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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
= =
- WELCOME TO THE EIGHTEENTH ISSUE OF -
= =
- -=>PHANTASY<=- -
= =
- A PUBLICATION AND NEWSLETTER OF -
= =
- THE -
= INTERNATIONAL =
- INFORMATION -
= RETRIEVAL =
- GUILD -
= =
- Hacking,Phreaking,Anarchy,Survivalism,Commentary -
= =
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Volume Number Four,Issue Number Eighteen Dated 08/12/93
Editor is Mercenary : mercenar@works.UUCP
Article Submissions: The Mercenary/IIRG
862 Farmington Avenue
Suite 306
Bristol,Ct 06010
IIRG World Headquarters BBS: The Rune Stone
14.4K HST Courier
All H/P/A, 3000+ Files
(203)-832-8441
NUP: Conspiracy
Table of Discontents:
[1] "Ionizer" - IIRG Site Sysop Arrested
A Report By The IIRG
[2] What Really Happened at "Pump-Con"
(An Interview With Thomas Icom)
Interview By: Mercenary
[3] Bencrypt Encryption
By: Ben Sodenkamp
[4] Hacker OPSEC (Operational Security)
By: Thomas Icom/IIRG
[5] The Libertarian Responsibility of The Cyberpunk Movement
By: Thomas Icom/IIRG
[6] FOR THE PEOPLE
Supplied By: Those Wacky Secret Service Agents
Edited by: Mercenary
1. Secret Service Agents Get Free Vacation
[7] The Rumor Mill (Unconfirmed Rumors From the Underground)
Edited By: Mercenary
1. Han Solo Sells Out to the Empire?
2. Dr. Detergent of TDT Retires?
3. Fear and Loathing BBS Busted
[8] PHANTASY TIDBITS: News and Views of Interest
1. SNET Operators Forwarding ANI Data
2. FCC Releases Frequencies
3. Put Your Hands in the Air, and Give Me Those Chips
4. ATM Bandits Nabbed
5. FBI Calls for Gun Licensing
[9] Listing of IIRG Distribution Sites
[10] Listing of PHANTASY Distribution Sites
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
OFFICIAL DISLAIMER...
All information in PHANTASY is from USER contributed material
The Publishers and Editors of PHANTASY and THE IIRG disclaim
any liability from any damages of any type that the reader or
user of such information contained within this newsletter may encounter
from the use of said information. All files are brought to you for
entertainment purposes only! We also assume all information infringes
no copyrights and hereby disclaim any liability.
PHANTASY is (C) 1990 by The IIRG
IIRG and INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION RETRIEVAL GUILD is (C) 1982
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [1]: "Ionizer" - IIRG Site Sysop Arrested
A Report By The IIRG
(Portions of this article were taken from a Taped Conversation with Ionizer
from the Hartford,CT. County Jail to Mercenary at IIRG HQ.)
Ionizer the sysop of the Ware House was arrested on Monday August 2nd as he
entered a pretrial hearing at the Hartford Superior Court,Hartford Connecticut,
to face charges of his alleged connection for a break-in at Hall High School on
October 11th,1992.
Ionizer was arrested for "Inciting Injury to Persons or Property", a felony,
and "Risk of Injury to a Minor".
Apparently Ionizer was taken to the West Hartford,CT. police department and
was quickly photographed and fingerprinted and then was whisked away to the
West Hartford Superior Court and was arraigned,(without his lawyer being
present) and was ordered held on a $500,000 dollar bond.
West Hartford police are attempting to keep the case sealed, but the
charges against Ionizer are for having Anarchist files available for download
on his BBS, The Ware House.
In our discussion with Ionizer from jail, the police have apparently used
strong-arm "Big-Brother" tactics on a 14 year-old by the handle of,
"Misguided Youth" who had access to the Ware House.
Reportedly police approached him and threatened to drag him into court if he
didn't sign an affidavit that he downloaded the file "ANARC2.ZIP" from the Ware
House.
When Ionizer first heard wind of police hassling users of his system, he
supplied his entire system log (Ionizer kept his system log since day 1 of
the system being up) to an IIRG member for analysis.
We have analyzed the Meg Plus file and have found no record of Misguided Youth
ever downloading the file from Ionizer's BBS. In fact only 2 users have ever
downloaded ANARC2.ZIP that we could find.
1. HITMAN
18:56 05/23/93 LIBRARY FILE DOWNLOAD
User Hitman download ANARCHY\ANARC2.ZIP
2. HOLLYWOOD
14:35 05/24/93 LIBRARY FILE DOWNLOAD
User Hollywood download ANARCHY\ANARC2.ZIP
14:50 05/24/93 LIBRARY FILE DOWNLOAD
User Hollywood download ANARCHY\ANARC2.ZIP
Now apparently it seems that the West Hartford police department feels it can
either intimidate anyone it feels like, or fabricate evidence.
Several other Ware House users have been contacted by phone by police and
questioned, We know "Mastermind" was contacted and was asked "Are you good
friends with Ionizer?' and "Did he ever mention anything about the making of
pipe bombs to you?'.
According to Ionizer, the police are claiming an undercover police officer
with the West Hartford Narcotics division is claiming to also have downloaded
the file.
Hitman has also been contacted by police and asked to supply a copy of the file
in question, and this is events we were told happened,
Quote from Hitman -
Date : 08 Aug 93 10:19:14
I'll tell you the whole story, as I told it to Ionizer
last night (he called me from jail). When I was out one
day, the detective Mr. Anielwiski (or something like that)
called. I wasn't home, so, he talked to my dad. My dad
thought I was doing all of this shit too, so, he took it
way out of proportion. I got home, and he made me search
for a file 'ANARC.*' on my hard drive. Since it is
really his computer and his phone line, there is nothing
that I could have done, since he could have easily done
it himself. Anyways, he said to delete it, so I wiped it
via Norton's WIPE program, so it couldn't be recovered.
Anyways, I guess the detective called back, and my dad said
that I had the file. But, it was wiped. Anyways, my dad
thought we'd just undelete it, but, he didn't realize that
the file would just be a null file when we did so. The
rest of the story is what he told me, as I was at work the
rest of the day. The detective came over, and I guess my
dad copied the null file onto a floppy, but, I think the
floppy was bad anyways. At any rate, to my knowledge, there
is no information at all on the floppy, and, I've got no other
copy of it on my hard drive.
--Hitman
Now the file in question is ANARC2.ZIP, which is ANARCHY FOR FUN AND PROFIT
By: The Deth Vegetable Volume 1,Issue 2.
It seems that this file is being singled out by the police because of its
high bomb making instructions content and this message in the header of the
file,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/--------------------------------------\
! Note to Law-enforcement type people: !
! This file is intended to promote !
! general havoc and *ANARCHY*, and !
! since your going to be the first !
! assholes up against the wall.. there !
! isnt a damn thing you can do about !
! it, pigs! !
\--------------------------------------/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None of the information contained in ANARC2.ZIP could be considered
classified or secret as the information in the file is easily obtainable in
any book store in books like "The Anarchists Cookbook" or "Ragnar's Guide
to The Home and Recreational Use of High explosives".
We did a little investigating and found "The Anarchists Cookbook",
By William Powell on the shelf at "Barnes and Noble" bookstore in
West Hartford,CT. (Hey Police, better run over and shut them down!!).
We also found "The Anarchists Cookbook" at the Tunxis Community College
Library in Farmington,CT. (HX 844 P68) and at the University of Connecticut at
Storrs Library (SPEC APC BK f33), so it is available at public libraries for
underage children to read and enjoy.
Also after a little searching on the international network of computers known
as "Internet" look what we found available for download by "ANYONE" with a
computer and modem, (Including Under-age Children).
