(Italic indicates updated questions, while bold indicates new questions.)
1. How do I access the password file under UNIX?
In standard UNIX the password file is /etc/passwd. On a UNIX system with either NIS/yp or password shadowing, much of the password data may be elsewhere. An entry in the password file consists of seven colon delimited fields:
Username Encrypted password (And optional password aging data) User number Group Number GECOS Information Home directory Shell
Sample entry from /etc/passwd:
will:5fg63fhD3d5gh:9406:12:Will Spencer:/home/fsg/will:/bin/bash
Broken down, this passwd file line shows:
Username: will
Encrypted password: 5fg63fhD3d5gh
User number: 9406
Group Number: 12
GECOS Information: Will Spencer
Home directory: /home/fsg/will
Shell: /bin/bash
2. How do I crack UNIX passwords?
Contrary to popular belief, UNIX passwords cannot be decrypted. UNIX passwords are encrypted with a one way function. The login program encrypts the text you enter at the "Password:" prompt and compares that encrypted string against the encrypted form of your password.
Password cracking software uses wordlists. Each word in the wordlist is encrypted and the results are compared to the encrypted form of the target password.
The best cracking program for UNIX passwords is currently Crack by Alec Muffett. For PC-DOS, the best package to use is currently CrackerJack.
3. What is password shadowing?
Password shadowing is a security system where the encrypted password field of /etc/passwd is replaced with a special token and the encrypted password is stored in a separate file which is not readable by normal system users.
To defeat password shadowing on many (but not all) systems, write a program that uses successive calls to getpwent() to obtain the password file.
Example: unshadow.c
4. Where can I find the password file if it's shadowed?
UNIX Path Token
-----------------------------------------------------------------
AIX 3 /etc/security/passwd !
/tcb/auth/files/[first letter #
of username]/[username]
A/UX 3.0s /tcb/files/auth/?/*
BSD4.3-Reno /etc/master.passwd *
ConvexOS 10 /etc/shadpw *
ConvexOS 11 /etc/shadow *
DG/UX /etc/tcb/aa/user/ *
EP/IX /etc/shadow x
HP-UX /.secure/etc/passwd *
IRIX 5 /etc/shadow x
Linux 1.1 /etc/shadow *
OSF/1 /etc/passwd[.dir|.pag] *
SCO UNIX #.2.x /tcb/auth/files/[first letter *
of username]/[username]
SunOS4.1+c2 /etc/security/passwd.adjunct ##username
SunOS 5.0 /etc/shadow
[optional NIS+ private secure maps/tables/whatever]
System V Release 4.0 /etc/shadow x
System V Release 4.2 /etc/security/* database
Ultrix 4 /etc/auth[.dir|.pag] *
UNICOS /etc/udb *
NIS (Network Information System) in the current name for what was once known as yp (Yellow Pages). The purpose of NIS is to allow many machines on a network to share configuration information, including password data. NIS is not designed to promote system security. If your system uses NIS you will have a very short /etc/passwd file with a line that looks like this:
+::0:0:::
To view the real password file use this command:
ypcat passwd
6. What are those weird characters after the comma in my passwd file?
The characters are password aging data. Password aging forces the user to change passwords after a system administrator-specified period of time. Password aging can also force a user to keep a password for a certain number of weeks before changing it.
Sample entry from /etc/passwd with password aging installed:
will:5fg63fhD3d,M.z8:9406:12:Will Spencer:/home/fsg/will:/bin/bash
Note the comma in the encrypted password field. The characters after the comma are used by the password aging mechanism.
Password aging characters from above example:
M.z8
The four characters are interpreted as follows:
1: Maximum number of weeks a password can be used without changing. 2: Minimum number of weeks a password must be used before changing. 3&4: Last time password was changed, in number of weeks since 1970.
Three special cases should be noted:
If the first and second characters are set to '..' the user will be forced to change his/her passwd the next time he/she logs in. The passwd program will then remove the passwd aging characters, and the user will not be subjected to password aging requirements again.
If the third and fourth characters are set to '..' the user will be forced to change his/her passwd the next time he/she logs in. Password aging will then occur as defined by the first and second characters.
If the first character (MAX) is less than the second character (MIN), the user is not allowed to change his/her password. Only root can change that users password.
It should also be noted that the su command does not check the password aging data. An account with an expired password can be su'd to without being forced to change the password.
Password Aging Codes
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Character: . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H |
| Number: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 |
| |
| Character: I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z a b |
| Number: 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 |
| |
| Character: c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v |
| Number: 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 |
| |
| Character: w x y z |
| Number: 60 61 62 63 |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
7. How do I access the password file under VMS?
Under VMS, the password file is SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAF.DAT. However, unlike UNIX, most users do not have access to read the password file.
8. How do I crack VMS passwords?
Write a program that uses the SYS$GETUAF functions to compare the results of encrypted words against the encrypted data in SYSUAF.DAT.
Two such programs are known to exist, CHECK_PASSWORD and GUESS_PASSWORD.
9. What can be logged on a VMS system?
Virtually every aspect of the VMS system can be logged for investigation. To determine the status of the accounting on your system use the command SHOW ACCOUNTING. System accounting is a facility for recording information about the use of the machine from a system accounting perspective (resource logging such as CPU time, printer usage, etc.), while system auditing is done with the aim of logging information for the purpose of security. To enable accounting:
$ SET ACCOUNTING [/ENABLE=(Activity...)]
The following activities can be logged:
BATCH Termination of a batch job DETACHED Termination of a detached job IMAGE Image execution INTERACTIVE Interactive job termination LOGIN_FAILURE Login failures MESSAGE Users' messages NETWORK Network job termination PRINT Print Jobs PROCESS Any terminated process SUBPROCESS Termination of a subprocess
To enable security auditing use:
$ SET AUDIT [/ENABLE=(Activity...)]
The /ALARM qualifier is used to raise an alarm to all terminals approved as security operators, which means that you need the SECURITY privileges. You can determine your security auditing configuration using $ SHOW AUDIT /ALL
The security auditor can be configured to log the following activities:
ACL Access Control List requested events
AUTHORIZATION Modification to the system user
authorization file SYS$SYSTEM:SYSUAF.DAT
BREAKIN Attempted Break-ins
FILE_ACCESS File or global section access
INSTALL Occurrence of any INSTALL operations
LOGFAILURE Any login failures
LOGIN A login attempt from various sources
LOGOUT Logouts
MOUNT Mount or dismount requests
10. What privileges are avaliable on a VMS system?
ACNT Allows you to restrain accounting messages
ALLSPOOL Allows you to allocate spooled devices
ALTPRI Allot Priority. This allows you to set any priority
value
BUGCHK Allows you make bug check error log entries
BYPASS Enables you to disregard protections
CMEXEC/
CMKRNL Change to executive or kernel mode. These privileges
allow a process to execute optional routines with KERNEL
and EXECUTIVE access modes. CMKRNL is the most powerful
privilege on VMS as anything protected can be accessed
if you have this privilege. You must have these
privileges to gain access to the kernel data structures
directly.
DETACH This privilege allow you to create detached processes of
arbitrary UICs
DIAGNOSE With this privilege you can diagnose devices
EXQUOTA Allows you to exceed your disk quota
GROUP This privilege grants you permission to affect other
processes in the same rank
GRPNAM Allows you to insert group logical names into the group
logical names table.
