D BY: CRACKER JACK *************************************** *************************************** ** ** ** THE BASICS OF HACKING: INTRO ** ** ** *************************************** *************************************** * * * THE FIRST OF A SET OF ARTICLES: * * AN INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF THE * * HACKER. BASICS TO KNOW BEFORE DOING* * ANYTHING, ESSENTIAL TO YOUR CONTIN- * * UING CAREER AS ONE OF THE ELITE IN * * THE COUNTRY... * *************************************** *************************************** THIS ARTICLE, "THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD OF HACKING" IS MEANT TO HELP YOU BY TELLING YOU HOW NOT TO GET CAUGHT, WHAT NOT TO DO ON A COMPUTER SYSTEM, WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT NOW, AND JUST A LITTLE ON THE HISTORY, PAST PRESENT FUTURE, OF THE HACKER. *************************************** WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF HACKING! WE, THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE NORMAL RULES, AND HAVE BEEN SCORNED AND EVEN ARRESTED BY THOSE FROM THE 'CIVILIZED WORLD', ARE BECOMMING SCARCER EVERY DAY. THIS IS DUE TO THE GREATER FEAR OF WHAT A GOOD HACKER (SKILL WISE, NO MORAL JUDGEMENTS HERE) CAN DO NOWADAYS, THUS CAUSING ANTI- HACKER SENTIMENT IN THE MASSES. ALSO, FEW HACKERS SEEM TO ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS THEY HACK, OR WHAT EQUIPMENT THEY WILL RUN INTO ON THE FRONT END, OR WHAT THEY COULD DO WRONG ON A SYSTEM TO ALERT THE 'HIGHER' AUTHORITIES WHO MONITOR THE SYSTEM. THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME THINGS NOT TO DO, EVEN BEFORE YOU GET ON THE SYSTEM. WE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEW WAVE OF FRONT END SECURITY DEVICES THAT ARE BEGINNING TO BE USED ON COMPUTERS. WE WILL ATTEMPT TO INSTILL IN YOU A SECOND IDENTITY, TO BE BROUGHT UP AT TIME OF GREAT NEED, TO PULL YOU OUT OF TROUBLE. AND, BY THE WAY, WE TAKE NO, REPEAT, NO, RESPONCIBILITY FOR WHAT WE SAY IN THIS AND THE FORTHCOMING ARTICLES. ENOUGH OF THE BULLSHIT, ON TO THE FUN: *************************************** AFTER LOGGING ON YOUR FAVORITE BBS, YOU SEE ON THE HIGH ACCESS BOARD A PHONE NUMBER! IT SAYS IT'S A GREAT SYSTEM TO "FUCK AROUND WITH!" THIS MAY BE TRUE, BUT HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE GOING TO CALL THE SAME NUMBER? SO: TRY TO AVOID CALLING A NUMBER GIVEN TO THE PUBLIC. THIS IS BECAUSE THERE ARE AT LEAST EVERY OTHER USER CALLING, AND HOW MANY OTHER BOARDS WILL THAT NUMBER SPREAD TO? IF YOU CALL A NUMBER FAR, FAR AWAY, AND YOU PLAN ON GOING THRU AN EXTENDER OR A RE-SELLER, DON'T KEEP CALLING THE SAME ACCESS NUMBER (I.E. AS YOU WOULD IF YOU HAD A HACKER RUNNING), THIS LOOKS VERY SUSPICIOUS AND CAN MAKE LIFE MISERABLE WHEN THE PHONE BILL COMES IN THE MAIL. MOST CITIES HAVE A VARIETY OF ACCESS NUMBERS AND SERVICES, SO USE AS MANY AS YOU CAN. NEVER TRUST A CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM... THE 414'S, THE ASSHOLES, WERE CAUGHT FOR THIS REASON: WHEN ONE OF THEM CONNECTED TO THE SYSTEM, THERE WAS NOTHING GOOD THERE. THE NEXT TIME, THERE WAS A TREK GAME STUCK RIGHT IN THEIR WAY! THEY PROCEDED TO PLAY SAID GAME FOR TWO, SAY TWO AND A HALF HOURS, WHILE TELENET WAS TRACING THEM! NICE JOB, DON'T YOU THINK? IF ANYTHING LOOKS SUSPICIOUS, DROP THE LINE IMMEDIATELY!! AS IN, YESTERDAY!! THE POINT WE'RE TRYING TO GET ACCROSS IS: IF YOU USE A LITTLE COMMON SENCE, YOU WON'T GET BUSTED. LET THE LITTLE KIDS WHO AREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE A TRAP GET BUSTED, IT WILL TAKE THE HEAT OFF OF THE REAL HACKERS. NOW, LET'S SAY YOU GET ON A COMPUTER SYSTEM... IT LOOKS GREAT, CHECKS OUT, EVERYTHING SEEMS FINE. OK, NOW IS WHEN IT GETS MORE DANGEROUS. YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE COMPUTER SYSTEM (SEE FUTURE ISSUES OF THIS ARTICLE FOR INFO ON SPECIFIC SYSTEMS) TO KNOW WHAT NOT TO DO. BASICALLY, KEEP AWAY FROM ANY COMMAND WHICH LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT DELETE SOMETHING, COPY A NEW FILE INTO THE ACCOUNT, OR WHATEVER! ALWAYS LEAVE THE ACCOUNT IN THE SAME STATUS YOU LOGGED IN WITH. CHANGE *NOTHING*... IF IT ISN'T AN ACCOUNT WITH PRIV'S, THEN DON'T TRY ANY COMMANDS THAT REQUIRE THEM! ALL, YES ALL, SYSTEMS ARE GOING TO BE KEEPING LOG FILES OF WHAT USERS ARE DOING, AND THAT WILL SHOW UP. IT IS JUST LIKE DROPPING A TROUBLE-CARD IN AN ESS SYSTEM, AFTER SENDING THAT NICE OPERATOR A PRETTY TONE. SPEND NO EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF TIME ON THE ACCOUNT IN ONE STRETCH. DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE PIRATE CLUB/1200 CRACKER JACK THE PIRATE CLUB/1200 THE CONNECTION I/O DOS BUSTERS [Phreak][1-37][?=Menu,=quit]: