Cybertek Electric: Issue #3 2/2/96 �ss es flestra ferdha f�r; en sk�lpr es sverdha / |\ /| /|\ |\ |\ /| |-\ \ / / | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | \ \ / / | \ / | / | \ | \ | \ / | | > / \ / / | \/ | / | \ | / | \/ | | / / / / \ | | | | < | | | \ / / \ \ | | | | \ | | | > \ / \ \ | | | | \ | | | / \ \ \ | | | | \ | | |-/ \ \ I know a fifteenth, which Thiodhroerir the dwarf sang before Delling's door. He sang might to the Aesir, power to the elves, and understanding to Odin. Cybertek Electric: Issue Three February 1st., 1996 edited by Thomas Icom/IIRG Complements of OCL/Magnitude's Project Blackthorn, and The International Information Retrieval Guild (IIRG) Table of Contents ================= - Scanning Cell Phones With a TV Set, by Deprogram - Programming the Motorola Radius SP10, by R.F. Burns - Hackers Versus Politicians, by J. Orlin Grabbe - Capturing Redial, by oleBuzzard - Hacking on The Highway, by Joshua Tower and The Men From Mongo - Poetry from Spiral Chambers #9 "Fleeting Love", by Alan C. Dougall "Beauty Sleep", by Leilani Wright "Touch of Light", by Michael Morain "Did They Wonder?", by Dominick Freda ---/////--- ******************************************************* The Real Truth About Scanning Cell Phones With a TV Set By Deprogram ******************************************************* We've all heard the rigamarole about cellular capable radio scanners. We all know about the ridiculous steps the cellular industry has taken to try to prevent their use. But really, there's no need to go to that much trouble. You can do cellular monitoring pretty well with an ordinary and entirely legal TV set! Of course, it's still a federal offense to monitor cellular, so this information is only for your entertainment and is not to be used in any illegal way, duh. What you need first of all is anything that has a UHF TV tuner built into it. This includes VCRs as well as TV sets. See, TV channels 14 to 83 are the UHF TV band. Think about this: all of these channels could have been used by over the air TV stations! Actually, the top 12 or so channels in the UHF TV band aren't available for tv anymore as far as I know. The frequencies have been reassigned to Land Mobile use, or cellular telephones. On old TV sets there is a second knob for UHF. You put yer VHF knob on "U" and tweak your UHF knob up to the very end of the band. If you have a VCR or some other sort of tuner, just make sure that you're on "TV" and not "CATV", because the channel allocations are different. Once you get up to channel 14, broadcast (UHF) channels and cable channels are NOT the same. If you can see that you are tuning above channel 83, then you are on cable and you're not going to pick up anything. Look around on channels 80 through 83. When you don't hear people talking, you will hear an obnoxious buzzing sound. I think this is the tower holding the channel, but I'm not sure. In any case, conversations will come and go as they are handed off to another tower. If you use common sense about when and where more people are using their cellular phones, you should be able to determine the best times for listening. If you really, really have no luck pulling anything in, your tuner may be a newer one which simply won't do it. Many new TV tuners have been manufactured so as to not pick up this cellular "interference". Rumor has it that a restoration is possible. Anyway, if your TV is a new one, use an old junky one instead. In fact, the best TVs for monitoring purposes are old, cheap, black-and-white models which aren't good for much else. The picture tube could be entirely broken and the set could still be useful! (In fact, you might want to turn the brightness down on the screen while monitoring.) In order to fish around for phone calls, it's really best if you can fine tune. Even better, many old TV sets have a UHF knob that does not click at all. The next thing you need is an ANTENNA. (Novel idea, huh? An antenna to pick up radio signals? But seriously, some of this may be obvious to a hacker, but I am trying to cover all the bases here.) Take a look at the back of your TV set, and you'll probably find two posts marked UHF (to go along with the doohickey that says VHF). You'll want to plug your cell-capable antenna into UHF. The easiest thing to do at this point is go get a UHF tv loop. They cost about a dollar, many supermarkets have them, and they will work quite well. The BEST thing to do is ...get a 800mHz cellular antenna! These are also getting pretty darn cheap, and they are tuned to just the frequencies you are interested in. I think it's okay to just run a wire from the 800 MHz antenna to one of the UHF posts. I'm sure there are many other 819 to 890 MHz antenna setups you can think of if you are creative. You can even use a second TV set (or other tuner) to create an "RF well" and hear even more. Put the second TV set right next to the first. With the first TV, tune something in. Then with the second TV, fish around channels 72-76. Apparently you are tuning in the base frequency to go with the mobile, or something like that. I think you will find that many of the signals you have already been picking up will become more coherent. Single coverstions will emerge from what was previously a mess. Anyhow, just experiment and you'll get the idea. I can certainly envision a cellular monitoring device consisting of a couple of stripped down TV tuners built into a box. In fact I wonder if someone hasn't done this. Of course, this would just be a way to make it all look pretty and it isn't necessary at all. Well, cellular providers these days are going digital and taking other steps to provide something resembling security. So the time may come when all of this info is