205 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
205 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Released 9/25/92
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-----=====> SANctuary <=====-----
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Ripco ][ BBS - 312.528.5020 G. I. C. - 412.475.4969
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Sysop: Dr. Ripco Sysop: The Road Warrior
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SANctuary Distribution Site SANctuary Distribution Site
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Temple of the Dog - 206.886.2283 CompuTron - 813.885.5974
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Sysop: Xiola Blue Sysop: Tron
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SANctuary Distribution Site SANctuary Distribution Site
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| The Matrix BBS - 908.905.6691 |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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|Sysops: Digital-Demon & Wintermute|
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| Home of Modernz |
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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As a member of a speech and debate team I had to write an essay on,
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well...whatever I wanted. So deciding to write about what I knew, I wrote
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about the Computer Underground and here we have it. It is basically a
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philsopshy session (remember, I had to deliver this publically, like in
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front of teachers..) about the mind and habits of the hacker, so those of
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you expecting hardcore facts, figures and phone numbers - you've got the
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wrong file. However, if you are interested in knowing a little about how
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the hacker ticks, because just getting passwords from other people is NOT
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hacking, than you might wanna read this. Also, if it's a short research
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paper you need for your sociology class on deviant cultures (i.e. the
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Computer Underground, Hippies, Skinheads, etc.), well then again, you're in
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luck.
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- Havok Halcyon
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So we're off...
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Cruising the Electronic Highways
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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A boy in his early teens sits in a brown swivel chair with an oak desk
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in front of him. A light tapping sound fills the room as the average
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looking fourteen year old adeptly types on his keyboard. His hands moving
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quickly, the adolescent stares into a computer that glows a bright green.
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Across the monitor the cursor zips side-to-side speaking the language in
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which the child is so well versed. "Access granted", the words blink on
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the screen; the young man's face lights up as he smiles wide and his eyes
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come alive with anticipation. Now he's inside someone else's computer,
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set for the exploration of an unknown and distant place. Welcome to the
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world of the hacker.
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A computer hacker; someone who, usually between the ages of thirteen and
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twenty, uses his personal computer to investigate other people's by way of
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a link through telephone lines. That's the technical explanation, the same
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one most commonly expressed through articles in newspapers or stories in
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magazines. That is also only the icing on a cake that has many layers, for
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the true definition of a computer hacker goes much deeper.
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A hacker worships the computer and the systems he peruses through. To
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him the possibilities that the computer is capable of are limitless in
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power and infinite in scope. A person who hacks is someone who has been
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born to explore. And when a hacker sits down and prepares for one of these
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journeys, a hacker does not think, 'Is what I'm doing legal or illegal?'.
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A real hacker just does it because he must satisfy his intense curiosity
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and want of learning.
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Christopher Columbus was a hacker; Of course not in the same technical
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sense as the computer hackers of today, but he did possess the same need
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for exploration and want of learning that the computer hackers have.
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Columbus explored new lands simply because they were there for the
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exploring. Upon his discovery of the New World, Columbus didn't stop to
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wonder how his finding would affect the inhabitants there; He just did it.
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Leonardo da Vincci was a hacker. He explored the human body, by performing
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autopsies. This specific activity was forbidden by the church, but Da
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Vincci had an intense desire to know what made the human body tick so he
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just did it.1
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Throughout history our world has been pushed through innovation by
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hackers of all sorts. It's true that these people may have at times used
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questionable means, but that's when you must consider, do the ends justify
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the means? Columbus found us new lands and Da Vincci gave us early
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glimpses of human anatomy. If it wasn't for hackers of all generations
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questioning and sometimes even disobeying the authority that presided over
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them, we wouldn't be where we are in history today. I'm sure we wouldn't
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still be wearing shining armor and gallivanting around on horses while
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carrying out the codes of chivalry; however, we wouldn't be by far quite as
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advanced. For this, we owe a lot to the hackers.
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The media will often portray computer hackers merely as juvenile
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delinquents who go through systems to purposely invade others' privacy,
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perhaps get rid of some long distance phone calls, or possibly even raise a
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grade or two on his report card; This isn't a true hacker. This person is
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an example of a bad apple in society. All societies have them, and the
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underground hacking community is not immune to this.
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A true hacker damages nothing, and leaves behind as little a trace of
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himself as possible. This is done out of respect for fellow hackers who
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naturally don't enjoy bad media attention, and out of respect for the owner
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of the system, towards whom the hacker intends no harm.
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Yet there are people out there who do fear hackers and think that these
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kids are bent on destroying every tiny piece of information they can get
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their hands on. In his 1984 Newsweek article, Richard Stanza said that
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computer hackers are nothing more than "high tech street gangs dedicated to
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making mischief". First one computer, then the downfall of our whole
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economic system! What's next? The nation? The world?
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For all of the people that feel that hackers represent such a tremendous
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threat, why not try putting some of this immense energy within these youths
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to work. Instead of screaming how people are just walking through their
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systems, why not harness the innate curiosity that is driving these kids?
