Computer underground Digest Sun Mar 20, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 26

Computer underground Digest Sun Mar 20, 1994 Volume 6 : Issue 26
ISSN 1004-042X

Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer ([email protected])
Archivist: Brendan Kehoe (He's Baaaack)
Acting Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
Ian Dickinson
Koppa Ediqor: Phirho Shrdlu

CONTENTS, #6.26 (Mar 20, 1994)
**C

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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 12 Mar 94 08:24:31 EST
From: David Johnson <[email protected]>
Subject: Staying sInformed of Security Resources

STAYING INFORMED: Resources for Privacy Seekers & Computer Security
Buffs

by David Johnson

(Copyright 1994 under the International & Pan-American Copyright
Conventions)

Having conducted various types of security and investigative work that
has taken me to ten Asian countries, I am quite familiar with various
obstacles one must hurdle to obtain hard-to-find and elusive data.

Even though our computers are valuable tools, adopting a multi-faceted
approach to information gathering is the most effective way to cover
all the angles.

Use this listing to build your own private intelligence network.

COMPUTER SECURITY PUBLICATIONS PRIVACY-RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Auerbach Data Security Management Full Disclosure Magazine
Information Systems Security Box 244
Lowell, MI 49331 USA
210 South St. Voice: (800) 633-3274
Boston, MA 02111 USA Voice: (616) 897-7222
Voice: (800) 950-1218 Fax: (515) 897-0705
Voice: (212) 971-5000
Fax: (617) 423-2026

International Privacy Bulletin
666 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.
Computer Security, Auditing & Controls Washington, DC 20003 USA
57 Greylock Rd.
Box 81151
Wellesley Hills, MA 02181 USA
Voice: (617) 235-2895 Privacy and Security 2001
504 Shaw Rd., #222
Sterling, VA 20166 USA
Voice: (800) US-DEBUG
Computer Audit Update Voice: (703) 318-8600
Computer Fraud & Security Update Fax: (703) 318-8223
Computer Law & Security Report
Computers & Security

Crown House, Linton Rd., Barking Privacy Journal
Essex I611 8JU, England Box 28577
Voice: (44) 81-5945942 Providence, RI 02908 USA
Fax: (44) 81-5945942 Voice: (401) 274-7861
Telex: 896950 APPSCI G

(North American distributor)
Box 882 Privacy Laws and Business
New York, NY 10159 USA Box 23
Voice: (212) 989-5800 7400 GA, Deventer, Netherlands
Voice: (31) 57-0033155
Fax: (31) 57-0022244
Telex: 49295 KLUDV NL
Computer Control Quarterly
1 Southbank Blvd., Level 8 (North American Distriubtor)
S. Melbourne, Vic. 3205, Australia 6 Bigelow St.
Voice: (03) 6121666 Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
Fax: (03) 6295609 Voice: (617) 354-0140

Computer Security Alert
Computer Security Journal Privacy Times
Box 21501
600 Harrison St. Washington, DC 20009 USA
San Francisco, CA 94107 USA Voice: (202) 829-3660
Voice: (415) 905-2370 Fax: (202) 829-3653
Fax: (415) 905-2234

COMPUTER SECURITY ORGANIZATIONS
Computer Security Digest
150 N. Main St. Center for Computer Law
Plymouth, MI 48170 USA 1112 Ocean Dr.
Voice: (313) 459-8787 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 USA
Fax: (313) 459-2720 Voice: (213) 372-0198

Computing & Communications Computer Security Institute
(Law & Protection Report) 360 Church St.
Box 5323 Northborough, MA 01532 USA
Madison, WI 53705 USA Voice: (617) 393-2600
Voice: (608) 271-6768

Info Systems Security Assn.
Data Security Manual Box 71926
Box 322 Los Angeles, CA 90071 USA
3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherlands
Voice: (31) 78-524400
Voice: (31) 78-334911
Fax: (31) 78-334254 Nat'l Center for Computer
Telex: 29245 KAPG Crime Data
4053 JFK Library - CSULA
(North American Distributor) 5151 State University Drive
Box 358 Los Angeles, CA 90032 USA
Hingham, MA 02018 USA Voice: (213) 225-1364
Voice: (617) 871-6600
PRIVACY-RELATED RESOURCES
Information Systems Security Monitor
U.S. Department of Treasury Worldwide Consultants
Bureau of the Public Debt 2421 W. Pratt Blvd., #971
AIS Security Branch Chicago, IL 60645 USA
200 3rd St. Voice: (800) 316-0801
Parkersburg, WV 26101 USA (financial & personal privacy)
Voice: (304) 480-6355
BBS: (304) 480-6083

