{"video_id":"pbW1ySDef_E","title":"Apple’s Origins Are In An ILLEGAL Product - Phone Phreaking","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2025-05-04T14:58:16Z","duration_s":337,"segments":[{"start_s":0.28,"end_s":7.0,"text":"did you know that Apple a $3.5 trillion","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.0,"end_s":9.04,"text":"company is only around due to an illegal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.0,"end_s":14.679,"text":"back alley product back in the early 1970s Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":11.639,"end_s":17.32,"text":"Steve wnac constructed a device called a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":14.679,"end_s":22.279,"text":"blue box that essentially hacked phone systems allowing the user to make free","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":19.8,"end_s":27.16,"text":"long-distance calls a huge deal at the time as it wasn't uncommon to have to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.32,"end_s":31.24,"text":"pay upwards of $3 a minute for calls across state lines the blue box was a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":29.519,"end_s":35.76,"text":"result of a discovery that phone connections could be manipulated by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.12,"end_s":43.2,"text":"playing certain sounds into a phone's handset a process called","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.8,"end_s":46.64,"text":"freaking to be more specific a tone of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.2,"end_s":48.84,"text":"2600 Hertz which sounds like this was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.64,"end_s":53.719,"text":"used by phone companies as a control signal that a certain line was now free","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.8,"end_s":59.239,"text":"typically because one of the callers had hung up but in the late 1950s a blind","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.719,"end_s":63.519,"text":"child named Joe Andia discovered a similar form of freaking accidentally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":61.559,"end_s":68.68,"text":"while whistling into a phone that was playing a recorded message because our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.08,"end_s":73.0,"text":"friend Joe had Perfect Pitch he was able to recreate this Behavior to make calls","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":70.84,"end_s":77.68,"text":"drop without hanging up the phone essentially manipulating the phone's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":74.64,"end_s":79.6,"text":"backend systems from the user interface","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.68,"end_s":84.079,"text":"sort of like people on Twitter telling AI Bots to ignore all previous","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.799,"end_s":88.759,"text":"instructions a community started to emerge around phone freaking and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.84,"end_s":92.799,"text":"eventually the blue box built upon Joe's Discovery to democ TI longdistance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.04,"end_s":96.84,"text":"calling or cheat the phone companies out of Revenue depending on your perspective","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.0,"end_s":100.84,"text":"here's how it worked the user of the blue box would dial a toll-free 1800","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.32,"end_s":104.719,"text":"number to ensure they wouldn't be charged for the call when it heard the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":102.64,"end_s":109.399,"text":"phone ring on the other end the blue box would play that 2600 HZ tone into the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":107.399,"end_s":114.159,"text":"phone's handset which would trick the system into thinking the caller had hung","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.92,"end_s":119.36,"text":"up before anyone answered the line was marked as being free but the caller","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":116.479,"end_s":123.56,"text":"using the blue box was still on the line the blue box would then send the tones","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.6,"end_s":127.28,"text":"that corresponded to the number the user actually wanted to reach since the line","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.399,"end_s":131.4,"text":"was still active and voila free longdistance calling not a bad deal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.119,"end_s":136.36,"text":"considering they were sold for 170 bucks each but no more than 100 of them were","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.92,"end_s":140.92,"text":"ever made because they were so rare one of them ended up selling at auction in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.36,"end_s":146.76,"text":"2017 for $125,000 similar in price to the new","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.48,"end_s":148.48,"text":"iPhone 16 Pro with 2 TB of storage of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":146.76,"end_s":152.4,"text":"course phone companies became wise to the blue box especially after a rather","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.519,"end_s":156.48,"text":"anti-establishment magazine ran an article with instructions on how to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.44,"end_s":159.44,"text":"construct a similar device yourself at home we'll tell you about how the phone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.2,"end_s":163.519,"text":"companies tried to put an end to freaking as well as how the freaking","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":161.36,"end_s":169.28,"text":"Community countered their counter right after we thank MSI their magx 870","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":167.04,"end_s":174.8,"text":"Tomahawk Wi-Fi motherboard is built for the most intense use cases be it AAA","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":172.36,"end_s":179.08,"text":"gaming or triple overtime grinding it comes loaded with four m.2 slots built","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":177.159,"end_s":184.56,"text":"in Wi-Fi 7 capabilities and supports ryzen 9 ,000 8,000 and 7,000 processors","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":182.84,"end_s":190.2,"text":"your absolutely baller builds call for a motherboard that can support them so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":186.599,"end_s":192.48,"text":"check out msi's magx 870 Tomahawk Wi-Fi","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":190.2,"end_s":197.64,"text":"using our link today the main countermeasure against phone freaking is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":194.159,"end_s":200.48,"text":"called signaling System 7 and I use the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.64,"end_s":204.64,"text":"present tense is because it's actually still around today even though it was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.879,"end_s":209.48,"text":"rolled out in the early 1980s the basic idea behind ss7 is simply to put the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.519,"end_s":214.0,"text":"control signals on a separate line so they be manipulated by sounds played","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.28,"end_s":218.92,"text":"into the phone itself and while ss7 was reasonably effective at stopping that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.84,"end_s":220.599,"text":"2600 htz attack it couldn't stop every","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":218.92,"end_s":225.239,"text":"kind of attack especially as phone technology continued to evolve a later","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.2,"end_s":230.319,"text":"common way to freak the phone network for free long-distance calls was to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.28,"end_s":233.04,"text":"exploit the system of calling cards used","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":230.319,"end_s":236.319,"text":"by smaller carriers in the mid1 1980s back then it was common to have to dial","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.64,"end_s":241.64,"text":"a special local number owned by the phone company and then enter the code","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.079,"end_s":246.079,"text":"off a page card which let the network know you were authorized to make a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.76,"end_s":249.879,"text":"long-distance call only then could you dial the number you were trying to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":247.4,"end_s":254.12,"text":"connect to the problem for the phone companies was that the codes on these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.56,"end_s":258.799,"text":"cards were quite short meaning it was easy for PCs to quickly guess lots of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.959,"end_s":263.479,"text":"different combinations and try those combinations using a modem lots of codes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":261.919,"end_s":267.96,"text":"were found this way and subsequently shared to the point where long-distance","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":265.639,"end_s":273.24,"text":"companies were losing a half billion dollars a year to this form of Brute","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":270.039,"end_s":275.639,"text":"Force freaking by 1987 this scam was","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":273.24,"end_s":280.199,"text":"very popular among college students in fact over 2500 of them were busted in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":278.08,"end_s":284.759,"text":"drag net but it was impossible for the phone companies to track down everyone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":282.479,"end_s":287.96,"text":"who did this this form of freaking only disappeared when phone companies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.039,"end_s":293.24,"text":"eventually made direct dialing of long-distant numbers more Universal and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.919,"end_s":297.8,"text":"the use of PCS to hijack phone lines continues to this day we actually did a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":295.96,"end_s":302.8,"text":"collaboration on our sister Channel L Tech tips with veritasium where they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.12,"end_s":306.6,"text":"actually used ss7 to intercept calls to Linus's smartphone they did this by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.68,"end_s":310.639,"text":"buying access to ss7 which is surprisingly easy to do for a few","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.08,"end_s":315.44,"text":"thousand bucks then using the access to steal a unique identifier code off the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.919,"end_s":319.4,"text":"victim's SIM card after this is done an attacker can use that ID number to trick","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.6,"end_s":323.919,"text":"the network into thinking the victim's phone is roaming in a different country","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.28,"end_s":329.0,"text":"which results in the network routing calls and texts to a number