Freedom Issue 2, February 28, 1993
File 5/7
The Invisible Answering Machine User Guide
by Lazarus Long
[EDITORS NOTE: The Invisible Answering machine is essentially a VMB service]
[ offered by MTS (Manitoba Telephone System). If it is ]
[ implemented on your line, after approximately 3 rings, the ]
[ caller is transferred to the VMB. ]
Call answer is a service that acts like an invisible answering machine.
It will answer your calls when you are away from home or too busy to answer a
call. By following this guide and listening to the system's friendly and
simple prompts, Call Answer is easy to use.
The system will ask you to use symbols on your touch tone phone such as:
STAR *, and POUND #. You'll find a quick reference card on the inside back
cover. Remove this card and keep it near your phone to help you use the
system.
Initial start up: Dial the Call Answer access number for Residential
customers - 783-CALL (2255). Voice prompts will then ask you to complete the
following steps:
1. Enter your temporary password - your telephone number will act as the
temporary password until you create a new one.
2. The system will prompt you to change your temporary password to your own
personal password. Your personal password must be between 6 and 15 digits
and cannot begin with 0 (zero). For security reasons, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD
TO ONE THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO REMEMBER BUT HARD FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO GUESS.
The system will prompt you to record your name and select a greeting:
press 1 for standard greeting, or 2 for personal greeting. Then press 1 1,
to review them.
Listening to your messages from your telephone: From a touch tone phone,
dial the Call Answer access number 783-CALL. Enter your password (if calling
from another phone you will have to enter your phone number first) and press:
1 1 to listen to new messages
1 to listen to all messages
After you have listened to your messages you can press:
4 to replay message
7 to erase the message
9 to save the message
Listening to messages from another mailbox: dial the Call Answer access
number, press *, then enter your mailbox number. Enter your password.
NOTE: Long Distance charges will apply if you are calling from
outside your local calling area.
Personal options: (press 4 from main menu) A number of Call Answer
options can be personalized. From the Personal Options you may press:
1 Message waiting - this is the inter-
mittent dial tone you hear when there
is a message waiting. It can be
turned on, or off.
2 Administrative options - allows you
to change your password.
3 Greetings - allows you to change your
greeting or recorded name as often as
you like.
Enhanced Call Answer Features: (available for and additional low monthly
rate). Message Notification (Outcall), can be programmed to call out to a
pager, cellular telephone or alternative telephone to inform you that a
message has been received in your mail box. Press:
4 for Personal Options
4 for notification schedule
1 for first schedule (use this schedule
for display pagers)
2 for second schedule
3 for temporary schedule
You will now be guided through a series of prompts which will assist
you in creating or modifying your message notification schedule. After you
have completed your schedules and are back in Personal Options, Press * to
exit.
Family/Extension mail boxes: Call Answer Family/Extension mail box
allows members of your family to receive messages separately with their own
personal password. This service allows for one host and three extensions
mail boxes. Each represents one individual within your household. Extensions
can be added or deleted as required by the host. To set up a Family/Extension
mail box press:
4 for Personal Options
9 for Extension mail box
Enter the number for the extension you want to add or delete. Call Answer
will automatically assign a password. If you wish, you may change the
password. Remember, it must consist of 6 to 15 digits, and must not start
with 0 (zero). Then record your name. To find out who a message is for press
0. Call Answer will tell you the number of new and saved messages in each mail
box. To send a message to another extension: listen to the entire message
then press:
6 for forward message, and record your
comments.
# then enter the extension number of
the person to whom you wish to send
the messages.
# your message will be sent.
* to exit.
For more information please call: 941-7061 in Winnipeg or visit your local
MTS Phone Center.
MAIN PLAYBACK CONTROLS SPECIAL KEYS
1 1 2 3 * *
Listen Rewind Pause Forward Cancel Cancel/Exit
4 4 5 6 0 0
Pers. Opt. Slower Env.Info Faster Help Help
5 7 8 9 # #
Restart Volume Louder Skip Skip/Complete
*
Exit
Comments: For those of you wondering, you don't have to call the owners number
to get at the VMB. You can call the service and do whatever you have planned.
However, this doesn't look very useful to be hacking into, but I really know
very little about the actual hacking. Perhaps the weakness is in finding a box
before someone has changed their password. Still, they will eventually get
MTS to do something about it OR cancel the service. The other weakness might
be in finding someone with the extension service and creating a new box, BUT
I am pretty sure that the owner knows about the extensions even if he can't
get to them (because of your password), so again he will get MTS to do
something about it. Even though the hacking potential is slim you might want
to fuck around with the system, change messages etc., but that of course is
just mischievous. If you found one with Outcall I wonder if you could somehow
use that to your advantage. If not you could surely cause havoc with someone's
beeper/cellular (ie. schedule it to call him/her at 2:00 am and whatnot), but
again that is just mischief. Also, when calling you only have two tries at
getting a number with the service. On the third try it says "sorry you are
having problems, an operator will be with you in a moment". At this point
pressing * to exit has no effect. Hang up. I don't know how many tries you
get at guessing passwords. I have entered two and then used my proper one.
One more thing, if you do somehow get an extension box you will want to
disable the intermittent dial tone function on the main box. This will just
delay them from discovering you though. The thing about this system is that
people pay a monthly rate for it so you aren't likely to find any "unused"
boxes.
I'd be interested to hear from anyone about any "experiments" with this
system.
LAZ.
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