l l is that the cal ler cou l d be c ool i n g from
any major port on any of the carners . Plus the
added problem of being on all carriers at the same
t i me With the d i fferent i nterconnec t ions al lows
for some very m teres t l ng com p l ica t i ons to occur
Such access to the swi tch IS very easy as
many persons use these common carners to make
long-distance cal l s . With the vast amount of
persons who use such serv iCes , the ab i l i ty to f ind
working account i ng codes IS s t i l i very easy I Such
codes can be found by t he u se of a mod ified
"Wargames" d i a l er program T h i s part i c u l a r
program W i l l cal l the local port of the common
carner and Just l ike ItS cousi n the port scanner ,
w i l l scan the common carrier port w i t h the ab i l ity
to g e n e r a t e t o u c h - t o nes a n d " h ac k " o u t a
work ing code that can be used for that swi tch .
An example of a simple "Wargames" program

'''p ring 1988

2600 ,\1agazine

Page 1 7

::.

::

}
.2

-.... is l isted . This program WdS written for use with

an Apple 1 1 + and a H ayes M icrornodem .

Th e operation o f the program i s very slow but

other faster versions of this are available to the
:: s y s t em h a c k e r . O t h e r p ro g rams have been
wri tten for use by the H ayes Smartmodem and
the Prometheus ProMode, n 1 200A .

...

(See WA R GAMl.'S listing on page 20)

I t shou ld be noted tha t some of the c ommon
carriers have changed the programming of their
sw itches to only accept valid codes for the local
-.:: area-that is, not to accept any other code that
.
might work i n other parts of the country .
Traveling callers must ca i l a special number and
insert an addi tional 4-dig l t code after the regu lar
authorizat ion code.

:;

HICkIr

ComnIInIationa 1l1li Bullllln

Bania

S o m e of t h e w a y s t h a t t h e h ackers
communi cate i s through the use of conference
cal l s and the underground bul letin boards . Such
methods of message t raff ic go without charge
and are able to be done lly the vast majority of
the hackers . The hackers have the abi l i ty to place
up to 30 cal l s to any place in the world and join a l l
o f these cal ls together.
M o s t of t h e c a l l s are p l aced t o p a s s
i nfonnat ion over to other hackers t h a t c a n work
on a problem and compare results and plan for
more tactical attacks to the target system .
The log ic behind the thought is that the abi l i ty
of one person to at tack a system is mu l t i p l ied
tenfold by the others working on the same
system .
Such attacks have been placed on v ari ed
computer and communications systems by th e
hackers . One such incident took place in Los
A n g e l e s , w i t h p h o n e p h reaks and h ac k e r s
a t t a c k i n g t h e B e l l S y " t em m a s t e r c o n t ro l
computers and trying t o t 'J m off all the phones in
the c i ty w i t h the except ion of the emergency
circu i t s . This attack was for the most part
successfu l resul t ing in tM l oss of phone service
for thousands, but not complete in its goal .
But this writer's opin ion about t he attack is
that it was very successful showing the abi l i ty of
certain persons who were able to shut down some
of the phone servi ce in the city. If such act ions
can be performed by persons who do not have
inside i nfonnation or access to the fac i l i t ies . then
i t is a very real s i t uation . Such attacks can be
Page 18

2600 Magazine

The Threat of

placed t o a se ri es 0 1 phone l i nes o r lust one . O ther

attacks have involved the reprogramm ing of Bel l
System sw i tches , changing t he dest mal ion of
800 tol l - f ree calls to other locations, or ring ing a
vast number of phones at the same t ime .
The p h o n e / c o m p u t e r u n d e r g r o u n d i s s t i l l
growing with the vast amount of personal
computers com ing into the hands of many
different persons who now have a large amount
of comput ing power at their f i ngert i p s

Systems

Bulletin Bani

B u l letin boards are . as they sound , a place

where persons can place infonnat ion or requests
for infonnat ion . But in the world of the hackers ,
the bul let i n boards are a way to pass infonnation
via computer to other hackers . These boards are
set up by individuals in their homes and the users
of the board cal l a phone number that is attached
to a modem and the host computer. A bul let in
board is nothing more t han a place to swap
infonnation
Such infonnation l ike dial-up port numbers ,
l ogons , and passwords are commo n infonnation
avai lable to the main hacker populat ion . O t her
more secret infonnation is passed in confiden t ial
messages to each other and through the use of
sub-sect ions of the board where only a select few
are able to enter .
The bul letin boards contain a wealth of
infonnat ion if one can gain access to them . One
reason that the boards are difficult to enter is
b e c a u s e o f t h e i r secu r i t y . A good r u l e to
remem be r IS t h a t the hacker bul let in boards have
fa r better sec u r i t y than m o s t large computer
systems, and that the hackers check out each
user for t heir real i den t i t y A series of checks is
done that include the place o f employmen t , the
phone number and the owner of that number ,
driver's l icen se , h ea l t h records , and the l i ke.
.

Other security checks require that a prospec t i ve

user be recommended by another user to gain
access . and then the new user is granted a lower
status than most users unt i l he proves his worth
i n t he hacker worl d . The chance o f a law
enfo rc ement person gaining access is thereby
greatly reduced . O t her aspects of the sec u r i t y of
the boards is t h a t some of them have a c lause at
the sign-on that states that t he board is not
responsible for the infonnat ion posted and that
any infonnat ion placed on the board is for
i nfonnational purposes on ly and that the person

Spring 1 988

Com pu ter Hackers

who I S logg ing onto the system i s not a member

held accou n t ab le for his ac t i ons and the owners

of any law enforcemen: agency in any way ,

shape, or for m

must secure their machi nes w i t h a reasonable

One of the methods used by the hackers to

amount of security .
Part of the p rob lem w i th the owners and of

keep control and order i n the hacker comm u n i t y

course the t ransm i ssion fac i l i t ies i s t h a t t he

is know as Tele-Trial . Tele-Trial is a court that IS

carners do not t ake respons i b i l i t y for the security

convened by the hackers to l isten to comp l a i n t s ,

of t h e t ran sm i ssion , only t h a t t h e t ransmiSSion

set laws , and hand down decrees upon suspec t s .

W i l l get to the i n tended dest inat ion . A d d to that

Such dec rees can incl ude not gran t i n g access to

the cos t of pO l n t - to-po l n t encrypt i o n and you get

t h e b o a r d s or h a V i n g s o m e o n e exec u t ed

very h igh costs bol ll I n the eq u i pmen t and i n t he

electron i ca l l y . S uch act ions have come to t he

pu b l i c ' s a t t en t i o n w i t h the T e l e - T r l a l o f

mainten ance of the system .

Newsweek reporter R ichard Sandza . The story

w i t h M r . Sandza is that he wrote an art i c l e about
the hacker community and the hackers d i d not

" T h e hoards ar e considered

approve of the story , so Mr. Sandza had his cred i t

a m ajor nu isa n c e to t h e

card informat i on posted on a number of bul let in

p hon e c ompa n i es.

boards and numerous art i c les del i vered to h i S

"

home .
O t her i nteresting parts o f t h i S story I nc l ude the
d i stribution of hiS private non-pu b l i shed phone
number and a number of death threats . M r .
Sandza then wrote an art icle en t i t led " Revenge of
the H ackers" and was bombarded W i t h another
wave of abuse from t he hackers . Thi s wri ter'S
op i n ion IS that It IS better to make an a l l y W i t h the
hacker rather than to antago n i ze h i m , as he can
periorm your destruct ion in a matter of seconds
and such des t ruct ion can happen at any t ime
And remember , the hacker can be t he best
preven t ion for computer security Sick ness and
that a refomled Ilacker can make for t he best
data processi ng security person
In genera l , most of the compu ter b u l let i n
boards are n o t h i n g more t h a n a p l ace where
p e r so n s of g e n e r a l I n t e r e s t are a l l o w e d t o
commun icate t h e i r Ideas a n d comments abou t
hobb ies , art , science , cars , ham rad iO and
electron ics , and of course the major reason thiS
art icle has

been

prepared-the computer/ phone

underground . The boards I n general have been a

major prob lem in the control of information due to
the use of the boards by what some may ca l l
" informalion Junk ies" .

The b u l l e t i n boards contain a vast amount of

infomlatlon at the f i ngert i ps of thousands of
persons at any time. Some of the boards have t he
abi l i ty to have m u l t iple users on them at one
t ime

And the boards that we w i l l concern

ou rselves W i t h , the underground or c landest i ne

board s , are the toughest to crack . I n formation on
these systems can range anywhere f rom how to
make f ree t e l ephone ca l ls to the formu l a l ion of
crude p l as t i C explOSives to a person's cred i t and
pe rsonal Infomlation

M ost ly the boards are a

p l ace where the st udy of telecommun icat i ons and

compu t ers IS p l aced above a l l other t h i ng s . The
hackers c a l l i t nothing more than "electron i C
geog raphy" They have n o t h i n g more t h a n a good
sense of CUriosity and they want to learn . So they
go explOring and f i nd th ings that most wou l d
conSider to be trivial . I nformat ion found h a s been

we l l documented and proven to be embarrassing

to the owners . The government has t herefore
g i ven both the Secret Serv ice and the F B I the job
o f i n v e s t i g a t i n g a l l co m p u t e r c r i m e s . T h i s
i n c l udes the investigation o f the underground
b u l let i n board s .

;
::.

B u t the prob lem of the " i nformation Junkies' IS

The boards are consi dered a major n U i sance to

one that i s span n i ng the computer arena W i t h a l l

the ptlone compan ies , but are only considered a

types of persons uSing t h i s f o rm of I', igh speed

sma l l threat to the computer owner But they st i l l

commun icat i on

produce good copy for the morning paper and ;;;

even i n g news The genera l pub l i C thi nks that t he :::
Iackel s are wonder k ids ab le to launch a nuclear

And one o f the maj o r

co n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s I n v o l v i n g t h e c o m p u t e r
abuse IS t h e non-educat ion ot the users
But the p rob lem i s twofo l d the

III

Usel

e t h ics

rnlst be

i l l i s s l l e In any d i rec t i ull who can i nvade any

5iprillg 1 988

2600 .11agazille

Page 1 9

The Hacker Threat

'"" computer system out there . They hear that a

that they contain a group of sub-sect ions that

computer that belongs to the U . S . govemment i n

i n c l u de s u b j e c t s on t e l e comm u n i c a t i o n s ,
s oft w are p i rac y , a n d c rack i n g o f s o f t w are

t:l

. .

:::., a nuclear research fac i l i ty has been "tapped" by

the hackers, or that there is a possib i l i ty of the

protec t i o n systems , computer systems

hackers controll ing satellites and movi ng them

.
.
.
.
out of their ass i gned OrbitS. Granted, they did not
;::: move the bird , but they did gain access to the
.2 rotation control for the satell ite.

overviews and how d ifferent systems work , and

.
Ci..

:;

s:::

ways around the system security features Some

bu l letin boards also contain page after page of
dial -ups to major computers around the country .

These include all of the Fortune 500 companies

and a large amount of m i l itary systems . So to the

And i t was stated that the informat ion needed

to do such things was found on an underground
.

';:: b u l l e t i n board . That m i g h t be t rue , b u t

persons who state that the bulletin boards are not

a problem, I believe that they have not been on

i nformation that is far more valuable t o people on

any of the maj o r un derground boards and

'- earth is being posted 011 the boards. And this

information comes from the trash can or from

insiders who have become disgrunt led or just
from plain old research-looking for publ icly
avai lable sources . Some of these publ ic sources

therefore should not make such rash statements.

As to the overall damage that a bul letin board
can cause , t h e f i n a l c o s t has yet to b e
d e t e rm i n ed . The b o a rd s a l l o w f o r t h e
transmission o f informat ion to a large group of
perso n s . W h a t t h e p e rson w h o gets t h i s
informat ion does with it i s another story .

const itute users' manuals and system

documentation .
Another interesting fact about the boards is

1
5

10

15

20
25
30

35

40
45

50
55
60
65

70
75

R E M "WAR G AM E S
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Page 20

2600 Magazine

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Spring J988

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S Y S T E M B A C K I I'i 1 98 5 . T H E Y A R E M E A N T T O P R O V E T H A T O l R S Y S T E \1

O P E R A T O R I N T E N D E D TO D E F R A t : D T H E P H O N E C O \1 P A :\ Y B Y l S l :'II G
H I S C O M P l ' T E R TO I M IT A T E T H E so n i D O F W ' i S D l W P P I N G I N TO A
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T H I N G S A N D W E 'V E R E P R O Dl T E D O :\ E O F T H E L ET T E R S F R O M T H E S E
T E C H N O L O G I C A L G E N I l- S E S F O R Y O l; R E N J O Y M E N T O N T H E
FOLLOW I N G TWO PAGES.

Spring

1 988

26()() _ l Iagazine

Page

21

FReM THE 2600 FILES

Bell

Communicat ions
Research

T e l e phone N e twork S e c u r i t y
E l e c t ro n i c

To l l F r a u d

Blue

E a m l na t i on o f E v i d e n c e
Fl l e-2

,Au g u s t
R. K.

Hr.

21,

1985

P a p rc ka

S e c u r i t y R e p r e s e n t a t i ve

N o ., J e r s o y B e U

5 5 0 B road S t ree t

5 t h F l oor
N e ., a r k ,

NJ

Of

h a ve

e x am i n a t i o n

c om p l e t e d

Scurlty
Ju ly

07101

P a p r cka :

Dear Mr.

of

Laborat ory

198 5 .