--------------------------------------------------
Host cs.ubc.ca (137.82.8.5)
Last updated 03:33 28 May 1993
Location: /mirror3/EFF/cud/misc
FILE rw-r--r-- 7936 Mar 8 1992 anarch.man
Host kragar.eff.org (192.88.144.4)
Last updated 00:05 17 Apr 1993
Location: /pub/cud/misc
FILE r--r--r-- 7936 Mar 8 1992 anarch.man
Host nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100)
Last updated 06:11 22 Mar 1993
Location: /pub/doc/cud/misc
FILE r-xr-xr-x 7936 Mar 8 1992 anarch.man
Host cs.ubc.ca (137.82.8.5)
Last updated 03:33 28 May 1993
Location: /mirror3/EFF/academic/books/zzz
FILE rw-r--r-- 99 Apr 24 17:06 anarchists_handbook.d
Host kragar.eff.org (192.88.144.4)
Last updated 00:05 17 Apr 1993
Location: /pub/academic/books/zzz
FILE rw-rw-r-- 81 Oct 23 05:29 anarchists_handbook.d
Host cs.ubc.ca (137.82.8.5)
Last updated 03:33 28 May 1993
Location: /mirror3/EFF/academic/books
FILE rwxrwxrwx 25 Oct 11 1992 anarchists_handbook
-> zzz/anarchists_handbook.d
Host kragar.eff.org (192.88.144.4)
Last updated 00:05 17 Apr 1993
Location: /pub/academic/books
FILE rwxrwxrwx 25 Dec 2 04:31 anarchists_handbook
-> zzz/anarchists_handbook.d
Host wpi.wpi.edu (130.215.24.1)
Last updated 03:31 22 Jul 1993
Location: /
DIRECTORY rwxr-xr-x 512 Jul 7 09:20 anarchy
Host unix.hensa.ac.uk (129.12.21.7)
Last updated 01:46 26 Jun 1993
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/political/umich-poli/Essays/Anarchy
FILE rw-r--r-- 8613 Jan 8 03:36 anarchism.today.Z
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/political/umich-poli/Essays/Chomsky
FILE rw-r--r-- 22156 Sep 17 1992 notes.on.anarchism.Z
FILE rw-r--r-- 55985 Feb 2 16:09 notes.on.anarchism.ps.Z
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/political/umich-poli/Spunk
FILE rw-r--r-- 861 Mar 1 20:37 README.practical.anarchy.Z
Location: /pub/uunet/usenet/control/alt
FILE rw-r--r-- 1535 Sep 11 1992 alt.society.anarchy.Z
Host nic.cic.net (192.131.22.2)
Last updated 01:14 22 Mar 1993
Location: /pub/nircomm/gopher/e-serials/alphabetic/p
DIRECTORY rwxr-xr-x 512 Mar 19 16:11 practical-anarchy
Location: /pub/nircomm/gopher/e-serials/alphabetic/p/practical-anarchy
FILE rwxr-xr-x 54325 Mar 18 23:02 practical-anarchy.v1n3
Location: /pub/nircomm/gopher/e-serials/general/politics
FILE rw------- 92 Mar 21 23:38 .practical-anarchy
Host unix.hensa.ac.uk (129.12.21.7)
Last updated 01:46 26 Jun 1993
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/political/umich-poli/Essays/Anarchy
FILE rw-r--r-- 3550 Mar 18 21:17 anarchism.and.power.Z
FILE rw-r--r-- 23063 Mar 6 19:45 anarchy-faq-0.1.Z
Host charon.mit.edu (18.70.0.224)
Last updated 02:34 26 Jul 1993
Location: /pub/usenet-by-group
DIRECTORY rwxrwxr-x 512 Jul 12 02:46 alt.anarchism
Host cs.columbia.edu (128.59.16.20)
Last updated 10:24 26 Jul 1993
Location: /archives/mirror2/faq
DIRECTORY rwxrwxr-x 512 Jul 12 09:54 alt.anarchism
Host wiretap.spies.com (130.43.43.43)
Last updated 03:06 22 Jul 1993
Location: /Library/Article/Socio/.cap
FILE rw-r--r-- 28 Apr 5 19:08 anarchy.bib
Location: /Library/Article/Socio
FILE rw-r--r-- 23565 Dec 24 1992 anarchy.bib
Host unix.hensa.ac.uk (129.12.21.7)
Last updated 01:46 26 Jun 1993
Location: /pub/uunet/doc/political/umich-poli/Essays/Anarchy
FILE rw-r--r-- 3196 May 11 17:35 anarchist.revolution.Z
FILE rw-r--r-- 5621 May 11 17:37 macsimin.anarchist.federation.Z
Host wpi.wpi.edu (130.215.24.1)
Last updated 03:31 22 Jul 1993
Location: /anarchy
FILE rw-r--r-- 44492 Jul 7 09:19 anarchy.tar.Z
FILE rw-r--r-- 61332 Jul 7 09:20 anarchy.tar.Z.uu
Host wiretap.spies.com (130.43.43.43)
Last updated 03:06 22 Jul 1993
Location: /Library/Article/Socio/.cap
FILE rw-r--r-- 39 May 28 06:28 anarchy.faq
Location: /Library/Article/Socio
FILE rw-r--r-- 45315 May 28 06:28 anarchy.faq
Host charon.mit.edu (18.70.0.224)
Last updated 02:34 26 Jul 1993
Location: /pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/alt
DIRECTORY rwxrwxr-x 512 Jul 12 02:46 anarchism
Host nctuccca.edu.tw (140.111.3.21)
Last updated 01:04 13 Jul 1993
Location: /USENET/Periodic_Postings/alt
DIRECTORY rwxr-xr-x 512 Jul 12 1993 anarchism
Host orchid.csv.warwick.ac.uk (137.205.192.5)
Last updated 05:41 31 Jul 1993
Location: /pub/cud/misc
FILE r--r--r-- 3077 Mar 8 1992 anarch.man.z
Host clover.csv.warwick.ac.uk (137.205.192.6)
Last updated 05:04 26 Jul 1993
Location: /pub/cud/misc
FILE r--r--r-- 3077 Mar 8 1992 anarch.man.z
-------------------------------------------------
Our point is simple, this material is publicly available almost everywhere
and the last time we checked (Despite Clinton), we still lived in a FREE
country with the constitutional right of free speech.
This is a plain and simple case of Police Harassment against Ionizer.
We are not claiming he is an angel or saint by any means, as he has had
numerous encounters with the West Hartford police including his arrest in 1988
for illegal use of credit cards,computer crime,larcency, and the illegal
possesion of fireworks.
But to arrest an individual for having a file on his computer that is public
domain (Not Copyrighted) and setting a half million dollar bail is complete
bullshit.
The EFF has been contacted and we hope the will come to the aid of Ionizer,
because this may determine what you may have online as a sysop.
Ionizers preliminary court date is scheduled for August 17th,1993, and we will
provide you with an update in Phantasy 19.
FREE IONIZER!!!
-=The IIRG 1993=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [2]: What Really Happened at "Pump-Con"
(An Interview With Thomas Icom)
Interview By: Mercenary
For those of you not familiar with Thomas Icom, I'd like to provide this
brief synopsis before I get to the interview.
Tom is the Editor/Publisher of Cybertek (The Cyberpunk Technical Journal)
and is a highly respected writer with credits to his name such as 3 books for
Consumertronics and articles appearing in such publications as 2600,
Full Disclosure, and US Militia, (and now Phantasy).
With the dis-information that is currently circulating in some circles, we
thought we'd give you the readers of Phantasy the "REAL" story.
So now onto the interview........
Merc: Tom, probably the first question on everyones mind, Is what were the
real behind the scene going-ons at Pump-Con.
Tom: Well, besides your usual drunk and disorderly antics, there were some
real foolish individuals running around.
Merc: For Instance??
Tom: We had people practicing their lock-picking skills on the hotels
vending machines,and breaking and entering into other guests rooms.
Some individual called and carded a pizza and donuts and the noise
level was probably being monitored in California.
Merc: Without going into explicit details, tell us about the activities
you witnessed of some amateurish individuals.
Tom: As for security, there was none. Individuals had calling cards
laying out in plain sight. There were notes and notebooks just waiting
to be confiscated. The hotel door was taped open and we had roughly
20 people crowded into one room with a constant traffic of people
flowing in and out. Combined with the noise, and all the activity of
the people coming in and out we probably attracted plenty of unwanted
attention.
Merc: Ok, theres no security and bedlam everywhere. Lets get to the real
dirt. Who was responsible for the monitored phone calls?
Tom: Well, I'm not sure who was actually responsible. There was a lot of
"Toll-fraud" activity coming out of the hotel. It got to the point
where the payphones were alledgedly red-flagged and then we have
"Ixom Codex".
Merc: Ahhh... a name quite familiar to the readers of Phantasy...
What was Mr. Ixom up to this time?
Tom: It apparently seems that Ixom was involved in some sort of scam
against Bobs Stores (Formerly Bobs Surplus). From what I could
determine he was working on this project for some time before
Pump-Con.
Merc: Ok theres no security, bedlam everywhere and a known informant in the
room. Whats next??
Tom: Ixom had raised some flags as a result of his little forays into Bobs
system. When he called from Pump-Con, somebody was waiting and
watching. After the raid, when the Boys in Blue checked the phone
records, it was all over.
Merc: Theres been alot of talk about who really "Raided" Pump-Con, can you
provide some insight into this?
Tom: Yes, the reason for the Pump-Con raid was due to all the noise and
possibly the other bedlam that went on. Since there was alot of
minors going in and out of the hotel room, there was also a potential
drug profile raised. The cops came in, saw all the minors with alcohol,
the computers, and calling cards laying in plain view.
As far as it being a federal case, thats Bullshit...
The indictments came down from the NY State Grand Jury and the
investigation was being handled by the Westchester County DA's office.
The phone company was called in to provide records as evidence,
and perhaps to give the arresting agency (Greenburgh Police),
a clue as to what they found. But thats about it.
