Yaj Computers

This file is an addendum to "A Novice's Guide To Hacking" written by "The
Mentor".  The word "hacking" is here used the way the non-hacking public
thinks it is used, to mean breaking into somebody else's computer.  Its
purpose is to expand and clarify the information about the TOPS-20 operating
system, which runs on DECsystem-20 mainframes.  The Mentor basically lumped
this system in with TOPS-10 and didn't note important differences between the
two.  I will here reproduce in full what The Mentor had to say about TOPS-10
and about VMS, which are the parent and the offspring of TOPS-20.

VMS-       The VAX computer is made by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC),
           and runs the VMS (Virtual Memory System) operating system.
           VMS is characterized by the 'Username:' prompt.  It will not tell
           you if you've entered a valid username or not, and will disconnect
           you after three bad login attempts.  It also keeps track of all
           failed login attempts and informs the owner of the account next time
           s/he logs in how many bad login attempts were made on the account.
           It is one of the most secure operating systems around from the
           outside, but once you're in there are many things that you can do
           to circumvent system security.  The VAX also has the best set of
           help files in the world.  Just type HELP and read to your heart's
           content.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:  [username: password [[,password]] ]
           SYSTEM:     OPERATOR or MANAGER or SYSTEM or SYSLIB
           OPERATOR:   OPERATOR
           SYSTEST:    UETP
           SYSMAINT:   SYSMAINT or SERVICE or DIGITAL
           FIELD:      FIELD or SERVICE
           GUEST:      GUEST or unpassworded
           DEMO:       DEMO  or unpassworded
           DECNET:     DECNET


DEC-10-    An earlier line of DEC computer equipment, running the TOPS-10
           operating system.  These machines are recognized by their
           '.' prompt.  The DEC-10/20 series are remarkably hacker-friendly,
           allowing you to enter several important commands without ever
           logging into the system.  Accounts are in the format [xxx,yyy] where
           xxx and yyy are integers.  You can get a listing of the accounts and
           the process names of everyone on the system before logging in with
           the command .systat (for SYstem STATus).  If you seen an account
           that reads [234,1001]   BOB JONES, it might be wise to try BOB or
           JONES or both for a password on this account.  To login, you type
           .login xxx,yyy  and then type the password when prompted for it.
           The system will allow you unlimited tries at an account, and does
           not keep records of bad login attempts.  It will also inform you
           if the UIC you're trying (UIC = User Identification Code, 1,2 for
           example) is bad.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:
           1,2:        SYSLIB or OPERATOR or MANAGER
           2,7:        MAINTAIN
           5,30:       GAMES

**** note:  I'm remembering this stuff from several years ago, and in some
cases my memory may be foggy or stuff may be outdated.

TOPS-20, once you are inside, resembles VMS much more than it resembles 
TOPS-10, as far as I know (I'm not really familiar with VMS).  From the
outside, it's more like TOPS-10, except that the prompt is a @ instead of a
period.  You can enter many commands without logging in, including SYSTAT and
probably FINGER.  (Sometimes you can even use the mail program without
logging in.)  It is very helpful.  Not only does the command HELP lead to
lots of useful information, but anywhere in typing a command you can press ?
and it will tell you what the format of the command expects.  For instance,
if you type ? by itself, it will tell you all the words that a command can
begin with.  If you type S?, it will tell you all the commands that start
with the letter S.  If you type SYSTAT ?, it will tell you the options
available on the systat command.  You can use this at any point in any
command.  Furthermore, if there is only one possibility (you have typed a
unique abbreviation), you can press Escape and it will finish the word for
you.  I'm not sure, but I think TOPS-20 was the system that first introduced
filename completion as well --turning a uniquely abbreviated filename into a
complete name when you press escape, beeping if the abbreviation is not
unique.  With command keywords you can leave the abbreviation un-expanded,
with filenames you have to expand it (or type it all in) for it to work.

