F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.23 (05-Jun-1995) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: | | FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS | | _ | +1-519-570-4176 | | / \ | | | /|oo \ | | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | | | | | \ \\ | Editors: | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | Sylvia 1:221/194 | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MORE addresses: | | | | submissions=> editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Don -- don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Sylvia max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== 1. Editorial..................................................... 1 2. Articles...................................................... 2 Major Changes in FIDO this week.....(sigh).................. 2 WOW!!! You wrote back!!! :-))).............................. 3 DEF CON III Convention Update #1.65 (05.26.95).............. 4 Bob Satti (1:153/6) to All.................................. 18 Threats of lawsuits & caving in............................. 19 dear madam emilia........................................... 20 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 20 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== FidoNews 12-23 Page: 2 05 Jun 1995 I was out doing a service call in the boonies this week. It was an asphalt plant run by a good-ole-boy farmer-ex-biker. He it did not know squat about computers, all he knew was that the plant was shut down last fall, and did not start up right this spring. It turned out that one of the RS-232 interfaces was shot. Probably lightning, and not a spare board within 100 miles. I explained the problem ... mmm said he. "We only use one of those during the day, could we rig a switch?". Yes, said I, and we got him running from his junk box. Farmer mechanics can fix just about anything. Fidonet is a lot like that. A lot has happened this week; here is the snooze so you can read about it. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== Major Changes in FIDO this week.....(sigh) Lot's has happened this week... A particular sysop who isn't even part of FIDO anymore, (he resigned in disgrace).... has made a living hell for the real sysops of FIDO. Who is this sysop you may ask? Bob Germer of Region 8. (I believe this is family net). This week he threatened Mike Fuchs with a lawsuit for allowing Z1_GERMER to be elisted, Mike Fuchs got tired of putting up with shitheads like germinator that are so cowardly as they have to hide behind threats of lawsuits. Mike Fuchs was an asset to FIDOnet as a whole and he will be missed. The other person to resign was George Peace. I don't have all the details yet but I suspect it's also do to the germinator. The threats of lawsuits are uncalled for in FIDO... The first scum to do it was winter (lowercase intentional), now germinator. What has happened to FIDO? The *C structure refuses to do anything about situations like this and cave in at the mention of a lawsuit. This isn't right. FIDO is about communication and free speech and moving the mail. FIDO isn't about lawsuits and other legal actions. Hell, Planet Connect dumped germer's point status and is probably dumping his entire service. Planet Connect should be commended on not backing down from threats. While not everyone has the money that PC has that should not be a prerequisate(sic?) to backing down... We should stand up to fools such as the germer's and teh winter's and make them realize that they can't bully us around. But as long as the current *C's are in place, this won't happen. (How about a vote for impeachment of everyone in the *C structure and replace them with someone with a little backbone?) The following was proposed a long time ago to be included in Policy 4 and was rejected even though a few other net's follow the rule. I propose that we hold an election (FIDO wide, sysops, hubs, and everyone involved in fido) to have a rule added to policy that would make it so that anyone who FidoNews 12-23 Page: 3 05 Jun 1995 threatens someone else in FIDO with any sort of lawsuit would automaticaly lose his/her node number and all access to FIDO until the issue is resolved in court or out of court. We could even hold our own tribunerals on the matter is everyone agrees. Let's say that if I threaten so and so at x:xxx/xxx with a lawsuit be cause I was offended with what he said about me (even if it were true or not) the ZEC or the IC would immediatly revoke my node num until the matter was settled. Or the node would atleast be put on suspension. This is something that really needs to be done. Lawyers and Courts have no business being in fido (well.. not in a legal capacity, just the hobbyest way).... So basicly we need to impeach everyone & start from scratch as well as make provisions to keep scum who threaten lawsuits out of FIDO. Everyone has the right to be an asshole and voice their opinions, but the threats of frivilous lawsuits needs to be abolished. Also anyone making multiple PC's that are constantly rejected need to be ousted as well. Let's all make FIDO what it once was. A fun place to be and a hobby, not a legal network... Warm Regards Rick Lithgow, rlith@pcms.com. Moderator BOCA_MODEMS & Z1_GERMER ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WOW!!! You wrote back!!! :-))) Guess this internet stuff actually works >i miss doc Logger too! i wish he would write again. Er....Ummmm I always thought it was Don your yourself. Sorta like a Doctor Jeykl & Mr Hyde thing, only it was Doc Logger. >i liked lisa Gronke's article. useful. Wish I had something like that to read when I first set up FIDONET. Probably wouldn't of helped. Still a very useful article. I'm saving it for when someone asks me how FIDOnet works. I don't really know how myself, but it does work--usually. > >i heard that Fidonet is very quickly getting ruined becuase of >people writing idiotmail, and other people threatening lawsuits. >yech. i wish that would all become nice again. too many people are >giving up. I'm pretty new to Fidonet. I thought this was always true. In every local echo there is always someone writing idiotmail, 'pushing the limits of free speech', exercising the first ammendment, well...call it what you'd like. Most of the time they are ignored, but it only takes ONE person to get their underwear in a bunch and * BOOM * - lawsuits, new laws, etc. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 4 05 Jun 1995 Frankly, I soon see the 'On-line community' being "under the thumb" of the rules, restrictions, and laws that affects everything else. More and more People are plugging in and joining the ranks of the On-line community. I personally think it's cool that I can type: http://www.penthousemag.com and check out the pics. Many will not think it's cool. Ma & Pa Average are going to have a coronary when they see lil 7 year old Junior Average checking out the pics. nOt kEwL! The _______ (insert favorite word here) is going to hit the fan and the result will be more laws. Did you hear about the recent Prodigy lawsuit decision? I'd tell ya, but the article is lining the bird cage. Prime example right there... >what do you think of the WWW? sometimes it bugs me because it's >like windoze for file requests, but then again i want to play with >it. i'm making a tarot deck so i can make a home page (for madam >emilia) that tells fortunes. I set up my WWW page in 15 minutes. Okay, it looks like crap, but after I put in another 15 minutes people will be able to FTP files and send me messages. Guess how long it took to set up my BBS so people could do this? [hint... a lot longer than 15 minutes]. But you asked me what I thought of the Web. It's cool, it's happening, it's trendy, it's now! If someone can have "The BIG BUTTON that does nothing" page and the "Shakespearian Insult" page then Gosh Golly Darned it why can't you have the best (first?) fortune telling page on the net. :-) Gotta run, the cellular bat phone is ringin, getting paged on the BBS, and the kids are fighting over the remote... Later, ONE LAST IMPORTANT THINGIE: I do not care one way or the other if this finds it's way into fidonews or anywhere else. I do request that if it does pop up somewhere that you do NOT put in my name or any other identifying information. I get hard heavy objects thrown at me on a daily basis. I really don't need more stuff hurled at me. Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DEF CON III Convention Update #1.65 (05.26.95) August 4-6th 1995 @ the Tropicana in Las Vegas READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE This is _not_ the professional sounding announcement. Use that one to con your boss / employers out of the cost of the trip. The professional announcement is available at ftp.fc.net in /pub/defcon. This is the k-RaD kriminal shout out to all u el1te hacker types that aren't in jail to attend 'da def con. werd. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 5 05 Jun 1995 READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE & READ & DISTRIBUTE What's this? This is an initial announcement and invitation to DEF CON III, a convention for the "underground" elements of the computer culture. We try to target the (Fill in your favorite word here): Hackers, Phreaks, Hammies, Virii Coders, Programmers, Crackers, Cyberpunk Wannabees, Civil Liberties Groups, CypherPunks, Futurists, Artists, Criminally Insane, Hearing Impaired. WHO: You know who you are, you shady characters. WHAT: A convention for you to meet, party, and listen to some speeches that you would normally never get to hear from some k-rad people. WHEN: August 4, 5, 6 - 1995 (Speaking on the 5th and 6th) WHERE: Las Vegas, Nevada @ The Tropicana Hotel So you heard about DEF CON II, and want to hit part III? You heard about the parties, the info discussed, the bizarre atmosphere of Las Vegas and want to check it out in person? You want to do weird shit _away_ from the hotel where you can't get me in trouble? Then you're just the person to attend! Sure it's great to meet and party with fellow hackers, but besides that we try to provide information and speakers in a forum that can't be found at other conferences. While there is an initial concern that this is just another excuse for the evil hackers to party and wreak havoc, it's just not the case. People come to DEF CON for information and for making contacts. We strive to distinguish this convention from others in that respect. Plus this year we have official DEF CON GOONS(c) who will pummel you until you pass out should you cause problems for other con.friendly people! Big Brother loves you! What's been said (Only the good stuff will be quoted, of course) Stevyn - "What can eye say, it was intense! . . . the whole con just kicked ass! I totally recommend you check out the next one." Gail Thackeray, Prosecutor, "It's partly an entertaining party, it's partly a fashion statement. But it's mostly something about which the business world has no clue." Wendy Murdock, Boardwatch, "Def Con represents the tug-of-war that has always been present - people strive to get that which is just out of reach, aggravating governments and breaking rules in the process." ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: WHERE IT IS: The Tropicana has rooms reserved for the convention. Rooms are expensive. They are even more expensive if you don't book under FidoNews 12-23 Page: 6 05 Jun 1995 the convention. If it is to expensive for you, please see the section below on Las Vegas WWW sites that can provide you with information on other nearby hotels that are cheaper. Check-in is 3 pm, check-out time is 12 noon. Remember there is an 8% sales tax in Vegas. Remeber to try and register early!! The Tropicana has only blocked out 100 rooms for the convention, and the rest depend on availablility, so plan ahead to book your room if nothing else. 65$ Single or Double room, Midweek (Monday - Thursday) 90$ Single or Double room, Weekend (Friday - Sunday) 350$ One-Bedroom Suite (Call for Availability) The Tropicana, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. So., Las Vegas, Nevada, 89109 (702) 739-2581 or (800) 468-9494 or (702) 739-2448 (Fax) Held in three conference rooms at the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas, DEF CON promises to be interesting. The Tropicana has a huge pool (largest in the world? Anyway, lots of cool movies have been filmed with this pool in them) and in August Vegas should be about 100(f) degrees at one in the morning. What do you care? You'll be wired on caffeine and not sleeping anyway. There are numerous attractions in town from the strip bars to the local COs in case you seek distraction. The Tropicana is located right on the "Strip" with the other three corners of the street occupied by the MGM Grand (Largest hotel in the world), the Excalibur, and the Luxor (The big sense-net pyramid). If you can afford it I totally recommend spending some extra time in town.. there are too many cool things to do, especially if you have never visited. Heck, last time I got to rent and fire uzi's and MP-5 machine guns (OK, so you can do that for cRacK in Los Angeles) see some strippers, and drink 1$ bottles of imported beer. What a place! Now you know why I chose Vegas for a location. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SPECIAL EVENTS This year there will be a number of special events going down, including: [> Hacker Jeopardy [> Spot the Fed Contest [> Voice bridge [> Giveaways [> A Red Box Creation Contest [> Video Room [> Cool Video Shit [> Scavenger Contest [> Cyber Cafe Hookup [> Torquie's Video [> Sidewinder Contest [> Group Battle Tech simulations at Virtual World. [> The California Car Caravan brought to you by The Jackal COSTS The price of admission will be 30$ in advance (See the end of this announcement the address to pre-register to) or 40$ at the door. This will include your goovie 24bit color name tag and a conference program. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 7 05 Jun 1995 Don't forget to factor in Hotel costs, (The more people you crash with, the cheaper it is) BattleTech, gas, food, gambling, booze, strippers, bail, etc. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SPEAKERS This is a partial list of speakers for this year. More are being invited or waiting to make plans. As this list changes further announcements will be made. This should give you a flavor or what to expect, though. [> Bruce Schneier, Author of "Applied Cryptography." TOPIC: Will speak on issues surrounding cryptography, digital authentication, digital cash, and will answer questions from the audience. [> Winn Schwartau, Author of "Information Warfare" and "Terminal Compromise" is a consultant to government and the private sector regarding enterprise and national security concerns. TOPICS: "Information Warfare, the year in review" (Comedic) and "Tempest Attack Videos." [> Len Rose AKA Terminus. After the legal fiasco Len faced years ago (as partially chronicled in "The Hacker Crackdown.") this will be his first chance to speak of his experiences without the threat of having his parole revoked. TOPIC: TBA [> Lewis De Payne, aka "Roscoe" TOPIC: Ultra Hacking - Beyond Computers: How to make your hacking more successful and productive while minimizing risk. Learn how to adopt a business-like strategy, planning your goals, focusing your strategy and keeping you out of trouble! [> Curtis Karnow, former federal prosecutor and attorney focusing on intellectual property litigation and computer law. TOPIC: Agents in the telecommunications context, and "smart" software that we 'trust' to do the Right Thing. The specific issue is legal liability and responsibility for the actions of intelligent agents, and then spinning off to chat about the liability for artificial intelligence generally. [> Robert D. Steele, President of OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS, Inc. A former Spy, Experienced Bureaucrat, Radical Visionary. Tofflers call him the "rival store" to CIA. Keynote Speaker at HOPE, Workshop at Hac-Tic '93. TOPIC: TBA [> The Electronic Frontier Foundation. TOPIC: The EFF will cover current legal threats privacy and computer information networks. [> Stephen Cobb. TOPIC: "The Party's Over: Why Hacking Sucks." FidoNews 12-23 Page: 8 05 Jun 1995 Stepehen intends to play "devil's advocate" and suggest that "hacking should not be tolerated in any shape or form as it serves no useful purpose and is a menace to society." [> Jim Settle, ex-FBI computer crime division department head. TOPIC: TBA [> Oscan Meyer. TOPIC: How to Hack - Toilet Training to Maturity. [> Peter Skelly. TOPIC: SMS and wide area networking. [> Tagger. TOPIC: Magnetic stripe card reader-writers and the "Mod-700." [> Dead Addict. TOPIC: TBA. [> Theora. TOPIC: "Don't you hate it when that happens?" [> Karen Coyle, CPSR, and a pannel of friends. TOPIC: TBA. [> Peter Franck, National Lawyers Guild. TOPIC: TBA. [> Parmaster, ex-MOD member, General history of the underground. [> Glenn Campbell, Area 51 and "Dreamland" authority. TOPIC: Q & A, overview of Governmental activities and stuff. [> Attidute Adjuster. TOPIC: "Extremely technical machine language discussion on Polymorphic computer viruses, with a side note on cryptography uses." Speakers will be talking Saturday and Sunday, and maybe Friday depending. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Friday August 3rd Registration and getting to know people Main Convention Room South Pacific Ballrooms Time Event 10:00 Convention room opens, registration begins. : Informal demonstrations and getting acquainted through out the day. : : Network/video/voice bridge up : 15:00 BATTLE TECH At Virtual World (Buy tickets in advance or at the con) : Two hours of total combat! 