Merc: Now, Ixom and some of his Supporters have been trying to sand-bag
you. Whats the scoop??
Tom: Ixom seemed to have cast his lot with certain elements of a well
known virus group. Or maybe they cast their lot with him.
The reason behind it is probably because I bitched at them for
acting stupid, which resulted in them being raided a week after
Pump-Con. However their raid had nothing to do with Pump-con.
Thats another story.
Merc: Now its well known by now that something occured which resulted
in Ixom's and Nightmares arrest and fingers are pointed at you.
Tom: Yes... I had to do something or everyone was hosed by one stupid
individuals actions. So I made sure that only those who deserved to
take responsibility for their actions did so.. And in this case it
was Ixom. Rumor has it that Ixom is possibly a party to a
larger operation against hackers, a reincarnation of the Govt's
Cointelpro program and after speaking with you numerous times on the
phone I am inclined to believe this is true. His actions at
Pump-Con indicate to me that he is either the single most stupid
individual I've had the bad luck of running into or he was actively
trying to get the Con busted or get certain people busted afterwards.
I've also heard from a very reliable source down in DC that Ixom
was not kicked out of the military for hacking, but assigned to
something called "Project: Marigold". Supposedly having to do with
anti-hacker Cointelpro activity, However at this time I have no
concrete proof of this. As for Nuclear Nightmare he was just an
innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Its my belief that he was busted because hw was in the room with Ixom
and the following quote attributed to him, which went along the
lines of "The only thing that was penetrated tonite was your
daughter in the back room, officer"
Damage control was done and all charges against him were dismissed.
Merc: What were Ixom's actions that made you think of this?
Tom: For Starters, he was hacking out of the hotel room, a strict
conference No-No since the Summer-Con filmings. Especially with
all the call accounting that hotels have. Why not just yell out the
window, Come and get me!!
The lamer also had the nerve to post my handle on the system that
he trashed to the tune of a couple thousand dollars that evening.
Merc: Well thanks for your time Tom and for clearing up these stupid
fly by nite rumors that have been flying around.
Tom: No problem, glad to oblige....
There you have it folks, In this corner a well known and respected writer
and in the other corner, a known informant with no morals or honor.
Sure, I may be biased.. but consider what each has done for the Hacking
community at large and I think you can see my point.
I recieved a call on my home phone after we published our original warning
about Ixom and he of course denied all allegations made by unknown individuals
against him. but when I offered to publish his side of the story, we never
recieved anything from him.
Thus, the IIRG will side with the more respected individual and not a
born loser.. Thats why Tom Icom has joined our ranks and we're glad to have
him.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [3]: Bencrypt Encryption
By: Ben Sodenkamp
BENCRYPT ENCRYPTION
Cryptography is the art and science of hiding things in plain sight.
It is also the art and science of stealing data in plain sight.
(Lary Loen)
***Why Encryption is Important***
In today's world of government raids such as OPERATION SUNDEVIL and the
raid on Steven Jackson Games any Cracker, Hacker, Phreaker, Pirate or other
techno-outlaw needs to protect himself against the reaching tentacles of
government "information control".
As anybody who has ever been busted knows, when they come to your door,
they take everything that they can find,(toasters,extension cords) that is
in any way electrical.
When they analyze your computer(s), they hold anything illegal,
(Pirated software, Hack(ed) programs,information, userlists) against you in
court or attempt to us the information to bust your friends.
If you have any form of illegal data,(or something -THEY- consider illegal),
on your computer, the only way to protect yourself is to encrypt the data.
***How Encryption Works***
There are many encryption programs out there. Most rely on a mathematical
algorithm or a password. The problem with this is that once the algorithm is
found, or the password guessed, the encryption can be cracked.
You don't want to watch sweating, as the FED computer specialist tries
different combinations on your encryption.
Seeing a need for an unbreakable public encryption system, I began to work on
BENCRYPT. BENCRYPT does not use a password or an algorithm. It encrypts
according to a key file. I wish the feds luck 'cause I haven't come up with a
way to break it yet.
Here's how it works:
During the encryption, each byte in the source file will be altered by a
corresponding byte in the key file. If the key file is smaller than the
source file, (they usually are) then any given byte in the key file will
alter more than one byte in the source file. Since having all of the bytes
in the right values and the right places must be essential for decryption,
I decided to add the locations of the bytes in the key file to the formula.
This may be a little confusing, so let me try to show it mathematically.
Lets say that the 285344'th byte in the key file happens to be assigned to
the 2342433'rd byte in the source file. The value of the byte in the source
file happens to be 233 and the value of the byte in the key file happens to
be 56.
First, the (Key Byte) and (Key Location) are multiplied:
285344 * 56 = 15979264.
Then the product is divided by 255:
(using integer division to get a remainder)
285344 / 255 = 62663
with a remainder of 199.
The remainder is added to the (Source Byte):
199 + 233 = 432
If the number is over 255, then 255 is subtracted from it:
432 - 255 = 177
177 is then put in the output file(encryption) in location 2342433.
Just as 233 was in the source file.
The same process is used in the decryption except you subtract 177 rather
than adding it. Using this system, you must have ALL of the right data in
ALL if the right places to decrypt.
The only way to crack it would be to guess the key file. If the key
file was 1 meg, then they would have to go through 255 to the millionth
power combinations.
*** How You Get It ***
The Demo of BENCRYPT (BENCRYPT.ZIP) can be download at any of the following
fine boards:
Buffalo Creek BBS (515)-225-8196 (Easy ACCESS)
Jump Start BBS (907)-373-5361 (Easy ACCESS)
Rune Stone BBS (203)-832-8441 (NUP:CONSPIRACY)
Rusty-N-Eddies BBS (216)-726-3589 14.4,
(216)-726-3619 9600,
(216)-726-3620 9600,
(216)-726-2620 2400.
I realize that it would probably be not too much trouble to just crack the
demo so that it works like the original, but since I am only asking $15, I
assume that most of you will have the courtesy to register it.
PS: Thanx to the IIRG and Mercenary for the ink(data).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [4]: Hacker OPSEC (Operational Security)
By: Thomas Icom/IIRG
Recently, it seems that cracking down on hackers is in vogue again. All
it seems to take is one wrong move on your part, or if you don't hack, being
somewhat affiliated with someone who does. Next thing you know, some
representat
to take away your computer and other techno-toys. You don't even have to be
doing anything illegal! All they need to do is state that seizing your shit
might aid them in their investigation somehow.
One of the things that mortifies me is how some hackers out there are top
experts in defeating security, and yet are so inexperienced in instituting
security, particularly in regards to their own operational setup. They then
go get raided, and in addition to getting themselves screwed, their lack of
OPSEC (Operational Security) gets others screwed, like for example when the
Secret Service finds a list of other hackers' names and numbers on their hard
drive. There is simply no excuse for stupidity like that to occur.
With this in mind, it's time to start discussing some basics of hacker
OPSEC. Hacker OPSEC, will be defined as the procedures someone in the hobby
takes to keep himself out of trouble, and to keep his acquaintances from
getting hassled as a result of something that might happen to him. There's
nothing complicated about these techniques, and when you're done reading them
you'll probably say "That's all common sense", however it would appear that
common sense doesn't seem too common anymore.
The first and foremost rule of hacker OPSEC is to know what you can, and
more importantly cannot, mess with. No matter how good you may be, there are
just certain things that shouldn't be hacked. There are a lot of interesting
things to play with out there, if you look around a bit. Most of them are
pretty safe to check out, so for your own safety don't hassle anything that
will most likely get you screwed if they discover you.
The main entities you want to avoid playing with are the government, and
corporations doing R&D work for the government. Now you may say, "Well, xxxx
is ok. Their security sucks, and the people there are clueless." That may be
the case, but is it really worth the risk? If they are clueless, then chances
are very good that if they do discover you they'll overreact and do something
extreme like have the U.S. Special Operations Command drop a SEAL team on your
roof. ("I don't know how he did it. He just waltzed into our system! He
must be working for Arab terrorists! I just read _Terminal Compromise_ and
everything in the book is happening to us!"). "National Security" is a very
powerful driving force, and allows them to justify doing a whole lot of
things.
The other thing you want to avoid is anything dealing with money,
particularly banks and other financial institutions. Money is as much a
driving force as national security, and if "they" assume that you played or
are going to play games with their money, they'll exert their considerable
influence on the powers that be to have you tracked down and dealt with. On a
side note, systems that deal with monetary matters usually do nothing else.
Since there is usually nothing cool on them anyway, why bother?
The second rule of hacker OPSEC is to not do anything illegal over your
home phone, or any other phone which is traceable to you. The government,
phone companies, and big corporations have always had the capability to know
where you're calling from since the '60s. Now with Caller-ID, that capability
is extended to everyone. Doing shit over your home phone these days is asking
for trouble, and an easy way to get caught.
