More How to be a Hero
in School Computer Lab
Coyote suggests, "in many cases you may find that if
you prove yourself responsible (i.e.: not acting like a jerk
in class and not hacking to be cool) it will be easier to gain
the trust of the teacher and subsequently gain the job helping
with the systems. And once you reach this level you are almost
guaranteed that you will know more about system management, and
of course hacking, than you could have by simply breaking in."
Here's the first thing you need to remember. Your teachers
are overworked. If they get mad at hackers, it is because hackers
keep on messing things up. Guess who gets to stay late at work
fixing the mess students make when they break into school computers?
Right, it's usually your computer lab teachers.
Think about it. Your computer lab teachers might really, really,
like the idea of having you help with the work. The problem is--will
they dare to trust you?
Karl Schaffarczyk warns, "I nearly got chucked out of
school (many years ago) for pulling up a DOS prompt on a system
that was protected against such things." Sheesh, for just
getting a DOS prompt? But the problem is that your teachers go
to a lot of effort to set school computers up so they can be
used to teach classes. The minute they realize you know how to
get to DOS, they know you could mess things up so bad they will
have to spend a sleepless night putting that computer back together.
Teachers hate to stay up all night. Imagine that!
So if you really want to work a deal where you become supreme
ruler and hero-in-chief of your school's computers, don't start
by getting caught! Don't start even by showing your teacher,
"Look how easy it is to get a DOS prompt!" Remember,
some authorities will immediately kick you out of school or call
the cops.
Honest, many people are terrified of teenage hackers. You
can't really blame them, either, when you consider those news
stories. Here are some examples of stories your school authorities
have probably read.
- 13 FEBRUARY 1997 Hackers are reported to be using servers
at Southampton University to circulate threatening emails (that)
... instruct recipients to cancel credit cards, claiming their
security has been breached.
(c) VNU Business Publications Limited, 1997
NETWORK NEWS 7/5/97 P39 A teenager was fined an equivalent
of US$350 for paralysing US telephone switchboards...The unnamed
teenager made around 60,000 calls...
(C) 1997 M2 Communications Ltd.
TELECOMWORLDWIRE 6/5/97
WORLDCOM in the UK recently suffered a systems failure following
a hacker attack...
(C) 1997 M2 Communications Ltd.
TELECOMWORLDWIRE 6/5/97
Scary, huh? It's not surprising that nowadays some people
are so afraid of hackers that they blame almost anything on us.
For example, in 1997, authorities at a naval base at first blamed
attackers using high-energy radio waves for computer screens
that froze. Later investigators learned that ship radars, not
hackers, were freezing screens.
So instead of getting mad at teachers who are terrified of
hackers, give them a break. The media is inundating them with
scare stories. Plus which they have probably spent a lot of time
fixing messes made by kiddie hackers. Your job is to show them
that you are the good guy. Your job is to show them you can make
life better for them by giving you free run of the school computers.
More how to be a hero in computer
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