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*            Boxing Basics           *
*            By Dr. Pepper           *
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     What I will provide here ia a summary of the three most
important boxes, some of the ways Ma Bell tries to catch boxers,
and some suggestions on avoiding being caught.

     The most famous box, the blue box, is essentially like a
portable touch-tone pad, except the tones are not touch-tone
(DTMF)  -- they are the trunk signaling frequencies (MF). A goo
box also contains the supervision control frequency, 2600 Hz
(SF).

     Hackers use the box by gaining access to a DDD (or other)
network sender (it's like a dial tone), usually by making a 800
or 555 call. A much better access is if there are local tandems
in your area used for non-accounted calls but allowing non-local
outgoing calls.

     Phreaks use blue boxes because it allows the introduction
of network dial codes other than area code and number and opened
an incredibly complex maze to be explored and toyed with. Other
people used blue boxes to complete calls without paying. This
made AT&T intent on stopping the access; to them the phreaks
tying up tandems from Kalamazoo to Moscow wre a nuisance, and
the others were thieves.

     One of the most successful means of catching blue boxers
was and is the feature in the accounting program which calls
attention to any number which shows a large number of 800 or 555
calls. (We know of telecommunications managers on our side who
have been called by AT&T to find out why so and so - an
employee-- makes so many calls to the company 800 number). Other
means include analyzing trunk trouble reports (if your box
doesn't treat the trunk the same way AT&T's equipment does, it
can in some cases generate trouble reports).

     Once the suspicion is there, your local Telco puts a 'pen
recorder' on your line, and everything you dial -rotary,
touch-tone, or MF gets recorded on paper - this paper will be
used as evidence against you. Eventuall the U.S. Government
prosecutes you for 'interstate fraud by wire' -- an extremely
broad law.

     In order to eliminate blue boxing, which relies on the use
of the MF signals on the same circuit that you talk on, Ma Bell
is converting to a new system, Common Channel Interoffice
Signalling (CCIS). There are many benefits of CCIS other than
eliminating blue boxing, but it will eventually eliminate blue
boxing because it sends the network signaling information on
data links between signal transfer points (STPS) associated with
various switching machines.

     It will take many years for CCIS to be universally used,
but it is going in fast. As long as there is one non-CCIS link
in the network, the phreaks will find it and ply their hobby.

     To avoid getting caught: don't use your box from the same
place repeatedly. Don't complete calls to friends and sit and
gab-- if no 'signs and signals' are transmitted (you don't pass
information -- you don't communicate) you have not committed
fraud by wire. You may get charged with possession, if state
laws where you are caught make boxes illegial.

     The second famous box is the black box. With the black box,
you receive calls without the caller being charged. This is
useless for hackers -- only the freephone people are interested.
This works in step-by-step (SXS) offices, #1 and #5 Crossbar,
and some non-Bell offices. Bell's ESS offices are too clever for
this trick- your phone isn't connected to the incoming trunk
unless you are off-hook.

     Ma Bell catches blank boxers by examining trunk records.
Why was the trunk in use for so long, but not off-hook? In #5
Crossbar offices, there will also be funny account entries --
originate followed by disconnect -- a long time later -- with no
answer in between. ESS offices can generate this data when
audits are done ( a random occurence).

     The best way to avoid being caught is to stay away from
this one. At least keep your calls short -- the length of 15-20
rings or so.

     The final famous box is the red box. This is the electronic
equivalent of the chime people used to take to a pay phone so
that the operator thinks money is being deposited. The gongs
were easy to record or obtain and operators could be easily
fooled. The newer phones with the beeps made it necessary to
come up with something more precise.

     People get caught when an operator gets suspicious and
calls security, or when the accounting info for the phone says
there isn't enough money in the coin box. Bell security then
stakes out the pay phone -- and zap. Never use the same pay
phone twice.
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