Descrambler Cable TV for Free
Using a Descrambler to get Cable TV for free may sound appealing, but users should be aware of the possble legal ramifications. A number of strategies have been used by providers to control or prevent the widespread use of Descramblers on the Cable TV signals.
One approach has been to take legal action against dealers who sell Cable TV descrambler equipment. In some cases the objective has been to obtain lists of clients in order to take or threaten to take costly legal action against end-users. Providers have created departments with names like the “office of signal integrity” or the “end-users group” to pursue alleged Cable TV descrambler users.
As some equipment is useful for other purposes, this approach has drawn strong opposition from groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. There have also been US counter-suits alleging that the legal tactics used by some Cable TV providers to demand large amounts of money from end-users may themselves appear unlawful or border on extortion.
Much of the equipment is perfectly lawful to own; in these cases, only the misuse of the equipment to descramble signals is prohibited. This makes provider attempts at legal harassment of would-be pirate descrablers awkward at best.