by Vruxal December 20, 2020
Get the Phreek mug.by Venusus January 2, 2009
Get the phreako mug.Someone who likes to explore the workings of the telephone system, such as switching, call routing, etc. Phreaks are always trying to keep up with the latest telecom innovations.
by Anonymous July 13, 2003
Get the phreak mug.Phreak (or phreaking/phreaker) is a term used to describe the early hackers in the late 70's-early 90's who manipulated the tone-based telephone switching systems to conduct unauthorized activity within that system. Although these "phreakers" rarely had malicious intent, their curiosity often got them arrested and heavily punished.
Cap'n crunch is the best known phreaker of all time because he discovered the effect of the 2600Hz tone.
by Nick Marco January 28, 2003
Get the phreak mug.A phreaker is someone who is driven to explore the phone system through legal means or otherwise to understand how it operates, and marvel at it's greatness.
"Being able to beige box doesn't make you a phreaker anymore than being able to write makes you a poet."
by Murder Mouse June 12, 2005
Get the phreaker mug.A form of hacking, as applied to telephone networks. Phone phreaks exploit weaknesses in the phone system to make long-distance calls for free, tap into other's calls, take control of lines, get free phone services, and the like.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
Phreaks (or phreakers) are usually motivated more by technical curiosity and the hacker ethos than any criminal intent (although phreaking is most certainly illegal). To bounce a call through a dozen different switching systems around the world, to your friend next door - all for free - is regarded by phreaks as an accomplishment. The fact that they are committing fraud and felonies in the process is regarded as incidental - or perhaps part of the fun.
The tools of phreaking often take the form of "boxes", such as the blue box, red box, or beige box. These devices - whose names refer to their function, not their actual color - generate various useful audio frequencies or electrical signals. The "red box", which allows you to make free calls from pay phones, is the easiest to build and can be assembled using two parts from Radio Shack that cost less than ten dollars.
The archetypal phone phreak is John Draper, aka Captain Crunch, who began phreaking on the West Coast in the 1960s.
The practice of phreaking has declined in recent years, as phone networks have been upgraded from old analog systems to newer, less vulnerable digital systems.
by Greenie December 12, 2003
Get the phreaking mug.