FREQUENCY: Inside the Hacker Mind April 2001 Freq8 1. Introduction: “Cartoon Crime” 2. “Good” Hackers in the Media: by Nanogeist 3. Mainstream: by Unrea1 4. Hackers: Community vs. Individual Progress & Enlightenment: by Nanogeist 5. Why I Love Operators: by Screamer 6. Revolution: by The BlueGiant 7. Letters 8. Closing Arguments 9. Crew 1. INTRODUCTION: “Cartoon Crime” March 2001 will forever be remembered by our friend D4sh as one of the scariest months of his life. As explained on Hackermind, D4sh drew a cartoon depicting violence towards a stick figure that represented a real person. Even with no deaths in the cartoon, and a humorous overtone, D4sh was still sent to juvenile detention for four days. There he had to sleep on concrete, before being moved in shackles to a mental hospital where he remained for a week. After pleading not guilty, he was put on “pre-trial conditions” which prevents him from talking to his friend. He now has a curfew (for using his computer, he’s forced to stay indoors…genius) and is subject to random drug tests. His “crime” had nothing to do with drugs, but because of what he did our court system would have us believe it’s justified. Undoubtedly, had D4sh made the same cartoon fifteen years ago we never would’ve been in this position. The internet provided him with a way to put his cartoon out before the world. Some may say this shows he had nothing to hide, but because a anonymous tip came in to his local police D4sh was forced into a week and a half of pure hell. What do we get when we express ourselves on the internet? If this is any indication, you should be very careful in this cautious world. Youth violence must be prevented before it happens, but this is not a signal to start arresting those that think, say, or draw the wrong things. I remind you of Pearl Harbor, and the acts that followed. America rounded up those of Japanese decent and placed them into detention centers very similar to concentration camps. Yes we needed to prevent further American’s from being killed…but was what did the correct answer? No. And this was later admitted by the USA when it paid 20,000 dollars to Japanese civilians as retribution. Still, others may argue that D4sh had no business creating such a cartoon. They will say that he deserved to get an even worse punishment. To those people, I say this. Tomorrow the police will wake you up, pull you from your home, and place you in prison. You will then be placed in shackles as though you were a killer and sent to a mental hospital. For what reason? Remember that picture you drew when you were nine? The one of you stabbing your teacher because she gave you a D? You pose a threat to that woman, and now you must be punished. With all this going on, I’ve had little time to play around with my computer. I’ve learned a few things here and there, and found a few cool tricks, but nothing major. The same with my phone, as my quest to become every operator’s nightmare continues. Speaking of phones, we hope you all enjoyed the first episode of Line Noise on April 6, 2001. Also, be on the lookout for the 800 directory we’re working on. We’ve promised you numbers, and numbers is what you’ll get. But we need your help! Choose an exchange in the 800 area code and start scanning! Send your results to screamer@hackermind.net And now, I hope you enjoy Freq8. –screamer 2. “GOOD” HACKERS IN THE MEDIA: by Nanogeist “Good” Hackers in the Media by: «nanoG롧†» There are many complaints about the way hackers are portrayed in the media, but not all fictional hacker characters are shown in such a stereotypical manner. Some almost seem noble at times. Here are a few I have noticed on TV: » Wiz Kids: From the early 80's (and I'm not 100% sure the name is right...), this show, in my opinion was trying to cash in on the popularity of WarGames. It had a group of young hackers that were shown as hero-types and was kind of like the A-Team with modems. I honestly don't remember much about this show (except that I liked it when it was on and that it wasn't on for very long) so I personally can't go into much more detail. » Bryce Lynch and Theora [Max Headroom]: My personal favorites. Bryce was always interested in whether it COULD be done, but rarely thought about if it SHOULD be done (to paraphrase Goldblum from Jurassic Park). But he could come thru when his friends needed him. [This does not include the way he was portrayed in the UK movie or the 1st episode -- he was more of a mercenary-type in those). While Theora was ample at accessing camera systems and building security, she rarely did so maliciously. Each time it was used to assist Edison Carter in his quest to reveal the truth to the world (even if the truth bit his own network in the @ss...). » The Lone Gunmen [X-Files & The Lone Gunmen]: These three (while only one is a "typical" hacker) have been portrayed in a pretty benign light. While occasionally comedic and sometimes bumbling, they are definitely cast in a heroic mindset. Yes, they hack the Government, but only to expose conspiracies within and their motives are pure. In the spin-off series, there is another "hacker-type" who is not as heroic and quite mercenary, but I think this just exhibits the reality that not ALL hackers are the same. I don't know how long the Lone Gunmen's spin-off will last, but the other two didn't last long. Maybe it was poor ratings... or maybe "pressure" was applied to have them removed, but at least an