424 DEAR HACKER

424 DEAR HACKER

Some of the types of things I want to access are county records, federal court records, worker’s comp records, and driver records.

The process through the mail (which most governmental agencies make available) is very slow.

I am also interested in obtaining any other personal background in- formation (credit history, military records, assets).

If there is a publication with access codes, etc., please let me know about it, because I really want to get this business going.

Anonymous

It sounds as if you want to bypass the system and do things efficiently. Often, this means bending or even breaking the laws. You won’t get anywhere if you depend on publications that print access codes. You want exclusive access to your sources. If you have to share this access with anyone who can get their hands on

a publication, it just won’t be effective. We distribute information, but there is a limit to how far we can go. If we were to print passwords or codes (despite the fact that it’s illegal), so many people would use them that they would soon get shut off or monitored very closely. For that kind of information and the kind we suspect you’re after, you need to make personal contacts — through the mail, on the phone, on bulletin boards, or on the street. You’ll have to use your instincts insofar as who you trust and what information appears valid. If we’ve misread your question and you actually want to do this by the book, we’re sure it’s possible. Simply go through the agencies involved. But, as you’ve already noted, that tends to be slow, and, quite often, expensive.

Dear 2600: In the October 1987 issue of 2600, you wrote about how people from

all over the world wish to run electronic bulletin board systems under the name of 2600 magazine.

Here are my ideas: enlist the aid of hackers and phreaks from all over the world to write a combined version of Diversi-DIAL and Fido for all major brands of personal computers. Second, since this is supposed to be like a global village setting of telecommunications hobbyists for the Communications Revolution, why not subtitle it “Foundation”

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

Because what you are trying to do is gather people and data together to create a digital sanctuary for ensuring freedom of speech, espe- cially now since advancing technology allows us to use that basic free- dom to reach more people than ever before. That is sort of what the Foundation novel was about.

I hope the hackers and phreaks of the world are willing to write this much needed BBS software, because too many of us are kept apart by the telephone systems of our countries. For if we really wish to learn and finally control, we need common places where we can go to draw on and then expand our knowledge.

The NATO Association We need as many methods and channels of reaching people around the globe

as our imaginations permit. The computer/telecommunications revolution can be mankind’s salvation or doom. We’re helping to make that decision.

Dear 2600: Let this be a warning to those who engage in illegal activity. On June 27, 1988, I came home from being out with friends at 1:45 in

the morning. I parked my car in front of my apartment and got out. I am normally a very security-minded person, always looking over my shoulder, never getting overconfident with my sense of security. Many people know me in the IBM/Apple modem/hacking world, but I never let people know me too well.

Or so I thought. As I stepped up my walkway to my building, I heard someone call

my name. Before I turned around, I knew something was wrong. FBI agents as well as state police and local detectives had been watching and waiting for me all day. In no time, there were police cars every- where, and I was shoved up against a car and searched and hand- cuffed, the whole neighborhood ablaze with flashing lights.