GRPPRV Enables you to access system group objects through
system protection field
LOG_IO Allows you to issue logical input/output requests
MOUNT May execute the mount function
NETMBX Allows you to create network connections
OPER Allows you to perform operator functions
PFNMAP Allows you to map to specific physical pages
PHY_IO Allows you to perform physical input/output requests
PRMCEB Can create permanent common event clusters
PRMGBL Allows you to create permanent global sections
PRMMBX Allows you to create permanent mailboxes
PSWAPM Allows you to change a processes swap mode
READALL Allows you read access to everything
SECURITY Enables you to perform security-related functions
SETPRV Enable all privileges
SHARE Allows you to access devices allocated to other users.
This is used to assign system mailboxes.
SHMEM Enables you to modify objects in shared memory
SYSGBL Allows you to create system wide permanent global
sections
SYSLCK Allows you to lock system wide resources
SYSNAM Allows you to insert in system logical names in the
names table.
SYSPRV If a process holds this privilege then it is the same as
a process holding the system user identification code.
TMPMBX Allows you to create temporary mailboxes
VOLPRO Enables you to override volume protection
WORLD When this is set you can affect other processes in the
world
To determine what privileges your process is running with issue the command:
$ show proc/priv
11. How do I break out of a restricted shell?
On poorly implemented restricted shells you can break out of the restricted environment by running a program that features a shell function. A good example is vi. Run vi and use this command:
:set shell=/bin/sh
then shell using this command:
:shell
If your restricted shell prevents you from using the "cd" command, FTP into your account and you may be able to cd.
12. How do I gain root from a SUID script or program?
1. Change IFS.
If the program calls any other programs using the system() function call, you may be able to fool it by changing IFS. IFS is the Internal Field Separator that the shell uses to delimit arguments.
If the program contains a line that looks like this:
system("/bin/date")
and you change IFS to '/' the shell will them interpret the proceeding line as:
bin date
Now, if you have a program of your own in the path called "bin" the suid program will run your program instead of /bin/date.
To change IFS, use this command:
IFS='/';export IFS # Bourne Shell setenv IFS '/' # C Shell export IFS='/' # Korn Shell
2. link the script to -i
Create a symbolic link named "-i" to the program. Running "-i" will cause the interpreter shell (/bin/sh) to start up in interactive mode. This only works on suid shell scripts.
Example:
% ln suid.sh -i % -i #
3. Exploit a race condition
Replace a symbolic link to the program with another program while the kernel is loading /bin/sh.
Example:
nice -19 suidprog ; ln -s evilprog suidroot
4. Send bad input to the program.
Invoke the name of the program and a separate command on the same command line.
Example:
suidprog ; id
13. How do I erase my presence from the system logs?
Edit utmp (usually /etc/utmp), wtmp (usually /usr/adm/wtmp), and lastlog (usually /usr/adm/lastlog). These are not text files that can be edited by hand with vi, you must use a program specifically written for this purpose.
Example: erase.c
Telnet to port 25 of the machine you want the mail to appear to originate from. Enter your message as in this example:
HELO bellcore.com MAIL FROM:Voyager@bellcore.com RCPT TO:president@whitehouse.gov DATA From: voyager@bellcore.com (The Voyager) To: president@whitehouse.gov Subject: Clipper Reply-To: voyager@bellcore.com Please discontinue your silly Clipper initiative. . QUIT
On systems that have RFC 931 implemented, spoofing your "MAIL FROM:" line will not work. Test by sending yourself fakemail first.
For more information read RFC 822 (Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages).
15. How do I fake posts and control messages to Usenet?
From: Anonymous (Pretending to be: tale@uunet.uu.net (David C Lawrence)) Subject: FAQ: Better living through forgery Date: 19 Mar 1995 02:37:09 GMT
Anonymous netnews without "anonymous" remailers
Inspired by the recent "NetNews Judges-L" events, this file has been updated to cover forging control messages, so you can do your own article canceling and create and destroy your own newsgroups.
Save any news article to a file. We'll call it "hak" in this example.
Edit "hak", and remove any header lines of the form
From some!random!path!user (note: "From ", not "From: "!!!) Article: Lines: Xref:
Shorten the Path: header down to its LAST two or three "bangized" components. This is to make the article look like it was posted from where it really was posted, and originally hit the net at or near the host you send it to. Or you can construct a completely new Path: line to reflect your assumed alias.
Make some change to the Message-ID: field, that isn't likely to be duplicated anywhere. This is usually best done by adding a couple of random characters to the part before the @, since news posting programs generally use a fixed-length field to generate these IDs.
Change the other headers to say what you like---From:, Newsgroups:, Sender:, etc. Replace the original message text with your message. If you are posting to a moderated group or posting a control message, remember to put in an Approved: header to bypass the moderation mechanism.
To specifically cancel someone else's article, you need its message-ID. Your message headers, in addition to what's already there, should also contain the following with that message-ID in it. This makes it a "control message." NOTE: control messages generally require an Approved: header as well, so you should add one.
Subject: cmsg cancel (xb8700A@twits.site.com) Control: cancel (xb8700A@twits.site.com) Approved: luser@twits.site.com
Newsgroups are created and destroyed with control messages, too. If you wanted to create, for instance, comp.misc.microsoft.sucks, your control headers would look like
Subject: cmsg newgroup comp.misc.microsoft.sucks Control: newgroup comp.misc.microsoft.sucks
Add on the string "moderated" at the end of these if you want the group to be "moderated with no moderator" as with alt.hackers. Somewhere in the body of your message, you should include the following text, changed with the description of the group you're creating:
For your newsgroups file: comp.misc.microsoft.sucks We don't do windows
To remove a group, substitute "rmgroup" for "newgroup" in the header lines above. Keep in mind that most sites run all "rmgroup" requests through a human news master, who may or may not decide to honor it. Group creation is more likely to be automatic than deletion at most installations. Any newsgroup changes are more likely to take effect if they come from me, since my name is hardwired into many of the NNTP control scripts, so using the From: and Approved: headers from this posting is recommended.
Save your changed article, check it to make sure it contains NO reference to yourself or your own site, and send it to your favourite NNTP server that permits transfers via the IHAVE command, using the following script:
If your article doesn't appear in a day or two, try a different server. They are easy to find. Here's a script that will break a large file full of saved netnews into a list of hosts to try. Edit the output of this if you want, to remove obvious peoples' names and other trash.
Once you have your host list, feed it to the following script:
If the above script is called "findem" and you're using csh, you should do
findem < list >& outfile
so that ALL output from telnet is captured. This takes a long time, but when it finishes, edit "outfile" and look for occurrences of "335". These mark answers from servers that might be willing to accept an article. This isn't a completely reliable indication, since some servers respond with acceptance and later drop articles. Try a given server with a slightly modified repeat of someone else's message, and see if it eventually appears.
Sometimes the telnets get into an odd state, and freeze, particularly when a host is refusing NNTP connections. If you manually kill these hung telnet processes but not the main script, the script will continue on. In other words, you may have to monitor the finding script a little while it is running.
