David wrote in
:
A few additions.
Modern scanners are pushing the 3.5 GHz range, so don't feel protected by
the scanners that operate in the 2 GHz range. I stopped at a radio shack
last year, and the manager had his salespeople telling their customers
that the 2 GHz phones were secure since no one made a scanner that went
that high. I informed him otherwise.
As Pirate Bob says, unless it's digital, someone can probably hear it. On
this point, please note that many manufacturers list "Digital" on the
phone or packaging, but sometimes they are intentionally misleading the
buyer, since the Digital reference may pertain to a "Feature" of the
phone, like a Digital answering system.
Some phones use simple "inversion" scrambling, and some scanners are
available with a feature to unscramble such transmissions. If not part of
the scanner, aftermarket items were/are available to permit these signals
to be descrambled. Failing this, you can probably find the circuit design
online and build it yourself.
Other phones use a frequency jumping scheme to deter listeners. This, in
some forms, was the most ludicrous idea that I have ever heard of, since
the phone makes a series of beeps just before jumping. Since the phone
may be latent on a particular frequency for a long time, too much
information can be gleaned before the change occurs. Also, with a fast
scanner and the right frequency steps, one can probably reacquire the
desired conversation again.
I bought an outdoor antenna years ago for my scanner, and installed it on
the roof of my home (this was in a small town), to improve reception on
the public safety bands. I also experimented with the higher frequencies.
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/reg...te.html#higher
All Amateurs except Novices: 33 centimeter band.
902.0-928.0 MHz: CW, Phone, Image, MCW, RTTY/Data
These are the same as the cordless phone frequencies. We had a cordless
phone and I happened to come across my son speaking with his girlfriend.
By the time I realized what I was hearing, my wife had also overheard the
conversation, and was on the way to annihilate my son for the graphic
nature of his and his girlfriend's speech. I stopped her, but became
rattled that something so personal could be going out over the airwaves.
We gave away our cordless phone and purchased true digital models.
I have apprised my friends, family, coworkers, and occasionally even
strangers at the electronic section of department stores that non-digital
phones compromise their privacy. The usual answer is that they don't have
anything to hide anyway. You would probably be surprised what can be
gleaned by listening to conversations. I would not own a non-Digital
cordless phone.
It is against the law to monitor cordless phone frequencies.
Regards,
Dr. Artaud
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2-wire.htm#1
"Can other people listen to my cordless phone conversations?
Yes, depending on the kind of phone you use. In most cases, your cordless
phone conversations are probably overheard only briefly and accidentally.
But there are people who make it a hobby to listen to cordless phone
calls using radio scanners. These devices pick up the full range of
wireless transmissions from emergency and law enforcement agencies,
aircraft, mobile systems, weather reports, utilities maintenance
services, among others. Signals from analog cordless phones can also be
picked up by other devices including baby monitors, some walkie-talkies,
and other cordless phones.
Newer digital cordless phones have better security, but cheaper or older
phones have few if any security features. Anyone using a radio scanner
can eavesdrop on older analog cordless phone calls, even if the phone has
multiple channels. "
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2-wire.htm#5
"LAWS REGARDING WIRELESS EAVESDROPPING
Is it legal to intercept other people's cordless or cellular phone calls?
The Federal Communications Commission (
www.fcc.gov) ruled that as of
April 1994 no radio scanners may be manufactured or imported into the
U.S. that can pick up frequencies used by cellular telephones, or that
can be readily altered to receive such frequencies. (47 CFR Part 15.37
(f)) The law rarely deters the determined eavesdropper, however.
Another federal law, the Counterfeit Access Device Law, was amended to
make it illegal to use a radio scanner "knowingly and with the intent to
defraud" to eavesdrop on wire or electronic communication. (18 USC 1029)
Penalties for the intentional interception of cordless and cellular
telephone calls range from fines to imprisonment depending on the
circumstances. (18 USC 2511, 2701)"
On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 14:11:31 -0400, (RM MS) wrote:
but most of the 900+
Mhz phones use encryption schemes and are not listenable.
Dream on. Those boogers are a constant source of entertainment.
Unless it's called ''digital'' they aren't encryted.