File is te groot om in 1 keer te posten, deel 2
Technical Vocabulary
?The only bad 'f-word' is FCC" -Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine
Let?s acquaint ourselves with some of the basic terminology used in testing. Using abbreviations can save time communicating, but are useless until the terms are actually defined. If you already know some of this information, great. But remember, everyone has to learn sometime. Since some definitions are built on others, these are not in alphabetical order.
An IRD is an ?Integrated Receiver / Decoder? and just means the video decoder box where you put your card.
An LNB is a ?low noise block? converter. This is the waveguide and small box that rests on the end of the satellite dish. This is what the coax cable plugs into and converts the 12 GHz signal to a lower frequency for your receiver. A ?dual feed LNB? is an LNB having two coax cable connections, enabling two receivers to run from one dish.
A CAM means ?conditional access module? and is simply the term for the smart card. The words CAM, smart card, HU Card, test card, and access card can all be used interchangeably.
A sub card is a CAM that is legitimately subscribed to DirecTV.
A CAM ID is a unique serial number for the CAM printed on the back of the card. If you had a virgin card and called DirecTV and actually paid for a subscription, you would read them the CAM ID of the back of your card, then they would activate it through the downstream. DTV knows all CAM ID?s including which ones are subscribed and which ones aren?t.
A blacklist is when DTV sends a list of invalid CAM ID?s through the stream and tells the IRD to compare the CAM ID of the card to all the ones in the blacklist. If there is a match, you will have a ?Call ext 745? message on your screen, and a denial of video signal.
An ATR is a sequence of 20 numbers that the card transmits back after its RESET pin is toggled. The values of these numbers aren?t important yet, but they do have meaning. For the newbie, one would think learning about an ATR is irrelevant. However, the ATR is actually a health indicator for your card. If your card is broken, it will not give you an ATR.
The downstream is the data and computer instructions coming from DTV?s satellites. This consists of encrypted video data and instructions that are routed to the CAM. However, the stream usually means just the CAM instructions. Common testing news is, ?New CMD82?s found in the stream,? and this is referring to certain instructions found going to the CAM.
An ECM is short for ?electronic counter measure?. This is a sequence of computer instructions put in the stream that are then sent to your CAM. These instructions examine data on your card to determine if it has been ?hacked? and if so, erases the hacked data area, making the card temporarily non-functional. Once an ECM is conceived, it appears constantly in the stream, so that if a tester re-applies the same hack, the ubiquitous ECM will immediately return the card to un-usable state.
A looped card is a CAM that had instructions written to a location in memory critical to the card?s functioning. This term comes from the earlier version of cars wherein an ECM would write a ?loop? of computer instructions, making the sequence continue forever (thus not completing the rest of its duties and not decrypting video), i.e. at location B it will read ?jump to C?, and at location C it will read ?jump to B?. This broke the card, but it could be recovered by ?unlooping? methods described later in this section. Nowadays, a ?looped? card just means any card that has a critical problem far beyond that caused by most ECM?s.
IVAC is an abbreviation for ?insert valid access card? which is one message an IRD returns when something is wrong with the CAM. The CAM may have been hit with an ECM, it may not be married to that IRD, or it may be looped. It usually means the IRD knows that something was inserted, but whatever it was, it is not acting like a regular CAM.
A Hack is a general term that can be applied to a variety of things. Typically, in the context of testing, it will refer to a small file that is programmed into the CAM enabling free channels. In abstract, a hack is an item, method, or procedure, tangible or intangible, that, when applied to a system, produces a preferred or desirable effect, or suppresses negative effects or states of that system.
A virgin card is a CAM that has no testing information, i.e. no ?hacks?, applied to it. It is a card that receives preview channels. A test card can be returned to ?virgin status? by putting its original information back onto the card, although a purist may disagree.
Dave is the entity at DirecTV (aka Signal Integrity) that monitors testing and formulates ECM?s by disassembling the hacks posted at testing sites. Dave does not speak to testers, but he definitely browses almost all freeware locations. You can tell Dave what you really think of him here:
si@directv.com (suggestion: don?t use your real email address).
A cardswap is a major event that has only happened 2 times in DTV history. This is when Dave succumbs to defeat and mails ALL his millions of paying customers a new version of access card. After all his legitimate customers have new cards, the only people left using the old card are testers. At this point the entire stream of instructions for the old card is discontinued, leaving testers with invalid cards. This is a last resort for Dave since it costs tons of money to produce the new cards (plus it hurts his morale), mail them, and provide phone support for the technologically illiterate generation of people who can?t figure out how to put their new card in.
Activation is a form of hack that enables most channels, but not all of them. This enables about the same amount of channels as a DTV paying subscriber. This hack works by modifying certain memory locations on the card so that they look just like a subscriber?s card. This enables as much programming as a subbed card. If you want to watch pay-per-view you will have to use the remote and ?buy? it.
A 3m is a hack that enables absolutely every channel, with the exception of local channels, as it is only possible to receive local channels from one region at a time. This hack works by going to the channel authorization area of the card and making the card answer ?yes? whenever the IRD asks for authorization.
Freeware is a class of computer software that is available to anyone who wants to download it. The files include programming software, utilities, text articles, and other tools of the trade. Most importantly, freeware includes activation files and 3m?s that are available to the masses, including our buddy Dave. Dave formulates ECM?s by downloading freeware from the same sites the tester uses. For this reason, freeware hacks do not last long.
Private files are hacks applied to a card, just like freeware, except the files are obtained for a fee or are traded amongst private groups with the intent of keeping Dave out of them. These files usually come from dealers or pay-testing (an oxymoron) sites. Once a tester releases a private file to the public, it becomes freeware and it will be counter-measured soon. This is disadvantageous to all the other people using that particular file because they all will experience denial of service due to the one bastard that leaked the file. Because of this, private files are heavily guarded and only traded among mutually trusted groups of testers.
A Hex file is a hack applied to a card. This file consists of a sequence of hexadecimal characters that change specific locations in a card?s memory enabling access.
A bin file is also a hack for a card, but this hack is a complete image of another card. Typically, a CAM ID gets copied along with it, making it an easy target for Dave. There is a way, however, to apply your original CAM ID to another card image which will increase this hack?s lifetime. More on this later.
An unlooper is the actual piece of hardware that communicates to the smart card. It is a simple interface that connects via a COM port. Since legitimate access to HU cards is protected by a mathematical sequence similar to a password, cards cannot be directly written to and read from. Instead, they are accessed by severely confusing the card with random abnormal electronic signals such as variable clock timings and voltage levels until the card gives up its defences [sic]. Unloopers can be purchased from dealers or can be built yourself if you are very experienced with building electronic circuits. If you build your unlooper, you will also need to ?flash? the controller on it, which is easily done using DOS-based flash software available from freeware sites.
Glitching is the electronic process used by the unlooper to gain access to the card. See above.