| ==Phrack Inc.== | |
| Volume Four, Issue Forty, File 2 of 14 | |
| [-=:< Phrack Loopback >:=-] | |
| By Dispater & Mind Mage | |
| Phrack Loopback is a forum for you, the reader, to ask questions, air | |
| problems, and talk about what ever topic you would like to discuss. This is | |
| also the place Phrack Staff will make suggestions to you by reviewing various | |
| items of note; magazines, software, catalogs, hardware, etc. | |
| In this issue: | |
| Retirement of a Hacker : Jester Sluggo | |
| Truth Is Out Of Style : Dispater | |
| Tim Foley Virus : Guido Sanchez | |
| The Hacker Files (from DC Comics) : Newsbytes | |
| Sneakers (from Universal Pictures) : Press Release | |
| Pirates v. AT&T: Posters : Legacy Irreverent and Captain Picard | |
| Telco Trashing Yields Big Rewards : Anonymous | |
| Anonymous Mail On IBM VM Systems? : Apollo | |
| WWIV Link Hack : Mr. Bigg | |
| The Day Bell System Died : Anonymous | |
| The 1992 Consumer Electronics Show : Sarlo | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| x x x | |
| | | | | |
| +------------+ | |
| | Retirement | | |
| | of a | | |
| | Hacker | | |
| +---+------------+---+ | |
| | by Jester Sluggo | | |
| +-+--------------------+-+ | |
| | Released: July 9, 1992 | | |
| +------------------------+ | |
| I would like to begin by saying "Hello" to all readers of this file, but | |
| unfortunately it will be my last time. I've been a member of the "hacker | |
| underground" for over a decade and am one of the few extremely lucky hackers | |
| who has successfully hacked a great number of computer systems, phone systems, | |
| and other technologies, yet has never been caught. I wish to take this last | |
| opportunity to reflect on my experiences, and express many personal views, | |
| because although there are feelings of sadness, it is my pleasure to announce | |
| my formal retirement from this "underground" community. | |
| My decision to retire has been a carefully planned path which began several | |
| years ago. During the early 1980's, the innocence of hacking and exploring | |
| computer systems for my quest of knowledge was a great thrill. Every system | |
| was like an unexplored door which lead to unlimited opportunities; various | |
| computer systems, operating systems, languages, networks, software, and data. | |
| But it was in the later part of the 1980's when I began to realize that I had | |
| to focus my interests, knowledge and experience towards a legitimate career. | |
| It's nearly impossible to earn a living solely within the resources of the | |
| hacker underground, and the idea of abusing technology for monetary gain is | |
| against the (unwritten) code of hacker ethics. Also at this time, the | |
| innocence of exploring various systems was being replaced by the realities of | |
| ruining my entire future at such a young age if I was caught and convicted by | |
| the United States' legal system. | |
| The media and law-enforcement agencies have almost always been biased against | |
| hackers, and these are two powerful entities that influence society. Hackers | |
| have always been presented in a negative context, whereas their discoveries, | |
| efforts, creativeness, and hard work have been ignored except among fellow | |
| hackers. In a way, it's similar to how the U.S. government and corporations | |
| support research and development: A group of researchers discover, explore, | |
| refine, or exploit a certain technology over a period of many years, yet their | |
| efforts go unnoticed unless their research results in a product acceptable to | |
| society. The researcher's results are shared, respected, and challenged among | |
| the scientific community and journals long before they ever result in a product | |
| (if they ever result in a product). In the same way that researchers and | |
| scientists relentlessly pursue their interests, I pursued answers to my | |
| curiosities and interests. | |
| It is the groups that want to control the society (the legal system, and | |
| police) which have labeled "hackers" as notorious people. Hackers can use | |
| technology to access a variety of information which was previously accessible | |
| only to these groups, and these controllers are afraid of losing their | |
| advantages and control. Currently in US, the FBI is afraid of losing their | |
| ability to easily tap fiber optics so they're proposing to make it mandatory | |
| for central offices to make it easier for them. If people knew how common | |
| illegal wiretaps occur, they'd be upset at the abuse of power. Police are | |
| making illegal search and seizures, and district attorneys are filing | |
| outrageous affidavits to protect their control of power and access to | |
| information. | |
| It was in the middle to late 1980's when the legal system and law enforcement | |
| agencies increased efforts to severely penalize hackers, when the risk of | |
| getting caught began to outweigh the excitement of discovering. It is | |
| unbelievably difficult to carry the burden of a "serious" criminal record | |
| throughout one's life when you're 20 years old (or for that matter 16 years | |
| old), as well as the eternal monetary debt which comes with these consequences. | |
| In the 1970's, the founders of Apple computer were caught selling Blue Boxes | |
| while they were in college and got off with a minimal fine. With todays laws, | |
| the potential jail time, monetary damages, and lawyer fees, the system would | |
| have wasted and banned the brilliance of Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. Apple | |
| Computer (and microcomputers) might not have been born (IBM would have loved | |
| that). | |
| Technology has changed faster than the legal system and society can adapt, so | |
| for now, unapproved exploring of these technologies has been declared a serious | |
| offense. Society trusts the legal systems' judgement, but even in 1992 law- | |
| makers are just barely beginning to understand technology: "Is software | |
| patentable (do not confuse with copyrightable), and to what degree?", "What | |
| privacy and freedom of speech should we have with electronic mail and | |
| communications?" Don't let unqualified law makers make decisions about | |
| technology-related issues that will affect you, without them knowing what you | |
| have to say. | |
| So it was in the late 1980's when I began preparing for my retirement. I | |
| outlined a set of goals and a plan to achieve them. Unfortunately this plan | |
| required several years to fulfill, but I knew it was the right time of my life | |