obsolete, if you believe some people. But I myself think there will always be cell companies who are too cheap or lazy to protect their signal. ///// Programming the Motorola Radius SP10 by R.F. Burns The SP10 is a 1 watt handheld radio transceiver designed to operate on one of 16 different frequencies assigned to low power/itinerant communications in the VHF-hi business band (150.775-174 Mhz.). While this is one of Motorola's "low end" radios, the quality is still up to Motorola's excellent standards. The SP10 is commonly available; even being sold by Radio Shack, and a preliminary inspection indicates that the unit should offer many opportunities to the RF hacker. A full review of the SP10 appears in the February 1996 issue of Popular Communications magazine. To program the radio, remove the battery compartment cover, battery, and plastic cover underneath the battery. On the bottom right hand side of the radio you will see four dip switches. The position of the dip switches is what determines the operating frequency. Use the table below to determine what dip switch settings pertain to what frequency; where 0=ON and 1=OFF. Frequency Switches Frequency Switches --------- -------- --------- -------- 151.625 0011 151.655 1000 151.685 0101 151.715 1010 151.775 1001 151.805 0110 151.835 0010 151.895 1101 151.925 0001 151.955 1100 154.490 1011 154.515 0111 154.540 1110 154.570 1111 154.600 0000 158.400 0100 If someone wanted an "on the fly" programmable radio, they could bring a four bit dip switch up to the case of the radio, and be able to switch between the 16 different frequencies without having to dismantle the radio every time they wanted to change frequencies. There's plenty of space inside the radio for an aspiring RF hacker to do a little experimentation, and Motorola's gear has a reputation of being very workable, hacker-wise. ///// Hackers Versus Politicians by J. Orlin Grabbe The December 1995 Media Bypass magazine article, "The Still Before the Storm," by James Norman, details how a group of "Fifth Column" hackers have initiated a campaign to clean up political corruption, resulting so far in the announced retirement of over thirty politicians (who have received packages of information detailing their financial shenanigans). Norman calls this group "CIA computer hackers", though in fact the group is * totally outside government.* (One member is ex-NSA, an agency that member now despises, and another member is ex-CIA.) But, anyway, as Norman notes: ". . . the Fifth Column has managed to penetrate Swiss and other foreign banks to quietly withdraw what is now an astounding $2.5 billion in illicit money from coded accounts they have identified as belonging to government figures. "Starting in 1991, this five-man Fifth Column team has been using its own Cray supercomputer to break into foreign bank computers, download vast libraries of data and trace this money to a wide range of illegal activities, from kickbacks on drug and arms deals to insider trading profits, software piracy and the sale of state secrets. Oh yes, don't forget tax evasion." What I like about the Fifth Column campaign is that it simply asks politicians to live by their own rules. If they want to launder money themselves, then they should get rid of the money-laundering statutes and let the rest of us have the same privileges. If they don't want to pay taxes, then let them get rid of the tax laws. If they want to continue the insane "war on drugs," then they shouldn't be taking payoffs from drug lords. (It is amazing how non-authoritarian people become if forced to practice what they preach.) This article is an introduction to the political possibilities of hacking. It will present a brief how-to for the enterprising hacker to (legally) prepare his or her own background report on any given politician (sorry, Senator Exon has already received an envelope). Let's face it: journalists are too technically incompetent to do the job. Politicians are those annoying people who--drink in hand--can stare at a uuencoded file for hours, fall into a sexual reverie involving ASCII entities, and then weave their way to the nearest TV camera to pontificate about pornography on the Internet. But, you ask, if they are so dumb, why are they so rich? Sometimes the latter *is* a mystery, reminiscent of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Take the case of a man who can hardly pay his bills, but who gets elected to national political office and goes off to Washington for a few years. Then-- lo and behold!--on his simple politician's salary, he suddenly manages to maintain two fine homes, one inside the beltway in Chevy Chase and another in his home town community of Rat's Ass, to purchase new cars for his wife and himself, to accumulate lakefront property in a neighboring county, and to stash away a nice sum of cash in a foreign bank account. If the "simple politician's salary" bit sounds improbable, it probably is. Let's face it: many politicians are on the take. They may have hidden sources of income involving illegal payoffs from corporations, lobbying groups, or individuals. Are you a student? Then you will be proud to know that educational commissions and associations are also a hot new conduit for political bribes. This article suggests a few basic procedures for finding out whether that special politician you have in mind is getting more on the side than ASCII sex. Honest politicians, of course, will have nothing to fear from any of the following. Is what I am about to do legal? you ask. Of course it is. To reassure yourself, pull out your world-wide web browser and take a peak at one of the many data service companies, say Insights, Inc. (located at ). They promise, using only an individual or business