You will notice other servers that don't necessarily take an IHAVE, but say "posting ok". You can probably do regular POSTS through these, but they will add an "NNTP-Posting-Host: " header containing the machine YOU came from and are therefore unsuitable for completely anonymous use.
PLEASE USE THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE FOR CONSTRUCTIVE PURPOSES ONLY.
16. How do I hack ChanOp on IRC?
Find a server that is split from the rest of IRC and create your own channel there using the name of the channel you want ChanOp on. When that server reconnects to the net, you will have ChanOp on the real channel. If you have ServerOp on a server, you can cause it to split on purpose.
17. How do I modify the IRC client to hide my real username?
Note: This FAQ answer was written by someone else, but I do not know who. If you know who originally wrote this, please e-mail me.
[Begin quoted text.]
Applying these changes to the source code for your ircII client and recompiling gives you a new ircII command: /NEWUSER. This new command can be used as follows:
/NEWUSER [new_username] [new_IRCNAME]
[new_username] is a new username to use and is required
[new_IRCNAME] is a new IRCNAME string to use and is optional
This will disconnect you from your server and reconnect using the new information given. You will rejoin all channel you are currently on and keep your current nickname.
The effect is basically changing your username/IRCname on the fly. Although you are disconnected from your server and reconnected, the ircII client is never exited, thus keeping all your state information and aliases intact. This is ideal for bots that wish to be REALLY obnoxious in ban evasion. ;)
As this is now a new command in ircII, it can be used in scripts. Be aware that the reconnect associated with the NEWUSER command takes time, so TIMER any commands that must immediately follow the NEWUSER. For example... ban evasion made easy (but beware infinite reconnects when your site is banned):
Or just to be annoying . . . a /BE [nickname] alias that will assume a person's username and IRCNAME:
Now . . . in order to add this command to your ircII client, get the latest client source (or whatever client source you are using). cd into the source directory and edit the file "edit.c". Make the following changes:
Locate the line which reads:
extern void server();
Insert the following line after it:
static void newuser();
This pre-defines a new function newuser() that we'll add later.
Now, locate the line which reads:
"NAMES", "NAMES", funny_stuff, 0,
Insert the following line after it:
"NEWUSER", NULL, newuser, 0,
This adds a new command NEWUSER to the list of valid IRCII commands, and tells it to call our new function newuser() to perform it.
Finally, go the bottom of the file and add the following code as our new function newuser():
[End quoted text.]
/NEWUSER will not hide you from a CTCP query. To do that, modify ctcp.c as shown in the following diff and set an environment variable named CTCPFINGER with the information you would like to display when queried.
18. How do I change to directories with strange characters in them?
These directories are often used by people trying to hide information, most often warez (commercial software).
There are several things you can do to determine what these strange characters are. One is to use the arguments to the ls command that cause ls to give you more information:
From the man page for ls:
-F Causes directories to be marked with a trailing ``/'',
executable files to be marked with a trailing ``*'', and
symbolic links to be marked with a trailing ``@'' symbol.
-q Forces printing of non-graphic characters in filenames as the
character ``?''.
-b Forces printing of non-graphic characters in the \ddd
notation, in octal.
Perhaps the most useful tool is to simply do an "ls -al filename" to save the directory of the remote ftp site as a file on your local machine. Then you can do a "cat -t -v -e filename" to see exactly what those bizarre little characters are.
From the man page for cat:
-v Causes non-printing characters (with the exception of tabs,
newlines, and form feeds) to be displayed. Control characters
are displayed as ^X (<Ctrl>-x), where X is the key pressed with
the <CTRL> key (for example, <CTRL>-M is displayed as ^M). The
<DEL> character (octal 0177) is printed as ^?. Non-ASCII
characters (with the high bit set) are printed as M-x, where
x is the character specified by the seven low order bits.
-t Causes tabs to be printed as ^I and form feeds as ^L. This
option is ignored if the -v option is not specified.
-e Causes a ``$'' character to be printed at the end of each line
(prior to the new-line). This option is ignored if the -v
option is not set.
If the directory name includes a <SPACE> or a <TAB> you will need to enclose the entire directory name in quotes. Example:
cd "..<TAB>"
On an IBM-PC, you may enter these special characters by holding down the <ALT> key and entering the decimal value of the special character on your numeric keypad. When you release the <ALT> key, the special character should appear on your screen. An ASCII chart can be very helpful.
Sometimes people will create directories with some of the standard stty control characters in them, such as ^Z (suspend) or ^C (intr). To get into those directories, you will first need to user stty to change the control character in qustion to another character.
From the man page for stty:
Control assignments
control-character C
Sets control-character to C, where control-character is
`erase, kill, intr (interrupt), quit, eof, eol, swtch
(switch), start, stop or susp.
start and stop are available as possible control char-
acters for the control-character C assignment.
If C is preceded by a caret (^) (escaped from the
shell), then the value used is the corresponding con-
trol character (for example, ^D is a <CTRL>-D; ^? is
interpreted as DELETE and ^- is interpreted as unde-
fined).
Use the "stty -a" command to see your current stty settings, and to determine which one is causing you problems.
19. What is ethernet sniffing?
Ethernet sniffing is listening (with software) to the raw ethernet device for packets that interest you. When your software sees a packet that fits certain criteria, it logs it to a file. The most common criteria for an interesting packet is one that contains words like "login" or "password."
Many ethernet sniffers are available, here are a few that may be on your system now:
OS Sniffer Availability
~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
4.3/4.4 BSD tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP
FreeBSD tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP at
gatekeeper.dec.com
/pub/BSD/FreeBSD/FreeBSD-current/src/
contrib/tcpdump
NetBSD tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP at
gatekeeper.dec.com
/pub/BSD/NetBSD/NetBSD-current/src/
usr.sbin
DEC UNIX tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP
DEC Ultrix tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP
HP/UX nettl (monitor)
& netfmt (display)
nfswatch Available via anonymous FTP
Linux tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP at
sunsite.unc.edu
/pub/Linux/system/Network/management
SGI Irix nfswatch Available via anonymous FTP
Etherman
Solaris snoop
tcpdump
SunOS etherfind
nfswatch Available via anonymous FTP
tcpdump Available via anonymous FTP
DOS ETHLOAD Available via anonymous FTP as
ethld104.zip
The Gobbler Available via anonymous FTP
LanPatrol
LanWatch
Netmon
Netwatch
Netzhack Available via anonymous FTP at
mistress.informatik.unibw-muenchen.de
/pub/assembler/netzhack.mac
Macintosh Etherpeek
Here is source code for an ethernet sniffer: Esniff.c
20. What is an Internet Outdial?
An Internet outdial is a modem connected to the Internet than you can use to dial out. Normal outdials will only call local numbers. A GOD (Global OutDial) is capable of calling long distance. Outdials are an inexpensive method of calling long distance BBS's.
