494 DEAR HACKER

494 DEAR HACKER

Dear 2600:

I suspect you are aware of this but if not: 2600 is featured as one of the evils in the ad at http://logicube.com/products/hd_duplication/ md5.asp .

scotk It’s amazing to us that terrorism, child exploitation, drug trafficking, and white-collar

crime are all represented with generic images but when it comes to “cyber crime,” they have no problem sticking our name up there in lights. While most other orga- nizations would contemplate legal action, we’ll simply issue a standard Level One electronic jihad. We mustn’t disappoint after all.

Dear 2600: Just wanted to let you know that for the past two years, I’ve been

showing your Freedom Downtime movie to nearly all my students in school (age 14-19) with great results. The interest is huge and we have very interesting discussions afterward. So this is my small con- tribution to keeping the hacker’s good image, although I’m not a real pro in the field.

Keep up the good work! mAcfreAk

This is an incredible accomplishment and proof that, with a little determination, we can help to influence the world around us. This is truly what school should be all about. Thanks for your efforts.

Dear 2600: In 22:1 you mention how to make a single-track magnetic strip reader.

There is an easier way to make these. At a gas station/liquor store, tell the clerk that the soda dispenser is out of carbonation and he will more than likely go in the back to get another bottle. While he is in the back, unplug the strip reader from the back of the computer which

A C U LT U R E O F R E B E L S

should be right in front of you and run out the door. Once you have about two or three of the readers you can begin to tear them apart and modify them to fit in your pocket.

forrest hoover Yeah... that’s another way. But we were kind of gearing the article toward intel-

ligent people who wanted to learn how the systems worked, not petty hoodlums who go around stealing things and running away from people. We appreciate hearing that perspective, however.

Dear 2600: I’ve read many letters that people have sent to you saying that they

hide their issue of 2600 or read it in private so that they won’t attract the “wrong” attention, receive weird looks, or for fear of being pun- ished in some form, be it expulsion from work, school, or something similar. My response to these people is be proud of who you are! Isn’t this the type of reaction (weird looks, punishment for reading and edu- cating ourselves, etc.) we are trying to abolish in the first place? How can we do so if we hide what we learn and who we are? Some of you may be thinking “Who’s this guy to tell us not to fear these reactions and punishment?” Well, let me give you a little background on myself. I’ve been an avid follower of techno music since I was ten years old and the rave scene since I was 15. I’m 24 now. Throughout this time,

I was always looked down upon and judged because of the “popular” belief of what a raver is supposed to be: an uneducated party kid who takes lots of drugs. Of course, this is just a stereotype. I didn’t let this opinion pull me down and stop me from listening to the music that

I loved or dressing the way I liked. Once people moved beyond their stereotypical beliefs and got to know me, they realized that I wasn’t some “druggie party kid,” but that I was educated, talented, and a “likable” person.

When I started getting into computers and read my first 2600 six years ago, I knew that the hacker/phreaker mentality was something that I would support just as much as the electronic music scene. I