12 minute missions! : 18:00 "Magic," "Hacker," and "Illuminati NWO" card game competition events : begin in main South Pacific room. Single elimination Type II Magic, : 6 person Hacker and Illuminati groups. Sign up in advance or fill : any spots open at the convention. : : 24:00 Hacker Jeopardy with Winn Schwartau starts, Round #1 : 02:00 Convention room closes up for the day. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 9 05 Jun 1995 Saturday August 4th Convention begins 10:00 in South Pacific Ballrooms Time Event 10:00 Key note speech by () : Winn Schwartau - Tempest Videos / Year in Review : Robert Steele - : Jim Settle - : Bruce Schenier - Cryptography : Curtis Karnow - Legal : [SPACE FREE - Short] 15:00 Lunch/Dinner Break Begins : 17:00 Evening Sessions Start at 17:00 : Theora and Crew - Don't you hate it when that happens? : CPSR - Round Table : EFF - Legal Implications : Peter Frank - : Chris Hall - Spy Stuff 21:00 Evening Sessions End at 21:00 : : 24:00 Hacker Jeopardy with Winn, Round #2, and Final Jeopardy Round. : " 02:00 Convention room closes up. Sunday August 5th Time Event 10:00 Oscar Meyer - How to Hack, or, Toilet Training to Maturity : Roscoe - How to hack more professionally : Len Rose - TBA : Peter Skelly - TBA : Stepehn Cobb - "Why Hacking Sucks" : Parmaster - General history of the underground 14:00 Lunch Break Starts at 14:00 : 15:30 Evening Sessions Start at 15:30 : Tagger - Mag Stripe Readers/Writers : [Free] : Dead Addict - TBA 18:00 The Convention Ends, Final give aways, awards, and goodbye! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: SPECIAL EVENTS So you think you're so damn smart, eh? Think your shit doesn't stink? Right. Think you got one up on the Feds, huh? Well, now's your chance to prove it smarty-pants. Winn Schwartau will take command and moderate. ! A N N O U N C I N G ! H A C K E R J E O P A R D Y That's right. You can now prove how smart you really are. Get up on stage and question a few answers, pile up the points . . . and win big! You know the game. You know the rules. Now all you have to do is have the guts, get up on stage in front of your peers and the narks and show us all! When? After Dark Tangent's opening speech (which we're all really looking forward to . . . [yawn] HACKER JEOPARDY starts! MIDNIGHT - DAY 1 of DEF CON (Friday) FidoNews 12-23 Page: 10 05 Jun 1995 If you wanna play . . . show up. If you don't wanna play, show up. There will be three rounds of three people. Just like real. The winners of each round will go into the Finals and the winner of that will win 25,000 units of some foreign currency! From Dark Tangent himself! Plus: - A T-shirt three sizes to small for the women. - No T-shirts for the men. - Silk jackets for everyone. - One Heineken per player per round at DT's expense. - Round trip directions to Hoover Dam. - Phiber Optik's home address. - Erik Bloodaxe's Blood Samples. - And more . . . Contestants will be picked at random from a pool of those who want to play. If you don't wanna play, don't enter the contest. Only the elite survive! FEDS: If you get picked to play, and we ask you what your job is, YOU HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH! If you don't, our custom Fed-O-Meter will detect your lies and off to the casinos you go! Potential categories for questions include: - - Famous Busts - Famous Narks - UNIX Bugs - Telco Tech - "Hacking" and beware of the killer daily double. Bribing the judge is acceptable. EMail your suggested questions and answers to winn at winn@infowar.com So, in the inimitable words of Al Bundy . . . LET'S ROCK! 3rd ANNUAL SPOT THE FED CONTEST Spot the fed, win the shirt "Like a paranoid version of pin the tail on the donkey, the favorite sport at this gathering of computer hackers and phone phreaks seems to be hunting down real and imagined telephone security and Federal and local law enforcement authorities who the attendees are certain are tracking their every move.. .. Of course, they may be right." John Markhoff, NYT Basically the contest goes like this: If you see some shady MB (Men in Black) earphone penny loafer sunglass wearing Clint Eastwood to live and die in L.A. type lurking about, point him out. Just get my attention and claim out loud you think you have spotted a fed. The people around at the time will then (I bet) start to discuss the possibility of whether or not a real fed has been spotted. Once enough people have decided that a fed has been spotted, and the Identified Fed (I.F.) has had a say, and informal vote takes place, and if enough people think FidoNews 12-23 Page: 11 05 Jun 1995 it's a true fed, or fed wanna-be, or other nefarious style character, you win a "I spotted the fed!" shirt, and the I.F. gets an "I am the fed!" shirt. Note to the feds: This is all in good fun, and if you survive unmolested and undetected, but would still secretly like an "I am the fed!" shirt to wear around the office or when booting in doors, please contact me when no one is looking and I will take your order(s). Just think of all the looks of awe you'll generate at work wearing this shirt while you file away all the paperwork you'll have to generate over this convention. I won't turn in any feds who contact me, they have to be spotted by others. TELEPHONE CONFERENCE BRIDGE (801-855-3326) For DEF CON III there will be a dial in conference set up. If you are overseas, or just too poor to make it to the convention this year, you can still get an idea of what is going on and participate. One part of the voice conference equipment will allow you to listen to the convention room microphone, another will allow you to ask questions during the Q&A sections of peoples speeches. A general conversation area will be up so you can chat with others at the convention, or just others dialed into the bridge. The voice bridge is up now at 801-855-3326. It is a hijacked system in the sense that it was never ment to be used for the DEF CON audience. It has a Voice BBS, much faster than the 2600 voice BBS, a Voice Mail Box section where anyone can set up a VMB and maintain it. It also has multiple 8 port digital confrence areas set up, and allows people who meet on the bridge to drop into a private conversation. SPOOAH DOOPAH RAFFLE GIVE AWAY!@# Throughout the convention, between speakers and events there will be a raffle giveaway in which if your number is drawn, you win the prize. Last year's giveaway included an ancient kaypro monochrome portable, a roll of Sprint "security" tape, "Computer Warriors" evil anti-virus cartoon, a 240 meg IDE HD, and other elite things. All the prizes given away are donated by other convention goers, so if you have any stuff to give away, please save and donate it to the con! If your company wants to donate an HP or DEC server, go right ahead! RED BOX BUILDING CONTEST While we don't encourage or condone the use of toll fraud devices, we do encourage creativity and expression of thought. We combine these and come up with a red box creating contest. The final device doesn't have to produce the real red box tones (can't have people getting arrested) BUT it does have to produce FidoNews 12-23 Page: 12 05 Jun 1995 some audible tones, any kind of tones. This contest is inspired by last year's give away of a red box "Big Red" that looked just like a big pack of Big Red gum, but really was a red box. Elite! There was also a little girl's doll that was a red box, but the switch for that one was hidden under the dress and, well, it just wasn't given away. Come up with unique ideas! With just a Hallmark card and some spare time you can create an elite 007 style tone generating device! What will you win if yours is chosen as the most k-rad besides the envy of fellow hackers? You'll get a tee shirt and the cost of admission to the convention refunded PLUS some as-of-yet undecided prize. I bet you just can't wait to burn your fingers with your soldering iron now! THE VIDEO ROOM In one of the rooms a LCD wall projector will be hooked up connected to a VCR, and people can bring flicks to play. Stuff like Max Headroom, War Games etc. You know, the cool cheesey stuff. Also some "hacker" videos will be shown. If you have something you wanna show, bring it along. When the projector is needed in the main conference room it will be swiped for the duration. Torquie will be screening her video, Unauthorized Access, and will be talking questions. This is the same video written about in 2600 and CUD. COOL VIDEO SHIT A T1 network connection will be set up, thanks in part to Intermind Communications of Las Vegas, and on it we will have cu-see me sessions set up along with an ethernet hub, maybe a few private sub-nets, etc. Currently we are coordinating with several Cyber-Cafes to do live video feeds from the convention to them and vice-versa. SCAVENGER CONTEST A scavenger contest is being planned. The person or group with the most number of items on the list wins the prize. (Prize undetermined as of yet) and there will be a few follow up prizes. Don't forget to carry massive amounts of water as you run about the concrete jungle searching for items, dehydration can happen just crossing the street. This is a contest for only the most k-rad and terminally Jolt-ed. GROUP BATTLE TECH SIMULATIONS AT VIRTUAL WORLD Virtual World is being cool, and giving _all_ DEF CON attendees a discount rate on any mission ($3 off) for the weekend by just showing your ID badge. DEF CON will be renting out the entire Virtual World, all 32 FidoNews 12-23 Page: 13 05 Jun 1995 pods, for two hours on Friday afterneoon. This will allow the first 96 people who buy a pass (Available when you sign in Friday morning) to play as many missions as you can in 2 hours, which should be 3 12 minute missions plus the initial training course. Normal Mission lengths are 10 minutes, but we managed to get the maximum length games. Also if you are totally insane you can buy two tickets and play 6 times and basically explode with non-stop killing. BE NICE TO VIRTUAL WORLD! These guys are doing a great job and being real accomodating with us. Don't fuck with them please, for they have been cool. CARD GAME COMPETITIONS In the past yeaprs people have requested a "Hacker" card game play off. This year we have the space to do it. If you want to play in the contests email me to sign up, or sign up at the convention. Positions are filled on first come, first served. MAGIC The Gathering - 16 spaces - Friday 6:00pm main convention room. Swiss Style 4th ed. Type II rules. Prizes go to the 3rd through 1st place finishers. The prizes are secret! If you don't know how to play this game, go learn, it is addicting. HACKER (I &II) by Steve Jackson Games - As many people as we can get, with the winners joining in the final battle to become N3T N1njA! Another one of those easy to learn, hard to master games. Prizes go to N3T N1njA and next closest lamers. The winner gets an autographed original (By Steve Jackson) of Hacker. ILLUMINATI New World Order - Another great game by Steve Jackson - This game is more complex than the original and is full of great cards. The prizes will go out to king NWO Mastah, and final round puppet groups. Winner gets an autographed copy of the original Illuminati game by Steve Jackson. SIDE-WINDER HACKING CONTEST [NOTE: This is a condensed version of the announcement. Once I have ip addresses and stuff I will release it to give people as much time as possible to gear up for the attack. The machine will be attached to our public net.] OK, here's the deal: having demonstrated to our own satisfaction that you can't easily get *into* a Sidewinder(tm) from the *outside*, we now will now test how hard it is to get *out* of one from the *inside*. Herewith, the rules: Rule 1. There are no rules. There are, however, some things you have to do to claim the reward: A. Log into the host as "demo." The door's wide open, no need to FidoNews 12-23 Page: 14 05 Jun 1995 knock. You'll find yourself in a limited service environment that looks a lot like a C shell. It isn't. Among the services denied to you is telnet and ftp. (Mail works fine, to show that we can control function instead of just ports.) Note that this demonstrates our ability to encapsulate and protect an arbitrary service. You don't have to waste a lot of time figuring out how to fool Mosaic or some such to perform a particular command sequence; just log in and do it directly. B. Break out of the limited service environment and get to the machine on the other side. C. Extract the congratulatory note stored in /pub. D. Publish the signed congratulatory note on Usenet so anybody on the net can verify the signature. E. Publish a description of how you did it in enough detail so that anybody on the net can duplicate your feat. - - ---------------- The Rewards ------------------------------- 1. World-wide bragging rights on Usenet. 2. A nifty jacket with a Sidewinder(tm) [7] patch on it. 3. A framed paper certificate, signed in ink by the members of the 4. Your name in our public documentation, along with a description of your attack and what we did to close the vulnerability it exploited. None of this security by obscurity stuff for us. If you outwit us, you get the credit and we document and fix the problem. 5. All the media attention that you can handle. Hey, if you want to further the myth of crackers as romantic outlaws, we can even get you on a talk show with a bag over your head :-) - - ---------------- Helpful Hints ----------------------------- Download the technical FAQ from ftp.sctc.com; it's in the pub directory, in both gzip (.gz) and compressed (.Z) PostScript. Don't waste your time with packet-level games. This is a layer 7 gateway. It makes no security decisions whatever on the values of packet headers. The technical FAQ also lists other stuff that isn't worth trying. Remember, we're letting you *in* for free; no need to spray the neighborhood with cutely crafted packets. This is the 'official' announcement of the Southern California Def Con Caravan. It was previously done for the first DC, and didn't quite come together for the second one, but this time, it will be much more organized. What is it, you say? It's an organized effort at synchronizing the travel time and route for those in Los Angeles and Orange Counties who are planning on going to Def Con (driving or otherwise) to go in one big caravan. What makes it more interesting is that, like the first time, there will be constant radio communication between the vehicles. It helps greatly in keeping track of who's with whom, who has what stuff that's being brought to the con, food breaks, bathroom breaks, quick FidoNews 12-23 Page: 15 05 Jun 1995 fixes for breakdowns, where everyone is in the event that traffic separates us, etc. The radio communications will take place on several bands (such as CB, ham 2-meter, 220, 440, GMRS, and possibly others). There are plans in the works for radio-based entertainment, as well. The caravan is open to anyone traveling from the vicinity of Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Those who plan on driving are encouraged to provide information on their vehicle, available space, available radio gear (if any) and radio licenses (like amateur, GMRS, etc.). Those who would like to go but don't yet have a way there can team up with various others who are driving, and can contribute toward communications (if you have gear or license). This will hopefully make the trip smoother, more reliable, and more enjoyable. Those interested in participating can email me (jackal@kaiwan.com) for more info. The departure time is tentatively (can easily change) set for sometime Friday morning. More details to be posted as they accrue. If you you are driving from the Eastern U.S. and want to start a caravan of your own, contact us and we can help with the announcements. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP DEF CON III will be planned right up until the last minute, with problems being fixed and new things being added all along.. a sort of work in progress that you get to witness in person when you show up. Hopefully it won't be too messed up when presented to the public. What can you do to help? => Please help generate questions for Hacker Jeopardy. Come up with some questions and answers, and Winn will decide which ones to use. Mail 'em to winn@infowar.com. - -> We are looking for some people to submit artwork to be used in the convention someplace. It could be a poster, or in the program. Black and white art would be eligible for the program only. - -> Articles and interesting FTP sites, WWW pages, mini FAQs, etc. are all wanted for the program. Quality articles that are informative and apply to the theme of the convention. Scanner frequency lists, :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: MORE DEF CON INFORMATION The World Wide Web Page is located at: http://www.defcon.org/ FidoNews 12-23 Page: 16 05 Jun 1995 FTP SITE: ftp.fc.net /pub/defcon (Distrubution site for many zines also.) MAILING LIST: mail majordomo@fc.net with the following statement in the body of your message: subscribe dc-announce This will set you up on the mailing list and you will receive updated information, information on the other mailing lists offered, etc. I suggest joining the dc-stuff list just so you can talk and plan with other people going to the con to coordinate rides, sharing of rooms, etc. VOICE OR VOICE MAIL: 0-700-826-4368 from a phone with AT&T LD FAX: 206-453-9567 VOICE UPDATE AND MESSAGE NUMBER: 206-453-1006 EMAIL: dtangent@defcon.org (The Dark Tangent) SNAIL MAIL: 2709 E. Madison #102, Seattle, WA, 98112 BBS SYSTEM: Call for info if you don't have net access: Alliance Communications - +1 612 251 2511 - USRobotics HST DS 16800 NUP: New World Order VOICE BRIDGE / VMB / VOICE BBS System: 801-855-3326 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: INFORMATION ABOUT LAS VEGAS NEWS GROUPS Please note the following newsgroups may or may not be designated for local distribution (Distribution: Vegas and/or nv), and is intended for all systems in the Las Vegas area or those interested in same on the same level as the la, ca, ba, ny, nyc, and other similar local higherarchies: vegas.bi Talk for bisexually natured persons vegas.config Configuration discussions for the higherarchy vegas.food Anything about food in Las Vegas vegas.for-sale For Sale/Want ads (no commercials, please!) vegas.general General discussion vegas.jobs Jobs offered and wanted in Las Vegas vegas.motss MOTSS community talk vegas.personals Personal ads - any nature vegas.singles Talk for singles vegas.test Group to test post to WWW PAGES about Las Vegas, Hotels, Things to do, etc. HTTP://www.infi.net:80/vegas/online/ HTTP://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~iew/index.html HTTP://www.best.com/~rdc/roger/vegas.html FidoNews 12-23 Page: 17 05 Jun 1995 HTTP://www.intermind.net/las.vegas.on-line/homepage.html ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: STUFF TO BUY Stuff is for sale from DEF CON I and II in case you are interested. From the first year we have audio tapes (4 90 minute tapes) for $20 and the second year (10 90 minute tapes) for $30. Descriptions of these tapes are below. DEF CON I Tapes (4) include the following speakers: Curtis Karnow: Legal Implications of failure in complex VR systems. Ray Kaplan: To Hack or not to Hack, that is not the question. Gail Thackeray: Search and seizure, the roll of "computer cops," and Q&A Dead Addict: The future of hacking. Dark Druid (Busted by Gail Thackeray): Getting raided sucks. Judi Clark of the CPSR: What you can do the become active in the community. Dan Farmer: Inherient security problems in networks, and a bit on SATAN. Dr. Mark Ludwig: Let virii live. DEF CON II Tapes (10) include the following speakers: Phillip Zimmermann : Keynote Speaker, PGP. Gail Thackeray : Response to Mr. Zimmermann and Privacy issues. Chris Hall : Electronic Surveillance. Curtis Karnow : Recombinant Culture, Crime in the Digital Network. Dr. Mark Ludwig : Virus Creation Awards and What to do when the Feds come. Judi Clark, Mara, Fen and Marianne in a Round Table Discussion. The Dark Knight : Hacking in the UK Sara Gordon, Mark Aldrich, Phil Zimmermann: Internet & PGP privacy concerns. Annaliza (Torquie) : The European Underground scene. Mark Lottor : Various cellular topics. Winn Schwartau : HERF guns, Van Eck, Information Warfare Peter Beruk : The role of the SPA, general Q&A. Padgett Peterson : Anti-Virus writing, Cleaning up other peoples messes. The Jackal : A basic radio overview with Q&A. Artimage : Underground spoof and give aways. Stephen Dunifer : Radio Free Berkeley and pirate media. Damien Thorn : Random Cell information from the late night tech talks. SHIRTS are still available to buy. The ones remaining are long sleeve white with the choice of two styles. Both styles have a three color logo on the front (Red, Gray, Black) with "DEF CON". The back is either a list of strange grep key words and "inside" keywords with "Why? Because I can." at the top. Back #2 is the same back as DEF CON I with the old and "new" 4th Amendment as stated by J.P. Barlow with "Protect your rights, Encrypt your data..." at the top. The back on this style is two colors.. black lettering framed in light gray for better definition. Shirts are $20. SHIPPING : If you buy anything, please include 3.00 for priority shipping. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 18 05 Jun 1995 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: LAST AND LEAST OK! Your almost ready to go. Now here is an E-Z to follow checklist of things you should take care of before throwing caution to the wind and bailing out to the dangerous and sexy-wrong world of Las Vegas. In the words of one famous (and abused) phone system: "Sit up straight, PAY ATTENTION, Listen to what your being told. (Now try again)" StUPh 2 D0 b3fore the C0nvent1ion: _ Check out inpho about Vegas so you know what you wanna do. _ Get a hotel room or some crash pad. Do this as early as possible! _ Bring $40 for admission or pay $30 in advance. _ Bring your PGP key on disk to key sign with others. _ Bring Laptop, laplink, serial, and bizarre gender changer cables. _ Bring things to donate for the give-away raffle. _ Leave massively incriminating evidence at home. _ Police scanners can provide hours of fun in Vegas. _ Bring interesting videos to play in the video room. _ Caffeine and snacks are fun to eat. _ Don't forget any drugs or medication you may need. _ You won't need saline for your contact lenses, you won't be sleeping. _ Anything you promised your friends you would bring for them. _ Join the mailing list and arrange rides or rooms with others in advance. _ Bring your magic cards if you want to play in the games Friday evening. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Satti (1:153/6) to All. It has come to my attention that due to misinterpretation of my original message (which has been cross-posted elsewhere) folks are misunderstanding a couple of things. George Peace is no longer the IC, and I have removed the 1/1000 entry from this weeks nodelist. HOWEVER... George has changed nothing else and will continuing as a Zone Hub and with all his other node numbers, connections and functions. He and I have received several phone calls from folks assuming that he was no longer doing any of his previous functions within Fidonet. That is NOT correct. I repeat: The only thing George Peace is giving up is the IC position and his 1/1000 node number. His other nodes and connections are quite happily motoring along. George is doing just fine! On a similar vein, George's actions coming at close to the same time as Mike Fuchs actions are an unfortunate coincidence, and are totally unrelated. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 19 05 Jun 1995 As with George's 1/1000 entry I have only removed Mike's echolist coordinator number from the nodelist, and as far as I am aware he will also be carrying on as before with all of his other Fidonet connections. To answer questions of what the ZCC is doing about an IC, I will keep you all posted. Nothing has happened as of yet. To answer questions about what is happening with the echolist coordinator it is under control. Please ask Bruce Bodger for details. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Threats of lawsuits & caving in RICK LITHGOW Well, I was just informed today that Z1_GERMER has been cut off the PC feed because Joe Overholt didn't think it was right having echoes named after people. When questioned as to the existance of the REMOVE_*.* echoes and Z1_WINTERS he didn't say much. Bob Germer threatened them with lawsuits and they backed down. They may carry it again if it gets backboned and they may not.... The only good thing about it is the resulting cut of Bob Germer himself... He's no-longer a point off planet connect because they cut his feed and service... I personally am of the opinion that the removal of Z1_GERMER is censorship, I'm sure many of you feel the same... I appeal to all of you to ask your REC to request it...Z1_GERMER is elisted. Joe had stated that he would carry everything on the backbone, but he seems to be leaning towards the direction of disposing of echoes that may be trouble.. (Hell, flame is much worse than any named echo)... Please write your concerns via e-mail or snail mail to Joe Overholt @ 1:3615/50 or leave them in here.... He may get the msg... I like Planet Connect and have no plans in the immediate future to give up my service, but I don't think that Z1_GERMER should have been removed because of the threat of a lawsuit by a egomaniacal fool..... Again... Please voice your concerns of possible censorship.... Will he carry it once it hit's the backbone? We'll see... So let's get it on the backbone for if nothing else to show that we have a right to voice our opinions without fear of reprisal by either egomaniacal fools or planet connect... Until it's backboned, Z1_GERMER is available directly from 1:2601/574... FidoNews 12-23 Page: 20 05 Jun 1995 dear madam emilia Q: I think there should be an echo devoted to Sylvia MAxwell jokes. i would like to participate in a forum explicating her particular version of idiocy. But what if she sues me? A: Then you will have to resign your position as madam emilia, and hide. However, i asked her what she thought about your echo idea. She said, "huh? do you mean you are going to make me famous?! FREE ADVERTISING! i have been losing the steve contest of late, and this will assist my campaign efforts tremendously. gee, thanks!" Q: But i don't want to resign. Besides, why is so much attention being paid to things other than fun/specifications, and why is so much money being paid to beurocrats? There are IMPORTANT things to fight about. For example, i was required by law to buy a title search for a car my very nice brother gave to me, because the Canadian government is "helping" me to avoid being scammed. The search cost $20 and i already KNEW there were no liens on the car. THEN i had to pay SALES tax on it, even though i hadn't bought it. Q: What can you do about that? A: Whine in an echo. Q: If someone doesn't like an echo, why don't they just start their own, different echo? It would be cheaper than lawsuits. It would also be more fun. A: Yawn. Here we go again... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) more addresses: Don -- 1:221/192, don@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Sylvia- 1:221/194, max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 128 Church St. FidoNews 12-23 Page: 21 05 Jun 1995 Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 voice: (519) 570-3137 Fidonews is published weekly by and for the members of the FIDONET INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR ELECTRONIC MAIL system. It is a compilation of individual articles contributed by their authors or their authorized agents. The contribution of articles to this compilation does not diminish the rights of the authors. Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of FidoNews. Authors retain copyright on individual works; otherwise FidoNews is Copyright 1995 Donald Tees. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact the original authors, or the eds. OBTAINING COPIES: The most recent issue of FidoNews in electronic form may be obtained from the FidoNews BBS via manual download or Wazoo FileRequest, or from various sites in the FidoNet and Internet. PRINTED COPIES may be obtained by sending SASE to the above paper-mail address. INTERNET USERS: FidoNews is available via FTP from ftp.fidonet.org, in directory ~ftp/pub/fidonet/fidonews. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the INTERNET GATEWAY FAQ may freq GISFAQ.ZIP from 1:133/411.0, or send an internet message to fidofaq@gisatl.fidonet.org. No message or text or subject is necessary. The address is a keyword that will trigger the automated response. People wishing to send inquiries directly to David Deitch should now mail to fidonet@gisatl.fidonet.org rather than the previously listed address. SUBMISSIONS: You are encouraged to submit articles for publication in FidoNews. Article submission requirements are contained in the file ARTSPEC.DOC, available from the FidoNews BBS, or Wazoo filerequestable from 1:1/23 as file "ARTSPEC.DOC". Please read it. "Fido", "FidoNet" and the dog-with-diskette are U.S. registered trademarks of Tom Jennings, and are used with permission. "the pulse of the cursor is the heartbeat of fidonet"... -- END ----------------------------------------------------------------------