Black fax

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The term black fax refers to a prank fax transmission, consisting of one or more pages entirely filled with a uniform black tone. The sender's intention is generally to use up as much of the recipient's fax ink, toner, or thermal paper as possible, thus costing the recipient money, as well as denying the recipient use of their own machine (similar to computer-based denial of service attacks). [1] [2] This is made easier because fax transmission protocols compress the solid black image very well, so a very short fax call can produce many pages.

Contents

Use

Black faxes have been used to harass large institutions or government departments, to retaliate against the senders of junk faxes, or merely as simple pranks. [3] [4]

The basic principle of a black fax can be extended to form a black fax attack. In this case, one or more sheets are fed halfway through the sender's fax machine and taped end to end, forming an endless loop that cycles through the machine. Not only can solid black be used, but also images which will repeat endlessly on the receiver's machine until its toner runs out. [5]

History

The introduction of computer-based facsimile systems (combined with integrated document imaging solutions) at major corporations now means that black faxes are unlikely to cause problems for them. On the other hand, the ability of computer modems to send faxes offers new avenues for abuse. A program could be used to generate hundreds of pages of highly compressed, pure black – or huge volumes of relevant-looking, original, non-repeating high-black-density junk, just as effective but far more difficult to counteract – and send them very quickly to the target fax machine.

Black faxes and fax loops are similar (in both intention and implementation) to lace cards.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Fax, sometimes called telecopying or telefax, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material, normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device. The original document is scanned with a fax machine, which processes the contents as a single fixed graphic image, converting it into a bitmap, and then transmitting it through the telephone system in the form of audio-frequency tones. The receiving fax machine interprets the tones and reconstructs the image, printing a paper copy. Early systems used direct conversions of image darkness to audio tone in a continuous or analog manner. Since the 1980s, most machines transmit an audio-encoded digital representation of the page, using data compression to more quickly transmit areas that are all-white or all-black.

Run-length encoding (RLE) is a form of lossless data compression in which runs of data are stored as a single data value and count, rather than as the original run. This is most efficient on data that contains many such runs, for example, simple graphic images such as icons, line drawings, Conway's Game of Life, and animations. For files that do not have many runs, RLE could increase the file size.

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Wardialing is a technique to automatically scan a list of telephone numbers, usually dialing every number in a local area code to search for modems, computers, bulletin board systems and fax machines. Hackers use the resulting lists for various purposes: hobbyists for exploration, and crackers—malicious hackers who specialize in breaching computer security—for guessing user accounts, or locating modems that might provide an entry-point into computer or other electronic systems. It may also be used by security personnel, for example, to detect unauthorized devices, such as modems or faxes, on a company's telephone network.

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Junk faxes are a form of telemarketing where unsolicited advertisements are sent via fax transmission. Junk faxes are the faxed equivalent of spam or junk mail. Proponents of this advertising medium often use the terms broadcast fax or fax advertising to avoid the negative connotation of the term junk fax. Junk faxes are generally considered to be a nuisance since they waste toner, ink and paper in fax machines.

Radiofacsimile, radiofax or HF fax is an analogue mode for transmitting monochrome images via high frequency (HF) radio waves. It was the predecessor to slow-scan television (SSTV). It was the primary method of sending photographs from remote sites from the 1930s to the early 1970s. It is still in limited use for transmitting weather charts and information to ships at sea.

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The technical process called as a whole hereinafter "registered fax" consists in sending an electronic document by fax where both the content is certified and the delivery to the recipient is guaranteed.
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References

  1. Bartlett, Jamie (2014). The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld. Random House. p. 36. ISBN   978-0434023158 . Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  2. Schmundt, Hilmar (February 17, 2011). "Investigators Pursue the Internet Activists of Anonymous". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  3. "Hackers turn to 'low-tech' fax in protesting cybercrime law". GMA News. October 6, 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  4. Greenberg, Andy (November 30, 2012). "Anonymous Hackers Swat At Syrian Government Websites In Reprisal For Internet Blackout". Forbes. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  5. Del Gandio, Jason; Nocella II, Anthony (2014). The Terrorization of Dissent: Corporate Repression, Legal Corruption, and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Lantern Books. ISBN   978-1590564318.