------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | _____ | | (.---.)-._.-. l a s l o c o m m . n e t t e c h n i c a l j o u r n a l | | /:::\ _.---' v o l u m e 1 i s s u e 5 d e c 2 0 0 1 / jan 2 0 0 2 | | '-----' sjw http://www.laslocomm.net/techjournal/index.shtml | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ yo, dude! answer the phone! in this issue editorial comments how to submit articles technical news article: 414 payphones [laslo] review: the web page you have reached (twpyhr.com) [laslo] copyrights redistribution -------------------- | editorial comments | -------------------- september 11 2001 looms like a cloud over most everything; it's hard to be a hacker these days, with increased security all over the place. none of which would deter a terrorist bent on destruction. the world trade center had an extensive array of security personnel on duty that day, none of which did anything to stop what happened. (try going into an average downtown office building and asking to use the bathroom, or use a phone, and see what happens.) anyway. in this issue: an overview of payphones in the milwaukee area, with some updates on stuff you used to be able to do. also, a brief review of one of my favorite websites, www.twpyhr.com. ------------------------ | how to submit articles | ------------------------ articles including how to's and technical and research papers on any technical topic are always considered for publication. guest editorial submissions on technical/social topics are encouraged. please send your submission via the submissions page at http://www.laslocomm.net/submit.shtml, or via email (plain text) to webmaster@laslocomm.net. your feedback is of course always appreciated. ---------------- | technical news | ---------------- states can now add area codes dedicated to wireless http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011216/tc/wireless_area_codes_2.html safeweb shuts down, will focus on selling to businesses http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011119/wr/tech_privacy_dc_1.html internet phones useful during 9/11/01 as alternative to landlines http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011121/wr/column_livewire_dc_11.html uw-madison hacker faces trial for alleged infractions http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/nov01/hacker25112401a.asp inmarsat to offer free email service for five days over christmas http://www.computeruser.com/news/01/12/01/news4.html webrings no longer the property of yahoo! http://salon.com/tech/feature/2001/12/05/webring/print.html disposable cellphones stir debate, as most things do... http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7206084.html ...and rhode island will be able to trace the location of cell calls http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011207/tc/cell_phone_emergencies_1.html oracle claims software 'unbreakable', hackers set out to prove otherwise http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/011209/n07228963_2.html appropriate credit for open source software (url wrapped) http://staging.infoworld.com/articles/op/xml/01/11/26/011126opsource. xml?Template=/storypages/printfriendly.html new version of emacs released http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/ kevin mitnick's ham license renewal denied http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/23494.html how an internet cafe helps the homeless communicate at christmas http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_480291.html?menu=news.technology dmitry sklyarov is free to return to russia http://www.2600.com/news/display.shtml?id=902 2600 won their case vs ford motor company... http://www.2600.com/news/display.shtml?id=915 ...but lost against the RIAA http://www.2600.com/news/display.shtml?id=852 hackers claim software 'breakable', oracle sets out to... http://www.securityfocus.com/cgi-bin/vulns-item.pl?section=info&id=3726 [link seen on slashdot] ------------------------------------ | article: 414 payphones - part one | ------------------------------------ part one of this article is an overview of some of the things I've observed in dealing with payphones in 414. I've tried to include some background where appropriate. in later parts, I'll attempt to get more into technical details and specific models, as well as quirks of specific installations. what is a payphone, really? a payphone is a coin operated *or* credit card/collect only phone that is placed in a public place for use by anyone with access to the area containing the phone. not all payphones are considered to be public, however; payphones are often located on private property, subject to the restrictions of the property owner(s). who owns the payphones? any phone with an ameritech logo is the property and responsibility of sbc/ameritech. you will see other phones that look similar, but are owned/leased by either the owner of the premises (a gas station that owns and maintains its own payphones), or by an agent who leases or rents space for a phone and pays the premises owner for the space occupied by the phone. cocots (customer owned coin telephones) these days are often actually owned by payphone services, not the owner of the place where they are found. more details from the alt.phreaking faq[1]: 7.1.1 What is a COCOT? COCOT is an acronym for Customer Owned Coin Operated Telephone. Due to the efforts of modernization, COCOTs differ from ILEC coin stations only in business terms now. 7.1.2 What is a Coin Line? In the good old days COCOTs were connected to normal POTS (home phone) lines.There is a growing trend to connect COCOTs to specially leased lines from the phone company that allow for greater fraud protection by blocking 900/976 and an option to block international calls, along with coin supervision and disposal features, not returning a wink (which would reset older COCOTs, giving an unrestricted dialtone) and extended operator services. Different RBOC's offer different features and different names for this service. the regional bell operating companies never seem to say much about public telephones, other than to raise rates and complain that they compete with wireless (cellular and pcs). [2] many ameritech payphones are in fact being removed from service in the milwaukee, wi/414 area, especially since summer of 2001 [3]. for many people, wireless phones have replaced the concept of public