| to begin this ambitious plan. The goals I wanted to achieve were: | |
| 1) Pass the knowledge I've gained onto others. | |
| 2) Keep the "hacker" movement active. | |
| 3) Prepare myself to be legitimately successful so that I can help to | |
| influence society's views about technology as a member of the | |
| society. | |
| Due to the increasing danger of getting caught, and to become successful, I | |
| was forced to hide from the mainstream hacker community and make my actions and | |
| efforts unknown. The first two goals were closely related and took slightly | |
| longer to complete than my original plan. However, they were a much greater | |
| financial sacrifice than I ever imagined. The third goal will probably require | |
| the rest of my lifetime, but it's a challenge I accept. | |
| To complete goals 1 and 2, I've spent the last 5 years preparing a "tomb" of | |
| information and knowledge used within the hacker community. Not all of the | |
| information is complete, but neither is the seed that grows to become a tree. | |
| Anyone with a telephone can guess ("hack" according to the media and law | |
| enforcement) 4-digit passwords to telephone calling cards or PBX out-dial | |
| lines, but I wanted "real" hackers. I talked and met with 100's of hackers | |
| world-wide to find the right individuals who can responsibly learn and append | |
| to this "tomb" -- people who have the desire, respect, effort and ability to | |
| encourage new generations of hackers. This group has been selected and | |
| trained, and I feel they are some of the best prospects. Their international | |
| mixing should give them an almost unlimited number of opportunities, and some | |
| protection. I wish them the best of all luck in their endless journey of | |
| learning and knowledge. | |
| To become legitimately successful meant getting a respectable job. Obviously, | |
| with my interests, I knew it would have to be in the high technology | |
| industries. Unfortunately, getting a job interview or a job offer with these | |
| companies is difficult because the Human Resources departments always shun the | |
| hiring of hackers. This is ironic, because many of the engineers and | |
| programmers within these companies are made of ex-hackers, or people who share | |
| a similar intense interest in technology. Also, since some of best experiences | |
| of a hacker are discovered non-legitimately they can't be presented on a | |
| resume. | |
| My first step towards completing this goal was instinctive; to keep my | |
| excitement and enjoyment focused intensely on technology. This may sound | |
| strange, but many hackers know friends who "burn out" on hacking or working | |
| in the high-tech companies, and I didn't want to 'burn out' at 20 years of age, | |
| so I had to slow down my hacking activity. | |
| The next step was getting a college education, which I've completed. College | |
| is not the answer to everything... in fact it's not the answer to anything, | |
| however, college is an experience I wish everyone could experience -- it's a | |
| unique experience. A college degree will not guarantee a job, but it might get | |
| you past the Human Resources department. If you have the chance to attend | |
| college, don't miss this chance. I realize employers prefer experienced | |
| workers over inexperienced "fresh" college graduates, but if you have a focused | |
| interest on a certain technology, then you will find a way to keep updating | |
| yourself while suffering through college. And like me, you will find the | |
| college degree combined with the results of your focused efforts will open the | |
| best job opportunities to you. Be focused and patient... it worked for me! | |
| I am currently working on the inside of a technology-related company, enjoying | |
| the work I do for a living. In fact, sometimes I think to myself, "Wow, I get | |
| paid for doing this!?" It's a thrill to be doing what I do, yet I must work | |
| hard, and continue working hard to achieve the highest position I am able to | |
| reach to make the most of my abilities. In doing this, I hope someday to give | |
| something back to the non-hacking society which may show them that hackers are | |
| constructive to society, thus, changing their negative view which has labeled | |
| hackers synonymous to "criminals." I would like to see mature, legitimately- | |
| successful hackers, form an interest group to help cultivate the energy of the | |
| younger hackers. | |
| Although I am retiring from the community, I can never retire the curiosity and | |
| intense interest I have about technology. Instead, I now focus these aspects | |
| legitimately into my daily work and will continue to do so. I've immensely | |
| enjoyed my involvement in the hacking community and will always treasure it. I | |
| also hope to eventually persuade people to accept hackers and to not persecute | |
| them. This last goal is the most ambitious goal, but I feel it's the most | |
| important goal, because those groups that control society are wasting a group | |
| of young and talented individuals who could be inventors of future | |
| technologies. Now, I will formally say "goodbye" to my friends in the hacking | |
| community... but not for the last time. | |
| Persevere, | |
| Jester Sluggo | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| "Truth Is Out Of Style" | |
| An Investigative Report Into Computer Security Corruption | |
| by Dispater | |
| It seems that these days the anti-virus industry/community has brainwashed the | |
| public into thinking that any use of a modem will put you in contact with an | |
| unfathomable array of dangers. It sounds like something your mom said, when | |
| she didn't want you to stay out after dark doesn't it? | |
| As it turns out the anti-virus community has all the moral fiber of television | |
| evangelists. As they preach on about the horrors of accessing information | |
| (without purchasing one of their products), they are engaging in the activity | |
| that they claim should be made a federal offense, in Congress. That is the | |
| "distribution of computer viruses. Not only have they been involved in this | |
| type of activity since they industry began, but now there is a self proclaimed | |
| "elite" [smirk] group of so-called professionals within the industry that wish | |
| to keep a monopoly on the virus trade, by ruining the reputation and lives of | |
| independent researchers. So in a way, we now have a "virus cartel" within the | |
| computer security industry. | |
| The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses is a printed text that has been | |
