   _________________
  /\__\_______\_____\ iTS
 / /  /__   __/  ___/ Internal Theft Syndicate
/ /  // /  / /__   /  Proudly Presents:
\/__/ \/__/\/_____/   T.I.T.S. The Intuitve Textfile Series


**ITSVMB01.TXT *VMB Hacking 1 of 2*
This is the first of a two-part series from Drakkhar explaining everything you
will need to know to find, hack, and safely manage your own voice mail system.
Safety techniques are included, as well as easy ways to find and hack VMBs both
remote and locally.



Voice mail boxes (vmbs) are quite useful. They allow people anywhere to leave
you messages without having to call long distance. They allow people to get in
touch with you without having your phone number. There is no way to stop a
phreak from hacking into a VMB and getting a box without paying for it. Of
course, there is nothing to stop feds from checking to see what's in your
box, so don't advertise the number everywhere.

Obviously, the first step in obtaining a VMB is finding a system to hack
into. Virgin systems (unhacked) are the best, because they will have less
precautions against phreaks and will not realize, usually, that they've
been hacked into. Systems that have been hacked will check to see if they
have any hacked boxes. If you can find a box that someone pays for, but never
uses, you're in luck. Hack out that box, and it's yours as long as they pay
for it and do not even use it. You will need a war-dialer like ToneLoc, and
then will have to scan 800s. Take the number of a VMB you know of, and then
scan that exchange.

You will have to be around while the scanning is going on, to listen to what
happens on various phone numbers. A cheap sounding recording is always an
answering machine. A high-quality recording that sounds like someone is on
the other side of the line is a VMB. You will hear a recording like, "You
have reached an electronic message system" in everybody's favorite annoying
as hell nasal voice. You will have to enter a key sequence to enter the system.
Sequences are almost always 100, * (the most common), #, or 9. Now, it will
either say something else like "Enter the box number", just sit there, or
make a tone. Keep entering zeroes until you enter a box. Count the number of
digits you entered, that's the legnth of the boxes. Realize that not all
boxes have to be the same legnth. They can be different legnth depending on
the first number you enter (ie. boxes starting with 6 are 5 digits long, boxes
starting with 0 are 4 digits long). Box numbers do not have to be in ascending
order. They can be every 10 numbers, every 100. Any combo. You will need to
find a valid box number.  Write this down, even if it is someone else's box.
Now, you will need to find an empty box that is valid. After 3 incorrect tries,
most systems will disconnect you. Try 2 box numbers, then enter the valid box
number you found first. Now, abort, by pressing * or #, and it will start over.
Keep doing this until you find some empty boxes.

An empty box will be easy to recognize. You will hear a greeting message like,
"Please leave a message", nothing personal, no names or anything mentioned.
Now, you have to "log in" as the box owner. The most common way to log in
is to hit # or * from the main menu (what you reach after you enter the key
sequence to enter the VMB system). This will give you a prompt like, "Please
enter your box number, then password". Another way, on some systems, it to
hit a special key during the greeting of a box. 0, #, or * are usually it.
It will say something to the extent of "Enter your passcode". Those two methods
usually work. If they don't, just play around. If after a while you still
cannot log in, say "Fuck it" and move on toward another easier, more hackable
system.

When a system administrator "creates" a box for someone, it always has the
default passcode. Of course, all unused boxes have the default passcode too.
Once a legit user logs into his new box, he is told to change his passcode.
Of course, most people don't realize that anyone would try to hack into their
VMB, so they don't change the default password. Others might not even put a
passcode. For those who do change the password, they usually choose something
very easy to guess.
	              
DEFAULTS	        BOX NUMBER		TRY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
box number (bn)	        3234	  	        3234
bn backwards	        2351	  	        1532
bn+0		        323	   	        3230


4digits		5digits		6digits
        
0000            00000		000000		
9999    	99999		999999
1111    	11111		111111
1234   		12345		123456
4321    	54321		654321
6789    	56789		456789
9876    	98765		987654
2222    	22222		222222
3333    	33333		333333
4444    	44444		444444
5555    	55555		555555
6666    	66666		666666
7777    	77777		777777
8888    	88888		888888
1991    
1992   
1993   

Okay, now you've logged in. If the box belongs to someone, listen to the
messages in it. Pay attention to the dates of the messages. If they are
more than four weeks old, it's obvious the owner isn't using his box. If 
there are any recent messages, the box is in use, and it will be useless 
to take it it. If you take a box not in use, or an abandoned box, it should
last for a while, and will not be noticed soon.

Okay, now you've gotten into a box, logged in, and seen if it's newly created
or abandoned. Abandoned boxes last the longest, so go for those first. Watch
the box carefully for three days. If nothing has happened, change the passcode.
Then, for another three days, monitor the box. If no one has left any messages
in it, it's probably deserted. Now change the greeting to something really
generic, like "Sorry I'm not in right now, leave your name and number and I'll
get back to you!" Keep this generic message for a week. If there are still
no messages, then change the greeting to whatever you want.

From inside the main menu (after you've logged in), you can easily search for
virgin boxes (unused), or any other boxes if you wish. If there is an option 
to send a message to another user or check reciept of a message, you are in 
luck. You will be allowed to enter any number of incorrect numbers without 
being disconnected as you would if you were not logged in. You will eventually 
find boxes with greetings like, "Mailbox XXXX" or "Please leave a message" or 
"Please leave a message for Mailbox XXXX"

Well, this basically covers how to hack into VMBs. There are various systems,
with different options and tricks you can use. Look for my next file, which
will cover different vmb systems.

Researched by: Poseidon
Written by: Drakkhar
