From: mikelea@nospam.digex.net (Hippykill) Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: 13 Dec 1997 19:23:46 GMT Organization: DIGEX, Inc. Lines: 191 Approved: : Message-ID: <66unc2$nqc$1@news2.digex.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: dyn001052.belt.digex.net X-Newsreader: Alexandra.app (Version 0.82) Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!paladin.american.edu!newscore.univie.ac.at!uninett.no!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news2.digex.net!digex!not-for-mail The UNOFFICIAL Alt.hackers FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS file Last updated 3/27/1997 TABLE OF CONTENTS A. ADMINISTRIVIA 1) What is this document? 2) Where can I find another copy of it? 3) Who the hell are you and why are you posting this? 4) Isn't there already a FAQ for this group? B. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 1) What is alt.hackers for? 2) What is a hacker? 3) Why can't I post to this group? 4) What is an Obhack, and why do I need one? 5) Where can I get more information on hacking and hackers? 6) But where do I find the k-rad 3l1t3 hacks, d00d? A. ADMINISTRIVIA 1) What is this document? This document answers the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the Usenet newsgroup alt.hackers. This is an unofficial FAQ--there is an official one that is available on the World Wide Web (see below). This document is not covered by any copyright whatsoever--feel free to copy it, distribute it freely, change it, or sell it for dollars. 2) Where can I find another copy of it? Most FAQs are available for anonymous ftp from the archive site ftp://rtfm.mit.edu I have made it available at my personal website. Here is a URL that should get you a copy: http://www.access.digex.net/~mikelea/hackfaq.txt 3) Who the hell are you and why are you posting this? My name is Michael Lea, and I'm posting this because no one else is. There is an official FAQ that is available on the web and is supposedly posted every two weeks to the group--however, I haven't seen it posted in a long time, so I wrote this unofficial FAQ. 4) Isn't there already a FAQ for this group? Yes. It is available on the Web at the following URL: http://www.fullfeed.com/~gregc/alt-hackers-faq.html There is also an official maintainer of the official FAQ, who mailed me a slight flame about my posting of my unofficial FAQ, but I lost his address. I'd like to continue posting this document, because I never see the official FAQ posted to the group. If anyone has serious problems with me posting this, mail me at mikelea@access.digex.net. B. IMPORTANT QUESTIONS 1) What is alt.hackers for? Alt.hackers is a forum for hackers to discuss (i.e. brag about) current, past, and future projects. It is also a place to ask for help in your current projects, _not_ including your homework! The only limitation to this discussion is that it should relate in some way to hacking (see next question) and include a description of a hack you've done (see the discussion of Obhacks, further down). 2) What is a hacker? Good question. A hacker is someone who hacks. What is hacking? Well, there is a definition of hack in the Jargon File/New Hacker's Dictionary that tries to cover it. The Jargon File is an awesome resource for anyone interested in computers, so you should go read it. Here's the URL: HTTP://www.ccil.org/jargon/jargon.html In short, hacking is about using available technology in a creative way to solve a problem. It can be a stupid problem and an ugly solution, as long as it is a new and creative solution. Hacking extends to all forms of technology, not just computers--using the thighbone of an antelope to bash in the head of another antelope was an excellent hack. Now that I've given a short definition of what hacking is, I can try and tell you what isn't a hack. Hacking is not about breaking things. It isn't about denial of service attacks or pirated software or deleting or stealing other people's data. If you are interested in doing any of these things, alt.hackers is going to bore you. Try the alt.2600.* hierarchy if you're looking for that sort of conversation. And call yourself a cracker, not a hacker. 