Security Matters and Anti-Matters
Chief Thracian
To: BUUG
Date: Mon, 05 Aug 2002
Subject: Security Matters and Anti-Matters
Speaking as a recently-officialized Highest Order Meatspace Orifice
(or HOMO), I realize it is time for me to present a blueprint before
assuming my newly-assigned duties as Stool Pigeon Xtraordinaire.
As you know the theme of my blueprint is gay, or queer,
liberation...in such a way as to benefit all other oppressed people,
once everyone on earth learns to respect same-sex love for the decent
alternative lifestyle it truly is. My love of the PC/hacker
underground and/or counterculture--along with handsome homeless
intellectual renegades--obviously plays a major role in weaving this
blueprint (argh, such crap metaphor, I couldn't resist).
I will also very soon become intimately connected with government on
all levels. This is in order to disseminate:
---my trojan horse MeatHack:
I have met many wonderful hackers in the East Bay, who are some of the
most patriotic and responsible folks I've ever met. So please consider
contacting any of them, if our government's electronic security is
ever in danger, or in need of additional protection or repair. or more
superb employees. They have nothing to hide: their real names, e-mail
addresses and meeting places are all up there on websites open to
everyone. And I promise: whomever of these great patriots you hire
will give you far more "bang for the buck" than you'd ever dream...far
overmatching the excellent salary they'll surely receive (for such
valued and meritorious actions in the face of enemy fire).
To get you started, just log onto the website of the hackers group I
founded in Jan. 2000, the "Berkeley Unix User Group":
There, we have links to other hacker-relevant websites, constantly
updated calendar of events, and directions to all our meeting places.
Please go through them, instead of me, for any further needs in the
matter of U.S. electronic security...as I am already tremendously
occupied with liberating our homosexual citizens, which in turn will
make our great nation even greater.
Sincerely,
Ezekiel J. Krahlin
Gay Activist / Homeless Advocate / U.S. Patriot
---end of my trojan horse MeatHack:
So that will be my tact, which I believe is respectful and productive
for both major parties involved. How will I instigate this scenario?
Likely in this manner:
Living on low income as I do, I always look for the cheapest, dirtiest
ISP for as much under $15 as possible. So I found "Talent Group
Enterprises" (TGE)
for a mere $8!!! They take only electronic payments via credit or
check...but you only pay month-by-month. So, they hook me up pronto,
which pleases me. But then I can't get my e-mail SMTP working
properly. This took a few days to discover I needed this new "SMTP
authentication", so rather than resort to "Outlook", I "looked out"
for freeware alternatives, and of course found Eudora and Pegasus to
be quite up to snuff. (TGE rep. was no help in helping correct my
situation...did not even tell me where to find a free mail client.)
[Yes, sorry, I bow my head in shame: I am stuck with Windoze because I
am a meatspace hacker, not a cyberspace hacker, and thus must have a
tighter interface with "them", in order to let information pass
through my intuitive AC/DC converter (analog country/digital country).
You have no idea how much disdain and disgust I have for this
filthiest of jobs...so I'll be SOOOOO happy to finally put an end to
this person's war, scrub myself down like an old ship with barnacles,
and just hang with my best buddy, yours and ours, Commander in Chief,
Randolph Louis Taylor (to whom I dedicate my entire life, not just
website). Nonetheless, I'm PROUD to be a grunt, and always WILL be
proud. Without us digital-to-analog nodes--who needed to excel in
Liberal Arts (esp. English, Humanities, and Anthropology) in order to
facilitate our loyal cyberhackers--you digital geniuses would have a
lot tougher row to hoe! But Goddess bless you all for your most
beautiful minds.] But I digress...
Anyways, TGE had my e-mail working for a while, but then I lost my
SMTP ability (claiming wrong name or password), even though the
password is the same for POP as SMTP. I concluded a worker there was
trying to resolve my problem, and diddled with my account settings in
the wrong way. So I posted back to their support, and before hearing
from them again, the next day I couldn't even connect using any of my
three local S.F. numbers they provide on their websites' list. I was
able to connect to the web once they hooked me up, despite the e-mail
problem. But now, I can't even do that.
