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| The LOD/H Presents |
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A Novice’s Guide to Hacking- 2004 edition /
========================================= /
by /
The Mentor /
Legion of Doom/Legion of Hackers /
/
December, 2004 /
Merry Christmas Everyone! /
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| The author hereby grants permission to reproduce, redistribute, |
| or include this file in your g-file section, electronic or print |
| newletter, or any other form of transmission that you choose, as |
| long as it is kept intact and whole, with no ommissions, delet- |
| ions, or changes. (C) The Mentor- Phoenix Project Productions |
| 2003,2004 XXX/XXX-XXXX |
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Introduction: The State of the Hack
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After surveying a rather large g-file collection, my attention was drawn to
the fact that there hasn’t been a good introductory file written for absolute
beginners since back when Mark Tabas was cranking them out (and almost
*everyone* was a beginner!) The Arts of Hacking and Phreaking have changed
radically since that time, and as the 90’s approach, the hack/phreak community
has recovered from the Summer ’87 busts (just like it recovered from the Fall
’85 busts, and like it will always recover from attempts to shut it down), and
the progressive media (from Reality Hackers magazine to William Gibson and
Bruce Sterling’s cyberpunk fables of hackerdom) is starting to take notice
of us for the first time in recent years in a positive light.
Unfortunately, it has also gotten more dangerous since the early 80’s.
Phone cops have more resources, more awareness, and more intelligence that they
exhibited in the past. It is becoming more and more difficult to survive as
a hacker long enough to become skilled in the art. To this end this file
is dedicated . If it can help someone get started, and help them survive
to discover new systems and new information, it will have served it’s purpose,
and served as a partial repayment to all the people who helped me out when I
was a beginner.
Contents
~~~~~~~~
This file will be divided into four parts:
Part 1: What is Hacking, A Hacker’s Code of Ethics, Basic Hacking Safety
Part 2: Packet Switching Networks: Telenet- How it Works, How to Use it,
Outdials, Network Servers, Private PADs
Part 3: Identifying a Computer, How to Hack In, Operating System
Defaults
Part 4: Conclusion- Final Thoughts, Books to Read, Boards to Call,
Acknowledgements
Part One: The Basics
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As long as there have been computers, there have been hackers. In the 50’s
at the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT), students devoted much time
and energy to ingenious exploration of the computers. Rules and the law were
disregarded in their pursuit for the ‘hack’. Just as they were enthralled with
their pursuit of information, so are we. The thrill of the hack is not in
breaking the law, it’s in the pursuit and capture of knowledge.
To this end, let me contribute my suggestions for guidelines to follow to
ensure that not only you stay out of trouble, but you pursue your craft without
damaging the computers you hack into or the companies who own them.
I. Do not intentionally damage *any* system.
II. Do not alter any system files other than ones needed to ensure your
escape from detection and your future access (Trojan Horses, Altering
Logs, and the like are all necessary to your survival for as long as
possible.)
III. Do not leave your (or anyone else’s) real name, real handle, or real
phone number on any system that you access illegally. They *can* and
will track you down from your handle!
IV. Be careful who you share information with. Feds are getting trickier.
Generally, if you don’t know their voice phone number, name, and
occupation or haven’t spoken with them voice on non-info trading
conversations, be wary.
V. Do not leave your real phone number to anyone you don’t know. This
includes logging on boards, no matter how k-rad they seem. If you
don’t know the sysop, leave a note telling some trustworthy people
that will validate you.
VI. Do not hack government computers. Yes, there are government systems
that are safe to hack, but they are few and far between. And the
government has inifitely more time and resources to track you down than
a company who has to make a profit and justify expenses.
VII. Don’t use codes unless there is *NO* way around it (you don’t have a
local telenet or tymnet outdial and can’t connect to anything 800…)
You use codes long enough, you will get caught. Period.
VIII. Don’t be afraid to be paranoid. Remember, you *are* breaking the law.
It doesn’t hurt to store everything encrypted on your hard disk, or
keep your notes buried in the backyard or in the trunk of your car.
You may feel a little funny, but you’ll feel a lot funnier when you
when you meet Bruno, your transvestite cellmate who axed his family to
death.
IX. Watch what you post on boards. Most of the really great hackers in the
country post *nothing* about the system they’re currently working
except in the broadest sense (I’m working on a UNIX, or a COSMOS, or
something generic. Not “I’m hacking into General Electric’s Voice Mail
System” or something inane and revealing like that.)
X. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. That’s what more experienced hackers
are for. Don’t expect *everything* you ask to be answered, though.