attempt was made. Max Headroom is still shown occasionally on Bravo (including episodes never aired during its network run) and the Lone Gunmen can be seen on Fox. If anyone has the rights to Wiz Kids, they haven't told anybody else about it... 3. MAINSTREAM: by Unrea1 As hackers, phreakers, etc., we are often picked on by the government for things that we do. Often, these things that we are arrested and sued for are completely idiotic. Take the recent problem with D4sh; he drew a cartoon! But, why is it that we are picked on so much? The truth: it's because the government is terrified of what we know, and what we could do. Therefore, our basic constitutional rights are taken away to keep us silenced. The U.S. gov't (and others for that matter) claim to be free societies where people can say and do what they want within reason. Well, have you read the first amendment lately? It says that we have the right to say what we want, and write what we want. Sounds nice doesn't it? Well, it looks nice on paper, but it doesn't work in the real world. Here's an example for you: at the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention, there were protesters outside. It was totally peaceful until the so-called "authorities" showed up. From what I remember, (and correct me if I'm wrong), police beat and drove away the protesters as if they were criminals. In Washington D.C., I saw with my own eyes a group of peaceful protesters arrested. Can you believe that? Arrested. Arrested for exercising their rights. It's sad. So, we now see the real picture. We see that the U.S. gov't is just a big conformity machine. Take a look at the schools. They bring you in, and spit you out as what we would call the "American Mainstream." Students are taught (with subtlety) that conformity is good, and free speech is bad. Dare I use the word "brainwash"? It sure seems as though this is the case. Sticking with the analogy of a factory (I'm sorry, I just think it's really good), we, as hackers were missed by that big "stamp" of conformity, and we see the world as it really is; a world of oppression and constraint. It seems that the movie "The Matrix" is closer to reality than we originally thought. So, what are we to do? I really don't have the answers to that. But, one thing is certain: we can't sit back and watch our freedoms go down the tubes. We must keep free speech alive, even if it only exists on the internet. We must hold our ground, not giving in to the oppressors. The FBI may come after us with their little project "Carnivore" (or whatever they're calling it now), but we must hold fast to the true ideals of the human race. unrea1 4. HACKERS: COMMUNITY VS. INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS & ENLIGHTENMENT Part I: Potentials and Mistakes by «nanoG롧†» The hacker "community" has a chance to rise to a new level of potential, but is trapped in an unending cycle of elitist, solitary views and (mis)conceptions. Like any other sub-culture, the hacker phyle seems more concerned with who is the "true" hacker and who is just a play-time hobbyist than with the actual pursuit of their self-proclaimed ideals (in the case of hackers: the pursuit of knowledge and the destruction of popular misconceptions). If the hacker community as a whole were actually interested in forwarding their "cause" they would realize the accumulated knowledge-base they have acquired is their own greatest tool to furthering their individual and communal growth. Too often the emphasis is put on the individual starting from scratch, perusing technical manuals, books, and philes to gain the rudimentary knowledge possessed by the community. This may sort out the "true", devoted hacker wannabes from the hobbyists, and be beneficial to the individual but is detrimental to the community. A lesson can be learned from the society around us: to advance, we need to build upon what we have or eventually, we will reach a plateau and stagnate. An individual only has a limited lifetime to advance, and in that time, only a limited amount of things they can learn without building blocks to start upon. For example, let's examine our own (sadly pathetic) education system: How far would any of us get if we had to teach ourselves how to read, write, perform basic math, etc... by studying dictionaries, college texts, and calculus books without guidance? We might learn to read and write by the time we're 10-15 years old, then we could start working on the calculus (since you would need to be able to read before you could hope to understand the calculus books). Since calculus is a major step (or two or three) from basic math, it would probably take another 2-3 years to decipher enough from it to be able to understand simple equations. So to compare: It would probably take each of us 12-18 years to learn the things most of us knew well by the time we were 5. We might have a stronger command of our knowledge, along with a more real sense of accomplishment, but the community would suffer because of the delays in our advancement. It's been said the systems are getting harder to hack due to the increase of knowledge among the sysadmins, but no one looks much deeper to see the real reason. The sysadmins, be they gifted or not, are on an accellerated learning curve because they are learning from each other, institutions, AND all the documentation the hackers view in a biblical sense. Their individual knowledge is increased higher than it ever was before BECAUSE their community's knowledge has increased with it. The hackers, on the other hand, are still more advanced than most of the sysadmins (at least the "elite" ones are), but their learning curve has become slower than that of the admins. You could almost say their individual knowledge has increased IN SPITE OF their community's progress (or lack thereof). The admins' increasing success has come from their "ablity" to build upon those who have gone before, while the hackers' have damned themselves to repeating the same exercises over and over again, making only small advances. (part 2 next month) 5. WHY I LOVE OPERATORS: by Screamer You know them, you despise them. You pick up a receiver, press 0 and boom…there she is. With a voice that sounds like she needs coffee, a tone that sounds as though you’re the worst person she’s ever dealt with, and a personality similar to a brick wall. Your local operator. The backbone of the telephone system, the controller of the lines, the master of her realm. Why is that so many people, myself included, get a knot in their stomach when they know they have to call through an operator. Is it because we’re really trying to do something we’re not supposed to, and that we’re afraid she’s going to catch on? Sure I’ve used operators to try and do things that would teach me something interesting, but usually it’s just to complete a phone call in the most efficient (albeit expensive) way. The reason you get this feeling is probably because of the hassle. Does anyone really want to talk to someone that sounds that miserable? I seriously doubt it, at least I don’t. So why is this article titled the way it is? As much as I hate dealing with them, and as much as they cost, I can’t stop loving the idea of a person connecting me to another part of the world. Just like in the olden days, when people would call the operator every time they wanted to complete a phone call. Aside from that, it’s the learning experience. Every single time I call through an operator I’m bound to find something new. Whether I come right out and ask a question, or beat around the bush and social engineer information from them. They’re people. Real live people. And personally, I would rather deal with the snobbiest operator than the friendliest operating system. That’s not to say that operating systems are bad, or that I don’t enjoy having my internet connections placed through routers. Only that actually having a live, flesh and blood person there to dispense information is priceless. Operators are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And while they may sound depressed when you call, take comfort in the fact that the friendlier you are…the friendlier they are. Here is a brief list of things you should, and should not do to/with your local operator (or any op for that matter). DO: A. Use your friendliest voice, as though you haven’t a care in the world. B. Plan what you’re going to say ahead of time. Operators don’t like it when you have no idea what to ask for. C. If you’re social engineering information, use a payphone. If you can’t, play dumb if she questions you. D. This is the most important rule of all. SAY THANK YOU!!! Operators love this. DON’T: A. Prank call them…they can make it so you can’t hang up your phone. B. Be pushy. While they’re supposed to know how phones work, they’re human like you and I and don’t have all the answers. C. Talk about things you don’t understand. If you’re new to the phone network you’ll sound dumb if you try and act smarter than you are. D. Hang up without saying “Thank you” With these few notes you should find your experiences with operators to be pleasant ones. Of course you’ll always reach that one that doesn’t want to help, or sounds like she needs anti-depressants, but hey…you would too if you had people yelling at you all day. The operator is a great tool, as any phone phreak knows, and should be treated as such. Treat your operator with respect and you’ll find that there’s a lot to be learned. But remember, this does not mean you need to settle for incompetence. If you have a question that you want answered, you have a right to that answer if it’s covered by the number you’re calling. If you dial 00 for a long distance operator, you have the right to ask how much a particular call will cost you etc. Be sure to tune into future episodes of Line Noise, where we will provide more information for your phone phreaking needs. As well as general information for the general population as well. 6. REVOLUTION: by The BlueGiant Revolution Every revolution has been marked by two things. A drastic change of thought and the rise of a new (sub)culture. Think about it, Middle Ages to Renaissance. The 60's. The Internet. Sure they've all carried over remnants from the end or a previous revolution. The Renaissance still had oppression and starvation, the 60's still had oppression and high drug use. What will the Internet have when its revolution is over? Before answering this question though you have to ask yourself, "Is the Internet a true revolution?" It has been marked by no wars, not even true cyberwars. There are no messiahs or leaders for this revolution. We have no Luther, not even a Martin Luther King. No one has stood up to the government, to the world, and said "This is the end, things change NOW." Some, in fact most, hackers fight the battle, trying to make things change, to keep the Internet truly free of everything. Of corporations, or government, or oppression, racism, in fact the very idea of race and skin color. And yet we still have no savior, no person to rally to. To a select few, skin color has been abolished, it doesn't mater who you're talking got, where they're from, what religion they are, if they're black, white, or anywhere in between. It just doesn't matter, as long as you get along. The same goes for those we flame, it's not because of WHAT they are, but rather WHO they are. But things have changed, the Internet, we, have made a difference.