name and/or address, to provide sufficient information for: *Preparing Due Diligence Reports *Locating People or Businesses *Exposing and Controlling Fraud *Uncovering & Verifying Background Information *Identifying and Verifying Assets How do they get away with this? Simple. They legally search public records. Much of this public-record information is computerized, although some of it is not. In any event, I do not advocate illegal or questionable access methods, or the breaking of any laws. Checking up on the (possibly criminal) politician of your choice doesn't have to be a crime. Still not convinced? Hop over to Infonet , which for a fee will mine public records for nuggets like: *Felony and Misdemeanor Criminal Filings--"Search any court in the nation for a seven year history of criminal filings and possible convictions." (Many politicians wait until they reach office to work on this part of their resume, but some are early starters.) *Driving Histories--"Search a three to seven year history of an individuals driving performance, including tickets and accidents." (So you don't really care if your politician speeds a little now and then. But, on the other hand, did that official who helped him get out of a DWI expect a quid pro quo?) *Upper and Lower Court Civil Filings--"Obtain a civil litigation history of any individual in any court in the United States." (Is there some hidden reason this guy is getting sued all the time?) *Social Security Number Tracking--"Access all three credit bureaus to verify the user of a social security number and the addresses being used." (Having your politician's social security number is the next best thing to having his Swiss bank account number.) *Professional Licensing--"Verify the existence and status of an entity's license in a specific practice area, such as private investigation, medicine, real estate and more." (Was your politician really a world-renowned physicist before returning home to run for mayor of Rat's Ass?) *Consumer and Business Credit Reports--"Review account balances, credit terms and payment histories for an individual or business." ("So, before he went to Washington, he couldn't pay his bills . . .") Well, if they can do it, so can you. So where do you start? Well, first see what the politician him/herself has to say about the money flows. Federal law (5 USC app. 6, section 101 et seq.) requires members of Congress to file *Financial Disclosure Statements* yearly. The Financial Disclosure form has nine parts: Schedule I: Earned Income Schedule II: Payments in Lieu of Honoraria Made to Charity Schedule III: Assets and "Unearned Income" Schedule IV: Transactions. Schedule V: Liabilities Schedule VI: Gifts Schedule VII: Fact-Finding, Substantial Participation, and Other Travel Schedule VIII: Positions Schedule IX: Agreements Want to see Newt Gingrich's personal finances for the year 1993? Direct your web browser to . Many state, county, and city elections have similar requirements, either on a personal or a campaign basis. Want to see a copy of the *Candidate Campaign Statement-Long Form-Form 490* for Joel Ventresca, candidate for Mayor of San Francisco? Visit Campaign Net at . These statements represent what a politician says he or she has or gets. But the really interesting items--like those kickbacks from the Cali cartel--not surprisingly go unreported. To get the good stuff, you will need your full hacker armor. The first thing to get is your politician's *social security number (SSN)*. It's not difficult. Your politician loves to be photographed doing his/her civic duty of voting. Which means he or she fills out a *voter's registration card* (public information) which will contain said politician's name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, and--usually--social security number. Voter files may be obtained at your politician's local county court house, as well as on many on-line data bases. A person's SSN is the common key that links together many commercial and government data bases. Can't find the SSN number on the voter's registration card? Then try *DMV* records. The insurance lobby has made sure that driver's records are easy to get, along with the details of any accidents, and critical driver information such as height, color of eyes, address--and social security number, if the latter was required information on the form. (California won't give out addresses, if a request has been filed not to do so--the "movie star" exemption.) In about 20 states the individual's social security number is the driver's license number. Still searching? Then go with the triple whammy of the major credit bureaus-- TRW, TransUnion, and CBI/Equifax. The Fair Credit Reporting Act essentially implies you must be contemplating a business relationship--such as selling a car, renting an apartment, giving a loan, or attempting to collect on a judgment--with a party to request his credit report. But the *header* information in the file--such as social security number, date of birth, address, and spouse's name--is legally available to anyone, and your inquiry (unlike an actual credit report) will leave no footprints. The addresses and phone numbers are: TRW 660 N. Central Expressway, Exit 28 Allen, TX 75002 Automated phone: 800-392-1122 Phone: 800-422-4879 CBI/Equifax 5505 Peachtree Dunwoody, #600 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241. Automated phone: 800-685-1111 Phone: 800-685-5000 Trans Union P.O.Box 7000 North Olmsted OH 44070-7000 Automated phone: 800-851-2674 Phone: (714) 738-3800, ext. 6450 Are you a hacker-journalist? Then take a peak at the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR; located at ). Their bylaws prohibit them from selling data to nonjournalists (not that