Slashdot Mirror


TeleZapper - A Way to Avoid Telemarketers?

VeniDormi asks: "While watching TV on my TiVo, I actually stopped to see an ad for a device called 'The TeleZapper', which claims to foil tele-marketers by convincing their auto-dialers that your number has been disconnected. The FAQ is light on technical details, only mentioning that the device 'emits [a] tone briefly when the line is answered'. I'm hoping Slashdotters with more telecommunications expertise can enlighten me as to: how/if this might work and whether or not it is something I could reproduce with a sound card, say for recording at the beginning of my voicemail message. Could it be as simple as playing back the three shrill tones I hear when I dial a wrong number?" Ah, the telephone equivalent to SPAM. Too bad phones don't have the equivalent of procmail filters.

5 of 688 comments (clear)

  1. dd by chez69 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    beep

    Important Stuff:
    Please try to keep posts on topic.
    Try to reply to other people comments instead of starting new threads.
    Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said.
    Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about.
    Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page)

    --
    PHP is the solution of choice for relaying mysql errors to web users.
  2. Telemarketers suck!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It should be illegal!

    HEY, nineth post!

  3. Retired? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Perl has not been retired! It is (one of) the most popular languages for CGI in the world.

  4. Re:simple solutions also work by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    At least you've got beauties like Allyson Hannigan, Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder...

  5. MOD THIS UP by renehollan · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    a smart idea.

    --
    You could've hired me.