There are some things (LMOS, for instance) that a begining hacker
shouldn’t mess with. You’ll either get caught, or screw it up for
others, or both.
XI. Finally, you have to actually hack. You can hang out on boards all you
want, and you can read all the text files in the world, but until you
actually start doing it, you’ll never know what it’s all about. There’s
no thrill quite the same as getting into your first system (well, ok,
I can think of a couple of bigger thrills, but you get the picture.)
One of the safest places to start your hacking career is on a computer
system belonging to a college. University computers have notoriously lax
security, and are more used to hackers, as every college computer depart-
ment has one or two, so are less likely to press charges if you should
be detected. But the odds of them detecting you and having the personel to
committ to tracking you down are slim as long as you aren’t destructive.
If you are already a college student, this is ideal, as you can legally
explore your computer system to your heart’s desire, then go out and look
for similar systems that you can penetrate with confidence, as you’re already
familar with them.
So if you just want to get your feet wet, call your local college. Many of
them will provide accounts for local residents at a nominal (under $20) charge.
Finally, if you get caught, stay quiet until you get a lawyer. Don’t vol-
unteer any information, no matter what kind of ‘deals’ they offer you.
Nothing is binding unless you make the deal through your lawyer, so you might
as well shut up and wait.
Part Two: Networks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The best place to begin hacking (other than a college) is on one of the
bigger networks such as Telenet. Why? First, there is a wide variety of
computers to choose from, from small Micro-Vaxen to huge Crays. Second, the
networks are fairly well documented. It’s easier to find someone who can help
you with a problem off of Telenet than it is to find assistance concerning your
local college computer or high school machine. Third, the networks are safer.
Because of the enormous number of calls that are fielded every day by the big
networks, it is not financially practical to keep track of where every call and
connection are made from. It is also very easy to disguise your location using
the network, which makes your hobby much more secure.
Telenet has more computers hooked to it than any other system in the world
once you consider that from Telenet you have access to Tymnet, ItaPAC, JANET,
DATAPAC, SBDN, PandaNet, THEnet, and a whole host of other networks, all of
which you can connect to from your terminal.
The first step that you need to take is to identify your local dialup port.
This is done by dialing 1-800-424-9494 (1200 7E1) and connecting. It will
spout some garbage at you and then you’ll get a prompt saying ‘TERMINAL=’.
This is your terminal type. If you have vt100 emulation, type it in now. Or
just hit return and it will default to dumb terminal mode.
You’ll now get a prompt that looks like a @. From here, type @c mail <cr>
and then it will ask for a Username. Enter ‘phones’ for the username. When it
asks for a password, enter ‘phones’ again. From this point, it is menu
driven. Use this to locate your local dialup, and call it back locally. If
you don’t have a local dialup, then use whatever means you wish to connect to
one long distance (more on this later.)
When you call your local dialup, you will once again go through the
TERMINAL= stuff, and once again you’ll be presented with a @. This prompt lets
you know you are connected to a Telenet PAD. PAD stands for either Packet
Assembler/Disassembler (if you talk to an engineer), or Public Access Device
(if you talk to Telenet’s marketing people.) The first description is more
correct.
Telenet works by taking the data you enter in on the PAD you dialed into,
bundling it into a 128 byte chunk (normally… this can be changed), and then
transmitting it at speeds ranging from 9600 to 19,200 baud to another PAD, who
then takes the data and hands it down to whatever computer or system it’s
connected to. Basically, the PAD allows two computers that have different baud
rates or communication protocols to communicate with each other over a long
distance. Sometimes you’ll notice a time lag in the remote machines response.
This is called PAD Delay, and is to be expected when you’re sending data
through several different links.
What do you do with this PAD? You use it to connect to remote computer
systems by typing ‘C’ for connect and then the Network User Address (NUA) of
the system you want to go to.
An NUA takes the form of 031103130002520
___/___/___/
| | |
| | |____ network address
| |_________ area prefix
|______________ DNIC
This is a summary of DNIC’s (taken from Blade Runner’s file on ItaPAC)
according to their country and network name.
DNIC Network Name Country DNIC Network Name Country
_______________________________________________________________________________
|
02041 Datanet 1 Netherlands | 03110 Telenet USA
02062 DCS Belgium | 03340 Telepac Mexico
02080 Transpac France | 03400 UDTS-Curacau Curacau
02284 Telepac Switzerland | 04251 Isranet Israel
02322 Datex-P Austria | 04401 DDX-P Japan
02329 Radaus Austria | 04408 Venus-P Japan
02342 PSS UK |
thepathfinders 