you want to *buy* data anyway--we're just exploring *possibilities*). But data is "sold at or below costs to journalism organizations or individuals for legitimate journalism uses only." (Doing your civic duty to keep tabs on your politician is, naturally, a legitimate journalistic use of the data.) Their data bases include these publicly-available information sets, among others: Organization: Government Services Agency Databases: Federal Procurement Contracts for 1992-1994. Organization: Federal Election Commission Databases: Campaign Contributions for the 1991-1994 election cycle. Organization: Federal Reserve Board Databases: home mortgage loans covered by Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (for 1992-1994) Organization: Federal Aviation Administration Databases: Service Difficulty Reports, Airman Directory, Aircraft Registry Organization: Federal Bureau of Investigation Databases: Uniform Crime Reports Organization: Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Databases: Gun Dealer Licenses The existence of such data immediately brings to mind a barrage of possibly relevant questions: Is there an incestuous relationship between the donors to your politician's campaign and subsequent federal government contracts? (It always starts somewhere . . .) To find out, compare federal procurement data with campaign contributions. Campaign contribution data from the Federal Election Commission are supposed to include all contributions by individuals and political action groups (PACs) to a politician's federal election campaign. The Government Services Agency, meanwhile, keeps Individual Contract Action Reports (ICARs), which has information about the federal agency granting a government contract, the identity of the contractor, and the contract dollar amount. Has your politician recently purchased a new home? What is its value? What was the down payment? Is he or she living suspiciously beyond his or her means? What is your politician's race or gender (DNA sequence?)? To start to answer these questions, look at home mortgage data. The Federal Reserve Board started keeping data like this in order to check on "fair" lending practices. So the Fed began tracking home and home-improvement loans, as well as bank- purchased loans. (And just to help the enterprising hacker, when your politician is buying, or possibly refinancing, a house, most banks will now ask for his Social Security Number on the Deed of Trust, especially as the Federal National Mortgage Association now requires it.) Does your politician own an aircraft? What's its value? Did he purchase it with cash? Check the FAA's aircraft records. Does your politician own a gun even while advocating gun control? If he bought the gun from a dealer, ATF records can help out here. And so on. Now let's get to the nitty-gritty: *city, county, and state records*. The *City Clerk* in your politician's home town will have a list of business licenses (name, address, date) and building permits (name, address, cost of construction). The *County Clerk* or *County Recorder* should have liens on file (lien holder, payment agreements), a Probate Index (estate settlements), records of lawsuits and judgments, powers of attorney with respect to real estate, records of mortgages on personal property, and bankruptcy papers. Here you can find out not only the value of your politician's property, but also the names, addresses, and property values of everyone who lives on his street. *City and County Courts* will also maintain a Civil Index (civil actions, plaintiffs and defendants, as well as civil files: description of any disputed property or valuables), a Criminal Index (criminal cases in Superior Court, as well as criminal files), and voter's registration files. The *county tax collector* will have a description of any property owned, as well as taxes paid on real estate and personal property. The *county assessor* may also have maps and photos, or even blueprints showing the location of your politician's hot tub. The *Secretary of State* will have corporation files and possibly annual reports of your politician's company. Okay, let's go over it again, taking it slow. With your politician's social security number in hand, you can get header information from the major credit bureaus. This will give you a seven to ten year history of addresses, as well any spousal name or names. The latter is very important, since your average politician's instinct will be to keep questionable sums of money and suspect personal assets in the name of his or her spouse, sibling, business associate, or girlfriend. Next you go to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, to find out your politician's tastes in cars, trucks, motorcyles, boats, trailers, and recreational vehicles. Of course if your politician leases any of the above, he or she will not show up as the vehicle owner. So the next thing to do is to run the license plate number of that Caddy parked out front, since this will give you the name of both lessee and lessor. Next you talk to someone who does business with your politician, and who thus has a permissible reason under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to run a credit check. This will give you a listing of all your politician's credit accounts, current balances, payment history, and payment terms. Any bankruptcies in the last ten years, or liens or judgments in the last seven years, will be listed. Did your politician suddenly receive a huge campaign contribution from some source, soon after your politician found himself stuck with a quarter million dollar judgment against him? If so, he won't be the first person who has sold out his country to pay off a personal financial debt. What property does