22 ,

Bell

rela t es

It

to

N e .,

i n v o l vi n g T h o m a s B l t c h ,

P r i va t e

The

d i ak c a r r i e s

inch f lexi ble

1/4

" D i s k N um be r

f loppy

the

of

C omm u n i c a t i o n s

dIsk

br o ug h t

you

Red Rank ,

R e s e a rc h ,

Je r sey

Bell

to

the

Ne twork

N e .... J e r s e y

D o ve r ,

on

2E-0036

inves t i ga t i on

S ec t o r bul l e t i n board ,

New Jersey .

f o l l o" i n n o t a t i o n :

the

04 1

CAl ' S MEOII

THE

CAT HACKER 3 . 7 1
SOUND

fROGRAHS
IIG 3 l -

m a rk
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alsp
appe a r ed
on
t he
. . m i n a t 1 o n I a d d e d my m a rk " B CR-Wl-TH 7 / 2 4 / 8 5 . "

label

The

The

d i sk

was

sc reen

the

s I gnal s ,

coin

9 i gn a l s

of

the

o ut

t e l e p hone

2 6 0 0H z

s i g na l s

and

KP

d e s t i n a t i !') n s
ca l l ed

c a l led a

On

Au g u s t

broug h t

aod

wh e n

lIF K P
ST

wh i l e

-o f

1985,

coins
be

the

the

the

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Pa t r o l ma n

9 7 l 0F ,

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the

e q u i p ment .
tha t

this
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t one

ten

l ong
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South

of

my

10460 1 6 ,

Spring 1 988

and

1193212

snd

d i s t ance

system,

idle

s ignal

code used

in

prod uced

by

p roduc ing
the
cont rol

g e ne ra t o r

calls

g e ne ra t o r
coin

is

depos i t

P l a i nf i e ld ,

equipped with :

4 10 5 J

S N 4 -07 4
SN

( MT K P )

S i g na l s

l a b o r a t o ry :
1 30 3 1 87

t e l ephone

t runk

digits

simul ates

!l i c h a e l G r e n n i e r ,
to

depos i t

coin

re d i re c t

generator

N o v a t i o n C omun l c a t l o n s M o d u l e ,

2600 /lagazine

u s e d" i n

depo s i t ed .

to

b i l l i ng

An Ap p l e l I e p e r s o n a l c om p u t e r ,

Page 22

tones

dial,

r e p r e s e n t i ng

Signal

XE B E C 1I 0 d .

and

are

used

f o l l ow i ng e q u i p m e n t

H a rd D i sk ,

of

6 m u l t i f r e q ue n c y k e y p u l s i ng

n e t 'Jo r k

b y p a s s i ng

bo x .

va r i e t y

T ou c h T o neR

aignals
can

" r e d hox . -

13,

the

t e l ephone

sets

the

" bl ue

i.

produce

to

the

d i t a n c: e

l o ng

t ime

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I .. )
The
p r o g r am
"The
Ca t ' s
M E" o w "
relates
to
t e l ephone
p r o g r a m i n s t r u c t i o n s w e r e l i s t e d ( Ta b l e I I . )
The purpose o f

its
is

and the tones of

the

the

loaded

a nd

i nc l u d l n

at

(Tahle

p r o g ram

t he

and

New

to

neu

c OM1l o n l y
dgnah

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f l e x i bl e
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on

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the

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of

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screen

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S t orage

the

p rog ram

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t he

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aud i o

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the

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p u s h- but t on

the

a nd

sc reen .

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Ta bl e

and

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t he

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and V I .

Vl and

Finally.

Pa t r o l m a n

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intent

to

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those

a r C!

pres ged
then

s h o lJ' s

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c omp u t e r

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gene r a t e d

Pre

s s i ng

the

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by

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t he

output

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test

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of

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t one

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in

control

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wi t h

0,

In

the

and

the

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all

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were

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as

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in

. h o YTI

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the

by

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capt ured

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suc c e s s i on .

c omp l e t e d .

ma n-h ou r s

t he

by

me a s u r e m e n t s

s p a c i ng

he

In
\1 1 t h

Into

r e s p e c t i ve l y .

bu r s t s

220

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set

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f r om

the

r e su l t a

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s h o wn

o ne

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p rogram

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t he

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le t t e r T s e l ec t s
o f n um b e r 1

q ue nc e

se

to

eq u I pment

erd

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the

inch

o bs e r ve d

was

a n a l Y l l ng

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t h r o ug

result s

letters

f i ve

record e r .

depos i t

d i sk y o u b r o u g h t
16

and

s stn e

the

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put

to

wh i c h

The

a bo v e .

pressed

t \/ O ,

one ,

e q u i pment

f l.ibl.

VI I .

ran

and

r e p r e s e n li a t i o n s

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Ap p r ox l a t e l y

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the

1/4

keyoard

p r o g r a Cl

p roduc ed

p ri nt ed

p roduced

let ter

the

entered

HF KP t r u n k s i g n a l l i ng c o d e .

repeat i n

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and

ft

lm a n

the

on

dia l .

mul t i f requency

5,

by

s i g na l s

the

of

Pa t ro

lJ l 1 c o:n r F r

the

P a t r o l !:l a n

N e Jlt t ,

appearance
Mod e .

f o l l ow e d
by

ana l yzed
Table

the

Touch-Tone

t he

f r om

8 1 g na

S l g na U ng

05 4 0 2 0

ter

let

to

fed

was

Tone

Hod e l

H o W' : "

the

P rog r e

output

T l aG

Osc i l loscope ,

Ca t ' s

pres sed

and

the

a s s oc i a t e d

bro ugh t

after

to y o u h e r e w i t h .
t o p e r f o rm t h i s a n a l y s I s .

Very

truly youra ,

'l a l t e r H . H e i n z e
M e b e r o f T e c h n i c a l S t a f f
!l V C - Jl C R 2 3 1 3 1 -III :H - l j

Ne t " o r k S e c u r i t y

At t s .

S w o r n S t a t ement
F igure.

t h r ou h

T a bl e s I t h r ough V I r

Spring 1 988

2600 .Uagazine

Page 23

S P R I N GTI M E LETTE R S
More Secrets

Encouraging Words

Oea r 2600 :

Somet h i ng that may i n te rest readers

Oear 2600 :

I f i g u red you m i g h t get some cy n i c s

a nd r a i se a few q u est i o n s about the US

w r i t i ng i n say i n g they don 't l i ke t h e

gove r n m e n t i s the N a t i o n a l Coord i

n a t i n g C e n t e r l ocated i n A r l i n g to n ,

new q u a rt e r l y for m a t . So I t h o u g h t I ' d

wr ite a nd say t h a t t h i s new format

Vi rg i n i a . T h i s i s p a rt of the Defe nse

Com m u n ications Agency a nd i s

wor k !

l ooks j ust g reat to m e . Keep u p the good

ope ra ted by t h e Pentag o n . Its stated

p u r pose is to m a ke ava i l a b l e a l l c i v i l i a n

Friend in Texas

Obviously you had to have written

com m u n i c a t i o n fac i l i t i es i n t h e t i m e of

this letter before this issue was e ver

published. So how you were able to tell

national

emerg ency to the

D e p a r t m e n t of D e f e n s e .

Its staff

it would look so nice is beyond us. We

i n c l udes representatives o f 1 2 o f the

have to say, howe ver, that we're pretty

U n ited States' la rgest com m u n icat i o n s

pleased with the wa y it came out too.

compa n ies, including M C I , Comsat,

I n , G T E , a nd o f c o u r s e , AT&T, a s we l l

Still More Secrets

a s members of va r i o u s fede r a l

Oear 2600 :

I am not a s u bsc r i be r , b u t I w a s

a g e n cies .
The Pres ident ca n , i n t i mes of what ' s

t e r m e d a " 606 E m e r g e n cy " , t a ke

wonde r i ng i f you cou l d g i ve m e some

i nfo on the fo l low i n g t h i ng s :

control of a ny com m u n i c a t i o n s

F i rst, h a ve you h e a rd o f a system

f a c i l i t i es i f h e t h i nks i t i s necessa ry to

ca l led "Te r a c " ? I t ' s based i n

the " n a t i o n a l defe n se " , T h i s power

was g i v e n by t h e Co m m u n i c a t i o n s Act
of 1 9 34, a nd the N C C , w h i c h was

The memory as calcu lated i n

crea ted in 1 984, i s t h e p l a ce t h a t wo u l d

1 0E + 1 00+ 1 0E + 1 1 0E+50, As fa r a s l

a l l ow t h i s to h a p pe n ,
I f readers w a n t more i n fo r m a t i o n o n

k n ow i t i s u s e d by m i l i t a r y f o r a

t h e N C C a nd some o f t h e a ct i ons t h a t
m a ke it m o r e t h r e a te n i n g t h a n i t s

Sacra m e n to, C a l ifor n i a a n d i s m a s s i ve !

m eg a bytes

i s

a s

fo l l ows :

tempora ry storage , An exa m p l e of a

logon wou l d be : Pa ssword : m a d n e s s ,

I D : 2 5 8 1 3 , sec u r i ty l eve l cod e : mad

5 3 2 , sec u r ity l eve l code 2: ness 5 3 2 ,

i n te nded p u rpose , t h e r e w a s a n a r t i c l e
w r i tt e n i n a m i d - 1 :187 i s s u e o f Omni

( N ote : t h e se n u m b e r s c h a n g e a f t e r

e n t i t l ed " N a t i o n a l G u a rd " , I ca n 't leave

each l og i n r a ndom l y , ) S ec u r ity l e v e l

are t h r e e a l p h a a n d t h r e e

the exact date beca use I do n 't have i t .

codes

B u t t h i s i s a top ic t h a t i s we l l worth

n u m be r s o r t h ree a l p h a , two n u m b e r ,

i nfo r m i ng yourself uf,

a n d o n e more a l p h a ,

H o p e f u l l y , a w a r e n e s s w i l l g r ow
a b o u t t h e p o t e n t i a l for a b u s e t h a t

comes from the ca pabi l ity of

con t ro l l i ng m uc n of t h e p u b l i c ' s

The second system logs on say i n g i t

i s " M a r b l e s B B S " a nd o p e r a t e s l i ke a

reg u l a r ( b u t we i rd ) B B S , The fo l l ow i n g
com m a n d s a re a v a i l a b l e : A=a n s w e r

s o u rces of i nf o r m a t i o n , a s o u r pol i t i ca l
system becomEs i ncreasingly

ca l l , B = ? ? , C = ? ? , D = ? ? , E =e - m a i l , S = s e n d

i n te rtw i n e d w i t h new tec h n o l og i e s a nd

t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n s . 2 600 s h o u l d b e

Q=q u i t . H oweve r , i f you mess a ro u n d

l ette r , R = rece ive l ette r , M =make ca l l ,

w i t h i t e n o u g h , you ' l l g e t a sked f o r a

p r a i sed for its efforts in e d u ca t i n g

password . Afte r gett i n g t h r o u g h

peop l e i n t h i s f i e l d of t h o u g h t .

password s , 20 i d e n t i f i c a t i o n n u m be r s ,
Ooom

Page 24

2600 Mugazine

15

a nd 62 l eve l s o f access, the system

Spring 1 988

te l l s you it i s t h e " M i l i t a ry O p e r a t i o n s
U n i t Syste m " a nd t h e n t h e A rt i f i c i a l
I n t e l l i g e n c e k i cks i n . T h e n f r o m t h e re I f
you were t o te l l i t t o " l a u n c h m i s s i l e " , i t
w i l l ask you what type of m iss i le ,
t a r g e t . from w h e r e , etc. T h e n i t w i l l
sta rt a c o u ntdow n . I stopped i t befo re
zero b u t I was wonde r i ng , cou l d
someone rea l l y l a u nc h t h e m i s s i l e s ?
I s n 't t h e re a h u m a n f a c t o r i nvolved?
I f you k n ow about t h e s e syste m s , o r
k n ow a nyone w h o d o e s , p l e a s e wr ite

A Very Special Number

Oear 2600 :

N ow t h a I J e r r y F a l we l l h a s

d i sco n n ected h i s 800 n u m be r , ca l l e r s

m a v w i s h to d i a l t h e N a t i o n a l R i f l e

AS lJ c i a t i o n a t 8 00 - 3 6 8 - 5 7 1 4 . T h e y
o n l y a n sw e r betw e e n 8 : 3 0 a n d 5
E a s t e r n T i m e , M o n d a y t h ro u g h F r i d a y .

But the t i rm that does the i r

te l e m a rket i ng L a n be reached 24 h o u r s
a day a t 800- 5 3 5 - 3 100 .
What a wonderful public service . . . .

m e s o m e notes o n t h e m . Te r a c traces

Tales of Hackers

a l l c a l l s com i ng in, a n d bot h system s

h a ve a r t i f i c i a l i nte l l i g e nce to some
exte n t . Terac a ccepts R O M d u m p s b u t
M O U S doe s n ' t . M O U S d oe s n 't trace o r
a n y t h i n g a n d t h e two s y s t e m s a r e
l i n ked . (You w i l l not f i nd o u t by u s i ng
t h e m - I d i d n ' t . ) B u t if y o u get b u sted ( I
d i d ) , t h ey w i l l u s u a l l y j u st te l l you to
stop ca l l i n g .
A l so, h a ve you g u ys f i g u red o u t how
NASA c i p h e r s a l l t h e i r s h i t ? I c a n get i n
b u t I ca n ' t read a n yt h i n g .
Fir s t o f a ll,

Dear 2600 :

E n c l o s e d I S a n ot h e r n ew s p a p e r
a rt i c l e a bo u t someone h a c k i n g M e l
c od e s a n d gett i n g c a u g h t a fter t h e ca l l s
were t r a ced back t o h i s a p a rt m e n t . To
top it off, h e a l so g ot bu sted for t h e pot
p l a n t s o n h i s ba l c o n y . Some peop l e
never l e a r n from oth e r peop l e ' s
m i sta kes a n d seem to h a ve to f i nd o u t
f i rst - h a n d .
I fou n d a g oody i n A n Introduction t o

we app r e c ia t e y o u r

s t opp ing t h e c o u n t do w n . S e c o n d,
since your le tter didn 't bear a Yale
p o s t m a r k , we a s s u m e it 's s e r i o u s .
Someh o w you managed t o g e t through

62

le v e ls o f a c c e s s to t h e m is s il e

la unching program and you 're asking

us if WE k n o w an ything about these

s ys tems? Either this is an incredible

case of exaggeration or it 's another test

of o u r p a t r io t ism ( w ill

2 600

h e lp

o verthro w the go vernment or will we

run and tell the good guys about the
bad guys without e ver suspecting that
the y 're rea lly one and the same, etc. ).
On the off chance that what you 're
s a y in g is t r u e , y o u ' r e b e t t e r o f f
sh o wing us what these s ystems can do
rather than waiting until it 's too la te or
telling the wrong person. A nonymity
guaranteed.

Police suspect UT hacker

stole ' IOllg -dis uU lcc codes
I-, .Ih.".
I

I I>. " ' "

!!":' . "

', '\ " ' 1

- . . . . . . . ' . ,.

" " .

1" , 1

. f' . fr "

1_0"",,,, , ,

:." I:. . t:;.,.;' :" ;, !'':': ::':.' ;

1 1'0 . m . "
..,, ,,, 1 " y J : 1 . ' _ T ,
.'

"

'.

:
: :: : :. . ' : :: ." :':: :: : :::: ':" '. , I " : .:,,' l' ( :.t lar" Pn ,-k l I- ' -l I "' l I l " r
" .: '::,f , \ ' ',:,';,,!, :':t,r
; 1: ' ;:;1 I t ) l" F i n ' I )" I un-I I I i t ' i l I
::. : : : ; . ; ; , , : : ' : :. ";: :: : ; 'e . ' ,.'"
('hm'"" d i l l fmud , 11 11
I I . ' " ' " , , t, . h ' "" , , , n ' l " " " " . ' h . , .
t-o
.'