Payphones are still the number one way to cover your tracks. Random
payphone usage is safe for the most part. The only exceptions are in
instances where the payphones in a given area are being used for drug
trafficking and are being monitored because of that, or when some idiot has
been phreaking heavily from the same small area for the past few months, and
the phone company decided it's cheaper to do something about it than continue
to absorb the loss. My personal experience is that airports are the best
place to use payphones from. There are usually payphones which have modular
jacks so you don't need an acoustic coupler, and people from all walks of life
are there, so you won't look out of place. My personal experience has also
indicated that hotels are usually the worst place to do anything from. Hotel
employees are always suspicious, and thus are always asking questions of the
people in their hotel, particularly if they haven't checked in. Also, as the
participants of Pumpcon can attest, hotels are often quick to call the police
when something doesn't quite fit into their reality picture.
Another favorite phone phreak OPSEC trick is known by the terms "canning",
"pedestal hacking", "beige boxing", and "hardwiring". This basically entails
hooking into a random phone line somewhere, and using it to make outgoing
calls. The first three techniques are usually used to indicate a temporary
connection. One usually walks up to a test point on the phone company's
outside plant, and hooks in. These test points are commonly called "bridging
heads", "b-boxes", "(phone) cans", or "pedestals". The forth term is usually
used to indicate a more permanent set up; in essence a clandestine extension
of the target phone line.
One fun thing to try is to power a cordless phone base by means of a large
capacity rechargeable battery, and then hook it up to a phone can somewhere.
This keeps you from having to stand suspiciously at the can for hours a end.
(A common problem when canning) So even if they do trace the call back to the
phone line you're using and send in the Bellcore Rapid Deployment Force to
adjust your attitude, you'll still be a football field away when the shit hits
the fan. It should also be noted that by adding an external antenna to the
base station, (a 60 inch 1/4 wave ground plane would be cheap to make and
perform decently) you can increase the range on most phones up to 1/2 mile.
(and get the FCC pissed off at you if they found out you did this. So be a
nice law-abiding person and obey FCC Part 15 Regs. Then they might leave you
alone, maybe.)
There are also many other techniques that you can use. If you are
interested in learning more about the technical procedures of covering your
tracks in cyberspace, you should check out "2600: The Hacker Quarterly",
"TAP", and (excuse the self-promotion) "Cybertek: The Cyberpunk Technical
Journal". They all contain a wealth of technical hacking and phreaking info.
Now that you are not doing anything over any phone traceable to you, your
next step is to keep your activities to yourself. Yes, hacking is a often a
big ego boost, but talking about your latest accomplishment is likely to get
you into trouble. If "they" get wind of what you're doing, it makes it that
much easier for them to get you, no matter what precautions you might be
taking. In the same vein, avoid getting involved with large groups. If you
must do something which involves more than one person, then make sure you
intimately know the people you will be involved with, and keep the group as
small as possible. My criteria for trusting someone is that I've known them
for at least a few years, know their real name, and have physically hung out
with them extensively for a couple years. My gut reactions to the person also
have a big say in whether or not I trust him or her. Believe it or not, we
all have a sixth sense which can be developed over time, and is very helpful
in keeping us out of trouble.
Despite the fact that you've been careful, you still might be noticed by
someone somewhere, and as a result get hit with a search warrant or be the
victim of a Cointelpro-style black bag job. To combat this, don't keep
anything sensitive at your house. Store all your good stuff off site, so you
won't lose it. Any sensitive data you have to keep at your home should still
be backed-up at an off-site location, and encrypted.
There are a lot of good encryption systems out there. The current rave in
encryption software is PGP, "Pretty Good Privacy". It's available on any good
BBS system, and seems to be what everyone is going to be using. The nice
thing about PGP is since it's a "Public Key" system, it allows for secure
communications without having to exchange keys. If you don't give a shit
about exchanging data with strangers or have a secure way to exchange keys,
then there's Video Vindicator's "VinCrypt". It's also available on any decent
system.
Another good one is Consumertronics' "Absolute Computer Security". More
a set of applied encryption ideas and concepts; as opposed to a strictly
defined system, ACS is capable of being totally customized by it's user, and
while the original software is for MS-DOS machines; can be ported over to
other systems. It should be noted that the effective use of ACS requires some
applied intelligence on behalf of its user. If that's a problem with you,
then you'd be better off using something else.
One favorite of mine is the "one-time" cipher system. Basically the one-
time system uses a randomly generated non-repeating key which is then used to
encrypt your data. Most people think that one-time cipher systems are a pain
in the ass to use, but they are unbreakable as long as your key is kept
secure. I'll talk about it more in the next chapter.
No matter what encryption system you use, it won't be worth a damn if you
use poor judgement in the selection and protection of your encryption keys.
Make your key as long as possible, hard to guess, and not restricted to just
alphanumerics. Any encryption system will fail if it prompts you for a key
and you enter "SECRET". And since you're an intelligent person I won't insult
you by reminding you to keep your encryption key secure, and to use a
different key for each file you want to protect.
If it is possible for you to do so, I would also hide the data on the
floppy so that it appears invisible to the average user. Some of the ideas
that quickly come to mind are tacking the encrypted data on the end on a legit
executable file, or putting the data on a sector which is then marked "bad" so
it won't be overwritten.
A really good idea, if your serious about OPSEC, is to use arcane or
custom hardware and software. While you won't be compatible with the rest of
the world, you'll at least be secure. ("But then I won't be able to play
"Leisure Suit Larry" like I can on my PC!") Someone should design an MS-DOS
version of Beagle Bros. "Dos Boss" Apple II DOS Customizer, which would allow
changing of DOS command names. You could change "TYPE" to "DELETE", so anyone
attempting to read your files would instead wipe them. An even more fantastic
idea would be a custom secure operating system based on the one used in Robert
A. Heinlein's book, _The Number of the Beast_. He wrote about a "double
bookkeeping" system which looked ordinary, but unless it received certain
discrete keystrokes, would display a set of decoy data, while erasing the real
data hidden on the system. Doing a setup like that shouldn't be a problem to
an experienced programmer.
Now if you've followed all these guidelines, you can consider your
operation secure, and have little to worry about. Hacker OPSEC really boils
down to two things, Common Sense and Caution. On the other hand, you
feel that these precautions are little bit on the paranoid side. Just
remember two things. The first is that hacking and phreaking are currently
looked down upon by those in power. The second thing you should remember is
what happened during Operation Sundevil.
-Thomas Icom
International Information Retrieval Guild
"May Odin guide your way."
Sources Mentioned:
Consumertronics
2011 Crescent Dr.
Alamogordo, NM 88310
505-434-0234
Absolute Computer Security:
Manual & MS-DOS diskette -$29
Manual alone -$19
2600: The Hacker Quarterly
P.O. Box 752
Middle Island, NY 11953
516-751-2600
Subscriptions: $18/year
TAP
P.O. Box 20262
Louisville, KY 40250
Sample issue: $2
Write for more info.
Cybertek
P.O. Box 64
Brewster, NY 10509
Subscriptions: $15/6 Issues
Sample: $2.50
PGP: Pretty Good Privacy and VinCrypt
Available on most decent BBSes.
Try: Uncensored (914)-761-6877 or the Rune Stone (203)-832-8441
NUP:Conspiracy
Libertarian's in '96!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [5]: The Libertarian Responsibility of The Cyberpunk Movement
By Thomas Icom/Cybertek/IIRG
With the moves that various government powers have been taking to
institute a totalitarian form of government in this country, it has now
become the responsibility of the Cyberpunk movement to take such measures as
to prevent these actions from occurring and reverse what damage has already
occurred. When one takes into account the various factors involved in
reclaiming a democratic state from totalitarian rule, it will be found that
the Cyberpunk movement is the best equipped to handle the task. The movement
has the necessary political attitudes, equipment, and knowledge to prevent
further government progress into totalitarian rule and reverse the steps
that have already been taken by various government entities towards that
direction. The Cyberpunk movement also has a personal stake in the
prevention of totalitarian rule; which has an equal footing with altruism.
It is for these reasons that the movement should be at the forefront of "The
Second American Revolution", and contribute their knowledge and attitudes to
its success, and the restoration of a libertarian form of government to the
United States of America.
The Cyberpunk movement has always had the libertarian attitude of "The
government which governs best, governs least.", and "Technology belongs in
the hands of the people". These attitudes follow in the footsteps of the
country's founding fathers. The lack of such an attitude by those in power
has been a major factor in the totalitarian slides this country has been
experiencing. The Cyberpunk movement has also stayed away from the
forefront of politics; preferring to stay in the background, let others "run"
things, and act as "watchers"; keeping vigilant for lapses in judgement by
the ruling powers. This attitude is precisely what is needed for those who
will be at the forefront of The Second American Revolution, for once the
initial job is done, "disinterested" parties will be needed to ensure the
mistakes of the past are not repeated. The existence of well-equipped
Cyberpunk "Watchers" will act as a future deterrent to those wishing to
revert back to totalitarian ways.
