The Magazine Article That Could Delete Your Hard Drive 💾 Darknet Diaries Ep. 170: Phrack

The Magazine Article That Could Delete Your Hard Drive 💾 Darknet Diaries Ep. 170: Phrack

Source: YouTube · Jack Rhysider · published Feb 3, 2026 · 44:36

Cybersecurity
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Description

This episode features an interview with two staff members from Frack, a highly influential digital magazine that served as the primary educational resource for aspiring hackers in the 80s and 90s 0:11.

Key Takeaways:
• Previous episodes in the series covered hacking in the 80s and 90s, which primarily revolved around "phone freaking" 0:03.
Frack was considered so foundational to the hacking scene that veterans would simply tell newcomers to read every issue from the beginning to become skilled hackers 0:16.
• The episode features a rare interview with two of the magazine's staff members following a recent milestone celebration for the publication 0:37.

While listening to the prior two episodes provides helpful historical context, this interview offers a direct look into the legendary publication that shaped early hacker culture.

Sources:

  • 0:03 Introduction to 80s/90s phone freaking
  • 0:11 The immense influence of the Frack magazine
  • 0:16 Standard advice given to beginner hackers in chat rooms
  • 0:37 Introduction of the Frack staff interviewees

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First 800 characters of the transcript

Hey, it's Jack, host of the show. So, the last two episodes talked about hacking in the 80s and 90s, which was primarily phone freaking. In those episodes, I talked about a digital magazine called Frack, which was incredibly influential to the hacking scene. It wasn't uncommon to be in a chat room and someone come in and ask, "How do I get started as a hacker?" And then someone else simply say, "Go to Frack's site, start reading it at issue one, and by the time you're all caught up, you'll be a great hacker." It's probably good to go and listen to the two episodes before this before doing this one just to have the context, but you don't have to if you'd rather not. But the thing is is that in this episode I interview two of the Frack staff. The magazine just celebrated their 40th anniversa…