How-to guide repurposes phone jack as hidden storage portal

First things first: this guide is absurdly complicated for what you get, but if you're the kind who thinks the journey is half the fun, you'll likely be in nerd heaven. In an attempt to make an easily accessible hidden storage disk, one Doppelgangergang hacked up an unused phone jack, a 4GB flash drive and a USB / phone cable. After a good bit of splicing, cutting and soldering, a custom phone line-to-USB cable emerged, enabling him to discreetly access the data with mum and dad assuming he was simply doing research over that trusty 56k connection. Really, MacGyver would give mad props here -- tap the read link to see if you're up for the challenge.

[Richard Lai @ May 8th 2008 10:39AM]

The modern porn stash...

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 1:20PM]

Please... I said I will not have mature content when I made this.

(Check "Doppel's Page")

[Lotte @ May 8th 2008 3:37PM]

Get over it - it was a joke. I think you protesteth too much, actually...

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 3:43PM]

Heh heh! Lolz!

I know people in engadget have lots of pr0n jokes too. :D

[Richard Lai @ May 8th 2008 6:23PM]

@Aguiluz: it wasn't meant to suggest that that's what you are going to use it for, like you said. But hey, let's be honest, it's perfect for the said purpose. :D

[Mike @ May 9th 2008 12:48PM]

There is one other way of doing this if you don't have a soldering tool handy or just don't want to fuss with it. Just buy a USB extension cord cut it down the middle, plug the thumb drive into the end in the wall and splice it to the jack. Then just splice the phone cord to the other half and its done.

[omar @ May 8th 2008 10:41AM]

Now that is some real Nerdy stuff !!!

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 1:20PM]

Thank you! :)

[gabe @ May 8th 2008 10:41AM]

i'm already in "nerd heaven" with this website :)

[OneLove @ May 8th 2008 10:44AM]

cool place to keep my drug sales spreadsheet.

[Flashpoint @ May 8th 2008 10:44AM]

if the FEDS ever bust in your house with a warrant to take technology (such as they do when you are a Hacker) - they are only allowed to take electronic devices...this means TV's, any computer, cellular phones, etc.

A true Hacker knows that the best place to have a hidden storage drive is in a BOX OF generic CEREAL.

I know it sounds stupid, but - the warrant doesn't allow the FEDS to take a BOX OF CEREAL and if its a healthy food, no one will touch it.

Just don't try this with a box of donuts.

[OneLove @ May 8th 2008 10:45AM]

flashpoint you are an idiot. we can take whatever we want!

[mike @ May 8th 2008 10:46AM]

That was on NCIS once. They hid part of the flash drive in the cereal.

[Raheem @ May 8th 2008 10:50AM]

Yeah Flashpoint, I'm pretty sure that's not true. They can take anything they want and the law is pretty much the same here in England. A warrant means anything is searchable and anything can be taken in evidence.

[Derbeste @ May 8th 2008 11:04AM]

l2 4th ammendment, people.

It mandates that a warrant describe specifically the things to be searched and seized.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

So if the Warrant is for technology, then no.....they can't take cereal.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 11:14AM]

Both of you:
The warrant must be very specific on what is being SEARCHED FOR. It has to say what is being searched too, but that doesn't have to be specific, it'll just say "(person)'s residence". So if it's on your premises, they can search it, and if it contains what they are looking for, they can take it.

Besides, the way the Supreme Court rules lately, nearly nothing is thrown out due to an illegal search. Two weeks ago the court ruled that evidence from an illegal search of a driver was admissible, even though the state law said the person could not be arrested for what they did, only written a citation. So they couldn't arrest them, which means they couldn't do a post-arrest search. But they did, and they did, and the court allowed it.

[Andir3.0 @ May 8th 2008 12:44PM]

That's why you stash a wireless "tough" PC in the attic under some fiberglass or in the soffits of your house where they will not easily be seen or recovered. In fact, there are tons of spaces you can hide a well designed server. You could even designate that it doesn't broadcast it's SSID and other methods for keeping a snooping Wifi locator off it's trail.

[granny down east @ May 8th 2008 1:22PM]

One word to those who need to stash --
Septic Tank.
Ok, two words.