I am now in the fifth day of no success connecting via TGE's ISP. So,
using another's account, I logged onto their website, without finding
any information to clue me in. But they do provide voice phone
numbers, like so:
843-667-1465
877-TGROUPE
I called this morning, around 11am, and immediately a woman answered
the phone. She was very friendly and professional all the way through;
I commend this highly. I told her the situation, and explained I
believe what's really going on...what I just explained in this
message; and (maybe even more likely), they are having a problem with
the linefeed into my region. I told her as a hacker, I am familiar
with such glitches, that may have nothing to do with viruses, hackers,
terrorists, and all that noise. In these times where jobs have become
scarce, and companies have had to cut back...it's quite usual for an
independent ISP to suffer more frequent losses in quality and online
time.
I told her that if there is any such problem, and they can't afford to
hire the best technician these days...that maybe I can help...by
referring this company to a hackers group in S.F....via our BUUG site.
So if TGE is a small company suffering the throes of economic
"downsizing", and could appreciate a friendly boost in support by
patriotic hackers DEDICATED TO THE SECURITY OF AMERICAN
CYBERSPACE...well, I'll see what I can do, by putting the word out for
them...or by them signing up to one of our discussion lists.
The woman thanked me very much; she will need to refer me to an
administrator (of course). So she took down my phone number, and I
thanked her for her excellent handling of this matter. Now, I await a
phone call. If any of you guys would like to listen in, I'm
game...just contact me privately, and we'll see what can be arranged.
So, for those who are interested in doing some detective work, here is
---the dope on TGE ISP (what I, a non-cyberhacker, could conjure up):
Talent Group Enterprises
PO Box 15037
Florence, SC 29506
sup...@talentg.com
in...@talentg.com
Voice:
843-667-1465
877-TGROUPE
S.F. ISP numbers:
6592193
3579923
2284420
Interesting trivia: TGE generates very easy-to-hack log-in passwords
(for Internet access, not e-mail, for which they require a different
password), like "cornbread" and "invite". When I asked to have it
changed, they said they don't do that, and pass the savings on to the
customers (what a cop-out!). This was an e-mail, probably by a rude or
sloppy worker? I have saved all the e-mail exchanges I've had with TGE
thus far...and I can send them to anyone who'd like to examine the
headers, etc.
INTERNIC:
Domain Name: TALENTG.COM
Registrar: ABACUS AMERICA, INC. DBA NAMES4EVER
Whois Server: whois.names4ever.com
Referral URL: http://www.names4ever.com
Name Server: NS1.TALGRP.NET
Name Server: NS2.TALGRP.NET
Updated Date: 10-feb-2002
---end of the dope on TGE ISP
Most sincerely a friend to all White Hats and Gray Hats (and Red),
Ezekiel J. ("I couldn't hack my way out of a paper bag") Krahlin,
founder Berkeley Unix User Group
P.S.: While I'm at it, can anyone tell me what's up with this
scenario:
I lost my wallet a couple months ago, so had to get a new debit card
from my bank, Washington Mutual (which bought out the bank I was
previously using, about 8 years ago: Homestead Savings). The card
came, and then I had to wait for the password they assigned me, to
come in a separate snail-mailing. The password was just 4 numbers
long, and could spell out a common, 4-letter English word.
So I goes to one of their branches to change the password. I keyed in
one that is 11 digits long...and the system spit back "PIN too short.
Try again". So I asked the lady what's up with this? She said all
passwords must be only 4 characters, no longer. I said that's
dangerous to the security of every customer, as well as to the bank.
(And why did it say "too short" when in fact it was quite the
opposite!) And left it at that for now; I haven't even bothered to
contact their headquarters, to ask if this is really the case. I will,
though, once my busy schedule slows down a bit...but for those who are
curious, here are Washington Mutual's main public access nodes:
Wash. Mutual Customer Service:
1-800-788-7000
Wash. Mutual automated tele-service:
1-800-933-3000
URL:
https://www.washingtonmutual.com/
---
Zeke for Gay President, 2004:
http://www.gay-bible.org/index.html#TOP2
---finis