[HN Gopher] Computer Crime: Pirates and Phone Phreaks (1983)
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       Computer Crime: Pirates and Phone Phreaks (1983)
        
       Author : elvis70
       Score  : 29 points
       Date   : 2020-11-08 18:10 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (archive.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (archive.org)
        
       | johndjos wrote:
       | Literally listening to the Iwoz book, Phone Phreaking came up as
       | I saw this
        
       | the-dude wrote:
       | I think it was around 1988 in NL when I obtained a DTMF-gagdet
       | for very little money, probably intended for operating answering
       | machines remotely.
       | 
       | However, while the Dutch pay-phone booths had their rotary-dial
       | blocked by the pay-mechanism, the line was 'open'. We called all
       | around the world, in particular to Japan because apparently this
       | was the most expensive ( rates were listed in the _phone book_ ).
       | 
       | Around this time I also did my share of 'war calling' with my
       | first modem ( I forgot the proper term ). Memory is hazy, but I
       | recall hitting some prompts, but had no idea what to do, I had
       | never seen a Unix or similar.
       | 
       | Around the same time, I read the C bible while on a camping
       | holiday with my parents. I remember it was though material for a
       | 14 year old. I owned an Acorn Electron at the time.
        
         | walshemj wrote:
         | Acorn Atom :-) didn't know they sold them outside the UK.
         | 
         | The Atom was the predecessor to the BBC micro
        
           | the-dude wrote:
           | I had seen the Atom in an electronics store ( the kind which
           | sold resistors and stuff ).
           | 
           | Electron's were dumped by Acorn at the time and obtainable
           | for a very fair price through a Dutch retailer/discounter
           | (Quantum, which sold carpets and stuff).
           | 
           | My school actually had a fully equipped BBC B classroom, with
           | server, with coprocessor and networked. But this was an
           | exception, it was quite an elite/forward-thinking school.
        
         | _joel wrote:
         | It was also possible to pulse the receiver switch emulating an
         | old rotary phone clicks, if that phone had a lock that only
         | activated the mic when you put a payment in. Did this many
         | times on pub phones that were intended just to dial a taxi too.
         | Fun times
        
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       (page generated 2020-11-08 23:01 UTC)