3) Why can't I post to this group? Because we don't want you here . Actually, alt.hackers is a moderated group, so you'll have to figure out how to get around the moderator to post here. No, I'm not the moderator and you're not going to find out who is. It is a trivial hack to post here, so you're going to look really stupid if you mail me or anyone else on the group asking how to do it. Figure it out for yourself! One caveat: Please don't post a million test messages to the group. Use alt.dev.null for testing purposes. It is set up just like alt.hackers, and you won't look stupid if you post a million test messages there. If you can post to alt.dev.null but can't post to alt.hackers, tell your newsadmin that alt.dev.null is set up wrong on your machines. Thanks to Andrew Gierth for the current status of alt.dev.null! 4) What is an Obhack, and why do I need one? Obhack is short for Obligatory Hack. Every post in alt.hackers is required to include some sort of discussion of hacking, so most people put an Obhack on the end of their message to meet this requirement. If you don't include a hack with your message, you are going to look really stupid and you're going to get a lot of email telling you that you need to have one. Do you really want all the other hackers who read the group to think that you are too stupid to come up with a hack? BTW, posting to the group is not considered to be a hack. You will be flamed if you try to use that as your Obhack. 5) Where can I get more information on hacking and hackers? As noted above, the Jargon File/New Hacker's Dictionary is an excellent source. For information on the Internet, check out the RFC's. These are the documents that describe every protocol and most of the services available on the Internet. David Cary was nice enough to mail me some URLs that point to sources of the RFCs: [begin quote from David Cary] Index to RFCs http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/information/rfc.html Some more RFCs ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/ You can ftp to: ftp://nic.ddn.mil/rfc or you could get it off the web at: http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc-index.html http://ds.internic.net/ds/rfc-index.html "gives access to all published RFC's." [end quote] And Daniel Brown was nice enough to mail me this info: [begin quote from Daniel Brown] Check out the hacking-related documentation on Eric Raymond's FAQ collection (http://www.ccil.org/~esr/faqs/index.html). "How To Become A Hacker" and "A Brief History of Hackerdom" are articles which you should take a look at. [end quote] 6) But where do I find the k-rad 3l1t3 hacks, d00d? A lot of people have mailed me looking for information on breaking into computers and other security issues. Remember, if you break something on purpose, you're not a hacker. If you are looking for information on "the computer underground" and aren't really interested in intelligent conversation, alt.2600.* is for you. If you really are interested in computer security issues and think that you are smart enough to understand these issues, you should check out: http://www.l0pht.com http://underground.org comp.security.misc comp.security.unix Also, check out the Jargon File: http://locke.ccil.org/jargon/index.html and look up the entries for "hacker" and "cracker" and then look at the sections on "Helping Hacker Culture Grow" and "Crackers, Phreaks, and Lamers". (thanks to Phil Edwards for help with this answer) -- *mikelea@access.digex.net* "imperious, angry, furious, extreme in all things, with a disturbance in the moral imagination unlike any the world has ever known-there you have me in a nutshell: and one more thing, kill me or take me as I am, because I will not change." -de Sade ###### From: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 02:34:39 -0800 Organization: Disorganization Lines: 32 Approved: why, certainly, it's approved! Message-ID: <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> Reply-To: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" NNTP-Posting-Host: dt092n27.san.rr.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keywords: challenge X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!atl-news-feed1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!howland.erols.net!news.idt.net!nntp2.cerf.net!nntp3.cerf.net!newsfeed.san.rr.com!not-for-mail In addition to the FAQ.... I have issued a challenge to anyone who can post here or on alt.dev.null The challenge is to find my "I dare ANYONE to kill this post" post, the one I posted right before I posted THIS one, and kill it. It is possible to do this. In order to do it, though, you need to be able to post to alt.hackers and alt.dev.null . It's less trivial of a hack to cancel a post. You might actually have to do some research. However, it's possible to do it. I know, because I have done it myself. A CHALLENGE to your intellect, ladies and gentlemen! In the spirit of hacking (finding unique solutions to problems) feel free to try your luck. On 'alt.dev.null' of course (where it really doesn't matter). OBHACK: When I