The Cyberpunk movement has always given a high priority to acquiring
knowledge in many different technological and other fields. They have also
been adamant about implementing the mass-distribution of such information.
These two factors alone are qualifiers for any group conducting low
intensity conflict towards the institution of a libertarian form of
government. In addition, the Cyberpunk movement stresses practical
"hands-on" applications of the knowledge they collect and disseminate. This
is another factor that makes the movement well suited for the task at
hand.
Since the Cyberpunk movement has the proper attitudes and knowledge
available to it, they are well suited for the task of ensuring the United
States regains and maintains a libertarian form of government. Just as the
founding fathers had a responsibility to create the United States, the
freest country in the world; it is now the responsibility of the Cyberpunk
movement to restore the freedom that this once great country lost, and to
take on the responsibility towards the operational aspects of The Second
American Revolution and the re-establishment of a libertarian form of
government in this country. There is, however, an even more important and
pressing reason as to why the movement should act.
Throughout history, even in benign and democratic governments, there has
been prejudice towards individuals and groups who have the capability of
self-sufficiency. Such groups have been persecuted severely, with their
members often facing death. This has occurred even if such groups have had
no political leanings whatsoever. They were simply viewed as a threat to
the powers that be, and dealt with. By taking a look around, any astute
observer will be able to see this beginning to happen with the Cyberpunk
movement. In this instance, we have the greatest responsibility of all, the
responsibility to ourselves to ensure our survival.
One must remember that our responsibility to the revolution does not
imply we should organize any more than we already have. In fact, our
activities should be kept to small groups, and be as disorganized overall as
possible, as to better stay hidden and difficult to track down. Twenty small
groups operating on their own will be harder to track down than one large
group. If everyone just simply does there part, there will be no problem
winning this one. Our shadowy existence and characteristic of being
"everywhere and nowhere" will also act as a deterrent to keep the future
government leaders from acting as stupid as the ones we presently have in
existence.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [6]: FOR THE PEOPLE
Supplied By: Those Wacky Secret Service Agents
Edited by: Mercenary
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secret Service Agents Get Free Vacation
Rumor has it that the Secret Service security detail of Secretary of Defense
Les Aspin were provided with a swank 6 day/5 night holiday in Venice,Italy
Courtesy of U.S. Taxpayers.
It seems that Aspin finished off an official business trip in Europe with a
jaunt to Italy. Although Mr. Aspin payed for his own expenses and his
girlfriends, the SS Agents were provided with $500.00 to $700.00 a nite rooms
in the 5-Star Hotel Danieli, courtesy of you and me.
Must be nice, probably a reward for harrassing innocent civilians.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Section [7]: The Rumor Mill (Unconfirmed Rumors From the Underground)
Edited By: Mercenary
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HAN SOLO SELLS OUT TO THE EMPIRE??
I am writing to update you on yet another 203 lamer (this area code seems to
be chock full of em) named Rob A. (aka Han Solo and sometimes Lurker).
He turned me in to Yale for supposedly hacking an account on their VMS system.
They will probably be calling me shortly. His reasons are that I purportedly
"screwed him over" with a little deal we had.
The deal was, I'd give him a UNIX account at SCSU in exchange for the use of
his account on a very nice elite BBS. Things went fine until he got it in his
head that I'd shared that unix account with someone else, which was not true.
He then took it upon himself, as a "security measure" to turn me in.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR. DETERGENT OF TDT RETIRES??
June 15, 1993
Dr. Detergent / TDT 1993
I herby officially retire from the scene. Got an excellent job which
takes me all over the world, so I don't have time for this stuff any more.
To all the sysops worldwide, please delete my accounts on your boards.
If there are any new applications under my name, you may rest assured
that it's not me.
It was great serving the Elite underground. Take care all ya boiz - my
friends, and maybe some enemies (don't remember having any thou!)
All ya groups, keep up the good work ya do for the pirate scene - as you
know without you, there would be nothing.
This is a very short msg, compared to most of the docs I write, but it's
all that's needed.
Till sometime in the future.
Take care.
Dr. Detergent : VEC/GB/INT/PHX/INC/DW/UNT/THG/TDT. 1988 - 1993.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEAR AND LOATHING BBS BUSTED
Hello,
Well, there is some TERRIBLE NEWS here.
The FEAR & LOATHING BBS in Las Vegas,Nevada was BUSTED today, Aug. 3, 1993.
At 8 am. - The FBI from Birmingham, Alabama came in and presented a Search
Warrant dated 7/29/93 and proceded to swipe every piece of Electronics
from The Doctor - SYSOP of the Fear & Loathing.
What they told the Doctor was this..... to paraphrase .
"Didn't you learn a lesson from Rusty 'n' Edies?
We have been subscribing to the Fear for about a year, and we have
capture screens of your Board.
We know you have NOVELL and Quarterdeck stuff on your Board."
(When Doc protested that he did NOT and had a strict NO-NOVELL Policy,
they said that he DID have NOVELL stuff on - about 3 months ago.
They also spoke informatively of the files and messages that had passed
thru the Fear)
Two NOVELL guys and one Quarterdeck guy were in on the Raid.
It was ALL FBI and no LOCAL Cops were involved.
All Doc's Computers and Electronic Gear were taken away, "to be studied in DC"
All Fear Users should know that the Doc kept NO PERSONAL, or USER INFO on his
system. In fact,despite that I feel SICK to my STOMACH and that next to Doc,
I have lost more in this bust than any other user, as I was Cosysop and
Top Uploader - having ULed almost half a GIG.
I must ask WHY the Feds would go after the Fear,a Big BBS but not the Biggest,
a fast BBS but not the FASTEST, a NICE sysop but one who didnt even USE the
wares he had. They asked him where all his DISKS were, but since he didnt USE
the wares, he truly didnt HAVE any!
They saw a MiniCam VCR Camera he had and asked him where the Tapes he
made of his BBS Screens were. When Doc protested that he did not MAKE Videos of
his screens and why should he? .. the Feds said .. EVERYBODY does !
Well, this is one of the saddest days in my life.
Of course its nothing compared to what the Doc is going thru.
Yet, the Doc remains cheerful. He needed the Fear & Loathing and BBSing like
a Hole in his Head.
The Pirate community knows that the Doctor did not even call out and had maybe
one or two accounts on ANY other Pirate BBSs, and those he almost never used.
The Doctor lost the Hardware for a BBS that was 7 Nodes and about 7 Gigs, all
the computers and USR 16.8k Modems and LAN Network etc,etc.
Gotta be worth probably at LEAST $15,000.
Anyway, the Fear Bust will have minimal impact on other BBSs as the
Doctor truly almost NEVER called out and really doesnt KNOW anything
about other Pirates and Groups and Boards.
As the Fear was a TDT and ECR Member BBS, Those Groups suffer in losing a good
BBS. We must wonder, after the Bust of the Lite House, another TDT BBS.
Whether TDT BBSs are being targeted.. however... I think NOT,as the Lite House
was a purely LOCAL Bust. NO FBI involved there,and was the result of some Kids
getting caught with stolen CC's. More on this later below.
THE FEAR NEVER WAS INVOLVED IN H/P/A/V Stuff
We NEVER had any Credit Carding info online.
BECAUSE we had no CC info, my first thought was that this was the first case
of a BBS being busted that was a PURE Pirate BBS.
BUT .. THE LESSON OF THE FEAR BUST IS THIS......
SUBSCRIBERS WILL DO YOU IN !!
Upon some one hours' thought after learning of the Fear Bust.
I realized from the info I listed above - that the FBI had said that they
had SUBSCRIBED (A PAID ACCESS ACCOUNT) that the pathway to DOOM for
the FEAR was just that .... ALLOWING SUBSCRIBERS to "PAY FOR WARES" .
YES... we DID have some NOVELL stuff online for a very short time ...
but so does almost every other Pirate BBS.. it is the large number of
Subscribers that I suspect opened the Window of Vulnerability.
My advice to my brother Pirate Boards is to ELIMINATE SUBSCRIBER ACCESS.
SUBCRIPTION ACCESS seems now to have been earmarked as NOT ALLOWABLE by
the FEDS. We all know that the Feds and AT&T have the capability to
bust any and every Pirate BBS in the USA ... but they DON'T .
The ONLY "crime" of the Fear outside of Regular Piracy was allowing
SUBSCRIBERS and PAID Access.
Again... we had NO Credit Cards info or XXX rated files etc etc...
Off the top of my head ... the Davy Jones Locker Case comes to mind ...
but THERE I believe the Sysop ( Jackson - ?? ) WON his defense as I
recall .. BUT the circumstances were quite different.
The APL case may be a closer comparison.
The terrible IRONY of this bust is that ... the Fear had been slowly
REDUCING the number of subscribers ... and if the Doc had wanted to screw
the Users.. he would have preferred to ELIMINATE ALL Subscription access
MONTHS AGO ... as SUBSCRIBERS ARE LAMERS and contribute NOTHING to
BBSing. Well.. any experienced Sysop knows THAT .
