124 lines
7.5 KiB
Plaintext
124 lines
7.5 KiB
Plaintext
DDDDD FFFFFFFFF SSSSSS
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D D FF S
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D D FFFFF S
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D D FF SSSSSS
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D D FF S
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DDDDD FFFF SSSSSSS
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(ASCii By AD!)
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Damned Fucking Shit
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Issue #38
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Title: Radio Data
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Date: 7/13/94
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By: Jeeb
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Radio Data by Jeeb
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Computers used to be tools available only to rich companies and
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individuals. Today, you see beggars post ads on BBSes (sysops). My point
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is, the computer is the greatest invention since the radio, and that's why
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people like to combine them. There's one vital flaw in this, however. Radio
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signals are often easy to intercept and computers often depend on security.
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The goal of this text file is to explain how you can (ab)use this flaw for
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your personal enjoyment.
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There are many types of data signals that you will find on the radio.
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Radio faxes, pagers, Mobile Data Terminals, and remote controls are just a
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few. Before you get bored with this, let me explain what these are used
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for. Radio faxes are used to transfer weather maps, AP news photos, and
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even some newspapers. Pagers are somewhat boring to watch but can be fun to
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hack. Mobile Data Terminals are often used by police for communicating
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information about cars and people. Remote controls are stupidly used on car
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alarms, house alarms, garage door openers, etc.
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Now I know you're staring at your Optima 28.8 and thinking "hmm how do
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I rig this thing up to my scanner?" Don't. Telephone modems handshake too
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slowly for them to decode data transmissions. You might be able to get a
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few messages but the best way is to build your own. No, this won't take you
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$300 and two years. Most data transmissions under 800 MHz are under 2400
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baud. This means that there are many easy ways to build an interface. IC
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modems are now available that are capable of 300 and 1200 baud. For slower
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speeds (yes, you will encounter SLOWER speeds), you can build your own
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modem by simply using an op-amp filter and a 567 decoder IC. I'm not going
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to go into the details of this though, check with your electronic parts
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supplier (no, not Radio Shack!) for part info. The soundblaster card is
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capable of decoding audio data transmissions, but I haven't seen any decent
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software for it yet. Maybe I'll write some, but don't hold your breath.
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There are a few things you need to be aware of when you receive a
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signal. First is the baud rate. Sometimes you can figure this out by ear,
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other times you have to guess. Common baud rates are 55,110,300,1200, and
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2400 baud. Next is the frequency shift. Most data transmissions consist of
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a low tone, indicating a binary 0, and a high tone, indicating a binary 1.
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High speed data transmissions are different, but right now we're not
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worrying about them. The frequency shift is the difference between high
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tone and low tone. You will find that some transmissions are standard
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frequency shift and others are unique. Your biggest enemy is encryption.
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Data transmissions are much easier to encrypt than voice transmissions.
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Nevertheless, several data transmissions are unencrypted. Remote controls
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aren't as much of a problem though. There may be 30 trillion possible
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codes, but if you get a high quality sample of the transmission, you can
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just duplicate it and break into the car or house or whatever. Cars that
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automatically unlock when you press the transmitter are great fun,
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especially when they leave the keys in the car. If you can't hack a
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transmission by careful examination and simple translate tables, you might
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want to consider moving on to another transmission. Remember, excessive
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crap might mean that you're not tuned in right, not necessarily that it is
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encrypted.
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Another thing worth mentioning are accidental transmissions. The Van
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Eck syndrome. Most computer equipment emits radio waves (that's why they
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all have that FCC part 15 compliance thing). It takes an indepth study, but
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you can learn what a computer is doing just by its RF leakage. On a side
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note, its always good to find some strong leakage frequencies for your
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laptop, so if your brother stole it and is using it in the next room, you
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can tune it in and go beat the crap outta him. Be smart though, because
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most leakage doesn't contain any useable data.
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Well this is the part where I list things you can try listening to.
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Unfortunately I don't have much reference material with me but this should
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be enough to get you started. All signals are FM unless otherwise
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indicated.
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144.91-145.09 MHz Amateur Packet Radio, usually 1200 baud AFSK
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152-153,158-159 MHz, Digital pagers. Shift varies.
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929-932 MHz
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If you're serious about this stuff, then I recommend buying a frequency
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counter. If you're near the transmitting antenna it will tell you the
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frequency so you won't have to search forever.
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If you're really elite you might want to get a transmitter to play
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with. Watch out for CRC checks and time stamps or your transmissions won't
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work. Also remember that they can and sometimes do track down repeat
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abusers. If there's one frequency you really want to attack, do it from
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different locations for a short period of time, or use a directional
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antenna pointed in different directions. It is illegal for a mortal to
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transmit almost any type of data via radio waves using homemade equipment.
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It is also illegal to decrypt any encrypted transmission. (These are FCC
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laws in the US.)
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Finally, let me know what you think. Did you like the file? Hate it?
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Need to know more? I'd also like to hear what you've tried and how it went.
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Until August 8th you can contact me any of the following ways: (in order of
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preference)
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rmitra@iastate.edu
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1-800-298-MAIL box 3504
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+1 515 296 0600 voice
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and, of course, I'll always be Jeeb on Paradise Lost.
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<Hey, Access Denied, I didn't type "ok" once in this entire file!>
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Find DFS On These Fine Systems
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==========================================================================
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| Paradise Lost +1.414.476.3181 DFS World HQ |
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| Temporary Insanity +1.ITS.NOW.DOWN DFS Affiliate HQ |
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| Plan 9 Information Archives +1.716.881.FONE (3663) DFS Southern HQ |
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| Arrested Development +31.77.547477 DFS European HQ |
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| Under World Element +1.203.740.9571 DFS Eastern HQ |
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| 7th Heaven +1.216.464.6789 DFS Ohio HQ |
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| Lucifer's Exile +1.513.459.1278 DFS Midwest HQ |
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| Twilight Of The Idols +1.613.226.3386 DFS Canada HQ |
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| |
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| AE - Plan 9 Information Archives - Login: DFS |
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| FTP - etext.archive.umich.edu - /pub/Zines/DFS |
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| IRC - #DFS (Whenever Access Denied or Incarnate is on) |
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| VMB - 1.800.298.6245 x3508 |
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| To submit, call Paradise Lost and log on as DFS. The password is: |
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| JINGLE JINGLE |
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==========================================================================
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