was in the Navy, all of the various bathroom (head) fixtures were stainless steel. The commodes were made of a similar material, one that didn't corrode in seawater (ships use seawater to flush toilets), but it had a tendency to get a build-up of greenish copper-like corrosion over time (which didn't actually eat into the metal, but built up onto it). During "field day" those lucky enough to be cleaning the head would use dry-packets of 'Kool Aid' like drink mix (bug juice), which contains lots of citric acid. When applied with a VERY small amount of water, it makes an excellent polishing compound, and got that green stuff off of the commodes while at the same time polishing them. And, stainless steel would shine like a mirror when you polished it with THAT stuff. In fact, I think most of the 'bug juice' mix went to cleaning... ###### From: Andrew Gierth Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: 07 Feb 1998 13:18:00 +0000 Organization: disorganised Lines: 152 Approved: newsmonster@erlenstar.demon.co.uk Message-ID: <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost (173c:043e) X-Mayan-Date: Long count = 12.19.4.16.7; tzolkin = 5 Manik; haab = 5 Pax X-Pgp-0x0E9FFBE9: 87 25 7F 14 41 24 B3 51 E0 19 8B DE 49 74 0C 29 X-Attribution: AG X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.2 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.nodak.edu!netnews3.nwnet.net!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!newsfeed.direct.ca!news1.exit109.com!erlenstar.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail >>>>> "Big" == Big Bad Bob Frazier writes: Big> In addition to the FAQ.... Big> I have issued a challenge to anyone who can post here or on Big> alt.dev.null Big> The challenge is to find my "I dare ANYONE to kill this post" Big> post, the one I posted right before I posted THIS one, and kill Big> it. Ah. That would be the one I just zapped, no? Big> It is possible to do this. In order to do it, though, you need Big> to be able to post to alt.hackers and alt.dev.null . It's less Big> trivial of a hack to cancel a post. You might actually have to Big> do some research. However, it's possible to do it. I know, Big> because I have done it myself. Tsk. $ extract -h path=newsfeed.san.rr.com\!not-for-mail output/020?/bogus.out.gz You mean these? ---- Path: ...!nntp3.cerf.net!newsfeed.san.rr.com!not-for-mail From: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" Newsgroups: alt.hacker Subject: goodbye SPAM Control: cancel <6b2t08$rft@news-central.tiac.net> Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 17:58:51 -0800 Organization: Disorganization Lines: 2 Message-ID: <6b390e$t8$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> Reply-To: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" NNTP-Posting-Host: dt092n27.san.rr.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keywords: none X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 ---- Path: ...!nntp2.cerf.net!nntp3.cerf.net!newsfeed.san.rr.com!not-for-mail From: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" Newsgroups: alt.hacker Subject: *** FAST MONEY *** (goodbye!) Control: cancel <6an33a$ac3859@news.skyinet.net> Date: Sun, 1 Feb 1998 17:57:12 -0800 Organization: Disorganization Lines: 2 Message-ID: <6b38tb$for$1@proxye4.san.rr.com> Reply-To: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" NNTP-Posting-Host: dt092n27.san.rr.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keywords: byby X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 ---- Path: ...!nntp3.cerf.net!newsfeed.san.rr.com!not-for-mail From: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" Newsgroups: alt.hacker,alt.cracks,alt.2600.crackz,alt.2600.hackerz,alt.bio.hackers,alt.hackers.groups Subject: I HATE SPAM Control: cancel <34D88B54.FFEF34CB@pc.jaring.my> Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 18:33:13 -0800 Organization: Disorganization Lines: 3 Message-ID: <6bdshh$a5a$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> Reply-To: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" NNTP-Posting-Host: dt092n27.san.rr.