BOSTON -- There are easy and legal ways to get your cell phone to do just about anything that providers often charge for.

Evan Silbert, president of Warlox Wireless, a business located inside Boston's Prudential Center, said, "What we can do is put software in the phone that brings it back to all of its original functions so that the phone will operate exactly the same as one you bought directly from the manufacturer or from a company abroad where they wouldn't restrict it as much."

Silbert hacks cell phones for a living, saving you money and hassles.

Many hacks begin with the SIM card, a chip found in the back of many phones that carries all of your account information.

"If you wanted to upgrade to a different phone that maybe Cingular doesn't sell, we could unlock that phone so it accepts all SIM cards," Silbert said. "When we put your SIM card into the phone, your account goes with it and works just as it always would."

It's a secret that can save you hundreds of dollars on your next vacation or business trip.

Silbert said, "You can get a SIM card locally, and it will give you a local number in Spain or France, the U.K. -- wherever you may be. You'll pay a local rate like the locals do which will be a lot lower. You can save people hundreds of dollars easily. You know people who travel for business love this because they'll keep a SIM card for every place that they visit and in a week you could easily spend $500 in minutes and having a local SIM, it's pennies compared to that."

And what about ringtones, which usually cost a few dollars apiece? Now you can get them for free.

"If you have an unlocked browser in your phone, which is something we can do, you can go to a third-party Web site to download them, or we can show you how with a memory card and a reader, you can transfer music back and forth to your phone and use it as a ringtone without doing it through the network," said Silbert.

For now, this is all perfectly legal. But that doesn't mean the cell phone providers like it. Unlocking the secrets of your phone is costing them money.

"I think a carrier thinks, 'Well, we sell them the phone in this condition and they're going to take it or leave it,'" said Silbert. "People could do more than that. You can make your phone do what you want it to do in a way you want. It takes away a little bit of their exclusivity and it makes them a little less powerful, and it gives the power back to the customers. That's where it belongs."

Silbert points out that a lot of these hacks can be found with a simple Internet search. However, if you do try it on your own, be careful -- a small misstep could damage your phone, and your provider won't be so quick to help.