Use the "Login" command to log in, followed by a username.  It will prompt
for a password.  Note that a password can be something like 39 characters
long, as can the username itself.  TOPS-20 does NOT use numbers like 317,043
for user IDs.  (Note that these numbers in TOPS-10 are octal, not decimal.)
Furthermore, the password can contain spaces.  So, if somebody wants to make
his password difficult to guess, he can easily do so.

(But sometimes they might get overconfident.  I remember a story from
Stanford...  Someone asked the large cheese if he would let him know what the
operator password was, and he said "The operator password is currently
unavailable."  So the guy tried "currently unavailable" as a password, and
got in.  (Which reminds me of the time they got a real bug in the system
there...  a head crash caused by an ant on the disk platter.))

In general, TOPS-20 does not limit the number of login attempts, nor does it
keep a record of bad tries.  However, it is not difficult for the local
management to add such measures, or others such as a delay of several seconds
after each attempt.  And unlike Unix, it is difficult to evade these even
once you're in.  Without heavy in-depth knowledge, you can't test a username-
password combination except through a system call, which will enforce delays
and limited failures and such against password-trying programs.

So, TOPS-20 is easy to defend against the "database hack", in which you try
many different common passwords with many different usernames.  (Unix is
much more vulnerable to this.)  But any particular system, especially a lax
one like a college machine (DEC is always popular in academia), might have
little defense here.  But you might not know how much defense until too late.

Do try the GUEST username.

But TOPS-20 can be very vulnerable to trojan horses.  See, there's this thing
called the Wheel bit.  A username that has the Wheel property can do anything
the system operator can do, such as ignore file protection masks, edit the
disks at the track/sector level, change any area of memory...  On Unix, only
one user, the superuser, can read and write protected files.  On TOPS-20, any
user can do these things from any terminal, if the Wheel attribute is set in
his user data.  Some campus computers tend to accumulate excess trusted users
with wheel bits, and have to periodically prune away the unnecessary ones.

The thing is that a wheel can do these things without knowing that he has
done them.  Normally the privileged commands are deactivated.  But a program
run by a wheel can activate the privileges, do anything it wants, cover its
tracks, and deactivate them without the user ever being the wiser.  So if you
can get any wheel user to run any program you wrote, such as a game or small
utility...  there's no limit to what you can do.  In particular, you can
create a new username, and make it a wheel.  Or you can simply ask the system
outright for someone's password, if I'm not mistaken.  (All this requires
access to TOPS-20 programming manuals, but some of the necessary material
should be available on line.)  You cannot actually conceal this creation, as
far as I know...  but maybe with sophisticated enough knowledge you could
make it not immediately apparent...  Anyway, once you get that far in, you can
probably keep one step ahead of them for a while...  If they erase your new
accounts, you can use the passwords to old ones...  They can change all of
the wheel passwords, but a lot of the regular users won't change for some
time...  You could even lock the operators out of their own system by
changing all their passwords for them, if you were crazy enough, perhaps
forcing them to shut the machine down to regain control of it.  They might
even have to restore stuff from tape backup.

Even if you don't wedge your way into secret stuff, a TOPS-20 system can be
fun to explore.  It's much more novice-friendly than most systems, and much
more hacker-friendly as well.  I think the ascendency of Unix as the least-
common-denominator OS that everybody can agree on is a definite loss,
compared to TOPS-20.

               +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
               |              The LOD/H Presents               |
++++++++++++++++                                               ++++++++++++++++
 \                 A Novice's Guide to Hacking- 2004 edition                 /
  \                =========================================                /
   \                                  by                                   /
    \                             The Mentor                              /
     \                  Legion of Doom/Legion of Hackers                 /
      \                                                                 /
       \                        December, 2004                         /
        \                  Merry Christmas Everyone!                  /
         \+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++/