| around for a few years, but is finally making waves with people who think | |
| Prodigy and CompuServe are the best networks ever invented. Anyway, this book | |
| contains printed out versions of viruses. Gee, viruses are SO difficult for | |
| people to get their hands on aren't they? Well, one of the information | |
| dinosaurs got his name in print for condemning such immorality. | |
| "Professional virus fighters such as Alan Solomon at S&S | |
| International are madder than angry hornets over the publication. | |
| They are encouraging anti-black book campaigns that include | |
| PICKETING THE AUTHOR'S HOUSE, boycotting shops that sell the book, | |
| petitioning Congress, and even bringing in lawyers." | |
| -- ComputerWorld, June 29, 1992, page 4 (emphasis added) | |
| Well isn't it interesting to note that while Mr. Solomon is encouraging | |
| personal and economic harassment of Mr. Ludwig, his close friend and business | |
| associate, Sarah Gordon is doing the dirty work for him. | |
| The Con | |
| ~~~~~~~ | |
| The National Computer Security Association's 1st Annual Conference on Viruses | |
| took place in Washington, D.C. this past June. Alan Solomon and Sarah Gordon | |
| were there in full force. Gordon has often been referred to as being Solomon's | |
| sidekick and nowhere did she live up to this distinctive title more than at | |
| this conference. | |
| At the conference, Gordon purchased not one, but two copies of Ludwig's book | |
| and then immediately ran to the conference organizer to make a dramatic scene | |
| over how immoral it was for Mr. Ludwig to be selling such a thing. As it turns | |
| out this is not the first time Sarah Gordon has engaged in such hypocritical | |
| behavior. | |
| Another interesting thing to note at the conference is the fact that one | |
| evening, Knight Lightning and a couple of others noticed some people sitting | |
| around a room and walked in out of curiosity to what was going on. As it | |
| turned out what was going on was a "midnight meeting" of sorts. KL and friends | |
| were asked to leave because "it was not appropriate that <they> be here." Why | |
| wasn't it appropriate? It's because what these people were doing was | |
| discussing the ways they were going to "take down bulletin boards" and damage | |
| people's career's who distribute viruses. | |
| Sometime after this conference, I learned about their plan to use "the media to | |
| ruin these sysops. For example, to use influence with the media to call | |
| attention to this type of activity." These people even went so far as to | |
| compile a list of BBSes that they wish to "take down." | |
| The Hit List | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Phrack received anonymous mail containing the BBS "hit list" that the self- | |
| proclaimed "elite" group of modem vigilantes put together to target first. | |
| Upon our receipt of this list, Phrack staff members contacted the sysops of | |
| these boards and as a result, many of the numbers have since been changed. | |
| +1-206-481-2728 The Festering Pit of Vile Excretions | |
| [This phone number belongs to a construction company | |
| called Custom Building Co.] | |
| +1-213-274-1333 West Coast Technologies (Tymnet 311021300023) | |
| +1-213-274-2222 DII | |
| +1-213-PRI-VATE\ | |
| )BBS-A-Holic | |
| +1-ITS-PRI-VATE/ | |
| +1-301-PRI-VATE\ | |
| )Digital Underground | |
| +1-301-913-5915/ | |
| +1-301-948-7761 Cornerstone III | |
| [ ] | |
| +1-305-669-1347 The Penthouse | |
| +1-516-466-4620\ | |
| )Hamburger Heaven: this was down for | |
| +1-517-PRI-VATE/ software problems, was titled Sentinel's Gate | |
| +1-602-491-0703 The Final Frontier | |
| +1-708-541-1069 Pirate's Guild | |
| +1-717-367-3501 Night Eyes | |
| +1-818-831-3189 Pirate's Cove | |
| +1-901-756-4756 Silicon Central | |
| +1-916-729-2112 The Welfare Department | |
| [This is an insurance companies phone number] | |
| +1-213-274-1333 West Coast Technologies (Tymnet 311021300023) | |
| +1-213-274-aaaa DII | |
| +1-313-LIM-ITED Canterbury Woods | |
| +1-409-372-5511 The Crowbar Hotel | |
| +1-514-PRI-VATE\ | |
| )The Sacred Reich | |
| +1-514-975-9362/ | |
| +1-516-328-0847 The Grave of the Lost | |
| +1-516-541-6324 Realm of Heroes | |
| +1-708-459-7267 Hell Pit | |
| +1-713-464-9013 South of Heaven | |
| +1-818-831-3189 Pirate's Cove | |
| +1-819-PRI-VATE Brain Damage | |
| It is unclear as to whom is directly responsible for the organization of this | |
| group or who is responsible for creating and distributing the list, however | |
| there were representatives from CERT, ISPNews, and several other well known | |
| individuals who are self-proclaimed security experts as well as a slew of | |
| nobodies who wish to make a name for themselves. | |
| The Hell Pit BBS | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| The Hell Pit is a BBS system in Chicago and operated by a sysop named Kato. | |
| Kato has a legitimate curiosity (as if a curiosity needs to be validated) about | |
| the inner-workings of viruses. I shall let him relate his experience: | |
| "I have been running The Hell Pit BBS for the past 3 years. It's gone | |
| through many phases in that time, but the most recent has been my affection | |
| for computer viruses. I became interested in viruses about one and a half | |
| years ago and I set up a virus file base on my system. At first I had a | |
| mere 5 or 6 viruses that I had collected from a system in the area. My | |
| collection has grown to about 700 IBM computer viruses." | |
| "It seems to be their objective to shut down my bulletin board system and | |
| therefore eliminate my virus database. Considering these anti-virus | |
| personnel claim to be interested in aspects of computer security, I find | |
| their tactics highly questionable. There was recently a NCSA anti-virus | |
| conference. I learned from sources that one of the people attending the | |
| conference [Sarah Gordon] had committed certain acts on my BBS. This person | |
| claimed to have called up, uploaded 3 fake viruses, gained access to my | |
| virus database and then downloaded several viruses. This is their proof | |
| that I do not adequately control virus access on my system. The anti-virus | |
| personnel do not allow me to defend myself." | |
| "Anti-virus personnel themselves have committed the same mistakes as I did, | |
| probably much more often. There is no set of rules that determines what | |
| makes someone an anti-virus authority. Certain people that seem to fit the | |
| mold are allowed to exchange viruses with anti-virus personnel. What are | |