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'"

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",'

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.,

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u ".or, U

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'"

!.n.t,.'!.r"r,.

:;::; ::,: :i:;':;;': :,;;::', ;:':::::.,;;,::: :;;,:2:!:;;;,,: ;'f:::,:::i';:;<:;.:' ;

f .,

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. . t . , I t M "' 1 ' I ", , , 1 . . , . , 1

..

1' ,f

H. ".I I

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'1

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,
"
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",',: . ,','J, ! :,' : , ; : ; ;: h,".. '':'I';:: ':H',
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lI"'"

Spring / 988

t.,

... >o1

( } 1 1 / / I l I / ( ' , / ( } I I I It ' \"I

2600 . \ 1agazine

I Jtlgc )

Page 25

LETTE R S O F TH E S P R I N G
O p e r a t in g S y s t e m s p u b l i s h e d b y

Add ison -Wes ley, a short P U I p r og r a m

:;- to l o c k u p a com p uter r u n n i ng u nder
O S / 3 60 .
R E V E N G E : P R O C E D U R E O PT I O N S
:s.. ( MA I N , TAS K);
WAIT( EVENT);

you depend on publications tha t print

a c c e s s c o de s . You w a n t exclusive
access to your sources. If you have to
share this access with an yone who can
get their hands on a pUblication, it just
won ' t be e ffe c tive.

We dis trib u t e

information b u t there is a limit t o h o w

-S..

END R EVE N G E ;

far w e can go. I f w e were t o print

S u pposed ly t h i s m a kes the com puter

wait for someth i ng that won 't h a ppen

passwords or codes (despite the fact

::: a nd t i e u p t h e syste m . I have not h a d a n

use them tha t the y would soon get shut

The Hooded Claw

kind of information and the kind we

opport u n ity to test i t myse l f .

tha t it 's illegal), so many people would

off or monitored very closely For that
suspect you 're after, you need to make

A dvice Wanted

personal contacts- through the mail,

Dear 2600 :

on the phone, on bulletin boards, or on

I have recently s u bsc r i bed to you r

the street.

You 'll have to use your

m a g a z i n e beca use I a m sta rt i ng a n " on

instincts insofar as who you trust and

ca l l " perso n n e l b u s i ness, scree n i ng

wh a t in fo rm a t io n app e a rs v a lid. If

pote nt i a l e m p l oyees.
Frankly,

am qu ite

we 've misread your question and you

new to

actually wan t to do this b y the book,

com puters, but a m dete r m i n ed to get a

we 're sure it 's pOSSible.

set - up wh i c h wi I I e n a b l e me to conduct

through the agencies involved. But as

b u s i ness from my h om e .

Simply go

you 've already noted. that tends to be

I a m wonde r i ng i f t h e r e a r e a ny
peo p l e a r o u n d who co u ld h e l p me i n
th i s rega rd b y te l l i ng m e what software
to p u rc h a se a n d h ow to g a i n access to
p u b l i c records i n a l l states, for

slow, and quite often expensive.

Of Phones and Politics

Dear 2600 :

T h e i m portance of t h e 't e l e p h o n e i n
m od e r n l i fe beca m e apparent i n the

backg r o u n d check pu rposes .

Some o f t h e types o f t h i ng s I want to

recent New H a m ps h i re P r i m a ry Debate

access a re cou nty records, fede r a l

of t h e D e m o c r a t i c p a rty . T h e f i r s t

cou rt records, worke r ' s comp records,

q u estion a sked b y t h e moderator was

and dr iver records .

d i rected a t S e n a tor Pa u l S i m o n i n
reference to t h e Senato r ' s proposa l to

The process t h r o u g h the m a i l (wh ic h

most gove r n m e n ta l a g e n c i e s m a ke

put free te lephones in the homes of

ava i l a b l e ) is ver y s l ow .

those who cou l d not afford t h e m . H e

I a m a l so i nte rested i n obta i n i ng a n y

oth e r perso n a l backg ro u nd i nformation

wou l d p l ace a two percent t a x o n long

d i s t a n c e c h a r g e s t o pay for t h i s

(cred it h i story, m i l itary records,

prog r a m . B r u ce Babbit attempted to

assets) .

d i scred it the proposa l by cha l l e n g i n g

I f t h e r e i s a p u b l ication w i t h access

S i m o n t o address t h e broader i s s u e of

codes, etc . , p lease let m e know about it,

the def i c i t . G a ry H a rt t r i ed to i g nore t h e

b e c a u s e I r e a l l y w a n t to g e t t h i s
b u s i ness g o i ng .

s u bj ect a ltog e t h e r but Represe nta t i ve

A l be rt Gore showed h i mself to be the

It sounds as if you want to bypass the

system and do things efficiently. Often

e n t h u s i a st " seek i ng t h e nom i na t i o n by

this means bending or even breaking

attack i ng the R e a g a n adm i n i strat i o n ' s

the laws. You won 't get anywhere if

p o l i c y o f l o c a l " a c c e s s f e e s " to

Page 26

2600 Magazine

Spring 1 988

m ost knowledg e a b l e "te lecom

n u m be r s . You ca l l t il e R E M O B n u m be r
s u b s i d i z e l o n g d i st a n ce se r v i ce f o r b i g

with a touch tone phone, then pu nch in

b u s i n e sses . G o r e a lso stressed t h e

two a c c e s s codes a n d t h e p h o n e

n eed o f m a k i n g t e l ep h o n e s a fforda b l e

t o t h e w i d e s t b a s e of peop l e poss i b l e .

n u m be r y o u wa n t t o ta p---w h i c h c a n be
a n yw h e r e I n t h e co u nt r y . T h e t a pp i n g

Te l e c o l 11 m a y be o n t h e a g e n d a , b u t

i s d o n e b y a sop h i st i c a ted tec h n iq u e

we ' r e w a i t i n g f o r a c a n d i date w h o w i l l

t l l a t does n o t c r e a t e

s u p p o r t 2 600 ' s c a m p a i g n a g a i n s t

h u m , or b e e p . I t ' s a l l d o n e a u t o

t o u c h t o n e fees !

y o u s t a r t t e lling t h e m a b o u t i t .
Politicians *no w frightfully little about
/he y need people like. us to

explam II rI'J them. A well worded letter

to yo ur-mlfcted official explaining wh y

the tou11 tone fee IS a Tipoff m a y yield

surpTlS ! 'ly results. What have you got

to lose ') By the wa y, if any readers need
the fa cts

te l l t a l e c l ick,

m a t i c a l l y , W i t h o u t a n ope r a t o r ,

S k i n head Steve and The Boy

Yo u 'll be waiting a long time unless

high tec'

and

a n y o n e k n OW i n g t h e n u m b e r a n d
a c c e s s c od e s c a n s p y o n a n y o n e
a nywh e r e . "
I don ' t reca l l eve r see i ng

"

REMOB "

a d d r e s s e d i n t h e n ew s l e t t e r . C a n
a n yone add t o i t ?

MH
U n iondale. N Y
We h a ve yet to see specific e vidence
of a work mg REMOB. But we do believe

the touch tone fee, we

their existence is possible, certainly

sugyesl thumbing through our 1 98 7

from a technical view. It 's doubtful that

on

Issues

o n e s ys t em c o u ld sp y on n um b e r s
a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y b e c a u s e o f the

More on the 8038

. man y different s ystems still in use. If

and when all of the phone networks

Dea r 2 6 00 :

N o t t o d r a g t h e 8038 i s s u e i n to t h e

g ro u n d o r a n yt h i ng , b u t . .

T h e I C L8 0 3 8 is s t i l l I n p r od u c t i o n a n d

f a i r l y e a sy t o g e t I f y o u J u s t l oo k a ro u n d
a

bit

F (o f c o m p l e t e d a t a , c a l l ( 408 ) 9 9 6 5O()c: 1 cl l1d a s k to be s e ll t t h e 1 9 8 7

Con: ! . Hl e n t D a t a C a t a l og

A l t h o u g h you - a l l

h a ve

no c o n t r o l

ove r w h a t peop l e adve r t i se

I n yo u r

2600 Mark e tplace, S 7 . 50 for o n e 8038

is r idicu lou s !

be very possible. For now, we will offer

a re ward of $ 1 00 for the first person

who comes forward with a work ing

r e s ide n t i a l REM O B .

The Glo bal Village

D e a r 2600 :

I n t h e O c t o b e r 1 9 8 7 I s s u e of 2600,

you wrote a bo u t h ow peop l e from a l l

o v e r t h e w o r l d W i s h t o r u n e l e c t ro n i c
of 2 600 Magazine.

Here are m y Ideas

Dea r 2600 :

The attached is from Wi l l ia m

P o u n d s t o n e ' s B igg e r S e c r e t s . I ' m

in

the

reference

to

" R E M O B " o n p a g e 84 a n d o n o t h e r
su rve i l l a nce tec h n iq u e s .
" T h e u l t i m a te I n p h o n e spy i n g I S

R E M O B , remote observa t i o n

Th a t o ugh t t o

settle matters, une wa y or the other

b u l l et i n boa rd syste m s u nd e r t h e n a m e

REMOB Hunting

I nterested

become integrated, such a concept will

The

p h o n e com p a n y i s sa i d t o h a v e c e r t a i n
secret n u m be rs---o n e I S I n I owa-t h a t

e n l i s t the a i d of

h a c k e r s a n d p h r e a k s f r o m all o ver t h e
wo r l d to w r i t e a com b i ned v e r s i o n o f
D l v e r s l - D IA L a n d F i do for a l l

major

b r a n d s of perso n a l com p u t e r s . Seco n d ,

s i nce t h i S I S s u pposed t o be l i ke a g l oba l
v i l l a g e sett i n g of t e l eco m m u n i c a t i o n s
h o b b Y i s t s for t h e C o m m u n i c a t i o n s
Revo l u t i o n , w h y

F o u n d a t i o n after D r .

not

I ( o l l / l I llied

ca n be u sed f o r l i st e n i ng i n o n o t h e r

,"'pring 1988

s u bt i t l e

It

I sa a c As i m ov ' s
( i / l / le. \ ' /

2600 . 1 1agazine

plJ<.!,c)

Page 2 7

LETTE R S

AT&T ALLJANCE '

Teleconferencing Services

(CO/ll inuedlrom prl!l'ious page)

10 AT UP CALL YOURSELF
DIal 0 + 700 + 456-1 000 an any IrlucIHone

phone. A I8COrding wiII leli you when 10:

1 Enter 1he IDIaI ...- at IocoIians,
1Qn.
2. Qial 1he tIrsI .......- UniIed :
ill + _ axle + local .......
narn.oIionaI : IIIl ill ill + """*Y axle
c:iIy axle + 1ocaI "'-.
3. Repeat step 2 lor 1!!'18inin!I .

Then firmly _ Ill 10 add )'llln8/l.

Foundation nove l ?

Beca u s e what you a re t ry i ng t o d o i s

g a t h e r peop l e a nd d a t a together t o
create a d i g ita l s a n ct u a ry f o r e n s u r i ng
f r e e d o m of s p e e c h , e s p e c i a l l y n o w
s i nce adva n c i ng tech n o l og y a l l ows u s
t o u s e t h a t b a s i c freedom t o reach more

..:.., r:: =-.:.'.

GENERAL nps

peop l e t h a n ever befo r e . That i s sort of

D U r i n g sel-up
Dial 1 0 oonbnue
Dial [OJ d:

what the Foundation nove l was a bo u t .

I hope t h e h a cke rs a n d ph reaks o f t h e
wor l d a re w i l l i ng to w r i t e t h i s m u c h
needed B B S softwa r e , beca u s e too
m a n y o f u s a r e k e p t a p a r t by t h e
t e le p hone systems o f o u r cou n t r i e s .
F o r i f we really w i s h to l e a r n a nd f i n a l l y
c o n tr o l , we n e e d c o m m o n p l a c e s
where w e c a n g o t o d raw o n a nd t h e n
expa nd o u r know l edg e .
The N ATO Association
We need a s m a n y m e th ods a n d
channels of reaching people around

During the call

Dial III 10:

Add locations
Busy, no anS'NI8r Reconnect iocabons
Leawel n caJl
Make a mIStake
Poor connectIOn
Dial lQJ for assiStance
Dial II1l !of assostance

TO SET UP CALL WITH M E ET- M E

f .
1

t
,

2.
3.

01.1 1 800 544-6363 . A n operator will

ask the dale. hme, catl durattOn, number
at IocaIIon s and method of bilhng
You will be 9''''''' two spectal accesa
numbers. One you WIll keep, the other
you will gIve to your fellow con_

AI the meebng hme. """")Orl8 calls their

speoal access number and IS automal
teally connected tog_. Only )'00 818
reqUIred to use a touch-tone phone.
'IbJ "*y ---' k1 "" who CIII """ '"
.." tImII r.-. mn.MI pro kl lltw )IOU .... ... .... ID t.gn

the globe as our imaginations permit.

The comp u t e r I t e le c om m u n ic a t ions
revolution can be mankind's salvation
or doom. We're helping to make that
decision.

FEATURES
To ao l o c a t ! o n
T .:. s c re e n c a l l e r s
( o o me- s l l e. o r I n l I
Dial

[I

I f you have a l .

D i a l '# t o sooak wIth

ca l l e r

re ady reserved space

Di a l

not

[#) :0

.1

D i a l , /I to add caller

you have

reserved space

D l a l :'* ': II
Busy no a n s we r

* * *

Got a letter for us? Send it to : 2600

L e tters, PO Box 99, Middle Island,

NY 7 7 953.

M a k e a m I stake

Pcx:l r co nnectIon

Req u e s l

' it"

ii

to d i sconnect
ca l l e r
to reconnect
yo u r s e l f

G E N E R A L T I PS

Ii' [0"

D .a l
to
E xt e n d c a l l t i m e

Dial
Dial

assistance

D.al

if

to

L e ave c a l l
Re'olrl ca l l

Attention Readers!

2600 i s a l ways l ook i n g for i n fo r m a t i o n t h a t we c a n pass on

to you . Whether i t i s a n a rt i c l e . data. o r a n i nte rest i n g news

item-if you h a ve somet h i ng to offer, send it to u s !
Remember, much o f 2 600
is written by YOU, our readers.
NOlE: WE WILl. ONLY PRINT A BYUNE IF SPEClFlCAIl..Y REGUESTED.