    **********************************************************************
    |  The author hereby grants permission to reproduce, redistribute,   |
    |  or include this file in your g-file section, electronic or print  |
    |  newletter, or any other form of transmission that you choose, as  |
    |  long as it is kept intact and whole, with no ommissions, delet-   |
    |  ions, or changes.  (C) The Mentor- Phoenix Project Productions    |
    |                                     2003,2004  XXX/XXX-XXXX        |
    **********************************************************************

Introduction: The State of the Hack
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   After surveying a rather large g-file collection, my attention was drawn to
the fact that there hasn't been a good introductory file written for absolute
beginners since back when Mark Tabas was cranking them out (and almost
*everyone* was a beginner!)  The Arts of Hacking and Phreaking have changed
radically since that time, and as the 90's approach, the hack/phreak community
has recovered from the Summer '87 busts (just like it recovered from the Fall
'85 busts, and like it will always recover from attempts to shut it down), and
the progressive media (from Reality Hackers magazine to William Gibson and
Bruce Sterling's cyberpunk fables of hackerdom) is starting to take notice
of us for the first time in recent years in a positive light.
   Unfortunately, it has also gotten more dangerous since the early 80's.
Phone cops have more resources, more awareness, and more intelligence that they
exhibited in the past.  It is becoming more and more difficult to survive as
a hacker long enough to become skilled in the art.  To this end this file
is dedicated .  If it can help someone get started, and help them survive
to discover new systems and new information, it will have served it's purpose,
and served as a partial repayment to all the people who helped me out when I
was a beginner.

