Demon dialing

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In the cracking scene of the 1980s, demon dialing was a technique by which a computer would repeatedly dial a number (usually to a crowded modem pool) in an attempt to gain access immediately after another user had hung up. The expansion of accessible internet service provider connectivity since that time more or less rendered the practice obsolete.

A similar technique was sometimes used to get the first call for prizes in radio "call-in" shows, thus leading to the adoption of random "fifth caller," "seventeenth caller" etc. by radio stations to circumvent this practice.

Demon dialing is sometimes used as a synonym for War dialing, a related technique which also involves automating a computer modem in order to repeatedly place telephone calls.

The term demon dialing derives from the Demon Dialer product from Zoom Telephonics, Inc., a telephone device produced in the 1980s which repeatedly dialed busy telephone numbers under control of an extension phone [1].

See also: War dialing

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