C a l l o u r off ice or B B S ' s to a r r a n g e a n u p l o a d . Send U S m a i l to

2600 E d itorial Dept .
Box 9 9

M id d l e I s l a n d , N Y 1 1 9 5 3 - 00 9 9
( 5 1 6 ) 7 5 1 - 2 600

Page 28

2600 ,\1agazine

Spring 1 988

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Page 29

ROLM Phone System

T h e n e xt t i m e y o u fi n d y o u r s e lf

t e m : t h e R O LM C B X I I 9 0 0 0 . T h i s

cu rs i n g a nd swe a ri ng at t h e t e l e

wo u l d b e t h e s y st e m t o b r i n g t h e

p h o n e because it's gotten too

c a m p u s i nto t h e i n f o r m at i o n a g e ,

co m p l i cated a n d b u r e a u c ratic l a t e

w i t h u s ef u l fe at u re s a n d h i g h

l y , k e e p i n m i n d t h at i t c o u l d b e
w o rs e . Yo u co u l d b e a t t h e State

s p e e d data capabi l i t i e s .

U n i v e r s i t y of N ew Y o rk at Sto n y

p e ri o d . T h e 2 4 6 e x c h a n g e w o u l d

B ro o k .

b e p h ased o u t ove r a p e ri o d o f two

B e i n g re l at i v e l y c l o s e t o o u r
o ff i c e s , w e ' v e b e e n a b l e t o fo l low

T h e re w o u l d b e a tra n s i t i o n a l

y e a rs

and t h e

632

exchange

t h i s s t o ry rat h e r c l o s e l y . We do n't

wo u l d b e created . T h e n e i g h bo ri n g
U n i v e rs i t y H o s p i t a l ( u s i ng t h e 444

d o u bt t h at s i m i l a r e s c a p a d e s are

e x c h a n g e ) w o u l d s w i t c h f ro m i t s

occu rri ng a l l o v e r t h e co u nt ry a n d

N o rt h e rn Te l e co m S L- 1 sw i t c h t o

wi l l c o nt i n u e to do so i n t h e futu re .
W e ' d c e rt a i n ly l o v e t o h e a r about

t h e R O L M s y st e m i n 1 9 8 7 . T h e

them.

t h e l a st to g o , wo u ld b e cut o v e r t o

I n T h e Beg i n n i n g

e nt i re c a m p u s , s t u d e nt d o r m i t o r i e s
t h e R O L M syste m by F a l l 1 9 8 8 .
B u t i t d i d n 't wo rk o u t i n q u i t e

U p u nti l 1 98 7 , u s i ng t h e t e le
p h o n e s was v e ry s i m p l e . T h e

t h at w a y .

p h o n e syst e m at Sto n y B ro o k was

O f cou rs e , n o o n e i n t h e i r r i g h t

a C e nt re x o p e rated by New York

m i nd w o u l d e x p e ct s u c h a p roject

T e l e p h o n e . Eve ry o n e on the cam

t o b e 1 0 0 p e rc e n t on s c h e d u l e .

pus u s e d the 246 e x c h a n g e . T o

B u t not e v e n t h e p e s s i m i st i c w e re

r e a c h t h e m a i n s w i t c h bo a rd , y o u

a b l e to p red i ct t h e i ncred i b l e r a n g e

wou ld d i a l ( 5 1 6 ) 2 4 6 - 5 0 0 0 from

of p ro b l e m s a n d f o u l - u p s t h at t h e

t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d . To r e a c h t h e

ROLM t e l e p h o n e syst e m wo u ld

o l d , a n t i q u ated U N I VAC co m p u t e r

bri n g to Sto ny B roo k .

s y s t e m , you 'd d i a l ( 5 1 6 ) 246-9 0 0 0

f ro m off c a m p u s o r 6 - 9 0 0 0 f ro m o n

of

c a m pu s .

e x p ected w h e n e v e r s o m et h i n g

To start wi t h , a c e rt ai n a m o u nt
"cu ltu re

shock"

has

to

be

M o st o f t h e p h o n e s w e re rot a ry

new i s i nt roduced . T h i s i s w h y it i s

d i a l . C a l l e rs s i m p l y d i a l e d 9 to g et

e s s e nt i a l for s o m et h i ng l i ke a

o u t s i d e acce s s u n l e s s t h e i r l i n e s

p h o n e syst e m to be e a s y to g ra s p

w e re restrict e d t o o n -c a m p u s o n l y .

a s w e l l a s l o g i ca l . U nfo rt u n at e l y ,

I t w a s n ' t t h e b e st of syst e ms by

t h e R O L M s y st e m h a s b e e n n e i

f a r . It w a s s l ow a nd o ld f as h i o n e d .

t h e r , a t least n o t f o r most ave rag e

B u t i t d i d wo rk . A n d m o s t peo p l e

peop l e .

h ad litt l e t ro u b l e u nd e rst andi n g i t .

Th e fi rst s i g n o f t ro u b l e c a m e i n

E v e nt u a l l y t h o u g h , e v e ry o n e knew

t h e f o r m o f a m e m o f ro m t h e

t h a t t h e r e w o u l d h a v e to b e a

C o m m u n i c at i o n s D e p a rt m e n t a t

c h a ng e .

the

I n 1 9 8 6 , t h e u ni v e rsity bega n
i n st a l l i ng a brand new p h o n e sys-

Page 30

2600 Magazim!

Spring 1 988

u n i ve rs i ty .

m ac h i n e s ,

All

a n sw e ri n g

mod e m s ,

s p e a k e r

p h o n e s , a n d a n yt h i n g e l s e t h at

C reates a Nightmare
h o o k e d i nt o a t e l e p h o n e wo u l d n o t

t h at P h o n e m a i l p r o v i d e s a f a i r l y

w o rk o n t h e n e w s y st e m - - at l e a st

c o m p l e t e l i s t i n g o f m a i l bo x e x t e n

not w i t h o u t a n e x p e n s i v e d i g i t a l t o

s i o n s aft e r h e a ri n g a f e w s t a r s

a n a l o g co n v e r s i o n d e v i c e . So

f ro m a t o u c h t o n e p h o n e . P l u s t h e

e v e ry b o d y h a d t o c o n f o rm t o t h e

v e ry s i m p l e f a c t t h at i t j u s t i s n ' t

s a m e s y st e m .

tar lgible .

M o d e m u s e rs h a d t o o bt a i n a

To l e a v e a m e s sa g e f o r s o m e

s p e c i a l d e v i c e t h at h o o k e d t h e i r

o n e , t tl \;; c a l l e r h a d t o e i t h e r d i a l

co m p u t e r i n t o t h e " m o d e m po o l " .

t h e n u m b e r t h at w a s h o o k e d i n t o

A l l d a t a c a l l s h a d t o b e p l ac e d

P h o n e m a i l o ( a n u m b e r t h at f o r

t h ro u g h t h e m od e m p o o l a n d n o
l o n g e r f ro m i n d i v i d u a l i i n e s .

warded to Phone mai l . Or they

I nc o m i n g c a l l s w e re m o re c o mp l i

t h e five-digit exte nsion they want

cat e d . C a l l e r s c o u l d n o l o n g e r j u st
d i a l t h e p h o n e n u m b e r of t h e c o m

e d t o l e a v e a m e s s a g e f o r . To

p u t e r t h e y w a n t e d . T h e y wo u ld

s u b s c ri b e r w o u l d d i a l 6 3 2 - 6 6 0 0 ,

c o u l d d i a l 6 :1 2 - 6 6 0 1

and ctloose

ret ri e v e m e s s ag e s , t h e P h o n e m a i l

h av e to d i a l 6 3 2 - 8 0 0 0 to co n n e ct

enter h i s exte nsion ( o r name) , and

t o t h e mo d e m poo l a nd t h e n e nt e r

p a s swo rd . N o t q u i t e t h e s a m e a s

a n o t h e r f i ve - d i g i t n u m b e r befo re
b e i ng co n n ec t e d .

p u s h i ng a b u tt o n o n a n a n swe ri n g
mach i n e . The advantage of course

I n st e ad of u s i n g a n swe ri n g

i s t h a t m e s s ag e s c o u l d b e h e a rd

m ac h i n e s , e v e ryo n e w a s f o rc e d t o

f ro m a n y l o c at i o n . The d i s a d v a n
t ag e I S t h at t h e y c o u l d b e h e a rd b y

u s e t h e R O L M P h o ne m a i l Syst e m ,

a n y pe rso n

"It \' reached t h e p o in t \ 'here

I dread h e a r ing ihe phune
ring I 'd say at /east a third uF
t h e l im e s o m e t h ing g u e s
H 'fOng s o m e w h e re a/ollg lhe

you wou ld answer t h e pho ne by

lin'. ..

t i o n t ra d it i o n a l ,

vo i ce m e s s ag e s y st e m

fai rly

flexible,

re p l ace m e nt

but

for

not

that is
a

one's

t ru e
ow n

a n s w e ri n g m ac h i n e . M e s s a g e s d o

M o re P r o b l e m s

On mo st key p h o n e s ( o ff i c e
p h o n e s w i t h s e v e ra l l i n e b u t t o n s )
p i c k i ng u p t h e re c e i v e r a no p u n c h

i n g i n t h e ri n g i n g l i n e b u tt o n . T h a t

i s k nown a s a lo g i c a l , not to me n

way of do i n g

t h i ng s . W h y t h e R O L M p eo p l e
c h o s e t o a b a n d o n t h i s si m p l e w a y
o f a n s w e ri n g t h e p h o ne I S co m
pletely beyond u s

A s off ic e w o r k

e rs a n d p r of e s so rs t h r o u g h o u t t h e
c a m p u s h av e f o u n d o u t , p i c k i n g u p

g e t l o s t , m a i l bo x e s get f u l l m u c h

t h e p h o n e t h e " o l d " way w i l l i m m e

f a s t e r t h a n a n sw e r i n g m a c h i n e

di ate l y disco n n ect t h e c a l l e r .

t a p e s , th e system i s easy t o break

i n t o m a i n l y d u e to t h r e e - d i g i t

It IS true t h at t h e u ni versity

d e f a u l t p a s s w o rd s a n d t h e f a c t

Spring 1988

(continued o n next page)

2600 .Hagazine

Page 31

ROLM System Horrors

---- offe red t rai n i ng c l a s s e s o n how t o

U n d e r t h e n ew s y st e m , t h i s s e r

u s e t h e n e w p h o n e s w h e re t h i s

v i c e h a d to b e s w i t c h e d t o t h e

-; c h a n g e

::..

2
2

in

phone

logic

was

P h o n e m ai l s y st e m . B u t b e c a u s e

e m p h at i c a l l y po i n t e d o u t . A n d i t i s

R O L M h ad n ev e r i n s t a l l ed a n y

t r u e t h at t h e 8 8 - p a g e p h o n e m a n u

k i nd o f a l i m i t e r o n P h o n e rn ai l , t h e

a l m a d e n o t e o f t h e f act o n p a g e 4 .

e n t i re s y s t e m w o u l d g e t t i e d u p

B u t a g re at d e a l of people s t i l l

w h e n e v e r m o r e t h a n t e n c a l l e rs

t h o u g h t t h e y co u ld a n sw e r p h o n e s

d i a l e d i n . N o o n e co u l d g e t i nto

w i t h o ut r e a d i ng m a n u a l s o r g o i n g

t h e i r vo i c e m a i l b o x e s or l e a v e

t o c l a s s e s . T h e r e a l i t y of t h e mat-

m e s s ag e s . S o t h e s c h o o l c l o s i n g

ter w a s t h at t h o u s a n d s of pote nti a l

hotl i n e , a n u nd e n i ably va l u a b l e

-:: p h o n e - a n s w e r e r s w o u l d h a v e t o

s e rv i c e , was s h ut down b y t h e u n i

be t ra i n e d a n d retrai n e d . A n d e v e n

v e rs i t y .
Eve n t h e

t h e n , m i st a k e s wo u ld b e co m mo n .

u niversity's

mai n

" I t ' s re a c h e d t h e p o i n t w h e re I

switch b o a rd w a s affected by t h i s .

d re a d h e a r i n g t :l e p h o n e ri ng , " a n

T h e y cou ld n o l o n g e r p u t a record

a d m i n i st ra t i v e o f f i c e w o rk e r s a y s .

i ng o n when the switc h b o a rd w a s

" I 'd s a y at l e ast a t h i rd of t h e t i m e

c l o s e d becau s e t h e s a m e p ro b l e m

s o m et h i n g g o e s w ro n g s o m e
w h e re a l o n g t h e l i n e . A n d a lot of

of o v e rcrowd i n g wo u l d o c c u r . A t
p r e s st i m e , a ft e r - h o u rs c a l l e r s t o

t h e c a l l e r s g e t a n g r y . Who c a n

either the old 246-5000 mai n

b l a me t h e m ? "

s w i t c h b o a rd n u m b e r o r t h e n e w

N e w t e l e p h o n e n u m b e rs w e re

68 9 - 6 0 0 0 m a i n swi tc h bo a rd n u m

assig ned o n t h e ROLM syste m

ber g e t a nonse n si c a l P h o n e m a i l

w i t h l i t t l e o r n o i n p u t f ro m t h e

reco rd i ng t h at e v e n g i v e s away a

p , o n e u s e r s . I n st e ad of a s s i g n i ng

" s e c re t" i nt e r n a l e x t e n s i o n n u mbe r

e a s y - to - re m e m b e r n u m b e r s f o r

of t h e m a i n s w i t c h b o a rd , as w e l l

co m mo n ly d i a l e d o f f i c e s a n d s e r

as

v i c e s , it was , wit h few e x c e pt i o n s ,

P h o n e mai l acco u nt l Tec h no logy

d o n e s e q u e n t i a l l y - - e i t h e r a l p h abet

m a rc h e s o n

the

hidden

10

of

their

ically o r by locati o n . F o r i n st a nc e ,

A n o t h e r c h a ng e e v e ryo n e w a s

c a m p u s i n f o r m a t i o n u s e d to b e

f o r c e d t o l i v e w i t h was t h e d e n i a l

re ac h a b l e at 2 4 6 - 3 63 6 . N o w ,
e v e ryo n e m u s t r e m e m b e r 6 3 2 -

o f a c c e s s t o o u t s i d e o p e ra t o r s .
Becau s e t h e new syste m u s e s t i e

683 0 .
U n d e r t h e o ld s y st e m , t h e c a m

l i n e s t o m a k e o u t s i d e c a l l s , o p e ra
t o rs h a ve no w a y of v e ri f y i ng t h e

p u s rad i o stat i o n w a s a b l e to pro

act u a l t e l e p h o n e n u m b e r t h e c a l l e r

v i d e a s c h o o l c l o s i n g hot l i n e .