your politician own? The offices of County Recorder and County Tax Assessor will give you the land value, improvement value, and total assesssed values for any property. They will frequently have also the amounts received for any sales, the sale dates, as well as information on the mortgage-holder or other lender. Did your politician get a large loan from Washoe International State Bank just about the time Washoe International State Bank was having trouble with state banking regulators, who are overseen by a legislative committee on which your politician sits? Does your politician own a business of any consequential size? Then run a business credit check. Who are (were) your politician's business associates? Who are the company officers and principals? Or--if as is commonly the case--your plitician is a lawyer, who are the law partners? Look also for bankruptcies, tax liens, public records filings, judgments, and UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) financing statements. These documents may turn out to be filled with all sorts of unexpected names, dates, and activities. On what honorary commissions does your politician serve? Do the commission's audited financial statements show any payments for services not rendered? This was apparently what New York Attorney General Dennis Vacco was wondering, when he noted, on January 9, 1996, in a letter to the National Center on Education and the Economy: "Statement 11 on your 1990 Federal 990 and Note 5 on your 1990 audited financial statements indicate that the Center had retained the services of Hillary Rodham Clinton, a member of the Rose Law firm, to direct your Workforce Skills Program while she also served as a member of the Center's Board of Trustees. Statement 11 of the 1990 filing indicates that Mrs. Clinton received $23,000 for unspecified services. The 1990 filing also refers to a second contract, which was reported to be in the amount of $150,000 covering the period February 1, 1991 through January 31, 1992, and a similar statement appears on Statement 11 attached to the 1991 Federal 990." Moreover, did either Hillary Clinton or the Rose Law firm pay taxes on the sums received? (A little birdie tells me neither one did.) The office of the Secretary of State in any of the 50 states can be a source of UCC searches. UCC Indices will show whether your politician is listed as either a debtor or secured party. (Okay. So your politician is up to his neck in debt to Jackson Stephens. That doesn't mean he listens to a word of political advice Stephens gives him. No way.) Superior Courts, Federal Bankruptcy Courts, Small Claims Courts, and city, county, and state tax authorities keep records of tax liens, court judgments, and bankruptcy filings. These reveal not only outstanding financial obligations, but also personal and company affiliations, partners, subsidiaries, and dependents. (Is there a Don Lasater or Don Tyson in your politician's background?) Does your politician really have those degrees he claims? Call the college registrar. Despite what you think, many politicians don't believe in their own "self-made man" rhetoric, and will enhance their resumes with unearned degrees. This in itself may only be a venal sin, but someone who records falsehoods in this area will likely also lie in others. Has your politician been in the news? Check your library's newspaper file, along with reader's guides, and other news indexes. On the Internet, you can quickly search for your politician's name among the 8 billion words on 16 million WWW pages, using the new Alta Vista search utility created by Digital Equipment Corporation. You can also do a name or keyword search through all 13,000 Usenet groups. Alta Vista is located at . Be sure to read Lee Lapin's book The Whole Spy Catalog (Intelligence Incorporated, 2228 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94403; ISBN 1-880231-10-7) for literally dozens of names, addresses, and phone numbers of data information providers, along with an evaluation of their services. You don't need to patronize these services in order to steal ideas from them. Basically none of these providers specializes in politicians, so after a little self-education and set-up, you may be in a position to start your own business in political investigations. Bill yourself as a 21st Century Sherlock Holmes. (*Somebody* has to stop the nefarious influence of DigiCrime, Inc., found at .) Oh. About those foreign bank accounts. Well, I'll leave that to your imagination. But a little birdie told me if you call a military base computer, find an out-dial number, call another military base, and so on, going through a *minimum* of three military bases, any trace back will stop at the third military base. Whatever you do, don't do anything illegal. ///// ============================= CAPTURING REDIAL Quick & Dirty by oleBuzzard Written Today / 03-JAN-96 (c) 1996 Communications ============================= INTRO Ok, here's the scenario: You're at someone's house. That someone pick's up the phone, dials, and... "Hey Billy, how's the Missus?....Great glad to hear it. And How's Chelsea?...Oh really, thats fabulous. And how's Roger doin'?...Great, glad to hear it. I was just calling to see how you all were doin. Is Al or Tipper around?" The phone call's over and you're sayin to yourself "man, I wish I had that number." Well you could ask your friend point blank for it, but we both know that as two-faced and shallow as your so-called friendship with this guy is, theirs NO WAY he'd give you the number to information let alone to the White House. But that's alright, cuz you're pretty good at... CAPTURING REDIAL The principle behind Redial Capturing is simple. You basically capture the last number that was dialed from a TouchTone(c) phone and keep it for later use. So now the question is, how do you do the capture. Well there's a number of way you can do it, but after some consideration, I think I've come up with a method thats both fairly inexpensive, VERY effective, and quite practical. Heres what you need: * Radio Shack Pocket Dialer w/Memory Catalog Number: 43-146 Price: $24.99 * Any Brand Pager. Alrght, here it is, plain, simple, and effective: 1. Take your Radio Shack Dialer and program it with the number to your pager. 