# Blue Box A blue box is an electronic device used by phone phreakers (telecommunications hackers) to manipulate the phone system, primarily by generating specific tones that exploit the telephone network's signaling system. These devices were widely used in the 1960s and 1970s to make free long-distance calls by mimicking the in-band signaling tones used by telephone switches. ## Components - **Tone Generator**: The core component that produces precise frequencies corresponding to the signaling tones used in the telephone network. - **Keypad**: A set of buttons to select and generate the required tones. - **Speaker**: Outputs the generated tones into the telephone handset. ## Uses - **Bypassing Billing Systems**: Blue boxes were primarily used to make free long-distance calls by bypassing the telephone company's billing systems. - **Accessing Restricted Services**: Hackers could use blue boxes to access restricted or special services within the telephone network. ## Operation The operation of a blue box relies on generating specific tones that the telephone system uses for call routing and signaling. Here’s how it typically worked: 1. **Dial a Local Number**: The user would first make a call to a local number that did not require a fee. 2. **Activate the Blue Box**: Once connected, the user would use the blue box to send a 2600 Hz tone, which would trick the phone system into thinking the call was disconnected. 3. **Send Routing Tones**: The user would then use the blue box to send multi-frequency tones corresponding to the digits of the desired long-distance number. 4. **Establish the Call**: The phone system, tricked by the tones, would route the call as if it were an operator, bypassing the billing system and allowing the call to proceed without charge. ## Legal and Ethical Considerations Using a blue box to manipulate the telephone network is illegal and unethical. It constitutes telecommunications fraud and theft of service, which are serious offenses under telecommunications law. Unauthorized use of blue boxes can lead to significant legal consequences, including fines and imprisonment. ## Historical Context Blue boxes were part of the early history of hacking and phone phreaking. Famous figures, including Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, reportedly experimented with blue boxes before founding Apple Inc. The widespread use of blue boxes diminished with the transition to digital signaling systems (SS7), which do not use in-band signaling, making blue boxes obsolete. ## Illustration Here is an example of how a blue box might have been used: 1. **Make a Local Call**: The user dials a local, toll-free number. 2. **Activate the Blue Box**: Once the call connects, the user generates a 2600 Hz tone to simulate a hang-up. 3. **Generate Routing Tones**: The user enters the long-distance number using the blue box, which sends the appropriate tones to the telephone switch. 4. **Connect for Free**: The telephone network routes the call as if it were an operator, and the long-distance call is connected without billing the user. ## Conclusion Blue boxes were an innovative yet illegal means of exploiting the vulnerabilities in the analog telephone system. While they are now obsolete, they played a significant role in the history of telecommunications hacking and the development of early hacker culture.