| the criteria for these people? Is there any? It has been my experience | |
| that if you get involved with the right circles, you are considered an anti- | |
| virus authority. However, there are many places in the anti-virus community | |
| for viruses to leak out. For one thing, you can never be certain who you | |
| are dealing with. Just because someone is smart and claims to hold an anti- | |
| virus attitude is no guarantee that that person isn't an "in the closet" | |
| virus writer. | |
| "At anti-virus conferences such as the NCSA anti-virus conference, guests | |
| were exchanging viruses like they were baseball cards. That isn't what I | |
| would consider controlling access." | |
| "They do help a lot of people with computer troubles. However, to criticize | |
| me for not properly controlling access to my collection of viruses is being | |
| hypocritical." | |
| "If anyone would like to call my system to check things out, feel free. I | |
| have a lot more to offer than just computer viruses. I have a good number | |
| of text files and some pretty active message bases. The Hell Pit BBS - | |
| (708)459-7267" - Kato | |
| Conclusions | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| It seems there is a move afoot in the anti-virus community to rid the world of | |
| bulletin board systems that disseminate viruses openly and freely. The anti- | |
| virus professionals believe that they must "defend the world" from this type of | |
| activity. Even though during a recent conference in Washington, D.C., it was | |
| disclosed that an anti-virus researcher recently uploaded three (3) viruses | |
| onto a virus BBS (Hell Pit). Why was this done? To "expose the fact that the | |
| sysop was not as careful as he claims to be." The person that did this was | |
| then able to download viruses which was against the policy the sysop claimed | |
| was in place (of course this statement is based upon the integrity of the anti- | |
| virus community and their integrity is obviously suspect). | |
| So, the anti-virus community set-up this sysop and made an example of him in a | |
| national conference without allowing him the opportunity to defend himself. In | |
| fact, the sysop may still be totally unaware that this event has even occurred, | |
| until now that is. | |
| These anti-virus researchers were openly exchanging copies of viruses for | |
| "research purposes only." It seems okay for them to disseminate viruses in the | |
| name of research because of their self-proclaimed importance in the anti-virus | |
| community, but others that threaten their elite (NOT!) status are subject to be | |
| framed and have examples made of them. | |
| Do As I Say, Not As I Do | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| This type of activity raises a very interesting question. Who gives private | |
| sector computer security employees or consultants carte blanche to conduct this | |
| type of activity? Especially when they have the gall to turn around and label | |
| hackers as criminals for doing the exact same thing. The answer is not who, | |
| but what; money and ego. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of this whole | |
| situation is that the true battle being fought here is not over viruses and | |
| bulletin board systems, but instead the free dissemination of information. For | |
| a group of individuals so immersed in this world, there is a profound ignorance | |
| of the concepts of First Amendment rights. | |
| Phrack Magazine is ready to stand tall and vigorously keep a close watch and | |
| defend against any incursion of these rights. We've been around a long time, | |
| we know where the bodies are buried, our legion of followers and readers have | |
| their eyes and ears open all across the country. Those of you in the security | |
| industry be warned because every time you slip up, we will be there to expose | |
| you. | |
| Dispater | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Tim Foley Virus | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| By Guido Sanchez | |
| Right after I moved from 512 to 708, I had the misfortune to realize that Steve | |
| Jackson Games, a company whose games I readily buy and play, had a BBS up in my | |
| home town called the Illuminati BBS. This was my misfortune as I could have | |
| called it locally in Texas, but now instead had to spend my phone bill on it | |
| from Illinois. | |
| A good year after the Secret Service assault of Steve Jackson Games, after most | |
| of the "evidence" was returned with nifty little green stickers on it, a text | |
| file was put up on the BBS called FOLEY.TXT, a simple copy of the lawsuit that | |
| Steve Jackson Games had filed against the government, also known as | |
| JACKSUIT.TXT, distributed by the EFF I believe. | |
| [Editor's Note: We have been unable to confirm that EFF ever released a file | |
| called JACKSUIT.TXT, however details of the EFF's | |
| participation in the Steve Jackson Games lawsuit can be found | |
| in EFFector Online 1.04.] | |
| It was called FOLEY.TXT obviously because of Timothy Foley, a big-shot | |
| government guy [actually an agent for the U.S. Secret Service] who is one of | |
| the defendants in the case. I downloaded the file, and zipped it into a file | |
| called, surprisingly enough, FOLEY.ZIP. | |
| Within the next week, I was gleefully spreading information as usual, and | |
| uploaded the FOLEY.ZIP file along with a batch of viral files to a local BBS | |
| with a beginning virus base. The theory here is to spread viruses about, | |
| accessible to all so that wonderful little Anti-Viral programmers cannot | |
| succeed. | |
| Unfortunately, the FOLEY.ZIP file was put into the viral file base, and before | |
| I could warn the sysop to move it into the appropriate file base, about 8 lame | |
| warezwolves had downloaded it and by the end of the week it was widely spread | |
| around the 708 NPA. | |
| The moral of this story? None really, it's just an amusing vignette of what | |
| can happen when people become involved in the intense bartering of information | |
| that takes place via modem, and can get ridiculed if they're not sure of their | |
| commodity. That's all this huge business is, everyone is a courier. Whether | |
| they're pirated files, adult files, sound files, viruses, or text files; 90% of | |
| the time they're just downloaded from one 1.2 gig board and uploaded to the | |
| next one for more credits to download more files, etc. | |
| It's a great big cycle, just like life. So, to risk sounding cliche, my rally | |