2. Keep your dialer with you at all times. (Every good phreak should have one anyway.) 3. When you need to make a Capture, wait for the person who has made the call to get off the phone (obviously.) 4. Pick-up the same phone the person has made the call from. 5. Hold the Pocket Dialer up to the Mouth Piece of the phone, and press the Memory button (assuming you did like I said and programmed the Dialer with your pager number. If not dial you're a bonehead and you have to dial your Pager number manually with the Pocket Dialer.) 6. Once your Pager answers and requests you to "[E]nter the number you are dialing from at the tone," hit REDIAL on the phone. Once the phone has redialed, hang-up. 7. Beep-beep. Check your pager. You have just captured the last number dialed from that phone. Like I said, plain, simple, and cool enough to be in a James Cameron flick. WHAT DUMBASS?!? By the way, I've already been asked the Ingenious question: "how come you need a Pocket Dialer to do this? Why can't you just call your Pager and then hit Redial on the phone and Capture the Redial that way?" Well you can, but the only Number you'll be capturing is your own pager number you just dialed. (Duh!) If you wan't to Capture the redial you have to find away to dial a source which will decode the DTMF tones, and you have to be able to preserve the tones in the first place. The closest alternative to the method described in this file, is to call your Pager on one phone in the house, and once your page answers, pick-up the phone you want to Capture from and hit Redial. This'll work fine, but you might have a little trouble remaining inconspicuous about the whole thing--running back and forth and all. OUTRO Anyway, that's it. Thanx to Hades (IIRG-Net) for pointing out the obvious to me. Look for more oleBuzzard philez at kn0wledge phreak BBS or any UnionNET or IIRG-Net System **************************************************************************** *** oleBuzzard's kn0wledge phreak ** kn0wledge phreak World Wide Web Site ** ** AC 719.578.8288 / 28.8oo-24oo ** http://www.uccs.edu/~abusby/k0p.html *** **************************************************************************** ///// Hacking On the Highway: An Introduction by Joshua Tower and The Men From Mongo Caller ID, ANI, DNRs, AMA, data taps, and ignorantly conceived totalitarian legislation has made the art of hacking much more dangerous than it was only a few years ago. Back in the days of (the old YIPL originated) TAP magazine, Fred Steinbeck wrote "The Ten Commandments of Phone Phreaking"; the first of which was (paraphrased) "Do nothing over any phone traceable to you." This should be common sense to anyone who hasn't just crawled out from under a rock. Yet, we see so many dumb shits out there who continue to hack over their home phone lines. If you are one of these people, you are an idiot and probably deserve to get caught. While we call BBSes and occasionally get a conference call into our lines from some LLs out on the Left Coast, We pay our hefty phone bills on time every month and do nothing illegal on the line. They can DNR it all year long. All they'll find out is that Josh only calls his parents once a week and that we order a lot of Chinese take-out. The idea is to hack on the highway (the pavement kind for those of you who've read too much Wired). This isn't as difficult as you might think, and doesn't require you to spend $2000 on a new laptop. Yes, you're going to have to spend some money, but not that much. If you don't have a job we suggest you get off your ass and find something to bring in some cash. Besides, the authorities tend to look at you in a slightly better light if it looks like you're a responsible member of society, especially if you're a "good responsible kid who works after school." This we know from experience. The main items that are required are a laptop or similar portable system and a modem. A brand-new state-of-the-art laptop can cost upwards of $2000 depending on what you buy, but you don't need state-of-the-art for porta-hacking. All you really need is something that you can hook a modem to, run terminal software, and do a little data storage. One can find older laptops for under $100 in the classified ad sections of newspapers and in the Pennysaver, Bargain News, or whatever the ad paper is called in your locale. Hamfests and computer shows are also a good source. One of us saw an 8088 laptop at one for $15. Just make sure the unit either has an internal modem (even a 1200 will do for most hacking purposes) or has an RS-232 or PCMCIA port to add an external modem. If you're going the external RS-232 modem route, the modem will need to able to run off batteries. Make sure that the power supply that goes with the modem is a DC output supply. Many modems use AC output supplies, and the modem will be much more difficult to convert to battery operation. For a while there were these "pocket modems" being sold which were the size of a pack of cigarettes and ran off a 9 volt battery. We haven't seen them offered lately, but they still should be available on the used and surplus equipment market. For complete connectivity, acquire an acoustic coupler for your modem. This device