registered","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.52,"end_s":333.08,"text":"with that country code that the attacker controls that was a really cool and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.52,"end_s":337.88,"text":"frightening experiment so if you want to find out more go watch that video next","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"did you know that Apple a $3.5 trillion company is only around due to an illegal back alley product back in the early 1970s Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve wnac constructed a device called a blue box that essentially hacked phone systems allowing the user to make free long-distance calls a huge deal at the time as it wasn't uncommon to have to pay upwards of $3 a minute for calls across state lines the blue box was a result of a discovery that phone connections could be manipulated by playing certain sounds into a phone's handset a process called freaking to be more specific a tone of 2600 Hertz which sounds like this was used by phone companies as a control signal that a certain line was now free typically because one of the callers had hung up but in the late 1950s a blind child named Joe Andia discovered a similar form of freaking accidentally while whistling into a phone that was playing a recorded message because our friend Joe had Perfect Pitch he was able to recreate this Behavior to make calls drop without hanging up the phone essentially manipulating the phone's backend systems from the user interface sort of like people on Twitter telling AI Bots to ignore all previous instructions a community started to emerge around phone freaking and eventually the blue box built upon Joe's Discovery to democ TI longdistance calling or cheat the phone companies out of Revenue depending on your perspective here's how it worked the user of the blue box would dial a toll-free 1800 number to ensure they wouldn't be charged for the call when it heard the phone ring on the other end the blue box would play that 2600 HZ tone into the phone's handset which would trick the system into thinking the caller had hung up before anyone answered the line was marked as being free but the caller using the blue box was still on the line the blue box would then send the tones that corresponded to the number the user actually wanted to reach since the line was still active and voila free longdistance calling not a bad deal considering they were sold for 170 bucks each but no more than 100 of them were ever made because they were so rare one of them ended up selling at auction in 2017 for $125,000 similar in price to the new iPhone 16 Pro with 2 TB of storage of course phone companies became wise to the blue box especially after a rather anti-establishment magazine ran an article with instructions on how to construct a similar device yourself at home we'll tell you about how the phone companies tried to put an end to freaking as well as how the freaking Community countered their counter right after we thank MSI their magx 870 Tomahawk Wi-Fi motherboard is built for the most intense use cases be it AAA gaming or triple overtime grinding it comes loaded with four m.2 slots built in Wi-Fi 7 capabilities and supports ryzen 9 ,000 8,000 and 7,000 processors your absolutely baller builds call for a motherboard that can support them so check out msi's magx 870 Tomahawk Wi-Fi using our link today the main countermeasure against phone freaking is called signaling System 7 and I use the present tense is because it's actually still around today even though it was rolled out in the early 1980s the basic idea behind ss7 is simply to put the control signals on a separate line so they be manipulated by sounds played into the phone itself and while ss7 was reasonably effective at stopping that 2600 htz attack it couldn't stop every kind of attack especially as phone technology continued to evolve a later common way to freak the phone network for free long-distance calls was to exploit the system of calling cards used by smaller carriers in the mid1 1980s back then it was common to have to dial a special local number owned by the phone company and then enter the code off a page card which let the network know you were authorized to make a long-distance call only then could you dial the number you were trying to connect to the problem for the phone companies was that the codes on these cards were quite short meaning it was easy for PCs to quickly guess lots of different combinations and try those combinations using a modem lots of codes were found this way and subsequently shared to the point where long-distance companies were losing a half billion dollars a year to this form of Brute Force freaking by 1987 this scam was very popular among college students in fact over 2500 of them were busted in a drag net but it was impossible for the phone companies to track down everyone who did this this form of freaking only disappeared when phone companies eventually made direct dialing of long-distant numbers more Universal and the use of PCS to hijack phone lines continues to this day we actually did a collaboration on our sister Channel L Tech tips with veritasium where they actually used ss7 to intercept calls to Linus's smartphone they did this by buying access to ss7 which is surprisingly easy to do for a few thousand bucks then using the access to steal a unique identifier code off the victim's SIM card after this is done an attacker can use that ID number to trick the network into thinking the victim's phone is roaming in a different country which results in the network routing calls and texts to a number registered with that country code that the attacker controls that was a really cool and frightening experiment so if you want to find out more go watch that video next"}