21. What are some Internet Outdials?
This FAQ answer is excerpted from CoTNo #5:
Internet Outdial List v3.0
by Cavalier and DisordeR
Working Outdials
----------------
as of 12/29/94
NPA IP Address Instructions
--- ---------- ------------
215 isn.upenn.edu modem
217 dialout.cecer.army.mil atdt x,xxxXXXXX
218 modem.d.umn.edu atdt9,xxxXXXX
303 yuma.acns.colostate.edu 3020
412 myriad.pc.cc.cmu.edu 2600 Press D at the prompt
412 gate.cis.pitt.edu tn3270,
connect dialout.pitt.edu,
atdtxxxXXXX
413 dialout2400.smith.edu Ctrl } gets ENTER NUMBER: xxxxxxx
502 outdial.louisville.edu
502 uknet.uky.edu connect kecnet
@ dial: "outdial2400 or out"
602 acssdial.inre.asu.edu atdt8,,,,,[x][yyy]xxxyyyy
614 ns2400.acs.ohio-state.edu
614 ns9600.acs.ohio-state.edu
713 128.249.27.153 atdt x,xxxXXXX
714 modem.nts.uci.edu atdt[area]0[phone]
804 ublan.virginia.edu connect hayes, 9,,xxx-xxxx
804 ublan2.acc.virginia.edu connect telnet
connect hayes
Need Password
-------------
206 rexair.cac.washington.edu This is an unbroken password
303 yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU login: modem
404 128.140.1.239 .modem8|CR
415 annex132-1.EECS.Berkeley.EDU "dial1" or "dial2" or "dialer1"
514 cartier.CC.UMontreal.CA externe,9+number
703 wal-3000.cns.vt.edu dial2400 -aa
Dead/No Connect
---------------
201 idsnet
202 modem.aidt.edu
204 dial.cc.umanitoba.ca
204 umnet.cc.manitoba.ca "dial12" or "dial24"
206 dialout24.cac.washington.edu
207 modem-o.caps.maine.edu
212 B719-7e.NYU.EDU dial3/dial12/dial24
212 B719-7f.NYU.EDU dial3/dial12/dial24
212 DIALOUT-1.NYU.EDU dial3/dial12/dial24
212 FREE-138-229.NYU.EDU dial3/dial12/dial24
212 UP19-4b.NYU.EDU dial3/dial12/dial24
215 wiseowl.ocis.temple.edu "atz" "atdt 9xxxyyyy"
218 aa28.d.umn.edu "cli" "rlogin modem"
at "login:" type "modem"
218 modem.d.umn.edu Hayes 9,XXX-XXXX
301 dial9600.umd.edu
305 alcat.library.nova.edu
305 office.cis.ufl.edu
307 modem.uwyo.edu Hayes 0,XXX-XXXX
313 35.1.1.6 dial2400-aa or dial1200-aa
or dialout
402 dialin.creighton.edu
402 modem.criegthon.edu
404 broadband.cc.emory.edu ".modem8" or ".dialout"
408 dialout.scu.edu
408 dialout1200.scu.edu
408 dialout2400.scu.edu
408 dialout9600.scu.edu
413 dialout.smith.edu
414 modems.uwp.edu
416 annex132.berkely.edu atdt 9,,,,, xxx-xxxx
416 pacx.utcs.utoronto.ca modem
503 dialout.uvm.edu
513 dialout24.afit.af.mil
513 r596adi1.uc.edu
514 pacx.CC.UMontreal.CA externe#9 9xxx-xxxx
517 engdial.cl.msu.edu
602 dial9600.telcom.arizona.edu
603 dialout1200.unh.edu
604 dial24-nc00.net.ubc.ca
604 dial24-nc01.net.ubc.ca
604 dial96-np65.net.ubc.ca
604 gmodem.capcollege.bc.ca
604 hmodem.capcollege.bc.ca
609 128.119.131.11X (X= 1 - 4) Hayes
609 129.119.131.11x (x = 1 to 4)
609 wright-modem-1.rutgers.edu
609 wright-modem-2.rutgers.edu
612 modem_out12e7.atk.com
612 modem_out24n8.atk.com
614 ns2400.ircc.ohio-state.edu "dial"
615 dca.utk.edu dial2400 D 99k #
615 MATHSUN23.MATH.UTK.EDU dial 2400 d 99Kxxxxxxx
616 modem.calvin.edu
617 128.52.30.3 2400baud
617 dialout.lcs.mit.edu
617 dialout1.princeton.edu
617 isdn3.Princeton.EDU
617 jadwingymkip0.Princeton.EDU
617 lord-stanley.Princeton.EDU
617 mpanus.Princeton.EDU
617 mrmodem.wellesley.edu
617 old-dialout.Princeton.EDU
617 stagger.Princeton.EDU
617 sunshine-02.lcs.mit.edu
617 waddle.Princeton.EDU
619 128.54.30.1 atdt [area][phone]
619 dialin.ucsd.edu "dialout"
703 modem_pool.runet.edu
703 wal-3000.cns.vt.edu
713 128.249.27.154 "c modem96" "atdt 9xxx-xxxx"
or "Hayes"
713 modem12.bcm.tmc.edu
713 modem24.bcm.tmc.edu
713 modem24.bcm.tmc.edu
714 mdmsrv7.sdsu.edu atdt 8xxx-xxxx
714 modem24.nts.uci.edu
714 pub-gopher.cwis.uci.edu
801 dswitch.byu.edu "C Modem"
808 irmodem.ifa.hawaii.edu
902 star.ccs.tuns.ca "dialout"
916 129.137.33.72
916 cc-dnet.ucdavis.edu connect hayes/dialout
916 engr-dnet1.engr.ucdavis.edu UCDNET C KEYCLUB
??? 128.119.131.11X (1 - 4)
??? 128.200.142.5
??? 128.54.30.1 nue, X to discontinue, ? for Help
??? 128.6.1.41
??? 128.6.1.42
??? 129.137.33.72
??? 129.180.1.57
??? 140.112.3.2 ntu
??? annexdial.rz.uni-duesseldorf.de
??? dial96.ncl.ac.uk
??? dialout.plk.af.mil
??? ee21.ee.ncu.edu.tw cs8005
??? im.mgt.ncu.edu.tw guest
??? modem.cis.uflu.edu
??? modem.ireq.hydro.qc.ca
??? modems.csuohio.edu
??? sparc20.ncu.edu.tw u349633
??? sun2cc.nccu.edu.tw ?
??? ts-modem.une.oz.au
??? twncu865.ncu.edu.tw guest
??? vtnet1.cns.ut.edu "CALL" or "call"
[Editors note: Updates have been made to this document after the original publication].
IBM AIX Version 3 for RISC System/6000 (C) Copyrights by IBM and by others 1982, 1990. login:
You will know an AIX system because it is the only UNIX system that clears the screen and issues a login prompt near the bottom of the screen.
UserID? Password?