i s d i a l i n g f ro m . A c c e s s t o N e w

C a l l e r s wo u l d d i a l a n u m b e r a n d

Yo rk T e l e p h o n e a n d AT&T o p e ra

h e a r a l i st i n g o f sc h o o l s t h at were

tors was t h e re f o re cut off .

closed beca u s e of adverse weat h

T h i s m e a n t no t h i rd p a rt y , co l

e r . O n l y o n e ca l l e r a t a t i m e co u ld
acc e s s t h i s i nf o rmatio n .

l e c t , o r ot h e rwi s e o p e ra t o r- a s s i s t
ed c a l l s w e re po s s i b l e . It a l s o

(colll illued Oil page 34)

Page 32

2600 Magazine

Spring 1 988

NEW DIALING INSTRUCTIONS

HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER

ANO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

On A u g u s t 1 5t h t h e f i r s t p h a s e a t t h e R O L M T e l e p h on e S y s t e m

I n , ' a l l a l lon w i l l c u t over T h i s w i l l I n c l u d e t h e r e p l a c e m e n t of a t l

C e nl r e x ( " 2 4 6 "

a x c h a n g @ ) t e l e p h o n e s on M a i n C a m p u s .
8 1: C l udtng studenl dormitory telephones T h i s first c u t o v e r w i l l also

I n c l ud e r ep l ac i n g a pp r o l u m a l e l y 50 C e n t r e x

11n8S eXisting In the

H e a l t h SCiences Cenler As a res ult al l h l s Inilial installation, t h e

T h e lew re m a i n i n g C e nt r e x phon es on the " 24 6 " ex c h an ge I n

t h e H S C W i l l be r e p l ac ed W i t h R O l M t e l eph o n e s a n d t h e e x c h a n g e
w r i l be c h a n ged to " 44 4 ' ( A l l e x c h a n g e s in the H S C a n d H o s p it a l
", I I I be " 444 " ) R O L M s y s t e m u s e r s s h o u l d f o l lO w t h e d l a h n g
i n s t r u c t l n n s a bov e
SL-' S Y S T E M USERS

U n rvers ity w i l l be s e rv ed by t h r e e s e p a r a l e t e l e p h o n e s y s t e m s .

On C l m p u . Ol allng
To c a l l a

The IlI'W exchange 'Of M a i n Campus will be " 6 3 2 " T he e x c ha nge

101' the Health Sc i e n c e s C e n t e r a nd U n iv e rsity Hospnal Will remain
. u"''' T h e R e S i d e n c e Halls W i l l r e m a i n on t he " 2 4 6 " ( C e n t r e x )
I . chanoe unt il A u g u s t , 1 988
Ple.,e read the d i a l i n g i n s t r u c t ions o u t l i n e d below w h i c h pe rt a i n
10 your tel.phone system
T Mam C a m p us SWllchboard N u m ber will be 689-6000 T o c a l l
Ind u a l e ll t e n sions ( O r r ec t I n w ard D i a l , o r " D I D " E x t e n s i o n s )
"om oft CoI m p u s , d i a l " 6 3 2 - XXXX " ( X - t h e ap p r o p rl a l e e xt e n S i o n
-)
The U n rv e f S I t H o s p i t a l M a m S WI t c h boa r d N u m b e r W i l l r e m a i n
MI}- 8333 T o c a l l I n d i V I d u a l 8 )( l e l"l 0; lo n s ( D i r e c t I n w a r d D i a l
E r""I()I'\S) In t he H e a l t h S C i e n c e s C e n l e r a n d U n r ve rs l t y Hospital
tram on C l m p u s , dial " 4 44 - X X X X "

612"

D,al "9-632

e x c h a n g e on M a i n C a m p u s '
+

(T h e s e C a l l s W i l l

XXXX"
be r o u t e d o v e r ! I e h n e s )

0 , 8 1 " 4 + XXXX"
(444- X XX X ) '
O'al " XX X X "
T o c a l l a " 2 4 6 " e x c h a n g e ' C ' . I "9-246 + XXX X "

To c a l l a A O L M t e l e p hone I n t h e H S C

T o c a l l a n S l ' s y s t e ll , e x l e n S l o n

E .... rg.nel..

- P u b l i c S a l e ty

( H SC)-Dial "2502"

PubliC S a lety ( M a I O C a m p u s)
0 ' 0 1 " 9 -632-3333"

Campu. Oper.1ora HOlpI1.1- D i a l

Main C a m p u s - D i a l " 9 -632-0"

"0"

STUOENT DORMITORY CENTREX USERS

T h e C e n t r 8 x " 24 6 " e x c h a n g e W i l l r e m a i n I n l a c t u n t i l A u g u S I

T h e r e W i l l be t l e l l n e s a v a i l a b l e

1 988

lor t h o s e u s e r s W i t h o u t U n l i m i ted

Local S e rv i c e T h e a c c e s s c od e tor t h e s e l I e h n e s W i l l

be " 1 22 ' ,

On Clmpu. OI.lIng-

IIOlIl T E LE PH O N E S Y S T E M U S E R S

To c a l l a n ot h e r " 2 4 6 "

On c.mpul Olillng- T h e " 2 4 6 " e x c h a ng e h a s b e e n c h a ng e d

.. "632"
To Colli a n y "632" e x c h a nge o n M a i n C a m p u s
D i l l " 2 + XXXX"
To c a ll a n y " 444 " e x c h a n g e ( H S C O f H os p i t a l )
Oral "4 + XXXX"
TO call r e m a i m n g " 2 4 6 " e x c h a n g e ( S t u d e n t R e S i d e n c e
HIli.)
Dial "9-246 + XXXX" (T h e se calls Will be routed over

To c a l t a " 6 3 2 " e x c h a n g e o n M a I n C a m p u s '

D i a l " 6 ...

Off Cimpul D i l i t n o
Or,1 " 9 " + I I S l ed T e l e p h o n e
rf r eq u i t ed )

n u m be r ( I n c l u d r n g a r e a c od e

be pl ac ed W i t h o u t t h e
assIs t a n c e 01 t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l O p e r a t o r b y d U l l i n g ( h e
CIII d i r e c t l y t r o m 8 ROLM telephone
Dial " 9 + 0 1 1 " + C o u n t ry C o d e + C i t y C od e
(See I n t erna t ion al C od e l i s t i n g s a t e n d 01 d i r e c t o ry)

fntema110nll Calli - I n t e r n a t io n a l c a l l s c a n

E mergencl -

P u b l i C S a f e t Y - D i a l " 33 3 "

F i r e S a fe t Y - D i a l " 3 3 3 '
Ambulance-DIal " 2

888S '

e x c h a n g e ( S t u d e n t Dormitories)

0 1 0 1 " ' 22 - 2 + X X X X "

( I f y o u h a v e U n l i m i t e d L oc a l S e rv i c e '
D,al " 9-632

To c all
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I " 44 4 " e x c h a n g e I n t h e H S C or Hosptlal

" 1 2 2 -4 + X X X X "

( I f y o u h a v e U n l i m i ted L oc a l Serv i c e :
D i a l " 9-444 + X X X X " )
E m .r g e nc l -

'tehnes)

Some Rofm telephones h a v e t l v e .d l g l t " N o n - D I D " e x t e n s I on s ,

such a s " S X X X X " or " 2 -0X X X " T h e s e e x t e n S i o n s c a n be dialed
ctt , K'tty from on< a m p u s l oc a t i o n s o n l y

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A m b u l a nce-

D i a l " 1 22 - 2 ..s8 B8 "

TELEPHONE REPAIRS FOR ROLM SYSTEM USERS

Be tw @6 n t h e hours 01 B 00 a m and 5 00 p m , a l l mechanical
d llflcuttles WITh your t e llp h o n e should be reported to the C a m p u s

Repa" DJ-alor by doalong "!H)503 ' (cannot be dialed directly from

P le a s e do not c a ll tephone reparr lor Installation.
Of r e4oca l lOn of you r t ef e p hon e SeMce of this kll'ld m u s t
be ordered In wntlng through t h e Office of Com m u l"llcat lOns
M a n age m e n t E ngt n een ng , Suffolk Hall, Room 1 46 . ( 2 -6 1 30) New
Toleprono Woo'< Rlm10 wiI be _ In !he .- future

off-campus)
changes,

T E L E P H O N E R E P A I R FOR S T U O E N T S

T h e p r oced u r e t o r report i n g telephone repairs f o r R es i d e n c e H a l l s

( C e n t r e x ) t e l e p h o n e s W i l l r e m a r n I h e s a m e T o r e po rt t r o u b l e o n
t h e t e l e p ho n e h n e , con t a c t t h e N e w 'Y ork T e l e p h o n e R e p a l f
B u r e a u by d l a h n g 9-6 '

t e le p h o n e

I , St u d e nt s who p u r c h a s e t h e l , o w n

are r e s po n S i b l e f o r its r e p a u or reptac e m e n t I t t h e

t e l e p h o n e i s l e a s ed t r o m A n l S , II m a y be
o f f at t h e

C .m p u l Ope r. t or a

Main Campus-Dial " 0 '

n B a rest A T & T P h o n e C e n t e r f o r r e p a i r

Hospita l - D i a l " 4 - 0 "

dropped

DIA L ING INS TRUC TIONS . iii

THESE

I N C R E DI B L E

I N ST R l : CT I O N S

APPEARED

IN

THE

STATE

l : N I V E R S IT Y O F N E W Y O R K A T S T O N Y B R O O K ' S T E L E P H O N E
D I R ECTO R Y

AS

THE

N EW

ROLM

PHON E

SYSTEM

WAS

BEING

I N S T A L L E D , W E C H A L L E N G E A N Y O F m : R R E A D E R S TO S H O W l : S A N
E A S I E R W A Y TO S l l M M O N A N A M B l ' L A N C E T H A N D I A LI N G 1 22- 2-8888 _

Spring / 988

2600 '\lagazine

Page 33

The ROLM College Campus

(COni inued lrom fla?,e 32)
m e a nt t h at n o n - d i re c t - d i a l a b l e

p l a c e a c a l l t h ro u g h a c a rri e r o f

o v e r s e a s c a l l s w e re i m p o s s i b l e .

c h o i c e u n l e s s t h e 9 5 0 e x c h a ng e i s

Te c h n i ca l ly , t h e c a m p u s o p e rato r

u s e d , i n w h i c h c a s e t h e c a l l can't

c a n h o o k c a l l e rs up to a re a l o p e r

b e bi l l e d to the o ri g i n at i ng n u m b e r .

a t o r , b u t i s r e l u c t a n t to d o t h i s

A n d t h e 9 5 0 e x c h a n g e i s u n re a c h

most of t h e t i m e . B e s i d e s , c a m p u s

a b l e e x c e pt o n l i n e s w i t h l o n g d i s

ope rato rs a re go n e at 4 : 3 0 p m a n d

t a n c e acce s s . Th i s i s stu p i d , si nce

a l l o f t h e w e e k e n d . S i n c e St o n y

9 5 0 is t o l l -free a n d a l lows c a l l e rs

B ro o k c o n s i s t s o f a v e r y l a rg e

to

n u m b e r o f f o re i g n s t u d e n t s w h o

acco u nt s . To l l -f re e 8 0 0 n u m b e rs ,

c h a rg e

calls

to

their

ow n

n e ed t o c a l l st ra n g e c o u nt ri e s at

o n th e ot h e r h a nd , are acc e s s i b l e

wei rd h o u rs , w e c a n o n ly h o p e t h at

o n a l l o u t s i d e l i n e s . It s e e m s o bv i

w h e n t h e do r m i t o ri e s a re h oo k e d

o u s t h at t h e p ro g ra m m e rs d o n ' t

i n l ate r t h i s y e a r , o p e rato rs wi l l b e

u n d e r s t a n d t h e c o n c e pt o f 9 5 0

accessi b l e .

If s o m e t h i n g i s n ' t

c h a nged by t h e n , a n i ncredi b l e

n u m b e rs . A s a r e s u lt , t h e e n d
u s e rs a re i n co nve n i e nced .

h a rd s h i p w i l l f a c e s u c h s t u d e n t s .

S o m e local e x c h a n g e s a re a l s o

T h e o n ly possible way to make

u n re a c h a b l e b e c a u s e t h e p e o p l e

s u c h c a l l s w i l l b e b y d ro p p i n g
m o n e y i n a paypho n e ( c a l l s c a n not

w h o prog r a m t h e sw i t c h h av e n ' t
gott e n arou nd to e n t e r i n g t h e m ,

be c h a rg e d t o t h e 632 e xc h a ng e )

d e s p i t e n u m e ro u s re m i n d e rs a n d

o r b y f i n d i n g a n ot h e r n u m b e r to
c h a r g e t h e c a l l t o f ro m a p a y

re q u e st s from u s e r s . The 4 7 4 ,
476 , a n d 696 e x c h a n g e s h a v e a l l

pho n e .

b e e n a ro u n d f o r m a n y m o n t h s

B u t o p e r at o r s a r e o n l y o n e o f

now . Without a l o n g d i stance l i n e ,

t h e b a s i c s e rv i c e s t h at h ave be e n

you c a n not acce s s t h e s e local

d e n i ed to u s e r s of Sto n y B ro o k ' s

exchanges.

