Episode 131: Phun with Boxes

[Flack]

Episode 131 is Online.

Still on track! Episode 131 of You Don't Know Flack is all about boxes -- not the cardboard kind, but the phone phreaking kind. After covering all the biggies (blue boxes, red boxes, beige boxes, and black boxes) I get into some of the slightly less well-known boxes (pink boxes and cheese boxes) and talk about what finally killed phone phreaking.

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Episode 131: http://podcast.robohara.com/?p=303
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[KHoos]

I recently read the very very good book exploding the phone and this has a lot more on the history of boxes and technical details. This does mean I heard several errors in your podcast, but I'll forgive you on those as a lot of information back then was second-hand or worse and indeed in those philes mentioned in the podcast.
One major insight I got from that book is how blueboxing developed from a rare curiosity (late 1960s) to a 'systematic failure' in the 1980s with blueboxes being sold in numbers. Knowledge of security vulnerabilities spreads in hours these days thanks to the web, but back then years could pass between the first discoveries and widespread attacks.
For those who want to try their skills at old-sk00l blueboxing in 2013 without breaking the law (but depending on the generosity of hobbyists making their equipment available!) visit Project MF or http://www.blueboxing.org/.
A while ago I made my own recording of a phreaked call thanks to project MF.

[obliterator918]

I'm about six chapters into Exploding the Phone. Great book so far, lot's of interesting history lessons in there. The descriptions of the massive mechanical switching systems invented to automate long distance calling are really fascinating.