The Fear was TOO NICE.
And now.... one great Sysop, a Gentlemen, a Physician MD, and one of
the Best Human Beings I have ever known is now in Bad Trouble.
He is fortunate in that he has a great Life, can afford the $$ loss of
the Hardware and to make his own Legal Defence.
I am sure he will soon put all this behind him ... the BBS had been a
Pain in the Ass for him anyway ... and I think that He (and I) have
slowly been growing away from the scene .
So ... the Fear and Loathing ...over 10 years old.. is DOWN FOREVER.
The BBS has been having Hardware problems anyway and the Doctor just
doesn't need the Headaches. He had a great Run and I think made a
difference in the Pirate Scene.... The Fear and Loathing was a FRIENDLY
Place to be ... and as I consider the loss of my favorite place to call...
it occurs to me that maybe *I* have some blame in this .
When I became a Cosysop of the Fear .... it was not as Fast or as
Big as it ended up. In fact ... it was a bit of a Sleepy Southern BBS.
Perhaps it was due to my efforts to make the Fear - a Fast KickAss BBS ...
to join up with TDT and ECR .. to get a whole new bunch of Great Users..
and to advertize the BBS.. perhaps the increased exposure, the Groups, the
Fast Wares .. did the Doctor in. Maybe the Fear could have remained a
nice medium Board for another 10 years.
But before I throw up ... I am reminded that the Feds DID say that they
had been subscribing to the Fear for about a year .. maybe even more.
That would mean that they were on the Fear even before I became a
cosysop there...altho' I have been a Fear User for over 4 years.
But the point is then ... that.. if they were on for THAT long ... then
probably the Bust was just in the Cards.. and was bound to happen
sooner or later.
In fact.. the Fear was DOWN all last week due to hardware problems
even on July 29th when the Search Warrant was issued... and only came
back online ..about 2 days ago.... maybe THAT was the reason for the
Bust NOW...OR maybe it was that the shitty NOVELL DOS wares that are going
around the Boards ... had just been ULed to the Fear .
The Fear and Loathing was started a bit after Plato's Place- an old THG
BBS. The Doctor only wanted to become as Big or Bigger than Plato's,
he suceeded quite well in doing just that .
Some other Comments that come to mind follow below ; I have just learned
about this less than an hour ago and my thoughts are not quite coherent
and set in place just yet .. and imagine the Doctor...after the FBI
came to his Home and spent the last 4 hours of this morning going thru
his house ... jeesus....:
As usual they arrested all the HARDWARE .. but the Doctor has not been
indicted.... YET! They said that the case will take between 1 and 5
years to process and that he faces a JAIL term if convicted.
Personally , I think Jail is very unlikely for Property ... not Violent
Criminal acts.... and for a first time offender with a good job and who
is credit to his community.
But who the hell wants to face even the POSSIBILITY of Jail ? And to
have to live with that over your head for the next year or years ??
The Doctor is a victem of pure Novell GREED.
The Novell guys asked him if he knew how much Money the Software
Companies were losing because of him ??
This is a BAD JOKE... as the Fear had never much more than 500 Users...
of which... what... how many would be really active and of THOSE how many
people would be INTERESTED in DLing NOVELL products..... maybe 50 ??
and of THOSE how many people would have the DL Bytes available or
access to DL a Huge ware like Novell... you KNOW that these Big Pirate
Wares are NEVER DLed much ... thats why CD-ROMshit is not allowd on
many BBSs.. and anyone who knows anything knows that Novell is WAY too
complex a ware to try and use by simply DLing a Pirate version of it...
so Novell lost maybe 10-20 Possible Sales....or certainly .. far less.
BUT .... HOW MANY PIRATES .. IF THEY WERENT GETTING THE SHIT FOR ALMOST
FREE... WOULD ACTUALLY BUY ANY OF THE WARE THEY DLed!!
AND .. how many wares they DL are actually WORTH BUYING !!??
( THIS is why piracy EXISTS )
The Doctor was that rare Sysop who DID BUY SOFTWARE. HE DID BUY PCBOARD.
He DID BUY LANTASTIC .He DID BUY PRODOOR (which he didn't like or use).
He DID BUY the stuff he LIKED.
AND.. Irony of Ironies... because the Fear had outgrown Lantastic having
7 busy Nodes ... he was all ready to BUY NOVELL 3.11 NEXT WEEK !!!
SO .. intelligent NOVELL actually LOST ONE GURANTEED SALE of NOVELL
Products with the Fear Bust . They could have Milked the Doc for YEARS
with Paid Support and Addon Products... but this is not to be.
A FINAL NOTE OF WARNING :
=======================
The FBI said that they had subscribed to the Fear for about a Year.
THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD BEEN ESTABLISHING THIS ACCOUNT HANDLE FOR ABOUT
5 YEARS !! AND THAT THEY WERE GOING TO GO AFTER OTHER BBSs !!!!!
THEREFORE WE KNOW IT WAS SOMONE FAIRLY WELL KNOWN WHO WAS A SUBSCRIBER.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE COMBING THRU THE FEAR SUBSCRIBER LIST ... IT HAS TO BE
SOMEONE THEREFORE WHO IS ON MANY OTHER BBSs .. A WELL KNOWN USER .. BUT
PROBABLY NOT A BIG TIME PIRATE ... OR ELSE THEY PROBABLY WOULDNT HAVE
BEEN A SUBSCRIBER. SO... probably NOT A EUROPEAN.
WE MAY MAKE THE FEAR SUBSCRIBER LIST PUBLIC AND LET OTHER SYSOPS LOOK
THRU THE LIST AND COMPARE AND SEE WHO THE USER ACCOUNTS NAMES THEY HAVE
IN COMMON WITH THE FEAR LIST..AND THUS NARROW DOWN WHO THE "MOLE" MIGHT
BE THAT IS THE FBI/NOVELL TRAITOR PIRATE.
SOMONE HAD MENTIONED TO ME THAT THERE WAS A NOVELL REP PIRATE ON MANY TOP
BBSs BUT REFUSED TO GIVE ME THE NAME. THEY ALSO PREDICTED THAT SOME
BBSs WOULD GO DOWN " IN A MONTH" .
THAT WAS A MONTH AGO .... MAYBE NOW THEY WILL GIVE ME THAT NAME.
Personally , I have just made a back up of all my Computers and have
hidden away all my Disks, Tapes and Anything and EVERYTHING Pirate Related
and have Cleaned off of my computers any Pirate Wares or Copyrighted
Software or BBS numbers so I am cool ... I have never heard of the Feds
going after Cosysops .. but I am ready . I have hidden all this stuff
off of my property .
My accounts on other BBSs are cool because I always have unique
passwords on each and every BBS I call and so the psws I had on the
Fear are NOT used on any other accounts I have.
*************************************************************************
**BUT ALL FEAR & LOATHING USERS WHO HAVE ANY ACCOUNTS ON ANY OTHER BBSs**
**THAT USE THE SAME PASSWORDS AS WERE USED ON THE FEAR & LOATHING BBS .**
**MUST CHANGE THOSE PASSWORDS IMMEDIATELY ! **
*************************************************************************
THE FEDS DO HAVE THE FEAR's COMPUTERS AND HARD DRIVES.. THEY DO HAVE
THE USER LISTS !!!
As for me - I am obviously diminished as a Pirate Influence but
will still be a Trader... in fact .... my own phone bills will
probably be much much less without the long distance calls of an hour or
two a day to the Fear...and the Doctor will be saving much $$ and Time
spent running a BBS who's wares he didnt even USE.
I may even start a BBS of my own someday.. one reason I wanted to be a
Cosysop was to see what running a BBS was like.
If I do start a BBS.... RULE # 1 = NO SUBSCRIBERS !
The Doctor remains in an upbeat mood.. altho' perhaps in a state of shock.
He is a strong confident successful hard working man and will weather
this storm very well I am sure.
Most Top BBS have a MUCH greater majority of good Users who are on many
other BBSs. Or I should
Users...for sadly.. I must speak now in the Past Tense when I talk of
the Fear and Loathing.
But ... on the Fear ... the 170 or so subscribers were for the most
part... WITHOUT other good BBSs to call... thats why they subscribed to
the Fear. It is THESE Users who will be the most affected the loss of
their favorite Board .
The Doc will survive fine without the Fear ... but he will not be a
member of the Pirate Community any longer and from the info above
here.. you may have learned that ... while he ran a large Pirate BBS...
he was not widely known ..nor did he care or need the Pirate Wares that he
himself provided to others thru the Fear and Loathing BBS.
He didnt have the Time and he didnt have the Interest.
And he certainly doesnt NOW !
