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301:(also known as a descrambler or "black box") to steal all channels and decrypt pay-per-view events, whereas a normal converter would only decrypt the ones paid for by the customer. The cable companies could send an electronic signal, called a "bullet", that would render illegal descramblers inoperative, though some were bulletproof. The boxes also would often be ordered from overseas or given to customers by corrupt third-party installers of cable television.
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406:, so a given box can be deactivated by command from the company if the subscriber fails to pay their bill (this is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "bullet"). A box only decrypts the channel being watched, so each box can only be used with one television, requiring subscribers to lease additional boxes at greater expense for multiple televisions.
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broadcasting. Most cable companies have also issued new secured outside distribution boxes that require certain keys only given out to their installers to access, making theft via outside split line more difficult. Sometimes an advertisement advertising a free product or service only users illegally
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One minor loophole is that the cable company has no way of knowing where a given set-top box is located, and once activated a box will function anywhere in the local cable system. Subscribers are often provided with several set-top boxes as part of their subscription, and can give or sell unneeded
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does at an attempt to copy a video. The equipment would descramble the signal so that it can be viewed by the subscriber. It also is addressable, meaning that it can be remotely controlled by the company's technical staff. The first major case covered by the media was when 317 subscribers were
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and a federal crime. Reception of cable television without authorization by a cable operator is forbidden by both federal and state laws. In
Missouri, cable television piracy is usually a class A misdemeanor; if the service is $ 500 or more, it is classified as a class C felony.
519:"2013 Missouri Revised Statutes :: TITLE XXXVIII CRIMES AND PUNISHMENT; PEACE OFFICERS AND PUBLIC DEFENDERS :: Chapter 570 Stealing and Related Offenses :: Section 570.300 Theft of cable television service, penalty"
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provided by the cable company to decrypt and receive the cable signal. Unlike the older analog set-top boxes, the digital set-top box will not function until the cable company activates it by sending it a unique
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standard, along with assessing a large fine for the entire cost of a set-top box if the customer didn't return it upon the termination of services. This has greatly reduced cable theft, although
349:, or merely a one-channel signal that lets a customer or installer know the signal is viewable on a television set. Channels and programming may also be available through
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As of 2018, many cable providers have switched to digital-only systems that require mandatory use of either their approved set top boxes or an approved
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were required with some systems, but these were generic, and often in an unknowing violation of contract, former customers would donate them to
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for sale or retain them indefinitely in storage when they ended their subscription to the service rather than return them to the provider.
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This system is dependent on the security of the encryption system chosen by the cable company in question. Old cable equipment used an
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activated boxes to neighboring nonsubscribers who can use them in their own residences, though a provider using IP location using the
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descrambling premium services could see would be sent out, which allowed law enforcement to catch the people who called about it.
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systems the signals are encrypted, so cases of people obtaining illegal service are less common. The subscriber requires a
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282:, which were often unlocked. In some rural areas, nonsubscribers would run long cables to distribution boxes on nearby
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caught in 1991 when the company they subscribed sent a "bullet" (a video signal that turns off the equipment) to their
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services to emulate a home network connection elsewhere), making any piracy through that venue virtually impossible.
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network and require an on-network connection to the provider (including disallowing connections to outside
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device. In many cases, no analog channels are available, and if they are, are usually just the provider's
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This article is about theft of cable television services. For metal theft or stealing actual cables, see
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through the cable, which is sent only after the subscriber signs up. Each set-top box is individually
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systems that were deployed beginning in the mid-1990s as part of the changeover to the new digital
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within a set-top box featuring advanced two-way features can avert this situation.
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systems that are based on the same compromised encryption schemes formerly used in
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To prevent this, cable providers built stronger protection against theft into new
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How the Hell Did Cable
Descramblers Work, Anyway (And Can You Still Use Them)?
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that was scrambled by tuning the signal so the picture was unsteady, just as
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attached to the user's television into an apartment building's
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deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a
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In older analog cable systems, most cable channels were not
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Obtaining unauthorized access to cable television services
580:"'ELECTRONIC BULLETS' THAT BLOW AWAY ILLEGAL CABLE BOXES"
97:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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297:Other ways of cable theft were using a cable TV
274:and cable theft was often as easy as plugging a
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253:is the act of obtaining unauthorized access to
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182:The examples and perspective in this article
60:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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238:Learn how and when to remove this message
220:Learn how and when to remove this message
157:Learn how and when to remove this message
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812:
465:Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment
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532:Brian VanHooker (21 February 2020),
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95:adding citations to reliable sources
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41:This article has multiple issues.
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82:needs additional citations for
49:or discuss these issues on the
794:Radio-frequency identification
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196:, discuss the issue on the
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470:The Baby Shower (Seinfeld)
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257:services. It is a form of
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781:Deterrence and prevention
779:
713:
642:
505:"Cable Theft Information"
106:"Cable television piracy"
379:virtual private network
251:Cable television piracy
820:Copyright infringement
799:Retail loss prevention
585:Bloomberg Businessweek
556:"Cable tracks thieves"
343:Emergency Alert System
280:cable distribution box
259:copyright infringement
455:Television encryption
385:Digital cable systems
489:Types of Cable Theft
445:Broadcast encryption
353:devices such as the
351:digital media player
327:satellite television
202:create a new article
194:improve this article
91:improve this article
714:Methods and tactics
685:Motor vehicle theft
321:continued on some
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789:Physical security
700:Street sign theft
670:Electricity theft
643:Property-specific
493:Time Warner Cable
460:Theft of services
450:Pirate decryption
319:pirate decryption
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726:Confidence trick
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588:. 30 June 1991
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188:of the subject
186:worldwide view
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210:November 2023
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108: –
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102:Find sources:
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80:This article
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731:Embezzlement
721:Bank robbery
675:Laptop theft
659:
590:. Retrieved
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563:. Retrieved
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539:, retrieved
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361:(along with
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147:January 2013
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89:Please help
84:verification
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43:Please help
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766:Shoplifting
705:Tax evasion
695:Sperm theft
680:Metal theft
660:Cable theft
554:Ed Brandt.
428:cable boxes
423:Macrovision
412:cable modem
404:addressable
395:set-top box
367:smartphones
21:Metal theft
814:Categories
756:Plagiarism
665:Carjacking
592:26 October
565:2022-01-31
541:2022-01-31
476:References
305:Prevention
117:newspapers
46:improve it
741:Extortion
736:Espionage
650:Art theft
634:Modes of
335:CableCARD
272:encrypted
198:talk page
52:talk page
761:Quackery
746:Phishing
690:Services
434:See also
359:Apple TV
192:You may
363:tablets
266:Methods
131:scholar
751:Piracy
440:BeoutQ
133:
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119:
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636:theft
323:DVB-C
200:, or
138:JSTOR
124:books
594:2015
371:apps
365:and
355:Roku
345:and
315:HDTV
110:news
357:or
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93:by
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375:IP
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