| to all is this: "Slow down! Sit back and pick the roses, eat them, digest them, | |
| and eventually <hopefully> excrete them!" Mr. Warhol, my fifteen minutes are | |
| up. The soapbox is now free. | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| The Hacker Files June 22, 1992 | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| By Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen (Newsbytes) | |
| NEW YORK -- DC Comics has announced the introduction of a new twelve-issue | |
| series, "The Hacker Files." DC spokesperson Martha Thomases said that the | |
| first issue will ship on June 23rd. | |
| The series, created by science fiction author Lewis Shiner, deals with the | |
| adventures of "super-hacker" Jack Marshall who, prior to the events chronicled | |
| in the series, unjustly lost his job at Digitronix and now operates as a free- | |
| lance consultant. | |
| The first story line, covering the first four issues of the series, deals with | |
| Marshall's attempt to uncover those responsible for jamming ARPANET (Network of | |
| Advanced Research Projects Agency) and causing NORAD's Space Surveillance | |
| Center inside Cheyenne Mountain, Wyoming to malfunction, bringing the United | |
| States to the brink of nuclear war. | |
| In the course of his investigation, Marshall, AKA "Hacker," is assisted by a | |
| number of members of the hacker community -- "Master Blaster," "Sue Denim," and | |
| "Spider" (Master Blaster, whose real name is Mikey is a student at New York | |
| City's Bronx High School of Science). | |
| Fiction comes close to reality when it appears that the person responsible for | |
| the virus that caused the damage is Roger P. Sylvester, a student at Columbia | |
| University and the son of a high ranking official at the National Security | |
| Agency (NSA); on November 2, 1988 Robert T. Morris, Jr., a Cornell student and | |
| son of NSA's chief computer scientist, caused the crippling of the Internet | |
| through his release of the "Internet Worm." | |
| Shiner told Newsbytes, "The similarity of the characters was, of course done | |
| intentionally -- you might even note the somewhat subtle connection of the | |
| names: 'Sylvester The Cat' and 'Morris The Cat.' I did it partially to show | |
| those somewhat knowledgeable about computers that the plot was not made out of | |
| whole cloth but was the result of a good deal of research." | |
| Shiner continued, "When reading comics, I look for information density and I | |
| tried to make the Hacker Files rich in that regard. I'm hoping to attract some | |
| computer-literate young people to comics -- comics were one of the earliest | |
| forms of expression to make great use of computers and I hope, with the Hacker | |
| Files, to involve more computer types in the medium." | |
| Shiner also told Newsbytes that his experience as a programmer with a small | |
| Dallas software firm provided him with an ongoing interest in computer and | |
| communications technology. He added, "The firm was sold to EDS (Electronic | |
| Data Services), Ross Perot's firm, and, with long hair and jeans, I didn't fit | |
| into the EDS mold so I left and concentrated on writing." | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| "Sneakers" by Universal Pictures June 24, 1992 | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Taken from PR Newswire | |
| Follow A Team of High-Tech Security Experts | |
| Into The Complex World of Computer Crime | |
| "I was trying to break into Protovision. I wanted to get the programs for | |
| their new games." -- David Lightman (Matthew Broderick, "WarGames"). | |
| "The world isn't run by weapons anymore, or energy or money. It's run by | |
| little ones and zeros. Little bits of data. It's all just electrons." -- | |
| Cosmo (Ben Kingsley, "Sneakers"). | |
| In 1984, screenwriters Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker received an Academy | |
| Award nomination for their script which followed the adventures of a young high | |
| school hacker (Matthew Broderick) whose computer made contact with the | |
| mainframe computers at North American Air Defense Command (NORAD). | |
| A critical and box office success, "WarGames" was the first major motion | |
| picture to explore the emerging worlds of computer games, hacking, crashing and | |
| data piracy. It soon found a legion of fans who had also discovered the vast | |
| frontiers available through their personal computer. | |
| Eight years later, Parkes and Lasker along with writer-director Phil Alden | |
| Robinson ("Field of Dreams") have collaborated on "Sneakers," a Universal | |
| Pictures release which follows a team of high-tech security experts into the | |
| complex world of computer crime. The caper film, directed by Robinson, stars | |
| Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David | |
| Strathairn, James Earl Jones, and Mary McDonnell. | |
| Parkes and Lasker first heard the term "sneakers" at a computer convention in | |
| 1981 as a nickname for IBM's kid programmers. Months later, they met the | |
| editor of a small computer magazine who had a very different definition of the | |
| word. "Sneakers," their source explained, is a term that is synonymous with | |
| "black hatters" and "tiger teams," or individuals who are hired to break into | |
| places in order to test the security of the installation. | |
| Teaming up with Robinson, the trio wrote the basic outline of a story about a | |
| team of sneakers whose questionable pasts had brought them together. Robinson | |
| then embarked on some extensive research, but what had begun as basic fact- | |
| finding about computer outlaws soon evolved into clandestine meetings with | |
| underground hackers, FBI men, cryptologists, wire tappers, professional | |
| penetrators and an endless stream of cyberpunks who were the pioneers in system | |
| break-ins. | |
| The "Sneakers" research led to meetings with numerous characters, ranging from | |
| the notorious Captain Crunch (John Draper) to renowned mathematician Leonard | |
| Adelman, called the father of public-key encryption. Using computer | |
| encryption as a plot device, the writers were able to concoct an intricate | |
| "what if" story which explored the possibility of a "black box" that could | |
| potentially crack the code of any electronic information in the world. | |
| "'Sneakers' has to do with a new age... the information age," said Redford. | |
| "It's quite possible that a war in the future will be a war of information. | |
| Whoever has it, wins." | |