attaches to the handset of any phone and plugs into your modem's RJ-11 jack. It is essential for modeming from payphones; where in most instances you don't have access to a terminal block or phone jack. Two devices of interest are available from Konexx/Unlimited Systems Corp. (http://www.konexx.com/ for product information). The first is the Model 204 "Konexx Koupler" ($140). It plugs into the RJ-11 jack of a modem and provides acoustic coupling between the modem and a telephone handset. According to company literature it operates up to 14.4K baud on electronic phones, and up to 2400 baud on payphones and other phones that use a carbon microphone. The second is the Model 305 "Modem Koupler" ($300). This is a 2400 baud acoustically coupled RS- 232 modem. Both units are powered off a 9V battery. Our personal preference is towards the Model 204. It is less expensive overall when bought with a modem (14.4K PCMCIA modems are down to $130 new. RS-232 modems are even less.), enables one to communicate at higher speeds than does the Model 305, and offers greater overall versatility. There are also a few other things that you should also throw into your porta- hack kit: - Can wrench or 7/16" nutdriver - The tool that is needed to open up bridging heads, pedestals, demarc points, and other places where you can hook in to receive a dialtone - RJ-11 to alligator clip adaptor - a/k/a "Beige Box". Go the deluxe route and make one with piercer clips (what lineman test sets are equipped with) so you can also hook into a single pair drop wire if needed. - Phone cords - You will probably run into many instances where you will be able to use one; so keep 'em handy. We keep a 12 foot modular line cord in our kits for when a conventional hook-up presents itself. Those retractable 50 foot units is very handy for running a line from a phone can to a nearby place of concealment, and takes up little space. - Leatherman Tool, Gerber Multi-Plier, et. al. - The standard hacker tool. Don't leave home without it. - Lineman test set or one piece phone with "beige box" adaptor - Wireless phone jack system - This system appears to have great potential. It costs about $100 and consists of a base unit and an extension unit. The base unit is plugged into any AC outlet near an existing phone line and connected to the line. The extension unit is plugged into any other outlet and gives you a phone line without the need to run cable. As long as both outlets are on the same transformer feed from the electric company, you should be able to hook this system up to a phone line and AC outlet in a utility room, and then go to another room with an AC outlet and have a phone connection. This could even be extended from one building to another provided both buildings were on the same transformer feed. With the electric company bridging transformers for remote meter reading, the range could be longer. - Prepaid Calling Cards - Currently the safest and best way to make modem calls from a payphone. Since the calls are paid for, there's no toll fraud flag that can come up to trip you later. Most prepaid calling card services don't forward CID information as well; although you will still have to contend with the service's WATS line getting your ANI data if you call it direct. - Proper attire and demeanor - In many places and instances it's a big help to look and act like you belong there. One should also have a plausible story set straight in advance in case they are questioned. Some Notes on Payphone Usage The problems with payphones (whether Bell or COCOT) are that they are difficult to hook a modem up to and interrupt the connection every few minutes in order to tell you that you have to put more money in. The solution is to use your acoustic coupler and a calling card of some sort. COCOTs usually have a modular jack at the demarc point (standard telco arrangement since the COCOT's wiring is the responsibility of the customer, just like with a residential line), and since they require external power there is usually an AC outlet somewhere nearby as well. DTP a sticker that says "Property of Dingleberry Telecom" (or whatever the name of the COCOT company is) put it on the base unit of a wireless phone jack system, and hook up the base unit to the COCOT's phone line and AC outlet. Find a nice secure place somewhere nearby which has a handy AC outlet off of the same transformer feed. Plug in the extension unit and have fun. Anybody who might notice the little adjunct you've added to the COCOT line will see the official-looking sticker on it and think it was something the company installed. Things To NOT Do (Taken from actual stories we've heard over the years.) * Don't drive up to a phone can, park next to it, and run a phone cable into your car to porta-hack. * Don't porta-hack from a hotel room after renting it under your real name. This applies doubly when the hotel is either currently a host to, or has previously hosted a hacker con. * Don't porta-hack off your neighbor's phone line(s). In particular, don't run a length of twisted pair from the neighbor's demarc point through your bedroom window to your box. * Don't try to hook into any pedestal box that has the local electric company's logo on it. * Don't fuck with any of the equipment at the connection points you leech service off of. * Don't go visiting manholes in order to porta-hack. * Don't porta-hack in public places wearing a "2600" t-shirt or wearing the same outfit you go to Marilyn Manson shows in. Clown make-up, however, is acceptable. * Don't tell the whole fucking world (or even non-implicated friends) about last night's porta-hacking session. * Don't porta-hack at the phone can in the front of your local gun range. * Don't bring your entire gang of friends