More Beginners'
Guide #1 ...
How to Use - So you want to be a harmless hacker?
If you know how to use a personal computer and are on the
Internet, you already know enough to start learning to be a
hacker. You don't even need to read every single Guide to (mostly)
Harmless Hacking in order to become a hacker.
You can count on anything in Volumes I, II and III being so
easy that you can jump in about anywhere and just follow
instructions.
But if your plan is to become "elite," you will do better if
you read all the Guides, check out the many Web sites and
newsgroups to which we will point you, and find a mentor among the
many talented hackers who post to our Hackers forum or chat on our
IRC server at http://www.infowar.com, and on the Happy Hacker
email list (email <script language="JavaScript"><!-- var
name = "cmeinel"; var domain = "techbroker.com";
document.write('<a href=\"mailto:' + name + '@' + domain +
'\">'); document.write(name + '@' + domain + '</a>'); //
--></script> with message "subscribe").
If your goal is to become an Uberhacker, the Guides will end up
being only the first in a mountain of material that you will need
to study. However, we offer a study strategy that can aid you in
your quest to reach the pinnacle of hacking.
How to Not Get Busted
One slight problem with hacking is that if you step over the
line, you can go to jail. We will do our best to warn you when we
describe hacks that could get you into trouble with the law. But
we are not attorneys or experts on cyberlaw. In addition,
every state and every country has its own laws. And these laws
keep on changing. So you have to use a little sense.
However, we have a Guide to (mostly) Harmless Hacking Computer
Crime Law Series to help you avoid some pitfalls.
But the best protection against getting busted is the Golden
Rule. If you are about to do something that you would not like to
have done to you, forget it. Do hacks that make the world a better
place, or that are at least fun and harmless, and you should be
able to keep out of trouble.
So if you get an idea from So you want to be a harmless hacker?
that helps you to do something malicious or destructive, it's your
problem if you end up being the next hacker behind bars. Hey,
the law won't care if the guy whose computer you trash was being a
d***. It won't care that the giant corporation whose database you
filched shafted your best buddy once. They will only care that you
broke the law.
To some people it may sound like phun to become a national
sensation in the latest hysteria over Evil Genius hackers. But
after the trial, when some reader of these Guides ends up being
the reluctant "girlfriend" of a convict named Spike, how happy
will his news clippings make him?
Conventions Used in the Guides
You've probably already noticed that we spell some words funny,
like "kewl" and "phun." These are hacker slang terms. Since we
often communicate with each other via email, most of our slang
consists of ordinary words with extraordinary spellings. For
example, a hacker might spell "elite" as "3l1t3," with 3's
substituting for e's and 1's for i's. He or she may even spell
"elite" as "31337. The Guides sometimes use these slang spellings
to help you learn how to write email like a hacker.
Of course, the cute spelling stuph we use will go out of date
fast. So we do not guarantee that if you use this slang, people
will read your email and think, "Ohhh, you must be an Evil Genius!
I'm sooo impressed!"
Take it from us, guys who need to keep on inventing new slang
to prove they are "k-rad 3l1t3" are often lusers and lamers. So if
you don't want to use any of the hacker slang of these Guides,
that's OK by us. Most Uberhackers don't use slang, either.
Who Are You?
We've made some assumptions about who you are and why you are
reading these Guides:
� You own a PC or Macintosh personal computer. So, does this picture fit you? If so, OK, d00dz, start your
computers. Are you ready to hack?
You are
on-line with the Internet.
You have a sense of humor and
adventure and want to express it by hacking
Or -- you want
to impress your friends and pick up chicks (or guys) by making
them think you are an Evil Genius.
Copyright 1997 Carolyn P. Meinel. You may
forward or post on your Web site this GUIDE TO (mostly)
HARMLESS HACKING as long as you leave this notice at the end.