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Utilize the skills they possess to provide something that is positive for
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everyone. A working example of this is the conversion of The Legion of
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Doom. This one time underground computer group consisting of some of the
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most able hackers to ever grace the electronic highways has now become
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Comsec Data Security. From adolescent break-in artists to one of the most
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knowledgeable computer security companies in the nation, these people have
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transformed an obsession of youth into a money making venture known the
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world over.
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In this country, privacy is dead. We are living in an age when the
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American Government keeps files on just about everyone, whether it be
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because you have a driver's license, received a college loan, or because
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you pay your taxes on time every year. These are indeed suspicious
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activities! The extent to which information is kept on the average citizen
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is astounding. There are people out there that can go rummaging through
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your house on a regular basis without you even knowing it.
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Companies such as TRW, which holds files on over 150 million people,
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regularly sell information to other companies and business persons looking
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for new customers. It's a fact - every time you open up your mailbox and
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see a pile of junk mail staring back at you, someone, somewhere has
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accessed your credit records.2 Ironically, people didn't even know what
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TRW was doing until hackers broke into their computer system and exposed
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them in 1984. TRW considered this intrusion an invasion of privacy, but
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stated that their collections of personal data on millions of people was
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perfectly fine and dandy.
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And still we should be worried about young, teen-age kids that will
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occasionally poke around some computer? Just maybe they'll happen to read a
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tidbit that says I bought two lamps and a toaster from Macy's last year.
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Oh no, my life is ruined, what ever shall I do? The true invaders of
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privacy have slipped through the fingers of lady justice. If a company
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such as TRW is caught, a rare occurrence indeed, they will receive a whole-
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hearted slap on the wrists. So for a change, how about leaving alone the
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thirteen year old rummaging through trash bins, looking for written down
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passwords that may have been thrown out by some absent-minded secretary?
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Instead, let's realign our misdirected fire at the real crooks such as TRW,
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Exxon, and political parties.
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The computer hackers of today represent something that this country is
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in dire need of, those willing to take risks in order to learn and to
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achieve. People like these can wake up our generally apathetic society;
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Continuing to push it through the world market with the creativity and
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ideas that have made this country great. The old adage is 'the key to
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success is hard work'. Here we have a culture full of young people that
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only attain their goals through strict persistence, diligence and chutzpah
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<grin>. Isn't this exactly what we are looking for in tomorrow's adults?
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Tomorrows leaders?
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And yes, the majority of these hackers are young. Is this much of a
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surprise to anyone? In this country we are quickly losing touch with our
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people, especially our youth. In the Winter 1990 issue of 2600 Magazine, a
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letter to the editor read:
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Here we stand, bitterly complaining how many youths cannot read a
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map(much less read) ... and yet we have those able to discover new
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means of accessing information which even the so-called 'experts'
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never realized existed! We are punishing talent that this country
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desperately needs, rather than reaching out to exhort this raw and
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excellent energy into new and vital means beneficial to all.
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The hackers of today must survive. Looking back on history, we see how
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the ones of the past have shaped out future. A key to ending the fear that
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the public holds for hackers is education. Our society needs to learn what
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hackers are, and who they are. The people in our country must also try to
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ignore the derogatory press they read about the deeds of computer hackers
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because, let's be honest, a computer hacker that does no harm and maybe
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even helps someone out, does not make the five o'clock news. The minority
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few that do cause trouble, those are the ones you're going to see on your
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TV set.
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Eric Corley wrote in an article for 2600 Magazine:
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Hacking is not wrong. Hacking is healthy. Hacking is not
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the same as stealing. Hacking uncovers design flaws and
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security deficiencies. Above all, hacking proves that the
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ingenuity of a single mind is still the most powerful tool
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of all... We are hackers. We always will be... Call us co-
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conspirators, fellow anarchists, whatever you want. We intend
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to keep learning. To suppress this desire is contrary to
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everything that is human... Like the authors who rose to defend
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Salman Rushdie from the long arm of hysteria, we must rise to
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defend those endangered by the hacker witch-hunts. After all,
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they can't lock us all up and until they do, hacking is here to stay.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Originally written around 3/19/92, or a little before
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Footnotes
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~~~~~~~~~
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1. 2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly, Winter 1990, pg. 34
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2. Ibid., pg. 33
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Bibliography
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
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2600 Magazine: The Hacker Quarterly, Winter 1990
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Richard Stanza, "Night of the Hackers", _Newsweek_,1984.
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And some other stuff which I don't remember, oh well.. Shoot me..
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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This has been a SANctuary Production
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Hey! Get up! You look silly bowing like that!
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Feel free to distribute this file all over the known world
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Ohh in another world......./Yeah he could wear a dress - The Wonder Stuff
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Damn blast, look at my past,/rippin up my feet over broken glass.
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Oh wow, look at me now,/I'm building up my problems to the size of a cow.
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- The Wonder Stuff
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Maybe I should take the mike,/stand up tall like Michael Stipe,
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/and try to solve the problems of the earth./Or maybe then I should sit
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back down,/scratch my chin and use my frown,/and try to figure out exactly
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what I'm worth. - The Wonder Stuff
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