R O L M s y st e m . T h e 9 7 6 d i a l - i t

N i g htmares

e x c h a n g e i s u n r e ac h a b l e f ro m any

B u t f a r a n d away t h e wo rst

p h o n e . T h i s is b e co m i ng co m m o n

as pect of t h e R O L M C B X a t Stony

i n i n stitut i o n s , but t h e f a ct re m a i n s

B ro o k is the o u t ag e s . Despite t h e

t h at t h e re a r e m a n y l e g i t i m a t e

fact t h at t h ey' re n o t s u p p o s e d t o

u s e s f o r d i a l- i t s e rv i c e s . A s i m p l e

h a p p e n , t h e y do . Q u i t e f re q u e n t l y .

t a s k l i k e s e tt i n g a c l o c k i s n o w

S o m et i m e s o n l y f o r a c o u p l e of

v e ry t i me co n s u mi ng a n d f ru st rat

s e c o nd s , so m e t i m e s f o r a co u p l e

i n g . And w h e n t h e d o rmito ri e s are

o f h o u rs .

cut o v e r , wi l l a l l st u d e nts be p ro

U nd e r the o l d C e nt re x , you

h i b i t e d f ro m d i a l i n g S p o rt s p h o n e

co u ld a lways g et a d i a l t o n e . Eve n

o r t h e i r h o ro s c o p e s from t h e i r own

if t h e pow e r w e nt o u t , t h e p h o n e
l i n e s we re t h e r e . N ow , w h e neve r

pho nes?
E q u a l a cc e s s ri g h t s h ave b e e n

s o m et h i ng goes w ro ng , e v e ryt h i n g

a l l b u t d e n i e d t o t h e p h o n e u s e rs .
T h e s y st e m w i l l n o t a l l o w yo u to

i s f ro z e n . No i n co m i n g c a l l s . N o

Page 34

2600 Magazine

o u tgo i n g ca l l s . N o o n -c a m p u s

Spring 1 988

Inco mprehens ihle B u reaucratic Mess

c a l l s . N o d at a co m m u n i c at i o n s

s y st e m b y d i scou ra g i n g u s e r p ro

( re m e m b e r , e v e ryt h i n g h a s t o g o

g r a m m i ng .

t h ro u g h t h e m o d e m p o o l ) . N o

T h e most u s e f u l f e at u re o n t h e

i n t e rco m s ( t h e p h o n e s y s t e m now

s y s t e m i s t h e R e p e rt o ry D i a l i n g

i nco rpo r a t e s

butto n . I t ' s l i k e a s pe e d d i a l butto n

these,

too) .

No

a n sw e ri n g m ac h i n e s (t h a n k s t o

e x c e pt i t c a n be p ro g ra m m e d t o

P h o n e m a i l ) . C o m p l e t e a n d tot a l

i n c o r p o r a t e a l l k i nd s of o t h e r f e a

i nt e g rat i o n . C o m p l e t e a n d tot a l
paralysi s .

t u re s . I n o t h e r w o rd s , o n e " re p d i a l "
butto n c a n d u p l i c a t e a n y ot h e r f e a

R e c e n t l y , U n i v e rs i t y H o s p i t a l
h a d a s e ri o u s o u tag e . N o bo d y w a s

t u r e b u t t o n o r c o m b i n e s e v e ra l
f e at u re s , o r do s o m et h i ng e n ti re l y

a b l e to d i a l a n yt h i n g . Eve nt u a l l y , if

d i f f e r e n t . A f ew of t h e s e butto n s

not a l re a d y , t h i s s y s t e m w i l l c l a i m

wo u l d a l low f o r g re at f l e x i bi l i t y f o r

some live s .

u s e rs

O cc a s i o n a l l y , i n t h e wo rds o f a

B u t g e t t i n g m o re t h a n o n e

o f t h e m i s co m p l e t e l y i m po s s i b l e .

R O L M switc h roo m e m p lo y e e , p r e

A pot e n t i a l l y po s i t i ve a p p l i c at i o n i s

v e n t at i v e m a i n t e n a nc e re q u i r e s

t h e re f o re t u r n e d i nto yet mo re f r u s

t h e p h o n e s y st e m t o co m e dow n .

t rat i o n .

A n d t h at i s w h e re t h e e n g i n e e ri n g
a n d h u m a n p e rs p e c t i v e s o f t e l e

C a l l p i c k i n g i s a n o t h e r f e at u r e
t h at co u l d b e u s e f u l fo r s o m e I f a

p h o n e s co m e i nt o co nf l i ct . P h o n e

p h o n e i s ri ng i n g a n d you ca n't get

s y st e m s c a n not b e t r e at e d a s i f

t o i t , y o u s i m p l y h i t t h e "pick" but

t h e y w e r e l a rg e , m u l t i - u s e r co m

ton and e n t e r t h e e xt e n s i o n t h at ' s

p u t e r s y st e m s t h a t o cc a s i o n a l l y

ri ng i n g

c ra s h . P h o n e s a re d l f f e r e n t - - t h e y

appe a r o n your l i n e

a re v i t a l a nd p e r s o n a l .

p ro b l e m w i t h t h i s i s t h a t t h e re ' s n o

It w i l l t h e n m a g i c a l l y
The only

s t o p p i n g i t l As l o n g a s s o m e o n e

U se l e s s n e s s

To t h i s d a y , t h e v ast m a j o r i t y o f
p h o n e u s e r s d o n o t u s e m o s t of

k n o w s t h e n u m b e r o f a ri n g i n g

t h e f e at u re s of the p h o n e s y st e m ,
e i t h e r b e c a u s e t h e y h av e n o i d e a

l i n e . C a l l p i c k i ng ca n a l so b e u s e d
t o s n a t c h c a l l s t h a t a re o n h o l d ,

of how to u s e them o r becau s e

a l t h o u g h t h a t " f e at u re " i s n ' t d o c u

e x t e n s i o n , t h e y c a n d i v e rt i t to t h e i r

t h e y h a v e n o d e s i re to . A s a re s u l t ,

m e nt e d . T h i s k i n d of a f e atu re

most o f t h e p h o n e s h a v e a t l e a st

works f i n e i n o f f i c e s w h e re e v e r y

f o u r co m p l e te l y u se l e s s b u tt o n s o n

one

t h e m . I f t h e u s e r w a n t s a d i ff e re nt

towards t h e same goal . But o n a

co nf i g u rat i o n of butto n s i nco rpo ra t

co l l e g e c a m p u s of more t h a n
2 0 , 0 0 0 peo p l e , t h i s " k i d n a p " a b i lity

i n g t h o s e f e a t u re s , t h at t h e y

can

u s e , t h e y ' re t o ld t h at i t ' s " n ot po s s i

b l e " . T h a t ' s n o t w h at R O L M o r t h e

u ni v e rs i t y s a i d b e f o r e t h e s y s t e m
was i n st a l l e d . R O L M i t s e lf h a s
i n h i bi t e d t h e pot e nti a l o f i t s own

is

presu mably

wo rk i n g

i s I I I - co n s i d e re d a n d d a n g e ro u s

A l t h o u g h i t h a s l o t s of u n u s e d
po t e n t i a l , t h e fl O L M C B X I I 9 0 0 0

i s , b y a n d l a rg e , p o o r l y d e s i g n e d

f o r offi c e s

A s i mp l e featu re l i k e
! , ( }I I I I I I I I . . d " l I l I i ' I I / ' ilge )

....pring 1 9XX

260() .1 1uguzine

Puge 35

ROLM System Horrors

d i s t i n c t i v e ri n g i n g i s c o m m o n i n

n a ri o s . I t i s v i t a l n o t t o b e d e p e n
dent on a n y f o rm of t e c h n o l o g y

R ad i o S h ac k . B u t n o t h e r e . Y o u

c ri p p l ed . Th i s i s a v e ry b a s i c ru l e

can c h a n g e t h e way t h e ri n g
::- s o u n d s , b u t a i l l i n e s w i l l s o u n d

t h at is b e i n g fo l l o w e d less and

'"-

e x act l y t h e s a m e o n t h e s a m e

h o u rs of wo rk i nto t h i n a i r b e c a u s e

.::::- m u lt i - l i n e p h o n e . Y o u c a n 't e v e n

of a compute r glitch ? S o m e t h i ng

ff t o d a y ' s p h o n e s y s t e m s ; y o u ' l l e v e n
f i n n i t i n c h e ap two - l i n e p h o n e s at

beca u s e w h e n i t f a i l s , y o u wi l l b e

l e s s . H o w m a n y o f u s h a v e l o st

t u rn o n e l i n e off a n d l e ave a n ot h e r

as c r u d e as a pri n t e d co p y of o u r

o n ! T h e o n l y w a y t o h av e acc e s s

work cou l d h av e s a v e d us so
m u c h t ro u b l e . C ru d e b a c k u p s
m u st a l s o e x i st o n o u r new p h o n e
s y st e m s s o t h at w h e n t h e y d o

NOTE
O n c e Y O ll h a v e l i f t e d t h e

u n p r e d i ctab l e t h i n g s , w e ' l l be a b l e
t o g e t acc e s s to t h e b a s i c s , l i k e a n
receiver

t o o u t s i d e d i a l to n e .

a n swe r a c a l l , do n o t press the l i n e but

t o n D O i n g so W i l l d i s c o n n e c t t h e c a l l
-______________

W h at ' s p a rt i c u l a r l y u n f o rt u n a t e
i n t h e St o n y B ro o kJ R O L M s c e n a r i o
i s t h e p a i r i n g of a h u g e co rpo rati o n
w i t h a huge b u r e a u c racy . A s i m p l e

t o a l l of t h e l i n e s i n you r office a n d
h av e d i st i nctive ri n g i n g f o r e a c h i s
to h av e a d i ff e r e n t i n s t ru m e nt fo r
e ac h li n e . Tru ly b ri l l i a n t .
Fo r t h o s e t h at h ave r e a l i z e d
t h at R O L M d o e s n't p rovide a l l t h e
a n swe rs a n d ca u s e s a good d e a l
o f t h e p ro b l e m s , t h e u n i v e r s i t y
ad m i n i st r at i o n b u re a u c ratica l l y for
b i d s u s e rs f ro m i n st a l l i ng t h e i r own
s y st e ms o r even i n d i v i d u a l p h o n e
l i n e s . T h i s c r e at e s a n i n c o n v e
n i e nc e - - a n d a d a n g e r .
A s w e s a i d e a r l i e r , w h at's h ap
p e n e d a t S t o n y B ro o k is h a ppe n
i n g i n o t h e r p l a ce s . I t repre s e n t s
s o m et h i ng sca ry a b o u t o u r e m e rg
i n g t e c h n o logy. W h i l e g reat t h i ng s
are po s s i b l e , so are b i g probl e m s .
A n d not h i n g w i l l l e ad t o d i s a s t e r
q u i ck e r t h a n a n u n w i l l i n g n e ss t o
prepare fo r t h o s e worst-case sce-

Page 36

2600 Magazine

h u m a n b e i ng i s no m a t c h f o r t h i s
u g ly combi nati o n .

He

is t h u s

pu s h ed a ro u nd a n d fo rc e d to a lt e r
h i s w a y of d o i n g t h i n g s b e c a u s e
t h at is t h e way it h as b e e n
d e c r e e d . I n re a l i t y , h e s h o u l d b e
t h e o n e ru n n i ng t h e s h o w .
C l e a rl y , m o r e u s e r p a rt i c i p a t i o n
i s e s s e n t i a l , bo t h i n t h e c h o o s i n g
of a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l p h o n e s y s t e m
a nd i n i t s o p e rat i o n s . T h e s e s y s
t e ms m u st b e d e s i g n e d based o n
co m m e nt s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s f ro m
t h e o rd i n a ry u s e rs , not j u st t h o s e
who

u nd e rsta nd

all

the

c o m p ut e r/p h o n e j a rg o n . T h e c o r
po rat i o n s a n d t h e i n st i t u t i o n s h ave
g o t t o st a rt l i st e n i n g and act i n g
swift l y to c o r rect m i s t a k e s a n d
i n adequate faci l it i e s .
Ot h e rwi s e , a n i n c re a s i ng n u m
b e r o f u s w i l l beco m e d i s c o n n e ct
ed a ltoget h e r .

Spring 1 988

HAPPENINGS
T h e b i g s t o ry i n t he p h o ne i n d u s t ry

b i l l i ng .
C u s t o m e r s i n t ha t reg i o n w i l l a lso be

l a t e l y seems to be t he most rece n t

a b le to b l oc k e it he r excha nge.

c o n u m e r c raze : ca l l b l oc k i ng . T h is is

Be l l A t la n t ic i s crea t i ng a separate

basica l ly a s e r v i ce t ha t shuts o ff access

t o ce rta i n d ia l - i t n u m be rs , l a rge l y a

e x c h a nge fo r c o n ference serv ices a nd

res p o nse to t he p o rnogra p h ic serv ices

a d u l t message s . B u t t he y 've dec ided t o

being o ffe red on many o f t h ose

b l o d a l l ca l l s t o t ha t excha nge u n less

n u m be r s .

t he c u s t o m e r req uests otherw ise. T h i s

I n I d a h o , t he p l a n has b e e n a p p roved

" u n b lOCk i n g " s e rv i ce w i l l be free. I t w i l l

fo r c u s t o mers c o n nected t o e x c h a nges

b e i n t e rest l llg t o see h o w ma n y people

eq u i p ped w it h d ig i t a l s w i t c h e s . T hey w i l l

w i l l " regis t e r " t h e i r pornogra p h ic ca l l s

b e a b l e t o b l o c k ca l ls t o t he

w i t h t h e p h o ne co m p a n y .

a nd

499

976, 430,

e x c h a nges , as we l l as ca l l s t o t he

900 nat i o n w id e n u m be r s . F o r t h e fi rst 90

d a y s , t he re w o n 't be a c h a rge .

I n N e w Y o r k , the p la n is to t a k e e ffect

A T & T i s e l i m i na t i n g fi n a n c i a l
i ncent ives t o vend o rs w h o lease i t s d ia l -it
serv ice l i nes i n t he 900 a rea cod e . This is
seen a s a n attempt t o e l i m i nate t he

in A p ri l . C u s t o mers w i l l be a b le to b l o c k

po rnogra p h i c serv i ces t ha t a re fo u n d

access t o t he

t he r e .

5 50

and or

970

excha nges

w i t h o u t p a y i n g a fee fo r t he first 90

t h ro ug h o u t a l l o f t h is , everyone

days . A ft e r t h a t , t he y 'l l have to pay

seems agreed u p o n o ne p o i n t . P h o ne

between

c o m p a n ies ca n n o t refuse to t ra n s m i t

$5

a nd

$ 10 .

The

5 50

excha nge

c u rre n t l y h a n d les grou p-ca l l i ng serv ices.

m essages rega rd less o f t he i r c o n t e n t . the

a lso k no w n as a n o nymous c o n ference

co nst i t u t i o na l gua ra ntee o f free speech

l i ne s . T h e

d oes not a l l o w fo r t h i s . W he n w i l l we

970

excha nge w i l l be a lt e red

to h o u se p r i m a r i l y a d u l t -o rie nted

sta rt t o a p p l y t h is t o c o m p u t e r s ,

messages. The

spec i fica l l y co m p u t e r b u l let i n boa rds?

976

excha nge w o u ld not

***

be b l oc k ed but w o u ld n o t co n ta i n
p o rn ogra p h ic m a t e r i a L a s i t d oe s n o w .
,", ew Y o r k t e l e p h o n e is a l s o p la n n i ng
t o e x pa nd ih d ia l- i t net v. o r k
t re m e nd o u s l y . l .a s t yea r , t he) o pe rated

59

message l i ne s . they 're n o v. p l a n n i n g

o n e x pa n d i n g t ha t t o o v e r 3 00 .

