462 DEAR HACKER

462 DEAR HACKER

viruses loose, and getting caught. I would love to get him a subscription to 2600, but alas, my parents, who have custody, would go ballistic. Could someone there please drop him a little note, via snail mail, and tell him a little bit about “hacker ethics?” Coming from 2600, I am sure it would have much more influence than anything I could write or say. It would mean very much to me as well as him.

Katfish

We’re not able to send out individual replies (and in this case getting an unsolicited personal note from a strange magazine may cause way more harm than good), but you can clip this reply and mail it to him, anonymously if necessary. Hopefully others will heed this too: it’s easy to screw things up with knowledge. That leads simpletons to the conclusion that certain knowledge is bad. They will never experi- ence the thrill of hacking and the rush you get from discovery. They are rule fol- lowers who don’t want to ever rock the boat. And then there are those the rule followers need — the rule breakers who cause mayhem for no real reason, just because they can. You have knowledge and ability and a good chance of avoid- ing the dead end lives of the above. Understand why you either follow or break the rules and use that knowledge to change things. And, above all else, don’t hide behind hacking as a reason to do things you would never do in real life. What you do behind a keyboard should be a reflection of the values you believe in already.

Dear 2600: Could you tell me if you have had anyone send you an article on hack-

ing/servicing Meridian phone systems? If not, I got into my Meridian system at work and freaked the cashiers out by renaming the extensions to GOD, HIM, etc., so they’d see “GOD calling” or “calling HIM.” Lemme know so I don’t waste time logging my actions for ya!

reid We would welcome such an article of mayhem.

I just wanted to write in about something interesting I found out a few months back. I was proudly wearing my 2600 blue box shirt one day, and this man called me over. Apparently, this guy was one of the NYNEX (back when it was still NYNEX) ex-heads of security. He went on a tangent about how my 2600 shirt brought back old memories — about all of the teenagers he used to have arrested for using blue boxes, blah, blah, blah.... Then he went on to describe how NYNEX used to send out crews to set up outside the Citicorp center and take pictures of the “kids” attending the meetings. I don’t know if what this guy was saying is valid, or even if he did work for NYNEX. If anybody out there works (or worked for) NYNEX (which is now Bell Atlantic), and knows anything of this, please write in.

Dr. Doolittle Yes, and if any corporations or government agencies have pictures of us, please

send them in for our photo gallery. Unless you still plan on making a case against us or something.

Dear 2600: Attention, fellow phreaks and hackers. Four of my friends have gotten

arrested in a period of 1.5 months, each at a separate event. It turns out, as they were shoulder surfing, they were doing it to undercover cops, hired decoys, or they were being tailed by cops. ATMs as well as calling cards. Most cards are marked (the ones they give decoys). It happens mostly near large banks of payphones near banks, buildings, and malls. Beware! Especially in the Manhattan area. These cops are also using scanners a lot of the time. So keep your eyes open!

Lucy aka Baudewiser Perhaps you should keep your brain open to an intelligent thought or two. One of

them might be the realization that the kind of stunts you’re involved in are just plain and simple fraud and have nothing at all to do with hacking. We’re not interested in your little crime ring.