And as I mentioned to him.. compared to the REALLY Sick patients he
sees in the Operating Rooms... he may very well be better off to be rid of
something that was becoming a Pain in the Ass....running a large BBS is
cool at first... but after 10 years.. it does tend to become a CHORE...
especially as more and more "old-timers" are leaving the scene as
Piracy is not what it once was.
I remain a Pirate. But I think I will slow down . A lot of the FUN
has now gone out of the scene for me. I enjoyed trying to help the
Fear and Loathing to Grow... I enjoyed trying to help out the busy Doctor
in the running of his BBS . I enjoyed the interchange with all the
good Users I met on the Fear and I hope I can keep in touch with them
in the Future... as I certainly intend to keep in touch with the Doctor.
I will still trade and indeed .. will have more time now to do so ...
... after time mends my broken heart.
It is due to the fact that the Doctor had never bothered to call out
very much and get accounts on many BBSs that he asked me to inform the
Pirate Community at large of the Demise of the Fear ... and the Lessons
that can be learned .
Those of you that know me ... know that my worst vice is that I write
Email that is WAY TOO LONG.... and Ive done it again... but perhaps for
the last time.
I hope that people will remember the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas BBS,
----- after all 10 years is a long time .
I know I will . It was one of my First Pirate BBSs !
The Doctor let me have access on my first call when upon filling out the
New Users application... he interrupted me to Chat and upon learning
that I was a Plato's Place guy and did have some new Wares and one or
two other BBSs.. accessed me on the spot.
I never forgot that act of Generosity and was loyal to Him and the Fear
ever since. I hope I gave more than I received.... but the lessons I
have learned and people and friends I have made through the Fear far
outweigh whatever I may have contributed to the Fear BBS.
Piracy is NOT just about WARES.... Its also about PEOPLE .
Novell may have won one round here against the Fear but they can NOT win
the Pirate War... there will always be New Sysops willing to fight against
Outrageously Priced Software, Over Hyped, Non-Working or
non-functioning features-as-advertised, expensive micro-Updates every
few months and so on and on ...beyond the scope of this message.
And I must say that the Vast Majority of you , my Pirate Brothers,
I have found to be excellent , very friendly and intelligent people.
But there ARE MOLES and TRAITORS among us Pirates... these scum of the
Earth... who will DL and enjoy many Wares on the unfortunate Boards
they are on .... and then Bust those Boards .... perhaps even after
being the ULers of their own NOVELL Wares themselves in a Sting operation
( we are checking this out too ) .. those scum are doomed by their own
natures to be worthless, friendless creatures ... for what sort of
human beings can they be... and no one likes a snitch... and anyone who
DOES these acts .. surely will be having a shitty life ... as who else
but a totally shitty low-paid small-minded person would do such things.
The Revenge of the Fear is that the Traitor Pirate will be found out in
the Legal Proceedings OR SOONER & that Novell is doomed anyway
... with UNIX COSE Networking beoming friendlier & even Microsoft getting
into the Networking Competition. Through its Pricing and Service and Bugs.
Novell's own Life expectancy may not be too high.
In fact ... Novells' Stock Prices today at 20&3/4 on the NASDAQ exchange
is down today .... they have my sincere wishes for a swift and complete
fall into Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
He laughs Best who Laughs Last. Novell may have some Bad Luck in the
Future as doing Bad Deeds always comes back to haunt the perpetrator
sooner or later and they have made many Enemies..
So I close ... but on a positive note .... Piracy Lives and in fact
there are MORE and MORE Pirate Boards now as Piracy becomes more
"MainStream" into society with cheap fast Modems and Cyperpunks on MTV.
I am just old enough to have experienced the "60's",and I have always
regarded Piracy and Pirates as some of the few true remnants of the "60's"
Underground Movements .
I am happy if I have helped the Doctor - the most unselfish Sysop I
have ever known - and one of the FASTEST Sysops... I've seen him
Install a Door on all SEVEN Nodes in about 15 minutes ! There won't be
another SYSOP like HIM. It was his HOBBY and he was in it for the FUN.
Examples of what the Doctor had achieved - 7 Nodes,and 7 Gigs
there are very few BBSs PD or Pirate of THAT Size. PLUS the Fear was one of
only two BBSs in USA that KEPT ITS WARES for OVER 2 YEARS, ALL ONLINE!!
The First ACiD ANSI ACQUISITION was composed and ULed to the Fear.
The Doc was one of the 1rst BBSs in USA to go with the new PCBoard V15.0 Betas.
The Doctors' BBS was chosen to become a TDT Member BBS and was also
chosen to be the ECR Courrier HQ in USA ...AND many many Big Pirates and
Group Members on the scene now .... got their start on the Fear &
Loathing. In fact ... we used to joke that the Fear was a College for
Pirates !
He had Plans to Improve and Increase his BBS even further when he had time.
Just last night in fact ... The Doctor installed the ZYRION Protocol.
No matter HOW Big his BBS became.. the Doctor ALWAYS had time to answer
his Users' Mail . ANd just imagine how exciting it must have been for
him to answer questions like .. " How do I use the Zippy Scan" after 10
years of SYSOPing !
When I say he was generous... I mean GENEROUS. Armed Forces Veterans
were allowed high access for free ; those users cash-poor or Wares-poor
were almost ALWAYS allowed MEGS and MEGS of free credits... in his 10
years of SYSOPing ... maybe ONE person was booted off the Fear and even
THAT user could have re-applied for access had the system not
automatically booted him off for not ULing a single file. Id say that
in the last year alone .. the Doc GAVE AWAY over 300 Megs in Free Credits
..virtually anyone who asked him for help .. went away well satisfied.
EVEN LOCALS were allowed on and given High Access so they wouldnt be
begging for credits. Now how many other BBSs allow THAT !?
He tried to fulfill ANY Users requests and always had a polite word for
any user. He was NOT one of those new Sysops-with-an-attitude -2
Node-2 Megs-Im so kewl-type of guys.
There is so much I could say ... but I impose too long on anyone who has
read this far.... and I thank you for reading this far .
All I know is that a BBS that I have had great pleasure calling almost
every day for OVER FOUR YEARS is now gone .... and one of the few
pleasures in my over-worked life is now no more. When I went to my BBS
Directory ... it was the first BBS I called each night.. and the last
before I went to bed. I had just Chatted with the Doc last night on
how the BBS was improving and all the plans we had to make it even
better. You guys woulda really seen something .... there was more
growth potential at the Fear than at almost any other BBS I know.
All we lacked was TIME .
But as Fab said when he "semi-retired" ... how long can you do stuff to
impress 15 year old kids ?
This is one Hobby with a nasty after-taste. So ... SYSOPS take warning!.
For the Doctor and me ... its ....
ChildHood's End .
C'ya,
Empedocles
Cosysop - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas BBS .
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Section [8]: PHANTASY TIDBITS: News and Views of Interest
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNET Operators Now Fowarding ANI Data
by Thomas Icom/IIRG/Cybertek
A recent experiment conducted by the IIRG has confirmed that
Southern New England Telephone is now fowarding ANI data from
operator assisted calls. In the past, it was posssible to defeat
ANI by having the operator place a call for you. This piece of
information has been passed around and accepted as gospel on many
different H/P/A boards.
To detrmine if your RBOC is fowarding ANI data from operator
assisted calls, have the operator dial 1-800-235-1414 for you. This
is an ANI service run by Full Disclosure Magazine (P.O. Box 903,
Libertyville, IL 60048) and 1-900-STOPPER. If you receive correct
ANI data, then your RBOC is passing the data along.
One should also note that while 1-900-STOPPER will defeat Caller
ID and ANI, it is still a simle matter to suponea the phone company
for both incomming ANI and outgoing AMA data from 1-900-STOPPER.
These can then be cross-referenced to find out who called whom.
Your best bets for privacy are still payphones and buttsets.
Let's all be careful out there.
IIRG UPDATE: Full Dislosure is now only running an ad for their 900-STOPPER
service on the number given in this article.
You can however use, 1-800-852-9932 to test the techniques
in Icom's article. (Valid as of 8/10/93)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FCC Releases Frequencies
The FCC has set aside narrowband 901-902,930-931, and 940-941 MHz for
wireless communications services or (PCSs) Personal Communications Services
such as paging,electronic mail and faxing. The FCC has not chosen a selection
process to pick providers of narrowband PCSs, but has said it will pick 11
nationwide licensees and 13 regional licensees and 10 local providers.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Put Your Hands in The Air and Give Me Those Chips!
A string of armed robberies is haunting Silicon Valley, recently 10 young
men armed with handguns forced their way into Bestronics Inc in San Jose
and subdued the workers before carting off $15,000 in memory chips.
Apparently their MO is to handcuff,beat and torture employees until their
told where the parts are stored.
Hot items are memory and 386 and 486 CPUs. Youth gangs are cruising
industrial parks loking for easy targets. At least 3 companies have been hit
in the last month.