pay telephones. COCOTs are another story entirely; payphones are big business to some people. IPP's (independent payphone providers) are the businesses that operate the phones you see without an ameritech logo; some of the most common are the phones with signs reading ".25 anywhere in the usa" and similar claims. cocots actually provide services much differently than rboc owned phones. these services include: - local and long distance direct dialed calls - operator service calls (information, etc) which earn the owner a commission[4] - dial-around, in which the customer chooses a service other than the one(s) offered by the IPP[5] the dial tone on a cocot[6] may or may not come from your local telephone company. you may notice that when dialing a call on a cocot, you hear dtmf digits being dialed between the last digit you dial, and the call "going through". it is entirely possible that your call is being routed through another location (similar to the operation of an extender) (which could be anything, including voip) before actually being completed. anac (automated number announce circuit) ANAC is simply a circuit that when reached, reads back the number you are calling from. many people, including myself, tend to lump any number that when dialed, will eventually read back the number you are calling from as an ANAC. technically this is not correct, ymmv. since many payphones do not have a number printed on them, anac circuits are an easy way to get a payphone's actual telephone number. toll-free anac's are especially useful on cocot's that are programmed to block calls to exchanges used for testing (in 414, many cocot's do not pass calls to 958-xxxx). I find it interesting to see what exchanges payphones are connected to; sometimes, there are interesting quirks. for example, payphones at milwaukee's mitchell international airport are on the 747 exchange. as with any phone number, don't abuse or overuse anac's. if possible, try to use them after business hours when they're less likely to be needed by their intended users. the 414 anac is 958-0330. don't abuse it. [thanks to wi2600] anonymity you should never assume that you are cloaked just because you are using a public payphone. a payphone is connected via a copper pair, and is subject to the same potential mointoring and surveillance as any other phone. cameras in the area surrounding the phone may include the phone (and you) in their field of vision. you may leave fingerprints, dna samples (hair, skin etc) that directly tie you to using a specific phone. telco equipment records call origination and destinations. the phone may be under surveillance looking for someone else (a drug dealer, perhaps). toll fraud keep in mind, that aside from being on the wrong side of the law, toll fraud costs people money all along the line. in ye olden days, the bell system absorbed the cost. these days, there's an IPP, the operator service provider, the dialaround, the local phone company, the sales agent, and the business that's hosting the phone; and these people tend to be serious. be a phreak, but try not to be a stupid phreak. location be aware of where you are, and what's going on around you when you are at/using a payphone. chances are that you will have some sort of gadgets/tools with you. sometimes, people notice these things, and sometimes people are interested in taking them from you. should especially be careful at payphones in areas that you are unfamiliar with. some locations (especially at gas stations and parking lots where stupid people drive cars) require extra caution; believe it or not, I've almost been sandwiched between a car and a drive-up payphone because some idiot didn't expect to see a person standing there. also, if you are using a payphone in a building, remember that you are on private property, and the owners of that property do have the right to refuse you access to the phone. I disagree with the practce, but it's not that unusual since 9/11/01 to be denied access to use a payphone. ----- [1] http://seusslyone.tripod.com/newfaq.html [2] http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2001/11/03/aj/ [3] http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/music/jun01/fest29062801.asp [4] http://www.payphones-usa.com/FAQs/FAQ_25.html [5] http://www.payphones-usa.com/FAQs/FAQ_03.html [6] http://www.payphones-usa.com/FAQs/FAQ_14.html [7] http://www.tellme.com, 1-800-555-TELL some additional links: http://www.payphone-project.com/ http://www.payphones-usa.com http://www.telefone.com http://www.elcotel.com http://www.2600.com/phones/ you can find a list of 414 papyhones at: http://www.laslocomm.net/414/414payphones.shtml -------------------------------------------- | the web page you have reached (twpyhr.com) | -------------------------------------------- there are times when occasionally reading postings on USENET still results in finding useful information. one of those times was the night (a year or so ago) I found a posting by Jenn, proprietoress of The Web Page You Have Reached, located at http://www.twpyhr.com. I forget what the posting was about, but that's where I found the first reference to the site. honestly, I never would have thought about recordings of telephone related sounds, although I've listened to them many times. if you consider yourself a phone phreak, you'll be in heaven. telco error messages, dtmf, various box tones, device tones, dialing noises, and even the sound made by the telezapper have been recorded and separated into categories. you will also find a good collection of telephone graphics, the results of scans, and text files relating to telephones. I'll be honest: Jenn's site was part of the inspiration for my beginning work on laslocomm.net. so it is with great respect that I recommend twpyhr.com. go there now. change your default beep to "we're sorry... your call did not go through". you know you want to. ------ --------------------------------------- | copyrights and credits and shouts.out | --------------------------------------- all copyrights and trademarks mentioned in this issue are the property of their owners. duh. special thanks to jenn for building her site, and giving me something to write about (thereby getting this issue finally released.) ---------------- | redistribution | ---------------- (c) 2001, 2002 laslocomm.net all rights reserved redistribution permitted for non-commercial, personal use