(This is starting to sound frighteningly close to a sermon)Governemt has changed, maybe not to a great extent, but finally it is being admitted that they're not omnipotent, that one teenager can bring their very existence on the Internet to the edge of oblivion. And that scares them. It scares everyone. They have been forced to change, to become more liberal, more radical, merely to survive. Business has surely been altered because of it. We have Amazon.com., yahoo.com, places like these that exist SOLELY ON THE INTERNET. OF course, recently yahoo fired their CEO do to financial losses, and amazon is having the same problem. Even if they go out of business, as they surely will if things continue at this rate, they were there, and they scared the hell out of Borders and Barnes & Nobles (coincidentally, both of which now have online stores) Then there's Napster. THE most controversial item in recent years next to Eminem. It's cause is all but lost now, as very heavy guns were brought to bear against it, but that alone shows how much the recording industry feared it. They may have made a bigger impact on this revolution than amazon and yahoo combined. Shawn Fanning (its 20 year old creator) has been on the cover of just about every magazine there is. He's become very rich, very hated by many musicians, very loved by others. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent trying to shut napster down. It's destroying their business the recording industry says. It's making you millions of kids thieves the recording industry says. it will put out hardworking musicians out of work the recording industry says. Record sales have gone up in the last 2 years. Shawn Fanning was 19 when he created it. It does seem like the end though. Yahoo is losing money. Amazon is losing money. Napster is closing down. We, the hackers, the new culture our revolution created are still here though. The new thought, the freedom, the 'free love' so to speak that we have created, that we believe in, is out there. The government has changed, the business has changed, the world has changed. Every revolution has people left being in it's closing. Every era has those that make it so. Where will we be? Let the revolution die, but fight hard to bring, and keep, a new age, a new thinking, to the world. To the beginning of the next revolution 7. LETTERS I thought it would be good to hear a couple of emails that were submitted to me recently so that I could reply. If you would like to reply to these emails, I ask that you send your response to me at screamer@hackermind.net and I will forward it to the proper person. Thank you. From: “zahar” Hi man!...hmm...*better say screamer since man sounds too much familiary*...Hi Screamer!:) So...your show is great...i really like it!...i have downloaded almost all the .mp3s of the previous episodes cos i want to listen everything from the 1. before start listening to the latest. Right now i am listening to the 23. November`s episode and francly i think i will have to replay this cos i am paying more attention to this mail instead of the mp3:). Anyway...for not being one of those "oh i really love you show" and dont tell you anything about why i like it, i am gonna tell you why i do. I do like it because first of all you and d4sh sound as two really nice guys. Well...d4sh doesnt really talk that much but i like his voice...now dont get this "i like this voice" in a strange way:)...its like i said...i can assume he is a nice person by his voice...he is like the guy full of knowledge who instead of talking about it he preffers to use it. And i like your ideas...i mean...i think almost everybody who listens to the show like them. The problem is that the ppl in charge doesnt give a damn thing about those ideas..its like..."why the hell would we go against the ideas of the majority of the ppl out there?!...just lets keep saying so and dont think if that what we are saying is right or not"...i really wanna see one day what will happen if an ex hacker would get in charge...i am thinking about how things would change if this would happen. Because now its like you said in one episode about that Jane Reno (i am not sure if its written this way - im not from the USA you know)..they dont know a thing about this side of the world!. I hope that you will go on with this show for a long time. Cos if i would be in you i really wouldnt know how to keep the show going...i mean...where to get new ideas...i think i am more like d4sh, just waiting that someone calls me to participate into something cos i dont like to be in charge. Now to think about your show...i think is better to talk with someone by voice instead of just typing to eachother. It makes all more real you know...it would be great if all the ppl would have such a connection to afford such thing...and thats the best thing about hackermind...you HEAR the person so you can make yourself