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keywords: byby SPAM X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 bye spam! ---- Let me give you a Clue, sunshine. In fact, several Clues. Clue 1: innd/art.c, function ARTverifycancel() (algorithm also described in the relevent RFC) Clue 2: pseudosites Clue 3: $alz Clue 4: X-Cancelled-By Clue 5: There exists an FAQ explaining the above Clue 6: Random spam-cancelling by hand using a newsreader is like trying to bail the Titanic with a small thimble. ----- ObHack: Well, since we're on the subject of cancels, I suppose I could mention Annihilator, which is a rather odd combo of C++ and Perl code (Perl embedded in C++ rather than the other way around, for no very good reason). This has been idling along for the past few weeks decoding every single binary post on Usenet, a not inconsiderable proportion of which are spam, and counting how often each individual file appears. One thing that amazes me slightly, though, is the number of broken UUencoding programs knocking around. A quite substantial proportion of uuencoded posts have a defective last line, often broken in ways that I can't fathom at all. It's not as though uuencode is actually *hard*.... Largest BI measured so far (and it hasn't even been running for 45 days yet) is 29315.68. The only real hack in it (most of it was just tedious code-grinding) was the MIME parser. I already had a couple of C++ classes available, one a sort of simple string class that never owns or modifies its underlying storage; you can point it at some block of memory and then search for substrings, split on various delimiters, etc.; the other was a class for news articles, again written not to modify the underlying storage, just find the "neck" and index the headers for easy access. With these, parsing multipart/* and message/rfc822 etc. becomes a trivial recursive procedure: extract the boundary delimiter from the content-type, split the article body around delimiters (not forgetting to ignore extra whitespace at the appropriate points), construct a new article object from the subpart and recurse. Repeat for all body parts at the current level. Simple, efficient, no worries about delimiter mis-nesting since the end of the current entity has been determined in advance. Only thing it doesn't handle is message/partial, but spammers fortunately don't seem to use that, and trying to reassemble multiparts at the same time as fielding 10 incoming articles per second is too painful. If it ever becomes a problem, I'll just dedicate a separate bot to that job. -- Andrew. ###### From: Eli the Bearded <*@qz.to> Newsgroups: alt.hackers,alt.fan.e-t-b Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: 8 Feb 1998 03:05:32 GMT Organization: Some absurd concept Lines: 149 Approved: Eli the Bearded <####@qz.to> Message-ID: References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> X-Files: Used for sharpening claws and teeth on your hawk and hacksaw X-From-Notes: yes, it is a valid address. Nyah. X-US-Congress: Moronic Fucks. X-Attribution: EtB X-Newsreader: Sony Playstation 5.0MIPS X-Usenet-II: Because it is time for October. Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!atl-news-feed1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!207.14.113.10!news.alt.net!qz!not-for-mail Andrew Gierth wrote: > >>>>> "Big" == Big Bad Bob Frazier writes: > Big> The challenge is to find my "I dare ANYONE to kill this post" > Big> post, the one I posted right before I posted THIS one, and kill > Big> it. > Ah. That would be the one I just zapped, no? Yeah, I bet he meant that one. :^) > Big> do some research. However, it's possible to do it. I know, > Big> because I have done it myself. > > Tsk. > > $ extract -h path=newsfeed.san.rr.com\!not-for-mail output/020?/bogus.out.gz > > You mean these? Heh. Nobody Expects the Cancel Inquisition. .... > Let me give you a Clue, sunshine. In fact, several Clues. These were funny. > Well, since we're on the subject of cancels, I suppose I could mention > Annihilator, which is a rather odd combo of C++ and Perl code (Perl > embedded in C++ rather than the other way around, for no very good > reason). This has been idling along for the past few weeks decoding > every single binary post on Usenet, a not inconsiderable proportion > of which are spam, and counting how often each individual file appears. Andrew, if you don't mind I'd like to ask you a question. Often I read in newsgroups about how expensive it is to download lots of stuff outside of the US, and the rates BT charges for even local calls, etc. Just how exactly do you have access to enough bandwidth to get a full Usenet feed? > One thing that amazes me slightly, though, is the number of broken > UUencoding programs knocking around. A quite substantial proportion > of uuencoded posts have a defective last line, often broken in ways > that I can't fathom at all. It's not as though uuencode is actually > *hard*.... Never underestimate stupidity. ObHack: #!/usr/bin/env perl # Run perl, whereever it is on the path. (Unless your Unix is broken and # has env in the wrong place.) # Since you can only have one argument on the #! line, I can't set -w # there, so I use the special variable for that. $^W=1; # Grep headers of newsspool/maildir style files: two special features here. # 1. Everything after first blank line is ignored. # 2. Continued header lines are handled properly. # Copyright 1998 Eli the Bearded. Free for use; redistribution restricted. # Contact <*@qz.to> for details on redistribution. # Very useful for my weird options parsing. use strict; # Set some defaults for the options. # show the file name in the output, if set my $showfile = 1; # show the line number, if set my $showline = 0; # put seperators between matches, if set my $seperator = 0; # treat the arguments as directories and process all files in them, if set # (useful for specifing newsspool directories that might otherwise be too # long for a single command line) my $readdir = 0; my $tmp; # This is the most hackish part of this. It is a standard little bit of # code that will toggle 0/1 boolean values of variables based on their # presence in the command line. This makes for very simple options parsing # that *need not change at all when I add new options*. while ($ARGV[0] =~ /^-(.*)/) { $tmp = (eval "\$$1 ^= 1;"); die "Bad option: $1\n" unless defined ($tmp); shift; } # Now grab the RE from the command line. my $pat=$ARGV[0]; shift @ARGV; my $file; # Process the files. foreach $file (@ARGV) { my $filename; if ($readdir) { opendir (D, $file) or die; while (defined($filename=readdir(D))) { &checkfile($filename); } closedir D; } else { &checkfile($file); } } # Check a file. sub checkfile { my $file = shift; my $last; if (open(IN,"<$file")) { undef($last); while(){ # Since we have not choped/chomped $_, if we have anything begining with # whitespace and at least two bytes, we are not at the end of the headers. if (/^\s+./) { # Append $last.=$_ } else { if (defined($last)) { if ($last =~ /$pat/os) { print "$file:" if $showfile; # Showline should print the line number of the start of the # header matched. print (($. - ($last =~ tr:\n::)),':') if $showline; print "$last" } } last if /^\s$/; # Set $last=$_ } } # $. resets on close close IN; } else { print "Can't open $file: $!\n"; } } __END__ Elijah ------ part time perl hacker ###### From: Andrew Gierth Newsgroups: alt.hackers,alt.fan.e-t-b Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: 08 Feb 1998 13:52:22 +0000 Organization: disorganised Approved: newsmonster@erlenstar.demon.co.uk Message-ID: <87k9b6cig9.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost (34ca:0c49) X-NNTP-Posting-Host: erlenstar.demon.co.uk [194.222.144.22] X-Mayan-Date: Long count = 12.19.4.16.8; tzolkin = 6 Lamat; haab = 6 Pax X-Pgp-0x0E9FFBE9: 87 25 7F 14 41 24 B3 51 E0 19 8B DE 49 74 0C 29 X-Attribution: AG X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.2 Lines: 17 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.wildstar.net!newsfeed.direct.ca!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!news.demon.co.uk!demon!erlenstar.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail >>>>> "EtB" == Eli the Bearded <*@qz.to> writes: EtB> Andrew, if you don't mind I'd like to ask you a question. Often EtB> I read in newsgroups about how expensive it is to download lots EtB> of stuff outside of the US, and the rates BT charges for even EtB> local calls, etc. Just how exactly do you have access to enough EtB> bandwidth to get a full Usenet feed? I don't have access to the bandwidth, I have access to servers that have access to bandwidth. (Slight difference.) ObHack: %h = map { /^(.*?):\s(.*)$/ ? (lc $1, $2) : () } split(/\n(?!\s)/, $h); -- Andrew. ###### From: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 12:33:02 -0800 Organization: Disorganization Approved: yep sure is Message-ID: <6bnout$obe$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> Reply-To: "Big Bad Bob Frazier" NNTP-Posting-Host: dt092n27.san.rr.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Keywords: lame hack X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4 Lines: 41 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.onenet.net!news.oru.edu!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!news-dc-1.sprintlink.net!news-east.