and a keg while porta-hacking. A girlfriend and a bottle of Wild Turkey is acceptable. However, indulge in both in moderation. * Don't go porta-hacking on roller-blades. This is not the movies. Don't use skateboards, mountain bikes, or lame four-cylinder compact cars either. Real Cyberpunks go porta-hacking in Ford Crown Victorias, Chevy Caprices, Dodge Diplomats, and other big cars that have V8 engines under the hood. This also applies to hackers who are under 16, as we consider drivers' licenses optional. * Do not carry a flare gun while porta-hacking. Refer again to THAT fucking movie if you don't understand what we're talking about. Carry a .357 instead. How To Porta-Hack What the hell do you think this is? The alt.2600 FAQ? Get a fucking clue. Respectfully submitted, Joshua Tower and The Men From Mongo (Icky bo-bo to you too, asshole.) ///// "Fleeting Love" -------- by Alan C. Dougall Friendly concerning love pleases and delights, with responses intent on fun. Warm affectionate love comforts and listens, but secretly expressed burns. Selfish shameful love impresses and flatters, but considers only the moment. Impatient passionate love dreams and devours, yet boiled fast cools quickly. Shared longing love creates and destroys with the same words wheels turn. Realistic practical love challenges and defends; so conscience deprives its end. Final opportunistic love seeks and sows desires, yet knows time will steal it away. Restrained parting love lingers and grieves, yet pretends life goes on. Separated solitary love wallows or diverts, to feed or choke the past. Patient considerate love allows space and time, and hopes pause in anguish. Selfless undying love surrenders and frees, and dies to bring rebirth. Responsible decisive love cannot rest (forgive me) until you are safe and found (in Him). Deepest love (He knows) requests (if you permit) to hear from you and pray. "Beauty Sleep" -------- by Leilani Wright I feel I ought to warn you about dreams. They do not always mean what you would like them to. Take my advice; lie on your right side, furthest from your heart and not on your back, where the vitals are always too exposed. If symbols reoccur, like a train, gun, or snake at a station, do not assume a sexual slant. Roll over quietly. Stop snoring. Do not identify with the murderer who descends to the platform. He is rarely you and will only disturb the warm body sleeping at your side. Let the danger pass; you can always use another form of transportation, like your own legs when you walk in your sleep and wake up naked in the neighbor's flowering plants. This means fresh air and plenty of exercise. And you will be fortunate to remember so little by morning. "Touch of Light" -------- by Michael Morain The whiteness of the dawn Soft like a cloud against the dark Moving like an ocean Quietly, stealthily, carefully With fingers of light caressing Touching, holding, tasting Tracing our outlines against the sand Measuring our footprints Against the shadows Like a wind shining and sparkling Cleansing the dust motes of our atoms Warming us, holding us And in a moment Gone. "Did They Wonder?" -------- by Dominick Freda What are we here for? The question has been asked Endless times, Contemplated over and over With never an answer. As long as I can remember, Reaching the height where I could see myself reflected In a mirror, I have stared at that antithetical being, Asking him, "Who are you? "Why are you here?" He doesn't know the answer. Religion tells us just to serve. Politicians tell us to lead or follow. Dichotomies ramble and force division. Economists say we should be rational. Societies say we should be normal. Why? Do we exist just to give life, Propagate, be fruitful and multiply? Or are we here to hate, and kill; Give off deadly fumes so that One day we will end our wonders, In search of that ideal, that eternal progression? Millions of years ago a spark Created all life From some thoughtless phenom, Some unfathomable chasm, Of nothing and everything; The Alpha and Omega, Nameless and unconscious. And Pop lost his tail. And Mom stood and walked. And they saw that IT WAS GOOD. But did they wonder? Did they dream of successes? Or fear demons in the night? Huddle in the cold, Loving to embrace? Did they wonder? Did they ever think of their Children's tomorrow? And could they imagine a Beautiful and terrible world Of Darwinian technology, Knowing that each step taken, Each triumph, each fall, Counted the dying Of mankind? Did they wonder? Reprinted from Spiral Chambers #9. Poems are Copyright (c) 1996 by their respective authors. Unedited and properly attributed reproduction is encouraged. Original poems may be included in Spiral Chambers by sending the work to: Spiral Chambers P.O. Box 772 Mentor, Ohio 44061 or RepsiSK@AOL.com ---/////--- Unless otherwise noted Cybertek Electric is Copyright (C)1995,1996 by OCL/Magnitude, P.O. Box 64, Brewster, NY 10509. All Rights Reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged provided this electronic publication is redistributed in its entirety with credits intact. Cybertek Electric is published for educational purposes only; under The First Amendment of The United States Constitution. No illegal use is implied or suggested. If you have a problem with this, too fucking bad. SUBMISSIONS WANTED. If you can read and understand this e-zine then you should know what we're interested in. Please send any feedback, questions, and/or submissions to either of the email addresses in the signature below. |\ /| /\ / |\ | Thomas Icom/IIRG | >< | < > / | \ |\ |/ \| \/ < | | > | | /\ \ \ | |/ International Information Retrieval Guild | | / \ \ \| | "May Odin guide your way!" Madhr er manna gaman, ok moldar auki, ok skipa skreytir.