an idea about if he really thinks what he is saying and such...i am sure many ppl who listens to hackermind thinks the same... Ok...that was all i think:)...keep broadcasting and good bye! zahar -REPLY- While I’ve replied to zahar personally, I wanted to publicly acknowledge my thanks for this kind email. To comment on his idea that an ex-hacker should be in charge of political affairs, I would like to remind people of the Legion of Doom catastrophe. For those of you that don’t remember, the Legion of Doom was a rather large hacker group back in the 80’s. What happened was that two members of this particular group found jobs as security professionals and wound up making money by turning hackers in! So you see, “ex-hackers” by definition are people that have given up the hacker ethic and only seek to make money by giving their skills to businesses. If anything, I suggest a hacker be in charge. Perhaps then we’ll get a unique viewpoint on both privacy and security issues. Thanks again for writing in. –screamer -END- From: “you know” Can u tell me what kind of books i can read to try to learn some more hacking. Thanks -REPLY- I suggest www.informit.com to start. There you can find books on C, C++, networking, and all sorts of useful information. Ask yourself what you want to learn about, and then go find books on it. For example, if you love networking, find a book that explains protocols such as TCP/IP. You should be able to find good ones at your local library, or bookstore if you must. -screamer -END- From: “John Does” Hello. I hear you talking about your cable modem. I want to get dsl or cable. I live in NY and I have budget of $60 a month. What should I get and what should I not get. -REPLY- I’m not familiar with New York’s cable/dsl line up myself as far as providers go. But if you need to choose between the two I suggest you consider a few things. While both are equally fast (some may argue technicalities in actual speed), both have dedicated connections, and both connect you to a network, there are many differences. Perhaps my experience was a bad example, as cable modem services are usually better than the ones sold by Optimum Online. If I had to suggest one to you, I would have to say that you should go with DSL if you can get a dynamic ip address and a reasonable price. Whatever you do, DO NOT let them install your NIC (Network Interface Card). Most companies will charge 250 dollars (Can you say SNET?) If you want an easier setup, go with a cable modem. That’s basically plug and play, and shouldn’t give you too much trouble in the installation. At 60 dollars a month both will be available to you. But remember, if you sign up for DSL with the phone company you currently have, or a cable modem with the cable company you currently have, you may be entitled to a discount of some sort. Good luck with your decision. -screamer -END- 8. CLOSING ARGUMENTS The world is becoming a very frustrating place, or perhaps it always has been. When you’re asked for your social security number everywhere you go, your best friend is facing prison time for a cartoon, and the people that are supposed to be helping you don’t have a clue, you tend to get a little upset with how things work. Personally, I think this is the reason why so many hackers like finding holes in security. It goes against the system, and shows those in charge that they’re not as secure as they thought. This isn’t the same as saying that the hackers commit crimes with these vulnerabilities as a form of revenge, rather a great majority just enjoy the power trip obtained from showing that something can be done…when everyone said it couldn’t. For me, places like the Rivendell Psychiatric Hospital (who promised D4sh a letter of praise, but stabbed him in the back and only said he wouldn’t take his medication…even though it was never prescribed to him) and SCSU (my university for those of you that haven’t figured that out) fill me with enough anger that I sometimes want to lash out at the world. Rivendell screws over D4sh, and SCSU has, on numerous occasions, shown that they care more about money than a student’s education (not all professors are bad however, I must give credit where credit is due) I don’t do any damage of course, but as I said before…finding vulnerabilities in their systems sure is a lot of fun. Rivendell Health Services 100 Rivendell Drive Benton, Arkansas 72015 Telephone: 501 - 316 – 1255 Southern Connecticut State University scsu.ctstateu.edu (VAX/VMS 7000-630) Shout Outs: A big thanks to everyone who’s supported D4sh throughout this difficult time. Soundview Public Access Nahog – M&M 4-L! Professor Crooks – thanks for treating us like human beings Professor Olney – thanks for lookin’ good and going easy on us Mad Shouts: SCSU (they’ve pretty much reserved this spot) Rivendell – stop screwing people over, and maybe then I’ll believe you care for your patients like you claim to Professor DiSano – We’re not little kids, please don’t treat us that way 9. CREW Screamer Chaotix: Editor-in-Chief D4sh: Webmasta The BlueGiant: Frequency Writer DamienAK: Switch Hook Writer Contributing Writers: Nanogeist, Unrea1 Tune into Hackermind every half hour Thursday by using WinAmp or Real Player to open location 166.90.148.114:9474 NOTE: This address may change in the coming weeks due to a server relocation at live365, keep visiting www.hackermind.net for updates. Articles for freq9 due May 9, 2001! WWW.HACKERMIND.NET