Eden Press
Box 8410

InfoSecurity News Fountain Valley, CA 92728 USA

498 Concord St. Voice: (714) 556-2023
Framingham, MA 01701 USA Fax: (714) 556-0721
Fax: (508) 872-1153 (various books on privacy)

Journal of Computer Security Consumertronics
Drawer 537
Van Diemenstraat 94 Alamagordo, NM 88310 USA
1013 CN Amsterdam, Netherlands Voice: (505)434-1778
Voice: (31) 20-6382189 Fax: (505) 434-0234
Fax: (31) 20-6203419 (technical invasion manuals)

(North American distributor)
Box 10558
Burke, VA 22009 USA Privacy Hotline (800) 773-7748
Voice: (703) 323-5554 (California only) 10am-3pm, M-F

******************************************************************************
David Johnson International Researcher
(San Jose, Costa Rica) Security Consultant
E-mail: [email protected] Privacy Advocate
******************************************************************************

*Note: The author welcomes questions, comments and ongoing correspondence on
all topics relevant to privacy protection, espionage, and terrorism.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 21:59:30 -0500
From: Gino Filicetti <[email protected]>
Subject: New E-Zine -- "Loud Lyrix"

This is an ad for a brand new electronic 'zine now available on
the Internet. Just send a message to the address below to be included
on the mailing list.

Internet: [email protected]
UUCP: generic!terranet!zoo.toronto.edu!death

Editor-in-Chief: Death Incarnate (Gino Filicetti)
Publisher: Death Incarnate (Gino Filicetti)
Distributor: Death Incarnate (Gino Filicetti)
Mailing Program: NONE! Everything is done by hand.

DESCRIPTION

Loud Lyrix is a weekly publication dedicated to the spread of heavy
metal lyrics throughout the world. Subscriptions are available
at no cost electronically. Five to Ten songs are published every
Tuesday. Along with the lyrics, a section of the zine is devoted to
reactions of subscribers to previously posted songs. All subscribers
are urged to send in lyrics from their own favorite bands for
publication. All requests, submissions or comments must be sent to
the above address.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We here at Loud Lyrix believe that the true meaning of a song can only
make itself known through the song's lyrics. It is for this reason
that Loud Lyrix exists, we are committed to delivering all the best
lyrics of heavy metal songs to Cyber-bangers around the globe. Long
live metal!

Join up now! To the fastest growing 'zine on the 'net!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~M
< !@# Death #@! | Msg Co-SoP: The Shadow's Lair [9o5] 569-1025 >~M
< #@! Incarnate !@# | Internet Address: [email protected] >~M

------------------------------

Date: 07 Mar 94 01:07:58 EST
From: george c smith <[email protected]>
Subject: Village Voice & Phlogiston

"Village Voice Perfects Phlogiston Synthesis in Coverage of
Cyberspace"

by Mr. Badger (Andy Lopez)

There are some things in life that must be seen in order to be fully
understood.

The December 21, 1993 Village Voice is a case in point. However, as
old Voices aren't normally found outside of fish markets, here's an
attempt to reproduce the lead to the cover story [republished in CuD
6.21] in that issue:

R A P E
I N C Y B E R S P A C E
A TALE OF CRIME AND
PUNISHMENT ON-LINE
BY JULIAN DIBBELL (P. 36)

With the first two lines in red, it was a cover that jumped off the
flat of newspapers. The blurb under the directory of contents was the
epitome of hard-hitting journalism:

A Rape In Cyperspace
The story of a man named Mr. Bungle, and how the ghostly
sexual violence he committed in a digital otherworld
challenged an on-line community to define itself.
Julian Dibbell....................................... 36

It only gets better.

"They say he raped them that night. They say he did it with a cunning
little doll, fashioned in their image and imbued with the power to
make them do whatever he desired. They say that by manipulating the
doll he forced them to have sex with him, with each other, and to do
horrible, brutal things to their own bodies. And though I wasn't
there that night, I can assure you that what they say is true, because
it all happened right in the living room . . . of a house I've come to
think of as my second home."

