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PHREAKING. In case you have resided on the moon for the last decade and didn't know it, "Phreaking" is the catch-all term used by young (and occasionally not-so-young) people who get a special adrenalin rush from the often less than legal activities which this computer technology makes possible. Hacking, cracking, etc. have now fallen under the general lexiconical heading of "phreaking" (which used to only connote telephone-related hacks and scams) among some people. So where should I begin? Maybe with the ethical dilemma which writing this review of the Phreaking site and newsletter presented me with on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Yes, the e-zine is listed in our TechMailings database, so you have the opportunity to go there. But --- I had to ask myself --- is it "okay" for me to review this one? Would some readers take the review as an endorsement?
I hope you are discerning enough, Gentle Reader, not to take this review as an endorsement of the content of this e-zine. I hope you realize that Tech Mailings Guy looks at hundreds of Web sites and e-zines every week and *does not* agree with their content, but still tries to provide you with an honest opinion of what they have to offer.
That said, let's look at Phreaking.
The homepage for this e-zine, on the xoom.com service, features various logos emblazoned "FREE KEVIN," a reference to notorious uber-cracker Kevin Mitnick. The site offers information on the latest developments in Mr. Mitnick's legal saga.
As one might expect, among the information presented here is instructions on a variation of the practice known as "phone phreaking." Here's a snip' from the intro:
"Finding A Number To Use:
"First of all, if you're going to be calling from home, it's best to charge the calls to a different area code than your own. Sure, a local number will work but when the people get their phone bill and see a local number on it, they'll most likely call it to find out what it is. When they see a long distance number they think "Goodness gracious! If I call that number my phone bill will even be higher." Even if they do call you, you can just play ignorant and if they're far away they probably won't come looking for you.
"Pick a city, any city. The city should be far away in another state. Now dial local information and ask for the area code to your city. Let's say you picked Waverly, Iowa. The area code is 319. Now dial to call Waverly Directory Assisstance. The charge for this call should only be about sixty cents. Now think of a very common last name like Smith, Lawrence, Conner, Mitchell, Shlappenheimerwinthrop, etc. You get the idea.
"OPER: Directory Assisstance, Betty. What city, please?
"YOU: Waverly.
"OPER: Go ahead.
"YOU: I need the number of a last name Conner.
"OPER: (type, type, type) Okay I have two Conners listed. A Bob and an initial H.
"YOU: Bob, yeah that's it. Definately Bob. Bob it is. Gimmie Bob. Yeah, Bob.
"OPER: The number is 452-0357.
"So that's the number you'll bill to. 319-452-0357. Of course if you're planning to do this extensively you'll need many more numbers to pick from. That's when you call up the phone company and ask for a phone book to be delivered to you so you'll have a whole list of numbers to choose from. A normal book will cost about $7.00 or so. If you know how to do it right, it won't cost you anything but I won't get into that. The phone book will pay for itself after about 3 or 4 long distance calls..."
Even though I don't live in Waverly, Iowa, and my name isn't Conner, I find this page disturbing. I suspect you do, as well. SPECIAL NOTE TO ACTOR CHRISTIAN SLATER: I sincerely hope that isn't your actual telephone number featured on this page.
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