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!newsfeed.internetmci.com!204.210.0.20!newsfeed.san.rr.com!not-for-mail here I go forgetting my obhack and 'hack to post' again. @#$% Andrew Gierth wrote in message <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk>... >>>>>> "Big" == Big Bad Bob Frazier writes: > > Big> In addition to the FAQ.... > Big> I have issued a challenge to anyone who can post here or on > Big> alt.dev.null > > Big> The challenge is to find my "I dare ANYONE to kill this post" > Big> post, the one I posted right before I posted THIS one, and kill > Big> it. > >Ah. That would be the one I just zapped, no? How about the one you did NOT zap? It's still there! Keep trying, ladies and gentlemen. (This is getting fun) -- Big Bad Bombastic Bob [how can I know the answer when I don't even know the question?] e-mail: BobF@RemoveThisObviousThing.mrp3.com REPORT ALL UBE/SPAM to the 'net abuse' newsgroup of your choice SPAM deletion on USENET is a public service! We should all participate in helping to clean up the SPAM. OBHACK: A lame hack. A long time ago I used superglue to fix an ATM card that had broken several times, even completely in half (through the magnetic strip, even). After several years, they get kinda brittle. This one started falling apart inside my wallet, probably from being sat on too much. I superglued it several different times until I finally got tired of it (still worked, even glued across the magnetic strip). I was too cheap to pay $5 for a new one until I had to. What the hell. That's still a 'hack', lame as it may be. It worked just fine. ###### From: Andrew Gierth Newsgroups: alt.hackers,alt.fan.e-t-b Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: 09 Feb 1998 16:25:13 +0000 Organization: disorganised Approved: newsmonster@erlenstar.demon.co.uk Message-ID: <87zpk09252.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> <87k9b6cig9.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost (61f6:05ed) X-NNTP-Posting-Host: erlenstar.demon.co.uk [194.222.144.22] X-Mayan-Date: Long count = 12.19.4.16.9; tzolkin = 7 Muluc; haab = 7 Pax X-Pgp-0x0E9FFBE9: 87 25 7F 14 41 24 B3 51 E0 19 8B DE 49 74 0C 29 X-Attribution: AG X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.2 Lines: 16 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.onenet.net!news.oru.edu!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!news.demon.co.uk!demon!erlenstar.demon.co.uk!not-for-mail >>>>> "AG" == Andrew Gierth writes: AG> ObHack: AG> %h = map { /^(.*?):\s(.*)$/ ? (lc $1, $2) : () } split(/\n(?!\s)/, $h); Gah. Went and copied a version with a bug in :-( The correct version is %h = map { /^(.*?):\s(.*)$/s ? (lc $1, $2) : () } split(/\n(?!\s)/, $h); otherwise continued headers don't work. -- Andrew. ###### From: Kieran L. Brown Newsgroups: alt.hackers Subject: Re: The UNOFFICIAL alt.hackers FAQ [last updated 3/27/1997] Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 18:24:34 +0000 Organization: norg! Technologies Approved: Automatically with Messenger! Message-ID: References: <6atq6t$k0l$1@news2.digex.net> <6bhd5g$8ho$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk> <6bnout$obe$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> Reply-To: kbrown@norg.demon.co.uk NNTP-Posting-Host: norg.demon.co.uk X-NNTP-Posting-Host: norg.demon.co.uk [158.152.13.70] X-Newsreader: Messenger v1.02 for RISC OS X-Posting-Agent: RISC OS Newsbase 0.59d X-NNTP-Poster: NewsHound v1.20 Lines: 38 Path: ccw.ch!aetna.dolphins.ch!news.planetc.com!leto.ou.edu!news.onenet.net!news.oru.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news.idt.net!woodstock.news.demon.net!demon!news.demon.co.uk!demon!norg.demon.co.uk!kbrown In message <6bnout$obe$1@prefetch.san.rr.com> "Big Bad Bob Frazier" wrote: > here I go forgetting my obhack and 'hack to post' again. @#$% > > Andrew Gierth wrote in message <87d8gzh7uf.fsf@erlenstar.demon.co.uk>... > >>>>>> "Big" == Big Bad Bob Frazier writes: > > > > Big> In addition to the FAQ.... > > Big> I have issued a challenge to anyone who can post here or on > > Big> alt.dev.null > > > > Big> The challenge is to find my "I dare ANYONE to kill this post" > > Big> post, the one I posted right before I posted THIS one, and kill > > Big> it. > > > >Ah. That would be the one I just zapped, no? > > How about the one you did NOT zap? It's still there! 'Tisn't, Bob. ObHack: I used a monitor (Amstrad CTM664), a sheet of aluminium foil, a balloon and some EHT wire (from an old TV set) plus some misc bits to make a primitive static electricity generator. I put the sheet of foil in front of the tube and another covering the balloon. The wire came in underneath the foil, thus joining the foil on the inside. I used an EHT diode from a microwave oven here to stop charge from flowing back. It was cool... at least until it zapped chips all over the place! -- Kieran L. Brown: Java, RISC OS, Unix, headaches a speciality. Be warned, people spamming me will not be popular. I have a list you know. I'll report you to your ISP. That's a promise. ....... It doesn't work, but it looks pretty.