UPDATE!!:
The San Jose Police have arrested a 20-year-old male who they believe is
the individual responsible for the recent wave of robberies.
Police pulled the man over after noticing the car he was driving had 2 two
different license plates. One was from a stolen car used in one of the
robberies.
After obtaining a search warrant for the mans home, police found memory
chips,police scanners,two-way radios,firearms,and hand-cuffs.
Police are still searching for 9 more individuals.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ATM Bandits Nabbed
On Wed. July 7th, a Federal Grand Jury indicted Alan Scott Pace,30, and
Gerald Harvey Greenfield,50, both of Tucson,Arizona for installing a fake
automated teller machine at the Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester,CT.
The two men allegedly put a Fujitsu Model 7020 ATM machine that had been
modified to record users accounts and PIN's. without paying out cash.
They then made duplicates of the cards and used them at banks throughout
the country at valid ATM machines.
The eight-count indictment charges them with bank fraud counterfeiting of
ATM cash cards,interstate transportation of stolen property,and conspiracy.
Pace was arrested on June 23rd by the Secret Service in New York and
Greenfield surrendered to the Secret Service five days later.
They now face 60 years in prison on the combined charges.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FBI Calls For Gun Licensing
By NEAL KNOX
Incredibly the story of the FBI recommendations has only run in the
July 8, 1993 New York Times on an inside page and in USA Today on July 9,
1993. No other major newspapers or TV news outlets have even mentioned
this proposal as of today, July 10. It is necessary for each and every
one of our readers to contact their local legislators and present them with the
NRA press release and make your opinions known.
NEAL KNOX REPORT
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11) -- FBI Director William Sessions
has recommended to Attorney General Janet Reno that the Clinton
Administration call for a wide range of new firearms laws,
including licensing the possession of handguns after mandatory
training, with "appropriate reimbursement" for firearms of those
who can't pass the training or who voluntarily turn in their
guns.
This incredible document, which notes that the FBI does not
publicly comment on political matters to avoid "destroy(ing)
confidence" in the agency, says "(t)he proliferation of firearms"
and their use in violent crimes justifies "an extraordinary,
singular departure from this policy."
The last item of Sessions' 10-point recommendation -- which
the FBI refuses to release -- calls for the FBI Office of Press
and Congressional Affairs to "develop a media strategy to
publicize and develop support for the FBI's position."
In short, the FBI Director is recommending to Attorney
General Janet Reno that she authorize violation of Section 1913
of Title 18, U.S. Criminal Code -- which prohibits lobbying with
appropriated funds.
Naturally, the FBI recommends enactment of the "Brady Bill,"
though raising questions about the accuracy of state criminal
records checks and other "technical problems."
The FBI also recommends "a complete prohibition upon the
transfer, importation, transport or possession of assault
firearms" -- which are not defined, except as high capacity and
"fast firing."
Sessions calls for "a complete prohibition upon the
possession of armor piercing ammunition," which would be defined
"upon performance standards, not composition" -- presumably on
the basis of penetration of aluminum plates such as the FBI used
in its mid-1980's tests of AP ammo.
Much conventional high-velocity handgun ammo can penetrate
the Kevlar bullet-resistant vests worn by police. However,
because the FBI's recommendation is not limited to handgun
ammunition, it could be used to ban almost all center fire rifle
ammunition.
Finally, the FBI recommends "reallocation of existing
resources to increase the regulation and oversight of" Federal
licensees -- and, among other things, increase license fees,
require an existing place of business, and a background check
with fingerprinting of potential dealers. That just happens to
jibe with the FBI's long ambition to have BATF's firearms
enforcement powers.
The "FBI Working Group" which prepared the recommendations
"discussed at length whether the FBI should recommend a general
ban on the possession of handguns. After careful consideration,
the group concluded that a proposed ban would not receive
sufficient support."
Clearly, they really wanted an outright handgun ban, but
didn't think it would pass and, as they wrote, "would likely
place us outside the scope of the current debate over firearms,
and thus perhaps marginalize our overall impact."
I first thought that the FBI proposal was a trial balloon to
make the Administration's firearms recommendations in the omnibus
crime bill (due out later this month) appear modest by
comparison. But, amazingly, neither of the Washington newspapers
has said a word about the FBI's landmark proposals.
That indicates that the anti-gun "Washington Post" doesn't
want to talk about the Clinton Administration's "next step" until
the "first step Brady Bill" has been signed and sealed.
The "New York Times" and other newspapers which have
reported the FBI recommendations have focussed on their support
for the "Brady Bill," with little or nothing about the radical
handgun licensing and "assault weapons" (whatever that is) ban.
Those reports have speculated that Sessions -- whose job has
been hanging by a thread since being charged with ethics
violations at the end of the Bush Administration -- was merely
currying favor with Reno and the White House.
Nonsense. No bureaucrat, or "Working Group" of bureaucrats,
would make such a radical recommendation, or openly move to
politicize the FBI, without orders -- or at the very least, a
wink and a nod -- from someone much higher up.
I think we're getting a look at the Clinton firearms
platform -- and we'll see all of it before the next four years
are over.
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Section [9]: IIRG Distribution Sites
(or Gateways to Oblivion)
////// ////// /////// ////////
// // // // //
// // /////// // ////
// // // // // //
////// * ////// * // // * /////////
IIRG World HQ: The Rune Stone BBS
14.4k HST
Phantasys Home Board
Complete IIRG Archives 3000+ Files
(203)-832-8441
NUP: Conspiracy
IIRG Distribution Site 1: BluePhishen' BBS
Fidonet 1:2603/406
IIRG Distribution Site
Sysop: Global Death
(212)-924-9627
IIRG Distribution Site 2: Deadcity
Sysop: RoughNeck
Australia
Criminal Intent HQ
+61-3-417-2060
IIRG Distribution Site 3: The Sanitarium
Sysops: Morbid Angel [INC/ACID]
Spectral Illusion [ACID/RAZOR]
IIRG Distribution Site
ACID Member Board
INC Courier Board
RAZOR 1911 Courier Board
VISA World Headquarters
(817)PRI-VATE
IIRG Distribution Site 4: The WareHouse
(203)-TMP-DOWN
Curently Under Investigation
Sysop: Ionizer
IIRG Distribution Site 5: Hollow Tree Productions
Sysop: Phantasm
TWA Distro
IIRG Phantasy Distro
Extreme*Net
(313)-EXE-TREME
IIRG Distribution Site 6: The Web
(203)869-0938
Oblivion/2 Beta Site
9600-14.4k v.32bis
SysOps: Spyder Man &
egghead <ACiD>
ACiD Member Board
Ecstatic Sound Productions
IIRG Distribution
OOFNet / CyberCrime Network
IIRG Distribution Site 7: Lost Horizon BBS
ZyXEL 16.8k [v.32bis/v.42bis]
203.667.4953
Virulent Graffiti Distro Site
IIRG Distro Site
NO File Ratios
IIRG Distribution Site 8: The Hawks Nest
(201)-PRI-VATE
300-14.4K BPS
Modernz Distro Site
High tech Hoods Site
IIRG Distribution Site 9: Liquid Euphoria
Phalcon/Skism
Sysop: Hawkmoon
(914)-PRI-VATE
IIRG Distribution Site 10: The Black Lodge
LodgeNet Member Site
Sysop: The Brit
(5o8)-PRI-VATE
IIRG Distribution Site 11: Kaotic Attractor
Sysop: Mr Wyzard
(5o8)-PRI-VATE
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Section [10]: Phantasy Distribution Sites
Phantasy's Distribution Site's are continually growing,we apologize if you
called a board and didn't find the Mag. Network Distribution Sites will
have the Issues first, we suggest calling one of them if a problem does
arise.
1. Lightning Systems
(414) 363-4282
200 Million Bytes OnLine
USRobotics Dual Standard HST/V.32bis
2400 thru 14.4k v.32bis/HST
2. The Works BBS
Waffle Net v1.65
[617]/861-8976
3/12/24/96/14400b 7dy/24hr N,8,1
Lexington, MA
200 Megabytes of Storage
99.44% pure textfiles
Remote cDc Node (Very remote)
3. The Dickinson Nightlight
(713)-337-1452
Phantasy Distro Site
4. Abiogenesis,
3/12/24/96/14400 Practical Peripherals 14400FXSA
Fidonet 1:280/310.
Phone (816)734-4732
5. Uncensored Communications
Cybertek Magazine SIG
(914)-761-6877
Phantasy is also available on these systems,
Ripco II BBS The Hell Pit Pipers Pit BBS Cybernetic Violence
(312)-528-5020 (708)-459-7267 (203)-PRI-VATE (514)-PRI-VATE
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Next Issue:
More on the Ionizer Persecution
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PHANTASY(C) IIRG 1991,1992,1993
May Odin Guide Your Way!
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May You Be Feasting and Drinking in Valhalla For a Full Night
Before the Christian God Knows You're Dead
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