F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.23 (05-Jun-1995)

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=> [email protected] |
| Don -- [email protected] |
| Sylvia [email protected] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Table of Contents
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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
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Editorial
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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.
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Articles
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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, [email protected]. Moderator BOCA_MODEMS & Z1_GERMER

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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<g>.
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<g>. 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
[email protected]

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
([email protected]) 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 [email protected].

- -> 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 [email protected] 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: [email protected] (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...

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

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Fidonews Information
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------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------

Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
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Tom Jennings
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more addresses:
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FidoNews 12-23 Page: 21 05 Jun 1995

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