Loved and admired by all (not unlike all other moderators), never too shy to drop an opinion the size of the Internet on the heads of unsuspecting AOers and innocent bystanders alike, and playing the white bass and being proud of it: gore! This interview, of course, brought to you courtesy of vim, as it deals with even the toughest dirt. Prepare for lots of it, including stuff you didn't necessarily wanted to know...

gore's Antionline profile

Name: Allen Kenner (Like the toy company!....Was Seltzer)

Place and date of Birth (or age): Port Huron Michigan, just like Edison, and it was on November 30th 1982. I'm 23.

Current place of residence: Port Huron Michigan

Marital status: Hmmm, if I say single I'll get injured and if I say "In a toss up between two girls with a fixation on horror movies" I might too... Darn it.

AO: How did you get into computers?

gore: I was about 17 and my Uncle had one. I was messing with it for my first time and noticed something in it made dial tones. He was out of tone so I guessed his password and got online for my first time and started playing with it to see what else it could do.

He sold it to me a week later and that was around September of 1999 so it was my first PC and I had no manuals or books with it so I figured it out each night.

I'd stay up late with some milk and open up each program until I understood what it was.

The only one I couldn't get at the time was this weird program called "MS-DOS Prompt" but it's safe to say I've got that one now too.

From there I just started messing with it until I had learned how to use it, and a few months later I bought a Computer book. And within a year I learned what Linux was and started looking into that.

It was my first real adventure into other OSs.

AO: What is your area of specialty?

gore: Without a doubt, OSs. I've also been paid the comment of how good I am at BSing though as well, so Social Engineering is obviously there.

And I find humor in the most horrid things and try to make people laugh.

Laughing releases chemicals in your mind and makes you an easy target. *Teehee*

AO: What do you do for a living?

gore: I currently write articles for Jupiter Media. I love it. It helps me with my writing style (God knows that needed improvement) and I was offered a job yesterday at an ISP as a Unix admin. So I'm going to do both and College this year.

AO: How did you get into your career?

gore: I realised my allowance wasn't enough for a car. And then later discovered the things I did at home, were something you could be paid for. I liked it.

AO: Describe your education and/or training?

gore: My education is a work in progress, but my family calling me up every time Windows freezes is good tech support training.

I also set up networks for family members and friends and I have my own LAN at home, the BOFH sanctuary.

No users are allowed admin rights on anything *Giggle*.

I'm in college and I have about 3 classes to go before I graduate, and I've taken just about everything computer related they offer.

AO: Do you plan on staying where you are (career-wise) or are you still in school / working on certs to get into another area?

gore: I plan on doing everything I possibly can. One of my goals is woring for the NSA, and a good friend and fellow mod here has offered me employment which would help me reach that.

I'd finally be able to use my little BS talent and be paid for it, which is good because by the time I'm 40, if I'm still alive, I want to make Microsoft look poor. I want enough to buy my own Country.

When you're little you get told to reach for the stars but sometimes you need to hold yourself up on the clouds.


AO: What one piece of advice would you offer to others who may be interested in following a career path or educational path similar to yours?

gore: Hmmm, probably the same thing I ended the last question with, and this:
When you're little you get told to reach for the stars but sometimes you need to hold yourself up on the clouds.

And this: Don't ever admit to failing. Only admit to succeeding in proving something won't work.

AO: What skill do you think is invaluable in your area of specialty?

gore: The ability to stay awake for days on end in front of a computer without moving or eating. Heh, in all seriousness I'd say if you're willing to put the time into learning your craft and you keep your Hope, you can do anything you set out for.

Something I think most would agree with though, is learning whatever OS you use inside and out.


AO: Describe one of your best / most effective security practices.

gore: Hmm, this works in life too:

Don't ever admit to failing. Only admit to succeeding in proving something won't work.

AO: Do you have a little-known fact about yourself (personal, hobbies, tech-related) that you would be willing to share?

gore: Hahaha. I think most people here know my hobbies. But just for the newer people I'll list a few:

I love the game Doom. I play it even though I know how old it is, but I love it. Basically any of the First Person Shooters from Id software, and Unreal Tournament.

I collect Horror movies from all over the World. I've been doing this since around 12 years of age and I have quite a good collection of things I've found over the years.

Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento would be a nice example of the Italian gore fests (Which is where I took my name from, my love of gore / Splatter movies) and I collect them and try to find rare movies like the original Cannibal Holocaust as right now the original is about 150 dollars.

Unix is another hobby, as is old software a lot of people have forgotten about. I really like messing with oldschool DOS and Unix stuff.

Another Hobby is learning History. I watch the History channel all the time.

I'm also into some aspects of Psychology. Mostly forensic Pyschology and studying what makes a Serial Killer tick.

Music is obviously something I'm into as well. I play Bass, Guitar, Piano and Keyboards, a little drums, and I love messing with turntables and making techno.

Punk, Metal, Hardcore, Industrial, Techno / Electronic / Dance / Tanz Metall, and oldschool like Hendrix, Joplin, and TheDoors.

And as a Bass player I also respect old Jazz.

I won't bore you with more. Heh.


AO: How did you find (out about) Antionline?

gore: When I first realized what a Hacker was from a close friend of mine after he had done something I didn't know was possible with a computer I wondered what else was possible. I was also looking for a job in computing and AntiOnline came up in the search.