demon dialer

( n.)

   A  program  which  repeatedly  calls the same telephone number. Demon
   dialing  may  be  benign (as when a number of communications programs
   contend  for  legitimate  access to a {BBS} line) or malign (that is,
   used  as  a  prank or denial-of-service attack). This term dates from
   the  {blue  box}  days  of  the  1970s  and  early  1980s  and is now
   semi-obsolescent   among   {phreaker}s;  see  {war  dialer}  for  its
   contemporary progeny.

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {war dialer}]