From: "Collin Greene"
Subject: please help me out
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 19:00:07 -0700

...Don't really know what happened but yesterday I stumbled upon a login and password prompt in evon, did I get even remotely close to getting in the page and what to I do from here a password cracker...???? please help me out. I ma not out there to cause any harm but this would be my first hack. please help

Carolyn replies: This would not be your first hack, but rather your first computer crime. Hacking is NOT computer crime! DON'T DO IT!!!! ... unless you relish a long vacation at Club Fed as the girlfriend of roommate Spike.

From: TRUCaNdYClUb
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 11:33 PM
Subject: Help!!!

I was on napster and a guy got into my computer and screwed it up.. How did he get in and how did he get my ip #? And how can I hurt him? I am a newbie waiting to come out large!! I want all the info I can get! I would appreciate it if you could send me the real stuff i need to do this?I also wish all information would be all access, so im gonna do my best to make it that way if I don't get arrested first!

Truly, Prophet19

[Gregg's response: Come out large??? Yep, you might be a really big hit in one of our already overcrowded federal prisons. Sure, let me give you all the ammo you need to land ya in the slammer and sacrifice my career as an accessory while I'm at it. You said it best, "if you don't get arrested first". If you want to commit computer crimes, find somebody else to teach you, you're not going to find any help forthcoming here.]

From: "vaneck" <vaneck@tampabay.rr.com>
Subject: instant gradification hacking
Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 02:54:05 -0500

"Um... I am going to need you to break into the following list of a couple dozen computers for me, and I will need all of the software found on those systems by next Friday. Don't bother explaining how you did it or any thing, unless you can write an easy to follow script that will automate the process. And while you are at it I need to purchase some new equipment but am currently a little short of funds, so if you could send a couple credit cards my way with at least $3 to $5,000 available it would really be appreciated. ( I'll need a rush on those numbers before the items that I am eyeing go off sale!!!) Thanks

PS. Don't worry God gave me permission to hack anything in his "Domain" so it's not illegal or anything like that!"

After reading your "Suck's to be me page" I, the already way to pessimistic, was amazed at the amount of shear stupidity in the media defined "hacker community". You have to wonder what ticks in these peoples minds after spouting such absurd request, that makes them think "yep they'll do that". Anyway, I guess they are to be given partial credit for bringing me to your site. Like a fool, I had an always on cable connection with nary a firewall or virus program in site. So after deciding to install the trusted Norton AntiVirus program I found a couple of Trojan horses that had been there for months. I can assure you that I have eradicated that problem since. Anyway, this sparked my attention at gaining knowledge about security and different systems in general, the problem arose when search after search turned up nothing but useless pages of scripts that were designed to cause havoc at best with no explanation as to how or why those securities flaws were there to exploited in the first place. So you can see why I must appreciate a site like yours, which has quite a bit of useful info in itself, and point's one to other locations for further discussion.

I just got a shell account from my local state university, and am looking forward to exploring the Unix environment. I definitely have a lot of reading ahead of me, but am looking forward to the pursuit of knowledge, besides it will help clean out some of these cobwebs that have been lurking in my head since school. I also saw in your bio that you worked with Dr. Peter Kemmey, well I guess that not even I, the black-sheep, could skip the engineering gene that is so prevalent in my family. If you could point me to any good lectures regarding DARPA research, including IW/C2W it would be greatly appreciated.

Just as a precursory to the notion that you may post this to your website, and in respect to the superb intellect shown by those with similar request, I feel the need to indicate that the above request to breach the security of other's property was null in meaning.

Thanks,

VanEck

March 14 edition of "It sucks to be me" -- >

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