| Coming to theaters this September. | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Pirates v. AT&T: Posters | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Special thanks to Legacy Irreverent and Captain Picard | |
| On May 24 1992, two lone pirates, Legacy (of CyberPunk System) and Captain | |
| Picard (of Holodeck) had finally had enough of AT&T. Together, they traveled | |
| to the AT&T Maintenance Facility (just west of Goddard, Kansas) and claimed the | |
| property in the name of pirates and hackers everywhere. | |
| They hoisted the Jolly Roger skull and crossbones high on the AT&T flagpole, | |
| where it stayed for two days until it was taken down by security. | |
| This event was photographed and videotaped by EGATOBAS Productions, to preserve | |
| this landmark in history. And now you can witness the event. For a limited | |
| time they are offering full color posters and t-shirts of the Jolly Roger | |
| Pirate flag flying high over AT&T, with the AT&T logo in plain view, with the | |
| caption; "WE CAME, WE SAW, WE CONQUERED." | |
| Prices: 11" x 17" Full Color poster........................... $ 7.00 US | |
| 20" x 30" Full Color poster $20.00 US | |
| T-shirts $20.00 US | |
| If you are interested in purchasing, simply send check or money order for the | |
| amount, plus $1.00 US for postage and handling to: | |
| CyberPunk System | |
| P.O. Box 771027 | |
| Wichita, KS 67277-1072 | |
| Be sure to specify size on T-shirt. | |
| A GIF of this is also available from CyberPunk System, 1:291/19, 23:316/0, | |
| 72:708/316, 69:2316/0. FREQ magicname PIRATE | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Telco Trashing Yields Big Rewards July 20, 1992 | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| by Anonymous | |
| A few days ago, I was faced with a decision about what to do that fine evening: | |
| Try and make amends with my girlfriend or go dumpster diving down at the Bell | |
| Central Office. Well I guess I am a true lamer since I opted for the telco, | |
| but my choice did not go unrewarded as I found a nice little treasure. | |
| The building is a old 1940's brick place with almost no security whatsoever, | |
| not even a guard on Sunday nights. So, it was no problem to jump the barbed | |
| wire fence that surrounded the truck lot where the dumpster was located. After | |
| rooting around through the dumpster for something worth my while, I came across | |
| a medium sized box that apparently had been used by one of the employees for | |
| moving since written on the were the words "pots and pans, kitchen." | |
| Naturally intrigued by this strange box in a telco dumpster, I opened it and | |
| found quite a surprise! There, staring up at me, was a binder with a label | |
| stuck on it that read "Phrack 23." Inside I found the entire collection of | |
| Phrack 1-39, Informatik 1-4, and LOD/H Technical Journals 1 and 2 (apparently | |
| they were too cheap to print out the rest). They were poorly printed on a | |
| laser printer (or well printed on a ink jet), but they were much better than | |
| the cheesy job I had done printing out mine. :-) | |
| Apparently someone at the telco is a phreaker that infiltrated the ranks of | |
| South Central Bell or they have been reading up on the latest and greatest in | |
| the phreaker/hacker community. | |
| Perhaps not as valuable as a list of COSMOS passwords or dialups, but still it | |
| was quite a find. | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| Anonymous Mail On IBM VM Systems? | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Date: Tue, 28 Apr 92 14:54:58 EST | |
| From: Apollo | |
| Subject: Anonymous Mail | |
| To: Phrack Staff | |
| Dear Phrack Staff, | |
| I was reading a past Phrack issue and noticed that you can send anonymous | |
| mail from a UNIX system. I know that there is a way to send it from a VM | |
| system. However, the people at my node don't want anonymous mail sent, so they | |
| do not tell us how it's done. Can someone PLEASE tell me how I can send | |
| anonymous mail via a VM system? | |
| -- Apollo -- | |
| From: Mind Mage | |
| Subject: Anonymous Mail | |
| To: Apollo | |
| I assume that you know you can telnet to any VM system on the Internet and send | |
| anonymous mail using port 25 and a commands that are very similar to that of | |
| the UNIX SMTP. | |
| If you want to send it from your particular system, you can try telneting to | |
| port 25 of your own machine and doing it from there. | |
| Mind Mage | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| WWIV Link Hack | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| By Mr. Bigg (Rebel-*-Jedi) | |
| Not that many people care but here is a nice little trick I happened to come | |
| across and feel like sharing. | |
| Hack for WWIV Systems Using Multi-Net v1.0 Mod | |
| Usually used for LinkNet | |
| Main Login: @-!NETWORK!-@ | |
| Link Login: 1 (or whoever is sysop) | |
| //edit config.dat | |
| find system password in file | |
| abort editing | |
| //dos | |
| enter system password | |
| Viola, access to Dos :) | |
| Lamely enough there is no password. Check for users when using this mod. | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| The Day Bell System Died | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Sung to the tune of American Pie (with apologies to Don McLean) | |
| Long, long, time ago, | |
| I can still remember, | |
| When the local calls were "free". | |
| And I knew if I paid my bill, | |
| And never wished them any ill, | |
| That the phone company would let me be... | |
| But Uncle Sam said he knew better, | |
| Split 'em up, for all and ever! | |
| We'll foster competition: | |
| It's good capital-ism! | |
| I can't remember if I cried, | |
| When my phone bill first tripled in size. | |
| But something touched me deep inside, | |
| The day... Bell System... died. | |
| And we were singing... | |
| Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die? | |
| We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI, | |
| "Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry. | |
| Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Is your office Step by Step, | |
| Or have you gotten some Crossbar yet? | |
| Everybody used to ask... | |
| Oh, is TSPS coming soon? | |
| IDDD will be a boon! | |
| And, I hope to get a Touch-Tone phone, real soon... | |
| The color phones are really neat, | |
| And direct dialing can't be beat! | |
| My area code is "low": | |
| The prestige way to go! | |
| Oh, they just raised phone booths to a dime! | |
| Well, I suppose it's about time. | |
| I remember how the payphones chimed, | |
| The day... Bell System... died. | |
| And we were singing... | |
| Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die? | |
| We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI, | |
| "Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry. | |
| Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Back then we were all at one rate, | |
| Phone installs didn't cause debate, | |
| About who'd put which wire where... | |
| Installers came right out to you, | |
| No "phone stores" with their ballyhoo, | |
| And 411 was free, seemed very fair! | |
| But FCC wanted it seems, | |
| To let others skim long-distance creams, | |
| No matter 'bout the locals, | |
| They're mostly all just yokels! | |
| And so one day it came to pass, | |
| That the great Bell System did collapse, | |
| In rubble now, we all do mass, | |
| The day... Bell System... died. | |
| So bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die? | |
| We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI, | |
| "Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry. | |
| Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| I drove on out to Murray Hill, | |
| To see Bell Labs, some time to kill, | |
| But the sign there said the Labs were gone. | |
| I went back to my old CO, | |
| Where I'd had my phone lines, years ago, | |
| But it was empty, dark, and ever so forlorn... | |
| No relays pulsed, | |
| No data crooned, | |
| No MF tones did play their tunes, | |
| There wasn't a word spoken, | |
| All carrier paths were broken... | |
| And so that's how it all occurred, | |
| Microwave horns just nests for birds, | |
| Everything became so absurd, | |
| The day... Bell System... died. | |
| So bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die? | |
| We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI, | |
| "Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry. | |
| Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| We were singing: | |
| Bye, bye, Ma Bell, why did you die? | |
| We get static from Sprint and echo from MCI, | |
| "Our local calls have us in hock!" we all cry. | |
| Oh Ma Bell why did you have to die? | |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ | |
| The 1992 Consumer Electronics Show | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| By Sarlo | |
| The Consumer Electronic Show is the annual event held in Chicago, Illinois, | |
| that gives a sneak peek at the electronic products to come to market, as well | |
| as products that are currently on the market. | |
| The show is usually closed to the public. This year however, for a MEASLY $10 | |
| fee, the common shmoe can waltz his ignorant ass right up to the door, get a | |
| green stamp on his hand, and walk up to several displays, oohing and ahhhing, | |
| and gape like landed fish at the wonderous booths set up by various | |
| participating companies such as AT&T, most major bell companies, IBM, Prodigy, | |
| dozens of cellular manufacturers, Nintendo, Sega, and more software producers | |
| than I really have the patience to list. | |
| I take a taxi to the McCormick center, a convention haven, and enter through | |
| the underground entrance. I walk down the nondescript hallway, noting that for | |
| a center that is supposed to be housing the latest in the future technology, | |
| nothing was that awe-inspiring. Expecting a lame show with shoddy video | |
| graphics, I purchased my ticket, got my hand stamped and entered the doors. | |
| Into an enormous room, filling my senses with an array of Lights and Sound. | |
| You could almost smell the silicon as I made my way down the aisle displaying | |
| the giant Phillips Digital Compact Cassettes screen. Not being a huge fan of | |
| stereo equipment, I head over to the Sharp Electronics Display. It was a turn | |
| in the right direction, as it brought me face to face with one of the clearest | |
| and, per the name, sharpest video displays I have seen in my life. Their LCD | |
| big-screen televisions, displaying a aquarium scene. Even close up, distortion | |
| of the images were at a minimum. Along the north wall, a smaller, gutted | |
| version of the LCD display was shown, giving electronics buffs a firsthand look | |
| at the inner workings of the viewscreens. Turning a corner, I came face to | |
| face with their dual-projection wallscreen television. Instead of ghost images | |
| and a fuzzy, indistinct picture, I found that it may have very well be the | |
| highest quality video projection system I have ever come in contact with. | |
| Cellular Mania | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| The highlight of the Cellular Phone section was the Motorola Cordless/Cellular | |
| display area with a large sign showing the spokesperson for Motorola, the eye- | |
| catching slogan above him: | |
| "Cordless Phone Eavesdroppers Are Everywhere." | |
| Immediately catching my interest, I wandered over to check out the smaller | |
| print: | |
| "But with my Motorola Secure Clear (tm) Cordless Phone, my private | |
| conversations stay private." | |
| Secure Clear, as the literature explains it, is an exclusive technology that | |
| assures you that no eavesdroppers will be able to use another cordless phone, | |
| scanner or baby monitor to listen to your cordless conversations. | |
| As most of us know, security codes and multi-channels don't always prevent | |
| eavesdropping. With the latest technology these days, security codes, one of | |
| 65,000 possible codes that are randomly assigned every time you set the handset | |
| into the base, keeps someone from using your phone base as an outgoing | |
| phoneline. | |
| Using the Auto Channel Scan (ACS), the Secure Clear Cordless Phones | |
| automatically skip any channels that register noise or interference. Three | |
| guesses what Sarlo is getting himself for Christmas. | |
| For more information on this or any other Motorola product, call their Consumer | |
| Products Division at (800)331-6456. | |
| On other notes, Technophone had a wide variety of cellular accessories, | |
| including a Desk stand, spare batteries, an in-car charger, a new life of | |
| antennae, QuickCharge AC chargers, and a hands-free unit for safe operation in | |
| a car. | |
| Omni Cellular had one of their Model "A" V833k Portable Hand-Helds open for a | |
| demonstration, giving a static-free conversation with one of the salesmen. | |
| Many of the features of this phone were: | |
| o 90 Minutes of Talk Time | |
| o 10 hours of Stand-by Time. | |
| o and a sturdy design built right here in the USA. | |
| Other features included Auto-Power Shutoff, Electronic Lock, 50 number memory, | |