R e ce n t l y , t he S u p reme C o u rt ru led

t ha t st ude(t n e w s p a p e rs co u ld be
c e n s o red h y ,dl llO I a d m i n is t ra t o rs
w i t h o u t i n t e rl e n ng w i t h a n y o ne 's

free d o m of s peec h . W e 're d a m ned if we

ca n lig u n: o u t h o v. t h i s is poss i b le . W e

M ea nw h i le . t he H o u se o f

R e p rese n t a t ives h a s v o t ed aga i n t a n

a l s o t h i n k c o m p u t e r hac k e rs a n d

t ec h n i ca l l y l i t e rate p e o p l e ca n l e nd a

o u t r i g h t ba n o n s o-ca l led "d ia l-a- p o rn "

\ a l u a b l e h a n d in c ha l l e n g i n g t h i s

t e l e p h o n e message s . B y a v o t e o f 2 00 t o

d a ngero u s p recede n t .

bet t e r fo r s u c h ca l l s to be b l o c k ed

c o m p u ters a nd p r i n t e rs t h ese days') ,", o t

1 79 ,

t he H o use decided i t w o u ld be

H ow m a n y o f u s h a v e access t o

t ech n i ca l l y ra t h e r t ha n ba n ned

e n o u g h . h u t u n d o u bted ly a g ro w i n g

a l t oget h e r . S uc h a ba n n i ng c o u ld be

n u m be r . h e r) k id go i n g t o sc h o o l t o day

i n t e r p reted as a v i o l a t i o n of freed o m o f

th at h a s a c o m p u t e r a nd a p r i n t e r i n h is

speec h .

h o me o r e \ e n i n h is s c h o o l i s a p o t e n t i a l

U . S . W e s t h a s esta b l is hed a sepa ra t e

960 e x cha nge fo r a d u l t mes sages ra t h e r

news p a p e r ed i t o r . E v e n somet h i n g a s
c ru d e a s a o n e page d ot ma t r i x p r i n t o u t

t h a n h a v e t he m o n t he 9 7 6 e x c h a nge .

ca n

they a i so v. o n 't p ro v i d e b i l l i n g a n d

0 1 t h i s . i t 's s u d d e n l \ i n cr ed i b l y easy t o

c o l lect i o n fo r t he

960

s e rv i c e . a l t h o ugh

t hey ' l l s u p p l y \ e nd o rs with t he

i n fo rm a t i o n nece s s a ry t o d o t he i r

own

be co n s i d ered a news lette r . Beca use

p u t (l u t a n e v. s l e t t e r a nd d i s t r i b u t e it i n

;,c h o o ! . A n d w h a t c a n b e d o ne a bo u t i e )

V e ry l i t t le . s h o rt 0 1 ma rt i a l l a w .

Spring 1 988

(co/ l I l11ul'd

Oil

2600 .Uagazine

IIl'xl page)
Page 3 7

HAPPENINGS

(continue d/rom pre\'ious page)

I n this way, we can use technology to

express ourselves openly and keep from

matter of t ime before a valuable lesson

being manipulated and s ilenced . If you

comes your way .

think you 're capable of publishing such

6,900 AT&T customers in N ew Jersey

a newsletter, do it. E ncourage others to

j oin you or compete with you. Offer to
use your computer to help give a vo ice

are being sent 1 0 extra cop ies of the

AT&T cred it ca rds t hey ordered . Last

to others t hat may not have computer

mont h , a ru naway computer at AT&T's

access. You don't need school money

cred it card center in P iscataway sent

anymore. You don't need school

out, in separate envelopes, the extra

permission. All you need is imagination

cards.

and a willingness to grab your rights.

This is apparently what happened :

There are p lenty of other people who

Some customers complained t hat t hey

want them.

had ordered cards a nd not received

them . To find out if there were more

Drug dealers t hat use beepers have

such people, AT&T technicians searched

been having some emba rassing

the card division's computer files and

moments. A N ew J e rsey dealer had been

came up with a list of about 7 ,000 names

arrested on cocaine charges when his

beeper went off, displaying t he number

and add resses . The l ist was " ru n " on an

AT&T computer one day in late

of the person ca l ling. Police called the

December to produce elect ronic orders

number and talked to a gentleman who

for the cards. The list should then have

wished to purchase d rugs . A nd guess

been taken out of the computer. I nstead ,

what those clever cops d id?

llle beeper is currently sitting on the
Camden County Prosecutor's des k . I t 's
still gett ing calls and the police are still
ret urning them . "We l ive in a h igh-tech

it was left in and cont inued to ru n for 1 0

more days, generat ing orders for about

1 0,000 unneeded cards a day.

People who ordered cards got their

order, t imes I I . So people who asked for

society , " a police officer mused .

one got eleven, those who asked for two

"Criminals a re j ust as aware of t hat as

got 22, etc. A ltogether, nearly 1 00,000

we are. These guys are sophisticated .

unwanted ca rds are crawling through the

They work very hard at their trade,

postal service, each in their own

i llegal as it may be . "

envelope .

We've a l l heard something about

O u r heartiest congratu lations t o The

computer viruses by now, most of it

Wall Street Journal, for adopting t he

undoubted ly inaccurate. Israel,

2600 approach to telephones. A recent

Pakistan, the U nited States-they're in

existence in all k inds of places. And they
can screw things up p retty good . We're
working on getting an in-depth article
on viruses, complete with examples,
together for a fut u re issue. In the

art icle about hotel phones noted t hat

most hotels use t i mers to charge for

calls. The t imers, accord ing to the paper,

don't click on until about 45 seconds

after t he caller picks up t he phone. " I f

y o u ca l l home and say ' I 'm here,' and

meantime, there is no reason to panic.

hang up immed iately, you probably

The only people who will have their lives

won't be charged , " the Journal quotes a

ruined by computer viruses are those

t hat don't take basic safeguards such as
backing up and p rint ing out. Once you
become completely dependent on a

major hotel senior vice president. " I

would n 't want t hat t o get much
publicity, but it's t rue . " The art icle also
notes t hat hotels remove telephone

computer, any computer, it's only a

Page 3S

2600 Magazine

Spring 19SS

(coll1inued on page 40)

S t a t e of Fl o r i d a
[1IV I S " )! o r C()t S U M F R A.F r "Ins
(i f onG 8 H A N N A D I R F C. TOR
T O I L r m f 1 800 342 3<;2
{9(4) 488 721f'1

l Hf lM " S M A f A H O
G F n A I D I_ I J f Fl R Y I ("IH, l f n
JOHN T H [ R N O(HJ
M I C H A E L M(K W i l SON

fjublic ('f\licr

((otllmission

THIS IS A SPECIAL ADVISORY

FROM THE FLORIDA PUBLIC SERVICE COMM ISSION
PLEA SE READ CAREFULL YI
F l o r i d a h a s r ec e n t l y e x pp r l e nced t h e c r e a t , o n of " P y r a m i d S c h e m e " a d l o r ' T l at R a t e " l o n g d i s t a n c e
t rl e p h o n e c o m p a n i e s T h ese c o m p a n i e s a d v e r t i se t h a t \ t H o u g h I h e ' r C O ITC Il i1 n y you c a n r n a k e u nl l rn l t e d c a l l s
frorn a n y w h e r e t o a n y w h e r e f o r a f l a t rn o n t i l l y fee
as t h e i r rn a r ke t l n g a p p roach
BEWARE

In

a d d l l i o n . f h e se c o rn p a r l l e s

ofl e n u s e

Many of these cornpanles a re ope r a l ' n q W l ! ll O I J t a u t h o r i t y f r o m t h e P u b l i c

a p y r a m i d sch erne

S"rv,ce C o m m i s S i o n
o r rn o r e

a n d youma y e n d u p not r e c e i v i n g t h e s e r v i c e you p a i d !(J r . l o s i n g y o u r cj e p o s i i . a d v a n c e p a y m e n t s .

P y r a m i d s c h e m e c o m p a n i e s c a n be I d e n l l l l (>cJ t h r o u g h t l I 8 1 r m a r k e t l r, g a p p roach A s a g e n e r a l r u l e ! ' : c

s a l e s a g p n t w i l l p n c o I H 3 g e y O I l to n o t o n l y !l u r c h a s p I h p c o rn p a n y ' s servlcPs. hut 1 0 hecorne a s a l p s a rl P n t

as well

T h e cornpany w i l l s u g g e s t I h a l you c a n m a k e d lot of rn o n e y t h ro u g h their rn u l t l l e v e l c o rn rn l ss ' o n

p l a n W i l l i e t h e i r p r e s e n t al l on m a y a p p e il r all r acl l v e . I I I S p O S S l I ) l p I h a l t h e c o m fl a n y h a s nol been r]IV!?1l flp r

m ' s s l o ll l o prOVl(lp telephone service w l l h l l) , l O r i d a I' ', (l U l I e a p r , r oacileel fly a sales agent , o r receive 1 , l e r a t u r e

arivert l s ' n q

a " c a l l a n y w h e r e f o r a f l a t m o n t il l y lee ' s c h e r n e . be c a r e f u l

, I o " d a L il W r eq u I C P s l il a l a l e l e p h o n e

comrany

P ' J IJ I I C S p l v ' c e COlnrll l S S l o n h e f o r e r r O Jl(j ' n q I n " ,)

I " I II i S w a y t h e F l o r cl a P u h l l c S e r v i c e
prOVides 10 y o u I h e c u s l o m e r

C o 'n rn l s s l o n

In l , el " p p f y l o r

ri 'siwcp
' s at!le 1 0

and

r p , P I '/1? c e r t i l l G l l l I' ll from I h e

r e q i , i a l e a rid r :c c m r t o r I h e s e r V i c e I h e C OI I ' lhl " Y

U nc e r t l f 'caterJ c o rn p a n l P s w h dl p r o v ' de l o " q (1 , ', 1 ,1 " C " Sl'r , r c p 1 o pr: I Il i S " i l l " l1 l h f Siale a r e o p e r al l r 'l

Y o u r f l :; ! Cl u e S l i O rl r e ga r d r 1 g a p r o s p e c t i v e c o m p a n y ) sr; r " , c f'

c p r t l l r C il t c I s s l J e d hy t h e F l o l l d a P u hl l c S e r v i c e

rnend y o u p r oc e e d no f u rt h e r

Cornrnssloll !

F l or l i l a

s P ' v ' c e l'pl w P P ri [" J l n i S l o c a ! p d w l l h , n r l '1 w1 3

(,hOLJ l d he; " f)0es

rlleqafly

y o u r C o r n p 3 rl"y pr)' r);r; il

Il I h e r e s p O f ! se to I h l s I nq U i r y

IS

n o . we recom

T h i S I n f o r rn il i i o n h il S b e e n p r o wJ e d 1 0 p r ot e c t c n l1 S U l TI c r s I I you h a v e il n y '1 u e s t ' o r I S o r c o rn p l a l n l s r,l e ;l <,e

contact the D , V I S i o n
Friday
Thank

of Consurner

AHaICs at

1 800 3423552

bel w e e n

7 45

A M and

4 30

P M , M on d a y t h r o u g "

You ,

41l?
George B

Hanna

D,V,Sion of Consurner

AHaI C s

F l E T C H E' R B U I L D I N G

1 0 1 f A S T G A I N f $ S T f r F T

T A L L A H A S S E E F l 3; 399 085 7

An Afflfmarlve Action/Equal Oppo r rurHry fmpkJy8F

Spring 1 988

2600 '\ fagazine

Page 39

HAPPENINGS
(continuedIrol l l page 38)
cha rges w henever a guest d isputes them.
Few guests d o this, however.
***

Bell Ca nada E nterp rises I nc . has gone

and changed their name to BC E I nc. as
of J anuary I . They a re the parent of Bell

Canad a , the nat i o n \; largest telephone

ut ility. Let 's hope it 's a change for t he
better...

***

O SUNY
2600 DDS # 1
A vai/able 24 hours a day with a wide

U . S . Sprint still can 't seem t o get its

bill ing system in o rder. Customers still
report not getting b i l ls o r gett i ng bills
w it h months' w o rt h of ca lls on t hem.
Ot her customers get warning letters
saying they have n 't paid their bills when

range of information on computers,

telephones, and hacking.

CALL TODAY !
914-725-4060

i t 's actually Sprint that has n 't gotten

around to processing t hem . Accord ing
to some sources , S p rint has been careful
not to send warn i ng letters to big
customers, regard less of w hat their
records say . So only t he small people are
fa lling victim to t hat blunder.
***

And finally, i n what i s perhaps one of

the most unfa i r moves N ew York
Telephone has made in a while, callers
who ask a N ew Y ork Telephone
operato r for t he location of an excha nge
are now switched to an information
operator, for which t here is a charge .
For the t ime be i ng, t hey w i l l warn you
t hat t hey 're d o i ng t h i s . In the nea r
future, t hey 1 1 j ust do i t , accord ing to a
superv isor. It seems a clear a nd
successfu l attempt at robbing the
consumer, who as usual is kept tota lly in
the dark. For those t hat wish to avoid
fa l l ing into this trap, we suggest calling
an AT&T operator ( d ia l (0) who will
provide the info rmation for the proper
cost : nothing.

Page 40

2600 MagazUre

Spring 1 988

THE CENTRAL OFFICE

A full range o f telephone.
radio, computer, and satellite
info plus a whole lot more!

2600 BBS #2

9 1 4- 2 34- 3260

Marketplac e

2 600
W O U LD

YOU

LIKE

MAKE

TO

S e n d ,1
b u c, i l1l'c,c; , i / l'd S . A . C; . E . to: J D u f fv, llI K
M i c h L' 1 l S t . , R i d l L- v I"u k , P A 1 '! i l 7 K .
T h i c, p l a n i s co m p l e t e l y L EC A L .
F O R S A L E : Sc h e m a t i c s for red , g reL' n ,
b l ue il n d m ,l n y o t h e r s . P l ea s e w r i t e for
i n fo t o J a tn e s S u r m <1 , 1 13 5 H i g h L1 l1 d
D r i n', M u g .1 d o re, O H 4 4 2f>O .
S O :\ l E M O E Y ? B i h m o n cy '

QUA LITY

C ( l m p i L' t l'

TAP

C, L' t

R E P R l i\: T S ,

( # 1 -9 1 )

p u nched a n d

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I l en ,, '

c o m p a t i b l L'

il n d

n1Ol L' m . I f y o u a rc

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r e p l i L s t o tvLHk l-I ., 1'. 0 . Box 7052, Port
l l u ro n , \1 l 4BJI 1 l -7052.
F O R S A IL Ok i d a t a M i cro l i nc 9 2 personal print" t

I n c l u d e s m a n u a l fo r

i n s t r u c t i o n s . l-I a . d l y u s e d . M a k e a n
u t t c' r zlll d i f i t ' s rl',l c, u ll a b l l" I w i l l p a y
p u c, t a g l' 1\ 1 . 1 t t K e l l y , l l () I s b e l l ,
i l O l\ l'I I , 1\ 1 [ I KK I ] .