[Brent @ May 8th 2008 2:32PM]

If you're using a computer for illegal purposes, hiding said computer is an extra couple years on your sentence. If you really believe you're better at hiding than the FBI is at seeking I think you've never played hide and seek with a fed.

[jimmy @ May 8th 2008 4:33PM]

@Andir3.0
it'll still broadcast a beacon frame with its BSSID. just no ssid in it. any wardriver who's not an idiot will pwn you

[Andir3.0 @ May 8th 2008 6:22PM]

... stopped reading I see:

"and other methods for keeping a snooping Wifi locator off it's trail."

[Robert Abramson @ May 8th 2008 11:54PM]

flashpoint is correct; cops my take only what they suspect to be evidence about the crime that they are investigating. For example, they couldn't search your cupboard for heroin, find an unlicensed gun, and convict you of gun possession. However, if the gun were on your kitchen table in plain sight, it would still be fair game.
The rules have to do with allowing the cops to run with anything they find without giving them excess authority to search stuff on a whim. If a cop sees something illegal, regardless of whether it's in your house, he can arrest you for it. what he can't do is search your private stuff, i.e. stuff that's not in plain sight, without consent, a warrant, or in some cases due cause. In the cases of warrants and due cause, *once the cop is searching private stuff*, they can only take evidence pertaining to what they originally suspected. In otherwords, a cop can't claim he smells weed to establish due cause and then collect evidence for a murger case.


...er, that may or may not make sense.

[Raheem @ May 10th 2008 7:39AM]

Fair enough, I was wrong.

[Yoooder @ May 8th 2008 10:46AM]

My APC UPS shipped with what's basically an RJ-45 to USB cable, which would make this project only half as difficult.

[tiuk @ May 8th 2008 11:39AM]

Look a bit closer, it's not an RJ-45 end. There are 10 pins instead of 8.

I know, I thought about doing something like this with it before.

[Jon @ May 8th 2008 10:49AM]

HE is just re purposing the 4 wire bus. Sure a lot of work, but not exactly all that complicated. Considering all the open wall space, and how most phone jacks in modern construction are near an outlet, one could easily upgrade the 4GB thumb drive for a more substantial drive.
From the header, I thought I was accessing a drive via the modem port of the computer, which would be a slow connection, but a fun hack. My only other questions is should he leave the existing phone wires engaged? I would think, especially if they employ DSL or have more than 2 lines routed to the house, the cross talk especially while he is storing and accessing his pron, might be a problem.

[barry99705 @ May 8th 2008 11:22AM]

He didn't leave the existing phone line attached. He taped it up and pushed it back in the wall. Though the use of duct tape negates any geek cred to this hack. Should use heat shrink, or at least real electrical tape.

[dj-kenpo @ May 8th 2008 1:26PM]

I didn't think it was complicated or time consuming. has no one ehre soldered before? you can even reuse the basic color coding of the phone and usb. red and black are still there....



I think it's a good idea. I have no idea what I'd hide there though, but 10 years ago when I was still living at home this would have been great.

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 4:26PM]

I don't have electrical tape or heatshrink. I only used what was available to me, which was duct tape.

Resourcefulness, eh?

[Jeffrey Lee @ May 8th 2008 10:58AM]

Although this is cool, I believe a 500 GB 2.5 inch drive with a usb port in the wall plate (no power, just usb) would make for an excellent backup product.

Think about it. You get home with your laptop, plug in the power, plug in the usb (to the backup drive hidden in the wall) and you're done! Hmm, this makes me want to wire my office with USB ports so I can put my (large) external drives in the closet. I already have a phone jack in every room, none of which have ever been used.

[xkevin @ May 8th 2008 5:07PM]

Just make sure you compensate for the heat generated by the hard drive or you'll come home to sirens...

[Dan @ May 9th 2008 12:32AM]

A brief read will show that USB has a maximum cable length of 5m -> 16.4ft

So....Wiring an office with USB would only be do-able for short runs. :o

[Jared Harley @ May 8th 2008 11:19AM]

His major problem is that he hard-wires the USB drive to the outlet - why not wire the outlet to a female usb jack - then you can upgrade the drive inside the outlet with ease.