| and signal strength indicator. | |
| East Building Hipster Hi-Jinx | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| Growing bored, I headed over to the map. Searching it, I found, almost | |
| literally, my green light. On their illuminated map display, the green section | |
| of the map beamed out to me. | |
| "Computers" | |
| Hauling ass to the door, stopping for a quick inspection of my bags by the | |
| security guard, I strolled over to the east building (purchasing a way-keen | |
| CES-92 T-Shirt along the way), I burst into the building with a renewed vigor. | |
| Right smack-dab in the front of the entrance there is the awful stench of men | |
| in business suits and cheap computer services. Right away, I knew I had found | |
| the Prodigy display. | |
| With free trials and the salesmen prodding the consumers to subscribe to their | |
| system, I decided to take a look. | |
| "Where else can you get such a great service, allowing you access to such a | |
| wide variety of things such as an online message service, up-to-date news, an | |
| online encyclopedia, and thousands of interesting users, people just like | |
| yourselves?" The Online-Conman peddled his wares to the unsuspecting | |
| consumers, not only misinforming them as to think that Prodigy is a useful | |
| service at all, but to actually have the gall to shove a PS/1 in their faces | |
| and tell them it's a quality computer. | |
| "Umm... what about any Public Access Unix Site with an Internet or Usenet | |
| feed," I asked. The clod then got on his high-horse and addressed me. | |
| "Perhaps. But most Public Unix's, or bulletin boards, for that matter don't | |
| have high-quality graphics to accompany the information." The man had | |
| definitely done his homework. But apparently IBM and Sears soaped the man's | |
| brains out thoroughly enough to the point where he actually bought the bull | |
| that they were forcing down peoples throats. | |
| "Yea," I said. "But most public access sites don't waste a quarter of your | |
| screen space with worthless advertisements. I wasn't aware that pretty | |
| pictures made the news or messages any more informative, either. But I might | |
| also point out that they don't charge you a extra amount of money for every | |
| message over the 30th one, read your mail or censor your public posts, or, many | |
| times, even charge you a fee at all, other than possibly an optional | |
| subscription fee, around $50 a YEAR at most, nor do they have small datafiles | |
| that collects information from the fat table from the subscribers." As I was | |
| speaking, the salesman was trying to interrupt me, finally succeeding at this | |
| point. | |
| "Well, I can see you have a lot of questions," the salesman evades rather well. | |
| "So I'm sure this gentleman over here will be glad to answer any of your | |
| questions, while I can take this lady's question...Yes?" | |
| I was approached by another salesman who asked me what questions I needed | |
| answered. I said none, seeing as I didn't have much interest in his system | |
| anyhow, and that I was just seeing how good the Prodigy salespeople worked | |
| under pressure. He said he would be glad to answer any questions I had, but if | |
| I were only there to harass people, to please take it elsewhere. | |
| Then it was off to the various other setups. Magazines were on display and | |
| free for the taking here, including Mobile Office, Various Nintendo/Game System | |
| magazines, and Audio Equipment. Walking down one of the back isles, I heard a | |
| bit of conversation that caught my ears. | |
| Star Trek Straight To Your Home | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| "Computer. Recognize Picard, Jean-Luc. Kitchen Lights ON, Turn ON the VCR and | |
| hit RECORD. Close the Curtains, and turn on the Extasy Channel. Prepare to | |
| record "Chicks with Dicks." | |
| - Jean Luc Picard | |
| Stardate 1992.4, 2:45 A.M. | |
| Such a Scenario is something you would think you could find only on Star Trek, | |
| right? Wrong. With the Mastervoice, the "Ultimate in Home Automation", the | |
| mastervoice is much like your own personal butler, telling the correct time, | |
| activating and operating any device in your household, and even with it's own | |
| alarm system. All of this, at the command of your voice. | |
| Mastervoice can be designed to be used by up to four people, can be trained in | |
| any language. It distinguishes who is speaking, obeys the commands, but also | |
| speaks back to you -- in a HUMAN sounding voice. Male or Female. You can add | |
| or delete voices from it's recognition systems, you can also create new | |
| response words as well. | |
| Featuring control over lights, stereo, TV, coffee maker, heating and cooling | |
| systems. It also has a Household Noise Override that allows you to have stupid | |
| children racing around your home in an obnoxious manner without disturbing the | |
| unit. | |
| Plus, it is also a speakerphone/telephone with stored numbers. At the sound of | |
| your voice, it will dial or answer incoming calls and allow you to carry on a | |
| conversation without ever having to touch the system. It also interfaces with | |
| your PC for memory storage or control operations. | |
| Built in infrared sensor and intrusion detection systems are another highlight | |
| of this demonstration. As it recognizes up to four voices, you can assign a | |
| password for each voice, being anything from "I am home" to | |
| "Supercalafragilisticexpialidoshes". If all fails, it can call the police for | |
| you. Nutty as all hell. | |
| Mastervoice operates thru carrier current modules. This model, as one of the | |
| top of the line voice-recognition home-use systems, it is up there in the | |
| $4,000 plus range, but seeing all the stuff it does, it's well worth the price. | |
| Skipping the Game Module Section (Nintendo/Sega/TurboGraphix/etc) entirely, I | |
| ran into an interesting palmtop known as the Psion Series 3, and their new | |
| interlink software. Windows Compatable, the palmtop not only has communication | |
| software for a link between your PC and Palmtop, but also will support standard | |
| Hayes and Hayes compatible modems. Sporting a qwerty style keyboard and a | |
| romcard port, 128k and a 40 column screen, the Series 3 may be limited, but | |
| provides an acceptable amount of access to other online services. Though for | |
| now, a Windows based software package is only available, at the time of this | |
| writing, there will be DOS and UNIX compatible packages available to the public | |
| in 5 to 6 months. | |