B L U E B O X l i\ C ? L e t ' s e x c h a n g e i n t u
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l l ll p ll l l ll l' Il u m b e r s , p a r t s, a n d l' t e .
W r i t L, t l l B 1 UL' B u x , 1 ' . 0 . Box 1 1 7 1 l ( l :l ,
c, h i p p ,' d l I ' C; o r U S I ' s o r S l) I I / c, L, t
c, h i p !, ,' ,l F L' d L' r cl l E " p r L" s . M o n l' v
l3 u r l i n g cl tn '" C A C) j l l l l , A t lL' n t io n D . C
onl v,
FOR
SALE:
u r d l' r s
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mul tip cl v d b l L' t u k if 00 y o

b ll u n d . H i g h

Lj u ,l l i t v

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l o o k i n g f o r s o m e ttl i n g t o b u y ? O r
p u rpo se t o n e
t rad e ? This i s the place I The 2600
g e n l' r a t 0 r
\: l h Sh l l l - I ') I :; .
M a r k e t p l a c e i s f r e e t o s u b s c r i b e rs ! c h i p s , p r i m e
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I s l a nd ,

Spring 1 988

NY 11953-0099

NUA ' s ,

or

2600 BAC K I S S U E S (continued from insid e front cover)

1 986
P R IVATE

SECTOR

HAPPE N E D ]

R E T U R N I N G - Back o n l i n e soon but

many questions on

seizure

rema i n

THL BASICS

WHAT

D I VE S T I T U R E

a n exp l a n a t io n of !hat W h l c tl l $ conf u s i n g t h e popu l ac e , FLASH A T & T s t e a l s customers, Dom i n i c a n b l u e ooxers, corn p u t e r lled

hooky c a l e l l e r F d lw e : ! a t tacked by c o m p u t e r . an a s t r o n o m I C a l phone b i l L d l d l a porn update. phone boo t h v i c t o r i O U S , li n E R S G e t t i ng c r ed i t

f r o m a l t e r n a t e c a r r i e r s , t r a c i n g rn e t tl o d s , m o b i l e p h o n e s . M a n i t o b a r a i d ,

2 600

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8650, overcharge h u n t e l s ,

I N F O R M A T I O N B U H EAU

S Y S T E MA T l C A L L Y SPEAK I N G !;O n f u s l fly p a y p t l 'J n e s code aouse softwa r e , c e n t r e x f e a t u res I I I y o u r h o u s e . VAX

VMS THE SERIES C O N T I N U E S

m o r e o n sec u r i t y t e a t u r e s , I r C O U LD H A P P E N TO Y O U I
what t1appens when hackers tlave a light. D IAL
BACK S E C U R I TY
h o l e s I n t h e systems, FLASH a b u s e 01 p a r t y line, u n iq u e obscene caller news on pen r e g i s t e r s , reporters s t e a l SWISS
phones, pay p h o n e c a u ses p a n i C , L E T I E R S a s k i n g Q u e s t i o n s , blue oox c o r r e c t i o n s , C o m p u t e l comp l a i n t , B B S sec u r i ty ,

2 6(X) I N F O RMA nON

B U R EA U --assorted n u m be r s , S Y S T E MA T I CA L L Y S P E A K I N G S p r i n t a n d U S T e l mlrge, w r i t e protect t a b s w r o n g , B e l l A t l a n t l c chooses M C I

c e l l u l a r p h o n e s I n E ng l a nd , I n f r a red beeper e l ec t r o n i C l a x r e t u r n s , a c o u s t i c t r a u m a , AN O V E R V I E W O F AUTOVON A N D S I LV E R B O X E S --the

m i l i t a r y phone network a n d how y o u r touch t o n E' p h o n e can p l a y along A.N A M E R I CA N E X P R E S S PHONE STORY -a memory of one of the
better I l a c k l n g escapade::., F I NA L WORDS O N V M S --sec u r i t y devlce

d l iLl

a :. s o r t eu tipS, FLASH

tldcker zap::; computer : T l a r q u ee , Sov i e t s

de n i ed c o m p u t e r access, c a l l i n g t h e s h u t t l e , new wdyS of stea l i ng d a t a , c o m p u t e r password forgott e n , LETI E R S c o r po r a t e r a t e s , defea t i ng

c a l l wa i t i ng . r l ng b a c k n U l ll be r s , w h e r e I S B l O C ? c r e d i t w h e r e I t ' S d u e , spec i a l

86,

C o m p u t e l a n d C o rn p u s e r v e , T e l e p u b

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n u m be r , T H I S M O N T H AT

26(X)

P ( l v a t e Sector ' s r e t u r n

a pos t a l m l f a c l e , S Y S T E M A T ICALLY P E A K I N G J a m m I n g s a t e l l I t e s , T A S S n \N S serVice, Soviet

computer upda t e . d , a l l n y t tw y e l l ow pages

Northern T e l ecom to d e s t r o y C O ' s , more p h o n e s than e v e r , RSTS FOR B E G I N N E R S --baSIC

system f u nc t i o n s , l og i n p r oc ed u r es , M O B I LE P H O N E S

T H E O R Y A N D C O N S T R U C T I O N --how to bu i ld y o u r own mobile phone, F LA S H

B r l t l s l l p h o n e bo u t h wedd i n g , a n o t l l e r l a r g e S p r i n t b i l l , b u d t e n a n t d a t a ba s e s , c a r b r e a t l l d i l l e r s , p h o n e p h r e a k f i ned, M a r cos pllOnes for f r e e ,

L. l TI E R S

b l u e oox c od l n , e l e c t r o n i C r o a d p r i C i n g

Wor l d W a r II. T H I S M O N T H A J

2 6CX)

III

Hong K o n y , U N I X b u g s , m o r e on

At 'l a c k i n g , A S T O R Y O F EA V E S D R O P P I N G --from
l' S T E MA T I CALLY S P E A K I N G 6 1 7 t o be d l v l ded

t r a n s c r i p t s o f P r i v a t e Sector r a id , r n o r e on C o m p u t e l ,

C u n g r e s s chooses A T & T , Baby B e l l s dOll t pay A T & T b i l l s , eq u a l access

800

n u m be r s , datu , - 'lcrypt l o n , DA f a i l u r e , AT&T loses Its zero,

E X P L O I T S I N OPE.RA J O R H E L L --- h a l a S S l n g o pe r a t o r s f r o m A l a s k a . T H E C O M P U T E L S C O O P . F LA:J : B e l lcore p u b l l c a t l on s y o p u b i t c , US a n d

f- r a n c e l i n k p h o n e s , c o m p u t e r g r a m rn a r

s h ower p h o n e , cel l l l i a r m od e r n , t1 ! g h t e c h p a r k i l l y rne t e f

C o n g r e s s i o n a l comp u t e r , LE TIE R S

f o r e i g n p l l o ntc syst e l l l s , R u S S i a n p h o n e tX)Q k s , n u m be r s to (1 l d l on a b l u e bo x , Boston A N I . C hes l w e l : a l ' l y s t , C N A w a y s of a n swe r t n g ttle

2 ljOO

p l lO n e ,

I N F O R M A T I O N B U R EA U - A u tovon n u m be r s a l te r n a t e p h r e a k l ng met hods f m a l t e r n a t e c a r r i e r s , S Y S T E MATICALLY

W r e s t l e m a n l a pinS B e l l , s t i ng oo a r d ::. un t h e r i se, AmerICan Network f e a r s h aCke r '.:> , free pay phones p l a g u e N e\N J er se y ,

SPlAKING

d l sposa u l e p h o n e s , h a c k e r t e r r o r i s t s , C O M P U T E R C R I M E R E V I E W -a r e v i ew of t h e r e po r t / r o l n T Ile N a t i o n a l C e n t e r for Computer C r I m e

D a t a , H O W T O HACK A P I C K

An i n t r od u c t i o n to t h e P i c k ope r a t i n g s y s t e m a n d w a y s of h a c k i n g I n t o I t . N O T H I N G N E W I N C O M P U T E R

U N D E R (; R O U N D - r e v i ew of a new IJook , F LA S H N ew Y o r k s new cum p u t e r c r l l l l e l a w . a

S6 829

phone b i l l , hQ\N' big computer cnme pays

01 t r i c k i n g s t i n g B B S - s , c a l l ed party
I N F O R MA T I O N B U R EA U --some phone n u m be r s , R E S O U R C E S G U ID E ,

p u b l i C p l l O n e secrecy. C a p i t o l H i l i h a c k e r , C l t l b a n k money g a m e s , L E n E R S E n g l i s h p h r e a k l n g , ways

<; u p e r V I S l o n

2 600

P h u n Book,

C a p t a i n M ld n l g tl t , R C I ,

26CX)

S Y S r E M "- T I C A L L Y S P EA K I N G H a nds a c r o s s T e l e n e L ca l l 1 l1g K i ev, N y n ex b u m p s off S o u t h w e s t e r n B e l l , stock m a rket c r a s l l , c e l l s i t e names,

v l deop l l U n e s , V I O LA T I N G A VAX - T rOj a n 1 1 o r s e s , collecting passwords, etc
etc , T H E F R l t P H O N E S O F P H I LLY - - S k y l i n e prov l d m g

, o i l i p l e t e l y i r te ,> e r v l c e f r o m P d ,! p h o n e s , F LA S H town c r ippled by t e l c o s t r i k e . p r i so n e r s rnake I l l eg a l calls, h d cker degrees. New J e r sey tops
I dP S , e x / td I S t apped, water company w a n t s customers' s oc l d l secu r i t y numbers. computers str ike a g a m , f ed e r a l e m ployees " t racked

L E rTE HS ASSOC i a t io n of C l a ndest i n e R a d i O E n ! h u s l a s t s , ITT c o r r ec t i o n , NSA, more on V M S , T elemrnpu t l s t . a 9 50 t r lck,

B U K E.AU

26(X) I N F O R MA T I O N

W o r l d N u m be r i n g l u n e s , S Y S T E MA T I CALL Y S P E. A K I N G A T & T se i l i n g pay p tl o n e s a u t o m a t ed ope r a t o r s . ce l l u l a r d l a l by " volce,

flew B r l t l :, 1 1 phone e r v lce no data p r o t ec t i o n for H o n y Kong Conyress l o n a l fraud hot l i n e . fe{jt ( d l phone f a i l u res, I n d I a n a teko t h reatens

send l flg I I 1 d l l a n d g e n e r a l 11 d C k l f1 g , A T R I P TO E N G LAN D - a n d the f u n t t1 1 ng s you C d n do "" I t t l phones over t h e r e ,

A I & r. K N O W I N G U N I X
f LA S H P l l o l w f r a u d I n gove r n o r s I-, o u se . B i g B r ot l lt-'! r , T e l tec f l( d h t s t'lack \/andd i l srn 9 1 1 c a l l s L f T I E R S Si1 U ! l lrlg dovv n systems, l eg a l

BBS s, VAX VMS tiPS,

SPEAKING

2 600

I N F O R M A T I O N 8 U H E:.AU

U S S R c o m p u t e r s , ATM s

SUPERVISION

In

a l i st of t e l e o ::. , a l i s t of a r e a c od e S and n u m be r of e X C h a nges, SYSTEM ATICALLY

NYCE

China

TV

a n swer s u p e r v I S i o n e xp l a i n ed , RCI & OM S - 1

b i ll e boxes,

00 B U G S ,

gove r n m e n t phones, r u r a l r a d i O phones.

ANOTHEK S T I N G E R IS STUNG

SOME

FACTS ON

M a x f i e l d exposed a g a i n ,

F LASH

N S A d r op s DES, h a c k e r s on s h o r tw a v e , B i g B ru t h e r traffIC cop, c r osst a l L<. saves a l i fe. I nd i a n phones, V i deo s i g n a t u res, FBI shopPing list,
i-lI f p t l O n e c i-t u ::.es confUSion,

U:: nERS

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2600 I N O R MA n O N B U R EA u W i n n Ipeg n u rn bt:> r s ,

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SL- 1

swtlches. c r ed l \ . PBX

::..

8CX) wo r Ll - n u m be r s , publIC C NA ' s ,

S Y S T E M A T l l:ALLV S P EA K I N G S p n n t over b i l l s , A T & T rdnkS

1,

por t a b l e VAXes, ca l l

T R A S H I Nli AM E R I CA S S O U R C E f- O R l N f- O R MA T l O N s t i l i more t a c t i CS , F LAS H F B I

I Ilvest l g a t e s c o f f et:: I l l dc i1 I n l! , C I S cupy r t y i l l s p u b l i C softw a r e , N a vy 5Oftwa r e . H I:3 0 e n c r y p t i o n , I n d i a n a " F u n e s ' , LE TTE R S l'Ii ul nbers, telco

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s a nd

s.

2 bOO

I N f- O R M A T I O N B U R EA U

O v e r s e a s n u m be r s , S Y S T EMATICALLY SPEAK I N G

l l t,c t r o l l l C t d x r e t u r n s , :. o i t w d r e ITl d k e r s d d S l 1 B B S , I C N U l t r a p i l o n e , E:. S S I n T a i w a n , N S A w a n t new C t l l P , l e N

d l ou k

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u f t h e w o r s t pilon l! com p a n l e s I I I t h e w o r l (l , MAS T e R I NG

tur t u r es Pdt l e n t s ,

I N F O R M A T I O N B U R E:. A U

F B I d l 1 y e r s p a r e n \ ::. ,
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T H E:

N E TWO R K S

MORE THAN ABARGAIN -

C O l Tl l 1 1 d r1 l c a t l n g on A r p a n e t . B i t ne t , etc , F LA S H

II and l w n t r oversy, L E T T E R S T e l e n e t h a c k i n g ,
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2 600

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t e l t p l l ( H l e :, &. I , ow t l l e y work, H O W C E LL U LA f P H O N l S C A M E A B O U T A N O W H A T Y O U C A N t. X P E C i , T H I N G S W E R E N O J S U P P O S E D T O
K. N O I.>V A B O u 1 , F LA S H A V O l d l llg reJect i o n , p l H ed k s t ie lllJ C l f C U l t S , N o r t h C a r o l i n a t l a c k e r s , I n t er na t l u n a l h a c k i n g , p a y i n g f o r t o u c h tones
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