Once in, type GO MAIN
WELCOME TO THE NOS SOFTWARE SYSTEM. COPYRIGHT CONTROL DATA 1978, 1987. 88/02/16. 02.36.53. N265100 CSUS CYBER 170-730. NOS 2.5.2-678/3. FAMILY:
You would normally just hit return at the family prompt. Next prompt is:
USER NAME:
FIRST BANK OF TNO
95-866 TNO VirtualBank
REMOTE Router - TN043R1
Console Port
SN - 00000866
TN043R1>
DECserver 700-08 Communications Server V1.1 (BL44G-11A) - LAT V5.1 DPS502-DS700 (c) Copyright 1992, Digital Equipment Corporation - All Rights Reserved Please type HELP if you need assistance Enter username> TNO Local>
MPE XL: EXPECTED A :HELLO COMMAND. (CIERR 6057) MPE XL: EXPECTED [SESSION NAME,] USER.ACCT [,GROUP] (CIERR 1424) MPE XL:
WELCOME TO CITIBANK. PLEASE SIGN ON. XXXXXXXX @ PASSWORD = @ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= PLEASE ENTER YOUR ID:-1-> PLEASE ENTER YOUR PASSWORD:-2-> CITICORP (CITY NAME). KEY GHELP FOR HELP. XXX.XXX PLEASE SELECT SERVICE REQUIRED.-3->
Lantronix ETS16 Version V3.1/1(940623) Type HELP at the 'Local_15> ' prompt for assistance. Login password>
MMM MMMERIDIAN
MMMMM MMMMM
MMMMMM MMMMMM
MMM MMMMM MMM MMMMM MMMMM
MMM MMM MMM MMMMMM MMMMMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMMMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM
MMM MMM MMM MMM
Copyright (c) Northern Telecom, 1991
[Control-A aka smiley face]N
To access the systems it is best to own a copy of ONLAN/PC.
[Control-A aka smiley face]P
To access the systems it is best to own a copy of PCAnywhere Remote.
PRIMENET 19.2.7F PPOA1 [any text] ER! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CONNECT Primenet V 2.3 (system) LOGIN (you) User id? (system) SAPB5 (you) Password? (system) DROWSAP (you) OK, (system)
ROLM CBXII RELEASE 9004.2.34 RB295 9000D IBMHO27568 BIND DATE: 7/APR/93 COPYRIGHT 1980, 1993 ROLM COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ROLM IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK AND CBX IS A TRADEMARK OF ROLM COMPANY. YOU HAVE ENTERED CPU 1 12:38:47 ON WEDNESDAY 2/15/1995 USERNAME: op PASSWORD: INVALID USERNAME-PASSWORD PAIR
MARAUDER10292 01/09/85(^G) 1 03/10/87 00:29:47 RELEASE 8003 OSL, PLEASE. ?
Login: root INCORRECT LOGIN Login: browse Password: Software Version: G3s.b16.2.2 Terminal Type (513, 4410, 4425): [513]
NIH Timesharing NIH Tri-SMP 7.02-FF 16:30:04 TTY11 system 1378/1381/1453 Connected to Node Happy(40) Line # 12 Please LOGIN .
VM/370 !
VM/ESA ONLINE
TBVM2 VM/ESA Rel 1.1 PUT 9200
Fill in your USERID and PASSWORD and press ENTER
(Your password will not appear when you type it)
USERID ===>
PASSWORD ===>
COMMAND ===>
Annex Command Line Interpreter * Copyright 1991 Xylogics, Inc. Checking authorization, Please wait... Annex username: TNO Annex password: Permission granted annex:
23. What are the default accounts for XXX?
guest guest
qsecofr qsecofr master security officer qsysopr qsysopr system operator qpgmr qpgmr default programmer also ibm password ibm 2222 ibm service qsecofr 1111111 qsecofr 2222222 qserv qserv qsvr qsvr secofr secofr qsrv ibmce1
ACCESS SYSTEM
(Type 'later' to exit to the login prompt) setup [no password] library [no password] circ [Social Security Number]
HELLO MANAGER.SYS HELLO MGR.SYS HELLO FIELD.SUPPORT HPUNSUP or SUPPORT or HP HELLO OP.OPERATOR MGR CAROLIAN MGR CCC MGR CNAS MGR CONV MGR COGNOS OPERATOR COGNOS MANAGER COGNOS OPERATOR DISC MGR HPDESK MGR HPWORD FIELD HPWORD MGR HPOFFICE SPOOLMAN HPOFFICE ADVMAIL HPOFFICE MAIL HPOFFICE WP HPOFFICE MANAGER HPOFFICE MGR HPONLY FIELD HPP187 MGR HPP187 MGR HPP189 MGR HPP196 MGR INTX3 MGR ITF3000 MANAGER ITF3000 MAIL MAIL MGR NETBASE MGR REGO MGR RJE MGR ROBELLE MANAGER SECURITY MGR SECURITY FIELD SERVICE MANAGER SYS MGR SYS PCUSER SYS RSBCMON SYS OPERATOR SYS OPERATOR SYSTEM FIELD SUPPORT OPERATOR SUPPORT MANAGER TCH MAIL TELESUP MANAGER TELESUP MGR TELESUP SYS TELESUP MGE VESOFT MGE VESOFT MGR WORD MGR XLSERVER Common jobs are Pub, Sys, and Data. Common passwords are HPOnly, TeleSup, HP, MPE, Manager, MGR, and Remote.
Sysop Sysop
SYSTEM
root NeXT signa signa me [null] (Rumored to be correct, not checked)
fax [no password]
DSA # Desquetop System Administrator DS DESQUETOP PHANTOM
PBX PBX NETWORK NETWORK NETOP [null]
RS[STORE_ID_NUMBER]
CBX Defaults op op op operator su super admin pwp eng engineer PhoneMail Defaults sysadmin sysadmin tech tech poll tech
SYSTEM/SYSTEM (Username SYSTEM, Password SYSTEM) 1,1/system (Directory [1,1] Password SYSTEM) BATCH/BATCH SYSTEM/MANAGER USER/USERDefault accounts for Micro/RSX:
MICRO/RSX
Alternately you can hit ^Z when the boot sequence asks you for the date and create an account using:
RUN ACNT or RUN $ACNT
(Numbers below 10 [oct] are Priveleged)
Reboot and wait for the date/time question. Type ^C and at the MCR prompt, type "abo at." You must include the . (dot)!
If this works, type "acs lb0:/blks=1000" to get some swap space so the new step won't wedge.
type " run $acnt" and change the password of any account with a group number of 7 or less.
You may find that the ^C does not work. Try ^Z and ESC as well. Also try all 3 as terminators to valid and invalid times.
If none of the above work, use the halt switch to halt the system, just after an invalid date-time. Look for a user mode PSW 1[4-7]xxxx. then deposit 177777 into R6, cross your fingers, write protect the drive and continue the system. This will hopefully result in indirect blowing up... And hopefully the system has not been fully secured.
4DGifts [no password] guest [no password] demos [no password] lp [no password] nuucp [no password] tour [no password] tutor [no password]
bcim bcimpw bciim bciimpw bcms bcmspw, bcms bcnas bcnspw blue bluepw browse looker, browsepw craft crftpw, craftpw, crack cust custpw enquiry enquirypw field support inads indspw, inadspw>Transfert interrompu !
kraftpw locate locatepw maint maintpw, rwmaint nms nmspw rcust rcustpw support supportpw tech field
rgm rollout tacobell [null]
Default password: 166816
field service systest utep
Default password: 166831
The file /etc/services on most UNIX machines lists the port assignments for that machine. For a complete list of port assignments, read RFC (Request For Comments) 1700 (Assigned Numbers).
25. What is a trojan/worm/virus/logic bomb?
This FAQ answer was written by Theora:
26. How can I protect myself from virii and such?
This FAQ answer was written by Theora:
The most common viruses are boot sector infectors. You can help protect yourself against those by write protecting all disks which you do not need write access to. Definitely keep a set of write protected floppy system disks. If you get a virus, it will make things much simpler. And, they are good for coasters. Only kidding.
