How to Cheat Google 411
by PhreakerD7
def Intro():
In case you haven't already noticed, Google has come out with a free 411 service.
No big deal. There's been others before it. But one thing I've noticed that's quite interesting is this little line from their own website:
"It connects you directly to the business, free of charge."
Oh... yeah. Well, I'm going to show you just how easy it is to exploit this service.
First off, go ahead and play with it a couple of times if you haven't already. It's good for the soul. The number is: 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411)
int main() {
It's a pretty interesting service, really.
But, there's one thing they did wrong. It uses the businesses from Google Maps. And anyone with a "Google Account" (which is the same as a Gmail account) can register a new business.
And all you have to do to validate a business is be able to answer the phone number you provided and give them the PIN they assign you. That's it. No other validation.
So... say we were to have a Google Account (or register one, as they're free) and we were to accidentally put a new business in the directory.
With a very unique name and with the phone number corresponding to our friend's cell phone.
Well, we go through all the steps, put the business in a strange category that most people wouldn't look at while using Google 411 or one that there aren't a lot of businesses near you in. (Say, if archery isn't very common around where you live, click that as the category to help narrow your results.)
However, there is a down side. Google is just damn slow at updating. It'll tell you that your listing will appear in one month. Wow. So, don't expect to be calling pretty soon. Bummer. I know.
But, the little devils over at Google have missed something. When you first enter the business, you obviously have to use a number you can answer. But after it's been answered, simply go back to your local business listing, or whatever on your account, click Edit on the business you just added, and just change the phone number. It doesn't even ask you to verify by calling you again. It assumes that it's legit. That's what Google gets for assuming!
After that, just make sure to answer whatever number you put in when Google calls (or use your own number and change it later), enter the PIN they give you and wait for a bit. Soon, Google's slow ass will eventually get around to adding your business to their database of businesses.
After that, simply call Google 411 from any phone, look up the business you put in there, have Google call it and bingo blamo, you can use Google 411 to dial a friend.
Note: Google 411 only lists the eight most popular results. So, be sure to search for the name of your business, not the category. Otherwise, it probably won't be one of the top eight businesses.
So what does this mean?
Go to your nearest payphone. Most will offer the ability to dial toll-free numbers for free. Call up Google 411 , look up the number you put in, connect for free, and yep. It'll connect you. Free of charge.
I think this Google 411 can be put to some really good use before Google pulls the free connecting part.
Just add all your friends as businesses, any cool/useful numbers, anything you'd ever want to call from a payphone. Add as many as you can so that when Google does get around to adding one, they should all be up at the same time. And everyone, if you put some good numbers up as a business, let everyone know the city/state it's in and the name of it.
So if you put in an ANAC you know of as a business, try and let people know so we don't end up with forty businesses of the same number.
It's really too easy. Put some payphones in there. Put long distance payphones. Hell, put in a payphone number, call it from a payphone next to it, answer it and leave them both off-hook. In fact, why not do something crazy?
Set up an Asterisk box at home and put that number in the Google 411 Business Database. Set it up to three-way a payphone next to another payphone. Call Google 411 and connect to your Asterisk box from a payphone.
It should connect to the payphone next to you. Pick it up, talk into the original payphone and listen in the other. There should be some delay depending on where you live. Note: It won't be a lot of delay.
But who says you have to stop there? Gather up some of your online phreak friends from around the country/world. Setup Asterisk boxes to three-way other Asterisk boxes and then to finally three-way a payphone. Set the first one up in the Google 411 Business Database, call it from a payphone and hopefully you can cause quite a bit of delay. The further apart the Asterisk boxes are, the more delay will be created. }
sub Conclusion:{
That could be quite a fun project for all your phreak friends. Heck, for any of your friends. That's a little bit of old-school phreaking fun, made easier with the help of two free services.
So, I hope you've all learned something from this article. That no matter how powerful a company is, no matter what service will be put out, we can beat it.
Good luck and take full advantage of this service! Let Google know we love their little service and their big hearts. }
procedure Shoutz;
I've got to give props to Halla, Murder_Mouse, [H4z3], dracosilv, James_Penguin, Sock, intimidat0r, and big props to P(?)NYB(?)Y, that guy was pretty much my inspiration for becoming a phreak. Thanks a lot, man. Everyone at InformationLeak, and everyone I missed, cause I know there's a bunch. And also those phreaks out there still doing there thing and spreading the word.
Note: One really cool and easy thing to do, is to register a business in some far-away place, with a name like "Tennis" or "Golf" or something simple like that. And then what you do is, you call up Google 411 , tell them the city/state of where you added that business. But, when it asks for a business name or category, just yell into the phone anything. Make sure it doesn't register what you said. It should say "I'm sorry, try again" or something similar. So yell something incoherent into it again. This time it will say "If you'd like to type in the business name or category using the keypad, please press 1." So you press 1. Then, you use your keypad to type out your business name "Tennis" "Golf" or whatever, and if Google picks it up, it looks for a business named that. Since you put your business in an obscure city/state, with a name so generic as "Golf," it will probably pick your business. This is one of the best ways that I've found to make sure that Google will pick your business. Cause it always thinks you're typing a business name. Very sure fire way of getting Google on your side.
Good luck, and happy Google hacking.