I really would like to reprint more of the story, let you figure out
what's going on, and have the same horse-laugh I did. But, in the
interest of fair use and the desire to keep this to a reasonable size,
let's abbreviate. The author, Julian Dibbell, has been a frequent
user of the LambdaMOO, a MUD run inside of Xerox's Palo Alto research
computer.

For the blissfully ignorant, a MUD is a Multi-User Dungeon, a
glorified electronic role-playing program. On MUDs such as LambdaMOO,
you can choose your name and appearance and _interact_ <gag> in a
digitized world with other characters. Personally, I find them
identical to the old-fashioned, word-based role-playing games - such
as the Dungeons & Dragons abomination - only more boring and
repetitive.

In this particular case, "Mr. Bungle" chose to use a sub-program in
the MUD to write some foul things. So the user that created
"Starsinger" suddenly saw the following flow across the computer
screen:

"As if against her will, Starsinger jabs a steak knife up her ass,
causing immense joy. You hear Mr. Bungle laughing evilly in the
distance."

Other graphic sentences follow containing descriptions of other
characters involved in graphic acts.

What followed can only be understood if you accept that the game is a
reality, of sorts, for most of its users. Unlike kindergarten, where
the teacher would simply say that Johnny had been a bad boy and
couldn't play anymore, these actions spawned an ongoing argument about
justice in cyberspace. Oh, they weren't totally bonkers. No one
accused Mr. Bungle of actual rape. But most felt he was guilty of
more than crass behavior. Dibbell ascribes the deep feelings raised
by the incident as . . . ah, heck, here's his explanation:

"Netsex, tiny-sex, virtual sex - however you name it, in real-life
reality it's nothing more than a 900-line encounter stripped of even
the vestigial physicality of the voice. And yet, as any but the most
inhibited newbie can tell you, it's possibly the headiest experience
the very heady world of MUDs has to offer . . . Small wonder, then,
that a newbie's first taste of MUD sex is often also the first time
she or he surrenders wholly to the slippery terms of MUDish ontology,
recognizing in a full-bodied way that what happens in a MUD-made world
is neither exactly real nor exactly make-believe, but profoundly,
compellingly, and emotionally meaningful."

[Really incredible. Dibbell almost seems to be saying that the MUD
means so much to people because it's a way to get off. I stand
amazed.]

You might think that the offended parties simply arranged to have the
offender kicked off the system, but that would be forgetting just how
much the users believe in this little play world. Users with high
enough access to delete Mr. Bungle's account were reluctant to do so,
because in the past such approaches have caused more user complaints
than they resolved. In short, those who ran the game didn't want to
ruin it by taking drastic action and those who played the game wanted
the user removed. Well, most of them.

This being cyberspace, there were conflicting views.

Why didn't the other users simply use the command that would have
blotted Mr. Bungle's messages from their screens? Was it really that
serious anyway?

Where does the body stop and the mind begin? What is the nature of
reality? The arguments were going in circles during an extended
meeting of up to thirty - count 'em, thirty - users. In the middle of
the online babble, Mr. Bungle appeared and offered his defense: He
was simply experimenting with users' reactions to extreme events. In
Dibbell's view, this marked Mr. Bungle as a virtual sociopath. You
can be rude, you can be snide, but the game is to be taken seriously,
dammit!

In the end, Mr. Bungle's account was deleted [surprise, surprise].
What followed was the institutionalization of a process whereby users
could have more input into controlling the MUD. To cap things, Mr.
Bungle reincarnated as a new, chastened character.

Dibbell draws flabbergasting conclusions about the future of society
and he writes about it in this prose:

" . . . the commands you type into a computer are a kind of speech
that doesn't so much communicate as _make_things_happen_, directly and
ineluctably, the same way pulling a trigger does. They are
incantations, in other words, and anyone attuned to the techno-social
megatrends of the moment - from the growing dependence of economies on
the global flow of intensely fetishized words and numbers to the
burgeoning ability of bioengineers to speak the spells written in the
four-letter text of DNA - knows that the logic of the incantation is
rapidly permeating the fabric of our lives."

