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% NIGHT OF THE HACKERS %
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% By: Richard Sandza %
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% Typed by: %
% --==**>>THE REFLEX<<**==-- %
% [Member: Omnipotent, Inc.] %
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% This original article appeared in %
% the November 12,1984 issue of %
% NEWSWEEK. The result of the %
% article was the piss-offment of %
% the many hackers of America. He %
% wrote a follow-up article called: %
% 'REVENGE OF THE HACKERS', which %
% can be found in this library too. %
% It just shows you not to screw %
% with these guys! %
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As you are surveying a dark and misty swamp you come across what appears
to be a small cave. You light a torch and enter. You have walked several
hundred feet when stumble into a bright blue portal... With a sudden burst of
light and a loud explosion you are swept into... DRAGONFIRE... PRESS ANY KEY IF
YOU DARE.
You have programmed your personal computer to dial into Dragonfire, a
computer bulletin board in Gainesville, Texas. But before you get any
information, Dragonfire demands your name, home city and phone number. So, for
tonights tour of the electronic wilderness you become Montana Wildhack (a
character in Kurt Vonnegut's book 'Slaughterhouse Five') of San Francisco.
Dragonfire, Sherwood Forrest(sic), Forbidden Zone, Blottoland, Plovernet,
The Vault, Shadowland, PHBI and scores of other computer bulletin boards are
hang-outs of a new generation of vandals. These precocious teen-agers use
their electronic skills with to play hide-and-seek with computer and security
forces. Many computer bulletin boards are perfectly legitimate: They resemble
the electronic versions of the familiar cork boards in supermarkets and school
corridors, listing services and providing information someone out there is
bound to find useful. But this is a walk on the wild side, a trip into the
world of underground bulletin boards dedicated to encouraging -- and making --
mischief.
The numbers for these boards are as closely guarded as a psychiatrist's
home telephone number. Some numbers are posted on underground boards; others
are exchanged over the telephone. A friendly hacker provided Dragonfire's
number. Hook up and see a broad choice of topics offered. For Phone Phreaks
-- who delight in stealing service from AT&T and other phone networks --
Phreakenstein's Lair is a potpourri of phone numbers, access codes and
technical information. For computer hackers -- who dial into other people's
computers -- Ranger's Lodge is chock full of phone numbers and passwords for
government, university and corporate computers.
Moving through Dragonfire's offerings, you can only marvel at how
conversant these teen-agers are with the technical esoterica of today's
electronic age. Obviously they have spent a great deal of time studying
computers, though their grammar and spelling indicate they haven't been as
diligent in other subjects. You are constantly reminded of how young they
are...
"Well it's that time of year again. School is back in session so let's get
those high school computer phone numbers rolling in. Time to get straight A's,
have perfect attendance(except when you've been up all night hacking school
passwords), and messing up your worst teacher's paycheck."
Forbidden Zone, in Detroit, is offering ammunition for hacker civil war --
tips on crashing the most popular bulletin-board software. There are also
plans for building black, re
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