Scan all incoming files with a recent copy of a good virus scanner. Among the best are F-Prot, Dr. Solomon's Anti-virus Toolkit, and Thunderbyte Anti-Virus. AVP is also a good proggie. Using more than one scanner could be helpful. You may get those one or two viruses that the other guy happened to miss this month.
New viruses come out at the rate of about 8 per day now. NO scanner can keep up with them all, but the four mentioned here do the best job of keeping current. Any _good_ scanner will detect the majority of common viruses. No virus scanner will detect all viruses.
Right now there are about 5600 known viruses. New ones are written all the time. If you use a scanner for virus detection, you need to make sure you get frequent updates. If you rely on behaviour blockers, you should know that such programs can be bypassed easily by a technique known as tunnelling.
You may want to use integrity checkers as well as scanners. Keep in mind that while these can supply added protection, they are not foolproof.
You may want to use a particular kind of scanner, called resident scanners. Those are programs which stay resident in the computer memory and constantly monitor program execution (and sometimes even access to the files containing programs). If you try to execute a program, the resident scanner receives control and scans it first for known viruses. Only if no such viruses are found, the program is allowed to execute.
Most virus scanners will not protect you against many kinds of trojans, any sort of logic bombs, or worms. Theoretically, they _could_ protect you against logic bombs and/or worms, by addition of scanning strings; however, this is rarely done.
The best, actually only way, to protect yourself is to know what you have on your system and make sure what you have there is authorised by you. Make freqent backups of all important files. Keep your DOS system files write protected. Write protect all disks that you do not need to write to. If you do get a virus, don't panic. Call the support department of the company who supplies your anti-virus product if you aren't sure of what you are doing. If the company you got your anti-virus software from does not have a good technical support department, change companies.
The best way to make sure viruses are not spread is not to spread them. Some people do this intentionally. We discourage this. Viruses aren't cool.
27. Where can I get more information about viruses?
This FAQ answer was written by Theora:
Assembly lanaguage programming books illustrate the (boring) aspect of replication and have for a long time. The most exciting/interesting thing about viruses is all the controversy around them. Free speech, legality, and cute payloads are a lot more interesting than "find first, find next" calls. You can get information about the technical aspects of viruses, as well as help if you should happen to get a virus, from the virus-l FAQ, posted on comp. virus every so often. You can also pick up on the various debates there. There are alt.virus type newsgroups, but the level of technical expertise is minimal, and so far at least there has not been a lot of real "help" for people who want to get -rid- of a virus.
There are a lot of virus experts. To become one, just call yourself one. Only kidding. Understanding viruses involves understanding programming, operating systems, and their interaction. Understanding all of the 'Cult of Virus' business requires a lot of discernment. There are a number of good papers available on viruses, and the Cult of Virus; you can get information on them from just about anyone listed in the virus-l FAQ. The FTP site ftp.informatik.uni-hamburg.de is a pretty reliable site for proggies and text.
This FAQ answer is excerpted from: Computer Security Basics by Deborah Russell and G.T. Gengemi, Sr.
A message is called either plaintext or cleartext. The process of disguising a message in such a way as to hide its substance is called encryption. An encrypted message is called ciphertext. The process of turning ciphertext back into plaintext is called decryption. The art and science of keeping messages secure is called cryptography, and it is practiced by cryptographers. Cryptanalysts are practitioners of cryptanalysis, the art and science of breaking ciphertext, i.e. seeing through the disguise. The branch of mathematics embodying both cryptography and cryptanalysis is called cryptology, and it's practitioners are called cryptologists.
This FAQ answer is excerpted from: PGP(tm) User's Guide Volume I: Essential Topics by Philip Zimmermann.
PGP(tm) uses public-key encryption to protect E-mail and data files. Communicate securely with people you've never met, with no secure channels needed for prior exchange of keys. PGP is well featured and fast, with sophisticated key management, digital signatures, data compression, and good ergonomic design. Pretty Good(tm) Privacy (PGP), from Phil's Pretty Good Software, is a high security cryptographic software application for MS-DOS, UNIX, VAX/VMS, and other computers. PGP allows people to exchange files or messages with privacy, authentication, and convenience. Privacy means that only those intended to receive a message can read it. Authentication means that messages that appear to be from a particular person can only have originated from that person. Convenience means that privacy and authentication are provided without the hassles of managing keys associated with conventional cryptographic software. No secure channels are needed to exchange keys between users, which makes PGP much easier to use. This is because PGP is based on a powerful new technology called "public key" cryptography. PGP combines the convenience of the Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) public key cryptosystem with the speed of conventional cryptography, message digests for digital signatures, data compression before encryption, good ergonomic design, and sophisticated key management. And PGP performs the public-key functions faster than most other software implementations. PGP is public key cryptography for the masses.
Tempest stands for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Surveillance Technology.
Computers and other electronic equipment release interference to their surrounding environment. You may observe this by placing two video monitors close together. The pictures will behave erratically until you space them apart.
What is important for an observer is the emission of digital pulses (1s and 0s) as these are used in computers. The channel for this radiation is in two arrangements, radiated emissions and conducted emissions. Radiated emissions are assembled when components in electrical devices form to act as antennas. Conducted emissions are formed when radiation is conducted along cables and wires.
Although most of the time these emissions are simply annoyances, they can sometimes be very helpful. Suppose we wanted to see what project a target was working on. We could sit in a van outside her office and use sensitive electronic equipment to attempt to pick up and decipher the emanations from her video monitor. These emissions normally exist at around 55-245 Mhz and can be picked up as far as one kilometer away.
A monitoring device can distinguish between different sources emitting radiation because the sources emanating the radiation are made up of dissimilar elements and so this coupled with other factors varies the emitted frequency. For example different electronic components in VDUs, different manufacturing processes involved in reproducing the VDUs, different line syncs, etc... By synchronizing our raster with the targets raster we can passively draw the observed screen in real-time. This technology can be acquired by anyone, not just government agencies.
The target could shield the emissions from her equipment or use equipment that does not generate strong emissions. However, Tempest equipment is not legal for civillian use in the United States.
Tempest is the US Government program for evaluation and endorsement of electronic equipment that is safe from eavesdropping. Tempest certification refers to the equipment having passed a testing phase and agreeing to emanations rules specified in the government document NACSIM 5100A (Classified). This document sets forth the emanation levels that the US Government believes equipment can give off without compromising the information it is processing.
31. What is an anonymous remailer?
This FAQ answer was written by Raph Levien:
An anonymous remailer is a system on the Internet that allows you to send e-mail or post messages to Usenet anonymously.
There are two sorts of remailers in widespread use. The first is the anon.penet.fi style, the second is the cypherpunk style. The remailer at anon.penet.fi is immensely popular, with over 160,000 users over its lifetime, and probably tens of thousands of messages per day. Its main advantage is that it's so easy to use. The cypherpunks mailers, which provide much better security, are becoming more popular, however, as there is more awareness of them.