Just what is needed! Cyberspace is already filled with shysters,
hucksters, idiots, and clowns. Now we start collecting animists.

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 09:51:06 -0700 (MST)
From: [email protected](Jeffrey Johnson)
Subject: New Gopher Service Available

Now available!
----------------------------------

We are now running our own gopher server to facilitate easy access to
group information. Currently, there are plans to make the following
available:

Searchable abstracts of group publications
Foreign travel reports
A searchable listing of group email addresses
Pointers to other handy LANL services

At the moment you will not find much information published, but we're
hoping that that will change. If you have any suggestions about what
should be published, please let me know by sending email to
[email protected]. Keep in mind that published information can be text-
only and that it must be non-sensitive information only. For the moment,
the information on our server can be read by anyone on the Internet.
Graphics and sound files can also be distributed over the network, but no
mixture of the three is yet possible. A World Wide Web server is coming
soon, which will allow us greater flexibility in what we can publish on
the network.

Access through the LANL Server:
+-------------------------------
1. Start your gopher software - it should automatically connect to
the main LANL gopher server. (TurboGopher for Macs, HGopher for
PC's running Windows)
2. Select 'Information by Division'
3. Select 'Nonproliferation and International Security'
4. Select 'NIS-5 Information'

You should now be connected to the NIS-5 Gopher server. Feel free to
explore. The 'Information by Division' section under the main LANL server
also contains pointers to all current laboratory Gopher and World Wide Web
servers, so this is a good place to find information about other groups
who run servers.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 18 Mar 94 19:19:55 EST
From: [email protected](bruce edwards)
Subject: Opposing Clipper is "paranoia" with good Reason

Ah, the clipper chip! Foiler of despots, nabber of drug demons,
bane to every criminal! If we just can get the clipper and its
extended family up and running, all will be well in the land of the
free!

The NSA, the FBI, and who knows what other acronymonous agencies
tell us that all we need do, is to trust them! Swell. If there were
a push to install TV monitors in all our bedrooms, with the same sworn
proviso that the circuit would never be turned on unless there was a
warrant, and with separate organizations (say, the ATF and the Moral
Majority) holding the keys, we would all rise and recite the pledge of
allegiance, I'm sure.

I've made somewhat of a study of crime and criminals. There are a
few smart criminals, who are rarely caught, and many stupid criminals,
who are frequently caught. The majority of either will *never* think
of, or be bothered with, encryption, and the clipper will have zero
bearing on their activities or apprehension. Its existence will make
no difference at all. The very smart ones may use PGP or something
else, and again, clipper will be meaningless. Rogue governments? I
am sure clipper gives Saddam sleepless nights as he ponders how to
beat it! Because it will probably prove constitutionally impossible
to outlaw widespread private encryption -- something big brother finds
hard to swallow -- the clipper/encryption push seems to me to be about
another kettle of sharks.

In my opinion (and this I am sure is obvious to most everyone) the
encryption, bugging-port, e-mail reading agenda pursued by government
is no more than the first icy finger of the Empire, encircling the
throat of cyberspace. The reality of an unfettered communications
avenue accessed not just by a few cyberfreaks, but the great-unwashed
as well, is just tooooo threatening to let go. Resist control. Leave
the memes free to propagate and thrive, or die, as they deserve, not
as the minders decide.

While clipper does hurt US technology, for reasons clearly
elucidated here, there, and everywhere, it really will have little
direct effect on the rest of us. Its *indirect* effect is where the
poison begins seeping in. It is the intended beach head of a general
assault on cyberliberty that, if established, will be most difficult
to repel! Act now, act forcefully, act intelligently, act while the
trolls are still in the boats. When informed about clipper, polls
indicate that folks are dramatically opposed to its idea. By the time
this thing hits congressional hearings (and it surely will) the
propaganda will be flying, thick and heavy. We need to be there
first. Talk. Write newspapers and legislators. Call radio and TV
shows. Respond on the net to cyberlib.org requests. Shoot this
mother down before it breeds!

********

Paranoid? You bet! Without reason? I don't think so ... Do you?

