01-24-2000

Bob Submitted The Following:



FREE KEVIN--Just when you thought you've heard the last of it, there's this--drum roll please...KEVIN FREE. Damn, all those website defacements of FREE KEVIN must of forced them to release him. GOOD job hackers! Wonder what's next? Let's see...FREE STEVEN, nope. Hmmm....FREE BOB, nope. I got it, FREE PUBLICITY!



<font color="#de0000">Haha. Now you got the point. Of course, Emmanuel Goldstein (aka Eric Corley) is now complaining about the whole DVD injunction thing. I guess this is what happens to guys who go through a midlife crisis in the new digital age. Talk about a rebel searching for a cause. Someone shoot me before I turn 35, please.</font>



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John Doe Submitted The Following:



Credit Cards Next Kiddie Target?



"We don't blame a bank if it is broken into and our money is stolen, we blame the robber."

EXCELLENT point. It's that simple. A hacker or cracker(for you picky people) should be considered as a common sleezebag crook. This needs to be advocated even more.



<font color="#de0000">Personally, I love it when hackers like Kevin Mitnick begin their whole "I was just doing it to point out a vulnerability. Better me break in and show them their problems, then someone with malicious intentions" speech. I'd like to know who the hell woke up one morning and designated them the gods of cyberspace. If I want someone to check the security of my systems, I'll hire them. I certainly wouldn't want a group of hackers to just waltz their way into my network like some traveling freak show. Talk about being officious.</font>



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Mabs Submitted The Following:



I run an Internet Cafe. Recently my provider gave me a waring that one of my workstations had sent out a Trojan Horse to someone on the Internet. They told me to take immediate corrective action to prevent this from happening again otherwise my service might be stopped.



I am at a loss ! I have anti-virus software on each workstation. I have no idea how to stop people from coming into my Internet Cafe and sending put malicious message/Trojans.



Can you please advise if there is any anti-hacking software I should consider installing on each machine to minimize these kinds of activities ?



Thanks



<font color="#de0000">It sounds to me like you should have thought about this before you decided to open up an Internet Cafe. I had the honor of sitting on a panel at a recent conference at Lawrence Livermoore National Labs. One of the issues that came up, was work being done by some at the conference to get international laws passed which would put an end to "computer criminals" being able to hide in countries where there are no computer crime laws. Personally, I think we first need to put an end to ISPs that harbor, either through their own maliciousness or their gross incompetence, computer criminals. Maybe anyone that decides that they want to start up an ISP should have to get federally licensed first, much like the telco industry is. As for the answer to your question, I suggest you look into products like RealSecure from ISS and BlackICE from the NetworkIce Corporation. They have the ability to detect such things, and stop them dead in their tracks.</font>




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WTF is this with all the damn ads? Christ you have these damned ads all over the damned storys and now you have a damned window like the damned window in damn win2k outlook express.. Get rid of the damned ads.. I'll just go damning somewhere else.. dont want my whole damned screen being damned annoying ads.. damnit.



Jonah B.



<font color="#de0000">Damn....</font>



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Subject: RE:Credit Cards Next Kiddie Target?



Very interesting article. For quite a while I considered myself a
hacker, by the old definition, but after seeing what has been going
on lately and meeting some of these supposed "hackers" I no
longer will consider myself one again. For the last few years I have
been striving to learn everything I can about computers, building,
maintaining, programming, networking and securing. Unlike the
"hackers" I have met, I never had any intentions of breaking into a
computer or causing harm to anyone, I just wanted to be able to
get a job in a field that I happen to love. Now I read in the news
about these "hackers" breaking into companies and stealing credit
cards, then hold them for ransom, to me that is like walking into
someones house and stealing there property. I know that it may
only be a small inconvenience for the card holders and credit card
companies but if someone used one of those numbers and maxed
out the card I am sure it would be difficult to straighten that out with
the CC companies. It is my hope that these "hackers" are busted
and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In my book they are
no better then the thiefs and muggers of the real world.


Jason T Hommrich

Computer Profesional(in training)



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Subject: Re: How To Be A Hacker Profiler



I joined the Canadian national police organization (the RCMP) 30 years ago
to do police work. I left them after 10 years of service. I now work in computer
security for a governmental organization in the province of Quebec, Canada.



Your articles remind me of how I used to think we should fight crime back then (and did).

The scene has now changed, but the principles remain.



From a reader pleased to visit your site.



Maurice Gagnon



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