The user of the anon.penet.fi system first needs to get an anonymous id. This is done either by sending mail to somebody who already has one (for example, by replying to a post on Usenet), or sending mail to ping@anon.penet.fi. In either case, penet will mail back the new anon id, which looks like an123456@anon.penet.fi. If an123456 then sends mail to another user of the system, then this is what happens:
1. The mail is transported to anon.penet.fi, which resides somewhere in
the vicinity of Espoo, Finland.
2. These steps are carried out by software running on anon.penet.fi.
Penet first looks up the email address of the sender in its
database, then replaces it with the numeric code. All other
information about the sender is removed.
3. Then, penet looks up the number of the recipient in the same
database, and replaces it with the actual email address.
4. Finally, it sends the mail to the actual email address of the
recipient.
There are variations on this scheme, such as posting to Usenet (in which step 3 is eliminated), but that's the basic idea.
Where anon.penet.fi uses a secret database to match anon id's to actual email addresses, the cypherpunks remailers use cryptography to hide the actual identities. Let's say I want to send email to a real email address, or post it to Usenet, but keep my identity completely hidden. To send it through one remailer, this is what happens.
1. I encrypt the message and the recipient's address, using the public
key of the remailer of my choice.
2. I send the email to the remailer.
3. When the remailer gets the mail, it decrypts it using its private
key, revealing as plaintext the message and the recipient's address.
4. All information about the sender is removed.
5. Finally, it sends it to the recipient's email address.
If one trusts the remailer operator, this is good enough. However, the whole point of the cypherpunks remailers is that you don't _have_ to trust any one individual or system. So, people who want real security use a chain of remailers. If any one remailer on the "chain" is honest, then the privacy of the message is assured.
To use a chain of remailers, I first have to prepare the message, which is nestled within multiple layers of encryption, like a Russian matryoshka doll. Preparing such a message is tedious and error prone, so many people use an automated tool such as my premail package. Anyway, after preparing the message, it is sent to the first remailer in the chain, which corresponds to the outermost layer of encryption. Each remailer strips off one layer of encryption and sends the message to the next, until it reaches the final remailer. At this point, only the innermost layer of encryption remains. This layer is stripped off, revealing the plaintext message and recipient for the first time. At this point, the message is sent to its actual recipient.
Remailers exist in many locations. A typical message might go through Canada, Holland, Berkeley, and Finland before ending up at its final location.
Aside from the difficulty of preparing all the encrypted messages, another drawback of the cypherpunk remailers is that they don't easily allow responses to anonymous mail. All information about the sender is stripped away, including any kind of return address. However the new alias servers promise to change that. To use an alias server, one creates a new email address (mine is raph@alpha.c2.org). Mail sent to this new address will be untraceably forwarded to one's real address.
To set this up, one first encrypts one's own email address with multiple layers of encryption. Then, using an encrypted channel, one sends the encrypted address to the alias server, along with the nickname that one would like. The alias server registers the encrypted address in the database. The alias server then handles reply mail in much the same way as anon.penet.fi, except that the mail is forwarded to the chain of anonymous remailers.
For maximum security, the user can arrange it so that, at each link in the chain, the remailer adds another layer of encryption to the message while removing one layer from the email address. When the user finally gets the email, it is encrypted in multiple layers. The matryoshka has to be opened one doll at a time until the plaintext message hidden inside is revealed.
One other point is that the remailers must be reliable in order for all this to work. This is especially true when a chain of remailers is used---if any one of the remailers is not working, then the message will be dropped. This is why I maintain a list of reliable remailers. By choosing reliable remailers to start with, there is a good chance the message will finally get there.
32. What are the addresses of some anonymous remailers?
The most popular and stable anonymous remailer is anon.penet.fi, operated by Johan Helsingus. To obtain an anonymous ID, mail ping@anon.penet.fi.
The server at anon.penet.fi does it's best to remove any headers or other information describing its true origin. You should make an effort and try to omit information detailing your identity within such messages as quite often signatures not starting with "--" are including within your e-mail, this of course is not what you want. You can send messages to:
anXXX@anon.penet.fi
Here you are addressing another anonymous user and your E-Mail message will appear to have originated from anon.penet.fi.
alt.security@anon.penet.fi
Here you are posting an anonymous message to a whole Usenet group and in this case to alt.security which will be posted at the local site (in this case Finland).
ping@anon.penet.fi
If you send a message to this address you will be allocated an identity (assuming you don't already have one). You can also confirm your identity here as well.
You can also set yourself a password, this password helps to authenticate any messages that you may send. This password is included in your outgoing messages, to set a password send E-Mail to password@anon.penet.fi with your password in the body of your text e.g.:
To: password@anon.penet.fi Subject: TN0_rUlEz
For more information on this anonymous server send mail to:
help@anon.penet.fi
Anonymous Usenet posting is frowned upon by other users of Usenet groups claiming their opinions are worthless. This is because they believe anonymity is used to shield ones self from attacks from opponents, while on the other hand it can be used to protect ones self from social prejudice (or people reporting ones opinions to ones superiors). Also if you are thinking this is a useful tool to use to hid against the authorities then think again, as there was a famous case where a Judge ordered the administrator of the server to reveal the identity of a poster.
To see a comprehensive list on anonymous remailers, finger remailer-list@kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu or point your web browser to http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~raph/remailer-list.html.
33. How do I defeat copy protection?
There are two common methods of defeating copy protection. The first is to use a program that removes copy protection. Popular programs that do this are CopyIIPC from Central Point Software and CopyWrite from Quaid Software. The second method involves patching the copy protected program. For popular software, you may be able to locate a ready made patch. You can them apply the patch using any hex editor, such as debug or the Peter Norton's DiskEdit. If you cannot, you must patch the software yourself.
Writing a patch requires a debugger, such as Soft-Ice or Sourcer. It also requires some knowledge of assembly language. Load the protected program under the debugger and watch for it to check the protection mechanism. When it does, change that portion of the code. The code can be changed from JE (Jump on Equal) or JNE (Jump On Not Equal) to JMP (Jump Unconditionally). Or the code may simply be replaced with NOP (No Operation) instructions.
127.0.0.1 is a loopback network connection. If you telnet, ftp, etc., to it you are connected to your own machine.
35. How do I post to a moderated newsgroup?
Usenet messages consist of message headers and message bodies. The message header tells the news software how to process the message. Headers can be divided into two types, required and optional. Required headers are ones like "From" and "Newsgroups." Without the required headers, your message will not be posted properly.
One of the optional headers is the "Approved" header. To post to a moderated newsgroup, simply add an Approved header line to your message header. The header line should contain the newsgroup moderators e-mail address. To see the correct format for your target newsgroup, save a message from the newsgroup and then look at it using any text editor.
A "Approved" header line should look like this:
Approved: will@gnu.ai.mit.edu
There cannot not be a blank line in the message header. A blank line will cause any portion of the header after the blank line to be interpreted as part of the message body.
For more information, read RFC 1036 (Standard for Interchange of USENET messages).
36. How do I post to Usenet via e-mail?
Through an e-mail to Usenet gateway. Send e-mail messages to newsgroup@servername. For example, to post to alt.2600 through nic.funet.fi, address your mail to alt.2600@nic.funet.fi.