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 16 Mar 1994 16:45:41 -0800
From: Jim Warren <[email protected]>
Subject: Access bills need support;capitol email-faxes;FEC online

Mar.16, 1994

FOUR CALIF ASSEMBLY BILLS WOULD OPEN & ASSURE ELECTRONIC PUBLIC ACCESS

AB 2547 mandates that records specified in AB 1624 are public records.
There was some question last year whether the codes were considered
a public record. This is an especially important bill to those
people who use the electronic access to legislative data. [AB 1624
mandated that all public legislative records, state stautes and state
constitution be available via the Internet without state charge.]

AB 2524 mandates public electronic access to public records if
the agency maintains such records in electronic format. The
agencies are not required to put the data in electronic format
nor are they required to buy equipment nor "translate" data to
meet any special needs of the requestor. Whatever format the
agency has the data is the format that should be made available
to the public. Allows the agency to charge for the media on
which the data is provided, just as they can for the paper copies.
[Various agencies have refused to provide computerized copies of
their computerized public records, offering only paper copies to
meet the requirements of the current California Public Records Act.]

AB 2525 makes those documents in which an agency states its position
on pending legislation a public record, whether they are sent
to a legislator or to the Governor. [The enrolled bill report is
not a public record. The enrolled bill report is the final
analysis on a bill done by the Gov's Dept. of Finance. Last year,
DOF estimated a cost of $300,000 for implementing AB 1624. Bowen
explained that their analysis was based on a merely-similar ballot
initiative authored by UWSA, not AB 1624. Luckily, the Governor
signed the bill anyway, but could have easily vetoed it on the false
cost estimates contained in the non-public DOF report.]

AB 2523 networks all state agencies and the judiciary and
provides public access via network to public records.

Support is needed ASAP. Opposition is expected on at least AB 2524
and AB 2523, the latter due to cost.

If you have questions, please call Bowen's aide, Mary Winkley, at
916-445-8528. All the bills except AB 2523 were scheduled for
March 15 in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.
AB 2523 was scheduled for March 16 in the Assembly Consumer
Protection Committee, with other committee hearings to follow.

Send supporting letters and faxes to:
Hon. Debra Bowen, Assembly Member
State Capitol, Room 3126
Sacramento CA 95814
fax/916-327-2201.
They will make sure they don't get, uh, "lost," and will
distribute them to the members of the committees.

[My apologies for not getting this out sooner. *Too* much to do. :-( -jim]

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

ASK LEGISLATORS/STAFF TO TELL LOBBYISTS THEY WANT TO ACCESS TESTIMONY ONLINE
From [email protected] Mon Feb 28 20:41:11 1994
From: Larry Masinter <[email protected]>

If you can get legislative staff assistants and legislative librarians
to announce that they prefer to access `information that is online and
available to the public', it might encourage various lobbying
organizations to mount their own information online for the general
public to access. I wouldn't mind having a Common Cause, American
Cancer Society, and Tobacco Institute all trying to reach the public
with their own web or gopher services.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

FREELY FAX YOUR E-MAIL TO DECISION-MAKERS IN WASHINGTON DC
From [email protected] Wed Mar 2 11:11:54 1994
From: [email protected] (Gerald J. Klaas)

GovAccess readers may be interested in an experiment going at town.hall.org.
They have created an e-mail to FAX gateway that is operating in Washington DC.
(and some other places:
> - all of Australia (+61)
> - Washington, DC (+1-202)
> - most of Silicon Valley (+1-408, +1-415, +1-510)
> - parts of Riverside, California (+1-818, +1-909)
> - the University of Michigan (+1-313) )

If anyone has a list of FAX numbers for representatives in Washington, I'd
sure like to get a copy!

For a copy of the FAQ regarding this experiment, send mail to
[email protected].

Gerald | |
...... __o | BurmaShave |
..... _`\<,_ |____________|
[email protected]______________________(*)/_(*)______|________|__

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

FREELY FAX YOUR E-MAIL TO DECISION-MAKERS IN SACRAMENTO CA
From [email protected] Fri Feb 25 14:43:19 1994
From: [email protected] (Gerald Klaas)
Organization: Rabbit's Lincoln Burrow Sacramento, CA
-
I have created an e-mail to FAX gateway here in Sacramento.
It runs on my home PC at night (during otherwise idle time)
and is connected to the Internet by UUCP. Some of your
GovAccess subscribers may be interested in using this gateway
to "e-mail" State legislators here in the Capitol City, and
are welcome to give it a try. (Disclaimer: No guarantees here,
this is just a hobby.)
-
Anyone interested may get more information by sending e-mail
To: [email protected]
Subject: 052
-
BTW: I have a list of FAX numbers available also.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

ONLINE LEGISLATIVE-INFORMATION ACCESS IN ACTION
From [email protected] Tue Mar 1 19:43:27 1994
> At work, two weeks ago, I got a call from a Berkely patron wanting to
> know if we had a copy of a certain, recently passed bill having to do
> with the funeral business. He had the number of the bill. I logged
> onto the internet via our class account, gophered to UC Santa Cruz,
> found, downloaded, and printed out the bill to leave for the patron - an
> employee of a local funeral home - to pick up on his lunch hour. Took 5
> minutes!
--
Carole Leita [email protected]
Reference Librarian, Berkeley Public Library

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION SEEKS TO FURTHER ONLINE ACCESS
From [email protected] Fri Feb 25 10:16:23 1994
From: Bruce R Koball <[email protected]>

Did you see this:

> FEC ON-LINE. The FEC is asking Congress for $1.5 million in fiscal 1995 to
> set up an on-line system for tracking how political candidates raise and
> spend their donations. (Tampa Tribune 2/22/94 A2)

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

ADMINISTRIVIA CREDIT DUE: CHONGO SPOKE; JIMMIE LISTENED
From [email protected] Mon Feb 28 20:11:44 1994
From: [email protected] (Landon Curt Noll)

First, I appreciate the GovAccess messages that you have been sending me
on a regular basis. They are often both useful and interesting.

I do have a recomendation that you might want to consider. I suggest that
you add mode whitespace to your messages. This will make it easier to read.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between
the disastrous and the unpalatable." -- John Kenneth Galbraith
[sent by [email protected] <Paul George>]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 15:05-0500
From: The White House <[email protected]>
Subject: 1994-02-07 United States FY95 Budget in Electronic Format

THE BUDGET OF THE UNITED STATES
NOW IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT
Background

The U.S. Department of Commerce in cooperation with the Office of
Management and Budget(OMB) will produce the Budget of the United
States Government, Fiscal Year 1995 in electronic format using
compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) and on-line computer
delivery methods. This marks the first time the entire budget
has been available to the public in electronic format. Budget
analysts, public policy researchers, state and local governments,
libraries, and other members of the public will find the
electronic version to be a useful addition and versatile
alternative to the printed version of the budget. Users will be
able to display exact images of the printed budget, search for
the occurrence of keywords within the text, and copy or print
desired portions of the text for further reference or use. And,
the same documents will be accessible on personal computers
running three popular operating systems -- MS-DOS, Windows, and
Apple Macintosh -- thereby making this information available to
the vast majority of personal computer users.

Tentative talks on producing an electronic version of the federal
budget were first conducted between technical staff at OMB and
Commerce's Office of Business Analysis (OBA) in December, 1993.
Several factors made this effort feasible. First, commercial
software products became available in 1993 that facilitate the
electronic transfer or delivery of finished documents. Creators
of highly formatted documents originally intended for print
distribution could now distribute electronic copies of the same
documents with the original print format characters intact.
Recipients of the electronic documents could see exact replicas
of the original formatted text on their computers without the
need to own a copy of the software that originally created the
document. These programs greatly facilitate the creation of
electronic catalogs, books, and other large information
collections where formatted text is important.

Second, OMB uses electronic text composition software that
creates PostScript formatted output that is used by the
Government Printing Office to produce the printed version of the
budget. One portable document delivery software product , Adobe
Acrobat uses PostScript formatted documents as the input to
create Portable Document Format (PDF) files, which may be read by
low-cost readers also distributed by Adobe. Given that the
original budget documents are already in PostScript format, it is
a relatively simple matter to convert them to PDF format and
distribute them in electronic form.

Third, the proper mix of skills and services existed on the
Commerce/OMB team to bring this project to completion in a very
tight time frame; this project was conceived, implemented, and
delivered in 50 days. OMB prepared the budget in the proper
format and acquired and learned to use the Acrobat software
necessary to create the PDF files. OBA had significant
experience in producing CD-ROM titles and offering information
through other electronic distribution channels such as dial-up
bulletin boards and the Internet, had staff in place to produce
the budget CD-ROM quickly, was prepared to offer telephone
ordering to ensure prompt delivery to the public, and could
provide customer support.

Finally, the new spirit of the federal government encourages
agencies to take advantage of electronic tools to broaden access
to federal information. New innovative methods to deliver
government services to the citizen at low cost both to the
government and the recipient are actively encouraged. The
Commerce Department is taking a lead role in this endeavor. In
short, the technical and organizational chemistry was just right
to ensure success of this project.

Electronic Versions of the Budget

CD-ROM

The CD-ROM versions of the Budget of the United States
Government, Fiscal Year 1995 will be available to the public at
the same time the printed budget is submitted to the Congress by
President Clinton. The CD-ROM will contain exact page-image
replicas of the same documents submitted to Congress. These
include:

o Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1995
o Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1995,
Analytical Perspectives
o Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 1995,
Historical Tables
o Budget System and Concepts of the United States Government

The Budget CD-ROM will be available for order from the Department
of Commerce after official release for $30.00, $24 less than the
comparable printed volumes. Discs will be available for pickup,
by first class mail, and via overnight delivery ($10 additional.)
The CD-ROM will include the budget documents as well as copies of
the Adobe Acrobat Reader for MS-DOS and Windows operating
systems. A set of diskettes containing the Acrobat Reader will
be supplied to users of Macintosh computers.

A supplemental volume, the Budget of the United States
Government, Fiscal Year 1995, Appendix contains the detailed
budget submissions for each agency. It will be transmitted to
Congress later in February and will not appear on the Budget CD-
ROM. However, the complete Budget including the Appendix will
appear on the February 1994 issue of Commerce's National
Economic, Social, and Environmental Data Bank (NESE-DB) CD-ROM
which will be available in late February. In addition to the
Budget, NESE-DB will contain PDF images of current Internal
Revenue Service tax forms which may be reproduced exactly as the
original printed forms and over 100,000 documents containing a
core set of economic, social and environmental data. Information
on the NESE-DB covers issues of widespread public interest such
as Vice President Gore's National Performance Review and the
Administration's proposed Health Care Reform legislation.

o NESE-DB is published quarterly in the months of February, May,
August, and November. Single issues are available for $95, an
annual subscription costs $360. Purchasers of the original
Budget CD-ROM will be given full credit for their original
order and may obtain the February issue of NESE-DB for the
discounted price of $65. Customers must mention they
purchased the Budget CD-ROM when ordering the NESE-DB to
obtain the discount.

NESE-DB is also available for free public access in 960 federal
depository libraries located throughout the Nation.

Dial-up Bulletin Board

ASCII versions of the Budget documents will be available on the
Commerce Department's Economic Bulletin Board (EBB) shortly after
official release to the public. PDF and ASCII versions of the
Budget Appendix will be added to the bulletin board when they are
released by OMB. There will be no charge for obtaining Budget
documents via the Economic Bulletin Board. The EBB may be
accessed using a personal computer and modem by calling:

2400 BPS : 1-202-482-3870 (N81)
9600 BPS: 1-202-482-2167 (N81)

Users accessing the PDF versions of the Budget via the EBB must
supply their own copy of software capable of reading PDF files.

Internet

Free access to the Budget documents in PDF and ASCII forms will
also be available via the Internet. The Internet version of the
EBB may be accessed by using the command

telnet ebb.stat-usa

These files will also be available for gopher access by issuing
the command.

gopher gopher.esa.doc.gov

As in the case of the EBB users accessing the PDF versions of the
Budget via the Internet must supply their own copy of software
capable of reading PDF files.

How to contact us:

To order Budget and NESE-DB CD-ROMs:1-800-STAT-USA (1-800-782-
8872)
For technical assistance:1-202-482-1986
Fax orders:1-202-482-2164

Electronic mail:[email protected]

or write to:

Office of Business Analysis
Room H4885
U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC 20230

Technical contacts

Ken Rogers (202) 482-0434
Paul Christy (202) 482-0123

Adobe, PostScript, and Acrobat are registered trademarks of Adobe
Systems, Incorporated.
Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer,
Incorporated
Windows and MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

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End of Computer Underground Digest #6.26
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