[c @ May 8th 2008 12:19PM]

that's the whole point, sherlock. the point of this was the be stealthy, hence why he kept the phone jack. don't you think a usb jack in the wall would be a bit less subtle?

[w00t @ May 8th 2008 1:14PM]

c, he meant put a female USB jack on the *inside* and wire that to the phone jack, so you can pop the cover off and swap the hidden USB device in the future with no hassle :)

[PDubNYC @ May 8th 2008 1:22PM]

Well, my dear Watson, it is you who have failed at reading comprehension, as Jared was suggesting that he use a female USB receptacle INSIDE of the wall, to allow for an easy drive upgrade. As it is now, it is hard wired.

[c @ May 8th 2008 2:10PM]

yeah i don't know how i glossed over that. i reread his comment after i posted and smacked my head. and that's after i reread it a few times to make sure i didn't make an ass of myself. go figure.

yes, jared's suggestion does indeed make much more sense than what this guy did.

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 4:30PM]

Um, C and Jared, I did think of adding the USB plug. I had those USB to PS/2 adaptors, but I wrecked the USB plug in the process of cracking it open. Silly me, why would I try to bash it open with a hammer?

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 4:30PM]

Um, C and Jared, I did think of adding the USB plug. I had those USB to PS/2 adaptors, but I wrecked the USB plug in the process of cracking it open. Silly me, why would I try to bash it open with a hammer?

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 4:31PM]

Darn! Double posted!

[why not the LS2LS7? @ May 8th 2008 11:21AM]

Having a bit of experience with USB, I can say this guy is lucky if this works at all, and if it does, it probably does only USB 1.1.

USB 2.0 is very sensitive to impedance, I've had it fail to work with traces over improperly matches traces on a circuit board we made, and those traces were only a few inches long. No way it's gonna work over a couple feet of silver satin (the flat phone cable that goes in an RJ11 socket). Now, if it were an RJ45 socket, he could use Cat5 to connect the computer to it and it'd stand some chance of working.

[w00t @ May 8th 2008 1:23PM]

If he crimped the RJ11 connector directly onto an existing USB cable I'd say there's a good chance of USB 2, at least a better one than duct taping a length of phone cable to it :)

[Mikey @ May 8th 2008 3:29PM]

For 10/100 Ethernet you only need 2 of the 4 pairs found in cat5.This means it is possible to do this while keeping the RJ-45 jack usable (be it only with limited speeds) However, newer construction will use 2 pairs for networking and the other two pairs for 2 phone lines. It all depends on who/how its wired.

[Antipilor @ May 8th 2008 11:50AM]

This would actually be a really good mod for the EEEPC. Be nice to add a fourth external usb port, even if you would need an adapter to connect anything.

[w00t @ May 8th 2008 1:19PM]

Those adapters you speak of have already been invented, they call them 'hubs' ;)

[Aguiluz @ May 8th 2008 1:05PM]

Anyone notice we have the same avatar? :-)

And click "Doppel's Page" on the signature. YES, you thought right:

Doppelgangergang = Aguiluz

[Spyrorocks @ May 8th 2008 4:43PM]

W00t looks like all the traffic killed my server...

[Chip @ May 8th 2008 5:59PM]

1) Find a USB extension cord. Type A male on one end, Type A female on the other.
2) Cut cord near the female end.
3) Strip the bare end of the male cord, crimp on an RJ-11 plug.
4) Strip the bare end of the female cord, attach to RJ-11 jack.
5) Plug USB drive into female cord.
6) Profit.

Of course, you'd need a crimp tool, but the connections should be cleaner and less chance of burning yourself. No need to even crack the case of the USB drive.

[anonymoose @ May 8th 2008 6:24PM]

What's the big deal about soldering a few wires? Not a big time mod here...

For one, I think it would be kinda obvious seeing a telephone cord suddenly morph into a USB cable on the side/back of a laptop... take it a step further by opening up the laptop, rewiring the phone jack to go striaght into the USB bus internally... then you dont have to worry about it looking obviously hacked... but then again... why are you doing this in the first place?

The party v& knocking on your door, p3d0?

[Arkenklo @ May 12th 2008 4:43AM]

The big thing is not about the work, its about the sole idea behind.