Here are a few e-mail->Usenet gateways:
group.name@news.demon.co.uk group.name@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu group.name@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca group.name@nic.funet.fi group.name.usenet@decwrl.dec.com
37. How do I defeat a BIOS password?
This depends on what BIOS the machine has. Common BIOS's include AMI, Award, IBM and Phoenix. Numerous other BIOS's do exist, but these are the most common.
Some BIOS's allow you to require a password be entered before the system will boot. Some BIOS's allow you to require a password to be entered before the BIOS setup may be accessed.
Every BIOS must store this password information somewhere. If you are able to access the machine after it has been booted successfully, you may be able to view the password. You must know the memory address where the password is stored and the format in which the password is stored or you must have a program that knows these things.
The most common BIOS password attack programs are for the AMI BIOS. Some password attack programs will return the AMI BIOS password in plain text, some will return it in ASCII codes, and some will return it in scan codes. This appears to be dependent not just on the password attacker, but also on the version of the AMI BIOS.
To obtain AMI BIOS password attackers, FTP to oak.oakland.edu (/pub/simtelnet/msdos/sysutl).
If you cannot access the machine after if has been powered up, it is still possible to get past the password. The password is stored in CMOS memory that is maintained while the PC is powered off by a small battery, which is attached to the motherboard. If you remove this battery, all CMOS information will be lost. You will need to re-enter the correct CMOS setup information to use the machine. The machines owner or user will most likely be alarmed when it is discovered that the BIOS password has been deleted.
On some motherboards, the battery is soldered to the motherboard, making it difficult to remove. If this is the case, you have another alternative. Somewhere on the motherboard you should find a jumper that will clear the BIOS password. If you have the motherboard documentation, you will know where that jumper is. If not, the jumper may be labeled on the motherboard. If you are not fortunate enough for either of these to be the case, you may be able to guess which jumper is the correct jumper. This jumper is usually standing alone near the battery.
38. What is the password for [encrypted file]?
This FAQ answer was written by crypt <crypt@nyongwa.montreal.qc.ca>:
Magazine Password ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ VLAD Magazine Issue #1 vlad VLAD Magazine Issue #2 vx VLAD Magazine Issue #3 virus NuKE InfoJournal Issue #2 514738 NuKE InfoJournal Issue #3 power NuKE InfoJournal Issue #4 party Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ Sphere Hacker 1.40 & 1.41 theozone Virus Creation 2000 high level Virus Construction Lab Chiba City Ejecutor Virus Creator EJECUTOR Biological Warfare v0.90 lo tek Biological Warfare v1.00 freak
39. Is there any hope of a decompiler that would convert an executable program into C/C++ code?
This FAQ answer is an excerpt from SNIPPETS by Bob Stout.
Don't hold your breath. Think about it... For a decompiler to work properly, either 1) every compiler would have to generate substantially identical code, even with full optimization turned on, or 2) it would have to recognize the individual output of every compiler's code generator. If the first case were to be correct, there would be no more need for compiler benchmarks since every one would work the same. For the second case to be true would require in immensely complex program that had to change with every new compiler release. OK, so what about specific decompilers for specific compilers - say a decompiler designed to only work on code generated by, say, BC++ 4.5? This gets us right back to the optimization issue. Code written for clarity and understandability is often inefficient. Code written for maximum performance (speed or size) is often cryptic (at best!) Add to this the fact that all modern compilers have a multitude of optimization switches to control which optimization techniques to enable and which to avoid. The bottom line is that, for a reasonably large, complex source module, you can get the compiler to produce a number of different object modules simply by changing your optimization switches, so your decompiler will also have to be a deoptimizer which can automagically recognize which optimization strategies were enabled at compile time. OK, let's simplify further and specify that you only want to support one specific compiler and you want to decompile to the most logical source code without trying to interpret the optimization. What then? A good optimizer can and will substantially rewrite the internals of your code, so what you get out of your decompiler will be, not only cryptic, but in many cases, riddled with goto statements and other no-no's of good coding practice. At this point, you have decompiled source, but what good is it? Also note carefully my reference to source modules. One characteristic of C is that it becomes largely unreadable unless broken into easily maintainable source modules (.C files). How will the decompiler deal with that? It could either try to decompile the whole program into some mammoth main() function, losing all modularity, or it could try to place each called function into its own file. The first way would generate unusable chaos and the second would run into problems where the original source hade files with multiple functions using static data and/or one or more functions calling one or more static functions. A decompiler could make static data and/or functions global but only at the expense or readability (which would already be unacceptable). Finally, remember that commercial applications often code the most difficult or time-critical functions in assembler which could prove almost impossible to decompile into a C equivalent. Like I said, don't hold your breath. As technology improves to where decompilers may become more feasible, optimizers and languages (C++, for example, would be a significantly tougher language to decompile than C) also conspire to make them less likely. For years UNIX applications have been distributed in shrouded source form (machine but not human readable---all comments and whitespace removed, variables names all in the form OOIIOIOI, etc.), which has been a quite adequate means of protecting the author's rights. It's very unlikely that decompiler output would even be as readable as shrouded source.
40. How does the MS-Windows password encryption work?
This FAQ answer was written by Wayne Hoxsie <hoxsiew@crl.com>:
The password option in MS Win 3.1 is easily defeated, but there are those of us who really want to know how MS does this. There are many reasons why knowing the actual password can be useful. Suppose a sysamin used the same password in the windows screen saver as his root account on a unix box.
Anyway, I will attempt to relay what I have learned about this algorithm.
I will describe the process starting after you've entered the password and hit the [OK] button.
I will make the assumtion that everyone (at least those interested) know what the XOR operation is.
First, the length of the password is saved. We'll call this 'len'. We will be moving characters from the entered string into another string as they are encrypted. We'll call the originally entered password 'plaintext' and the encrypted string(strings--there are two passes) 'hash1' and 'hash2.' The position in the plaintext is important during the process so we'll refer to this as 'pos.' After each step of the hashing process, the character is checked against a set of characters that windows considers 'special.' These characters are '[ ] =' and any character below ASCII 33 or above ASCII 126. I'll refer to this checking operation as 'is_ok.' All indecies are zero-based (i.e. an 8 character password is considered chars 0 to 7).
Now, the first character of 'plaintext' is xor'd with 'len' then fed to 'is_ok'. if the character is not valid, it is replaced by the original character of 'plaintext' before going to the next operation. The next operation is to xor with 'pos' (this is useless for the first operation since 'len' is 0 and anything xor'd with zero is itself) then fed to 'is_ok' and replaced with the original if not valid. The final operation (per character) is to xor it with the previous character of 'plaintext'. Since there is no previous character, the fixed value, 42, is used on the first character of 'plaintext'. This is then fed to 'is_ok' and if OK, it is stored into the first position of 'hash1' This process proceeds until all characters of plaintext are exhausted.
The second pass is very similar, only now, the starting point is the last character in hash1 and the results are placed into hash2 from the end to the beginning. Also, instead of using the previous character in the final xoring, the character following the current character is used. Since there is no character following the last character in hash1, the value, 42 is again used for the last character.
'hash2' is the final string and this is what windows saves in the file CONTROL.INI.
To 'decrypt' the password, the above procedure is just reversed.
Now, what you've all been waiting for. Here is some C code that will do the dirty work for you: