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The only hack on cable style TV I remember is you could buy modified satellite authentication cards for DirectTV for a time - usually on eBay or similar sites -

The only hack on cable style TV I remember is you could buy modified satellite authentication cards for DirectTV for a time - usually on eBay or similar sites - and they worked. No idea how long, I had an uncle that had one though, got all the premium channels etc. I doubt any of this works anymore though

fragmede 3y ago
If you want a rabbit hole, start with Christopher Tarnovsky at Defcon https://www.wired.com/2008/05/tarnovsky/ https://www.wired.com/2008/05/tarnovsky/
- darkclouds 3y ago
  The dragon cam. https://www.kustompcs.co.uk/components/interface-cards/tv-tuners/dragon-t.rex-cam-module/ https://www.kustompcs.co.uk/components/interface-cards/tv-tu...
bonestamp2 3y ago
I remember being out for a beer run with a friend during these days. On the way there he pulls into a parking lot and stops in front of a nail salon. He said, "Come on" and I followed him into the nail salon. There were about 10 women in there, not a guy in sight... he goes up to the desk and pushes a button that looks like a doorbell. One of the ladies doing the nails says, "He no work here no more, check dry cleaner across the street." We get back in the car and I'm like, "What was that all about?". "My DirecTV card got disabled and that's where I get it reprogrammed". We go across the street to the Dry Cleaners. There are three ladies in the lobby watching TV, and a guy behind the counter. He asks the man, "Is Ken here?" The man says, "I'll check" as he walks into the back. Now, the man was coming from the back when we came in, so I assume he already knows if Ken is there or not, but Ken probably only comes out if he recognizes my friend. Sure enough, Ken comes right out all smiles and they have a quick chat. My friend hands over his card and Ken says, "we had to get new equipment, it's now $100, ATM next door". Ken disappears for about 10 minutes and comes back. My friend gives him cash and away we went. About 4 months later, he had to get it reprogrammed again.
- tmpX7dMeXU 3y ago
  That guy’s name? Jimmy McGill.
  - bonestamp2 3y ago
    No, it's all good man. ;)
- Biganon 3y ago
  Why did you take the car to cross the road?
  - bonestamp2 3y ago
    It's a big busy road with a median in the middle. There were no crosswalks nearby, and we had to go back that direction anyway. Why do you ask?
  - kortilla 3y ago
    This is America
  - toKillTheChick 3y ago
    To get to the other side...
nobleach 3y ago
I worked for a cable company in the mid-90s. The amount of boxes that disappeared (and couldn't be located) was insane. The folks that procured them also used a "bullet blocker" (basically a resistor) to avoid the box being disabled. In the satellite realm, DishNetwork was always the easier service to hack. The FTA scene was completely overrun with folks buying 3rd party tuners. Once Dish switched to an encrypted signal, a few vendors (nFusion if I recall) even could rotate keys in a matter of hours to decrypt Dish's new encryption schemes. I doubt any of that works these days simply because there's no reason to push too hard for content that is likely available via easier means.
- jandrese 3y ago
  I read an article about the early DirecTV hacking days and the cat and mouse game the hackers played with the company. DirecT cards were smart cards that ran programs for the decryption path. The hackers kept just duplicating whatever DirecTV sent down to keep them workign, mystery bits and all. Then one day a final update came out and those weird bits turned out to be a specially designed program that bricked all of the hacked cards. I'm sure that was a temporary setback for the hackers but it was a great story.
  - kortilla 3y ago
    Didn’t this happen recently with a usb to serial port vendor or something like that? Vendor released a new driver that bricked all of the knockoff ones…
    - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
      Yes, FTDI did that - https://www.zdnet.com/article/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innocent-users-chips-in-silent-update/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innoce...

fragmede 3y ago

If you want a rabbit hole, start with Christopher Tarnovsky at Defcon https://www.wired.com/2008/05/tarnovsky/ https://www.wired.com/2008/05/tarnovsky/

darkclouds 3y ago
The dragon cam. https://www.kustompcs.co.uk/components/interface-cards/tv-tuners/dragon-t.rex-cam-module/ https://www.kustompcs.co.uk/components/interface-cards/tv-tu...

bonestamp2 3y ago

I remember being out for a beer run with a friend during these days. On the way there he pulls into a parking lot and stops in front of a nail salon. He said, "Come on" and I followed him into the nail salon. There were about 10 women in there, not a guy in sight... he goes up to the desk and pushes a button that looks like a doorbell. One of the ladies doing the nails says, "He no work here no more, check dry cleaner across the street." We get back in the car and I'm like, "What was that all about?". "My DirecTV card got disabled and that's where I get it reprogrammed". We go across the street to the Dry Cleaners. There are three ladies in the lobby watching TV, and a guy behind the counter. He asks the man, "Is Ken here?" The man says, "I'll check" as he walks into the back. Now, the man was coming from the back when we came in, so I assume he already knows if Ken is there or not, but Ken probably only comes out if he recognizes my friend. Sure enough, Ken comes right out all smiles and they have a quick chat. My friend hands over his card and Ken says, "we had to get new equipment, it's now $100, ATM next door". Ken disappears for about 10 minutes and comes back. My friend gives him cash and away we went. About 4 months later, he had to get it reprogrammed again.

tmpX7dMeXU 3y ago
That guy’s name? Jimmy McGill.
- bonestamp2 3y ago
  No, it's all good man. ;)
Biganon 3y ago
Why did you take the car to cross the road?
- bonestamp2 3y ago
  It's a big busy road with a median in the middle. There were no crosswalks nearby, and we had to go back that direction anyway. Why do you ask?
- kortilla 3y ago
  This is America
- toKillTheChick 3y ago
  To get to the other side...

nobleach 3y ago

I worked for a cable company in the mid-90s. The amount of boxes that disappeared (and couldn't be located) was insane. The folks that procured them also used a "bullet blocker" (basically a resistor) to avoid the box being disabled. In the satellite realm, DishNetwork was always the easier service to hack. The FTA scene was completely overrun with folks buying 3rd party tuners. Once Dish switched to an encrypted signal, a few vendors (nFusion if I recall) even could rotate keys in a matter of hours to decrypt Dish's new encryption schemes. I doubt any of that works these days simply because there's no reason to push too hard for content that is likely available via easier means.

jandrese 3y ago
I read an article about the early DirecTV hacking days and the cat and mouse game the hackers played with the company. DirecT cards were smart cards that ran programs for the decryption path. The hackers kept just duplicating whatever DirecTV sent down to keep them workign, mystery bits and all. Then one day a final update came out and those weird bits turned out to be a specially designed program that bricked all of the hacked cards. I'm sure that was a temporary setback for the hackers but it was a great story.
- kortilla 3y ago
  Didn’t this happen recently with a usb to serial port vendor or something like that? Vendor released a new driver that bricked all of the knockoff ones…
  - yjftsjthsd-h 3y ago
    Yes, FTDI did that - https://www.zdnet.com/article/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innocent-users-chips-in-silent-update/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/ftdi-admits-to-bricking-innoce...