Contents
~~~~~~~~
   This file will be divided into four parts:
       Part 1: What is Hacking, A Hacker's Code of Ethics, Basic Hacking Safety
       Part 2: Packet Switching Networks: Telenet- How it Works, How to Use it,
               Outdials, Network Servers, Private PADs
       Part 3: Identifying a Computer, How to Hack In, Operating System
               Defaults
       Part 4: Conclusion- Final Thoughts, Books to Read, Boards to Call,
               Acknowledgements

Part One: The Basics
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    As long as there have been computers, there have been hackers.  In the 50's
at the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT), students devoted much time
and energy to ingenious exploration of the computers.  Rules and the law were
disregarded in their pursuit for the 'hack'.  Just as they were enthralled with
their pursuit of information, so are we.  The thrill of the hack is not in
breaking the law, it's in the pursuit and capture of knowledge.
    To this end, let me contribute my suggestions for guidelines to follow to
ensure that not only you stay out of trouble, but you pursue your craft without
damaging the computers you hack into or the companies who own them.

I.    Do not intentionally damage *any* system.
II.   Do not alter any system files other than ones needed to ensure your
      escape from detection and your future access (Trojan Horses, Altering
      Logs, and the like are all necessary to your survival for as long as
      possible.)
III.  Do not leave your (or anyone else's) real name, real handle, or real
      phone number on any system that you access illegally.  They *can* and
      will track you down from your handle!
IV.   Be careful who you share information with.  Feds are getting trickier.
      Generally, if you don't know their voice phone number, name, and
      occupation or haven't spoken with them voice on non-info trading
      conversations, be wary.
V.    Do not leave your real phone number to anyone you don't know.  This
      includes logging on boards, no matter how k-rad they seem.  If you
      don't know the sysop, leave a note telling some trustworthy people
      that will validate you.
VI.   Do not hack government computers.  Yes, there are government systems
      that are safe to hack, but they are few and far between.  And the
      government has inifitely more time and resources to track you down than
      a company who has to make a profit and justify expenses.
VII.  Don't use codes unless there is *NO* way around it (you don't have a
      local telenet or tymnet outdial and can't connect to anything 800...)
      You use codes long enough, you will get caught.  Period.
VIII. Don't be afraid to be paranoid.  Remember, you *are* breaking the law.
      It doesn't hurt to store everything encrypted on your hard disk, or
      keep your notes buried in the backyard or in the trunk of your car.
      You may feel a little funny, but you'll feel a lot funnier when you
      when you meet Bruno, your transvestite cellmate who axed his family to
      death.
IX.   Watch what you post on boards.  Most of the really great hackers in the
      country post *nothing* about the system they're currently working
      except in the broadest sense (I'm working on a UNIX, or a COSMOS, or
      something generic.  Not "I'm hacking into General Electric's Voice Mail
      System" or something inane and revealing like that.)
X.    Don't be afraid to ask questions.  That's what more experienced hackers
      are for.  Don't expect *everything* you ask to be answered, though.
      There are some things (LMOS, for instance) that a begining hacker
      shouldn't mess with.  You'll either get caught, or screw it up for
      others, or both.
XI.   Finally, you have to actually hack.  You can hang out on boards all you
      want, and you can read all the text files in the world, but until you
      actually start doing it, you'll never know what it's all about.  There's
      no thrill quite the same as getting into your first system (well, ok,
      I can think of a couple of bigger thrills, but you get the picture.)

   One of the safest places to start your hacking career is on a computer
system belonging to a college.  University computers have notoriously lax
security, and are more used to hackers, as every college computer depart-
ment has one or two, so are less likely to press charges if you should
be detected.  But the odds of them detecting you and having the personel to
committ to tracking you down are slim as long as you aren't destructive.
   If you are already a college student, this is ideal, as you can legally
explore your computer system to your heart's desire, then go out and look
for similar systems that you can penetrate with confidence, as you're already
familar with them.
   So if you just want to get your feet wet, call your local college.  Many of
them will provide accounts for local residents at a nominal (under $20) charge.
   Finally, if you get caught, stay quiet until you get a lawyer.  Don't vol-
unteer any information, no matter what kind of 'deals' they offer you.
Nothing is binding unless you make the deal through your lawyer, so you might
as well shut up and wait.

Part Two: Networks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   The best place to begin hacking (other than a college) is on one of the
bigger networks such as Telenet.  Why?  First, there is a wide variety of
computers to choose from, from small Micro-Vaxen to huge Crays.  Second, the
networks are fairly well documented.  It's easier to find someone who can help
you with a problem off of Telenet than it is to find assistance concerning your
local college computer or high school machine.  Third, the networks are safer.
Because of the enormous number of calls that are fielded every day by the big
networks, it is not financially practical to keep track of where every call and
connection are made from.  It is also very easy to disguise your location using
the network, which makes your hobby much more secure.
   Telenet has more computers hooked to it than any other system in the world
once you consider that from Telenet you have access to Tymnet, ItaPAC, JANET,
DATAPAC, SBDN, PandaNet, THEnet, and a whole host of other networks, all of
which you can connect to from your terminal.
   The first step that you need to take is to identify your local dialup port.
This is done by dialing 1-800-424-9494 (1200 7E1) and connecting.  It will
spout some garbage at you and then you'll get a prompt saying 'TERMINAL='.
This is your terminal type.  If you have vt100 emulation, type it in now.  Or
just hit return and it will default to dumb terminal mode.
   You'll now get a prompt that looks like a @.  From here, type @c mail <cr>
and then it will ask for a Username.  Enter 'phones' for the username. When it
asks for a password, enter 'phones' again.  From this point, it is menu
driven.  Use this to locate your local dialup, and call it back locally.  If
you don't have a local dialup, then use whatever means you wish to connect to
one long distance (more on this later.)
   When you call your local dialup, you will once again go through the
TERMINAL= stuff, and once again you'll be presented with a @.  This prompt lets
you know you are connected to a Telenet PAD.  PAD stands for either Packet
Assembler/Disassembler (if you talk to an engineer), or Public Access Device
(if you talk to Telenet's marketing people.)  The first description is more
correct.
   Telenet works by taking the data you enter in on the PAD you dialed into,
bundling it into a 128 byte chunk (normally... this can be changed), and then
transmitting it at speeds ranging from 9600 to 19,200 baud to another PAD, who
then takes the data and hands it down to whatever computer or system it's
connected to.  Basically, the PAD allows two computers that have different baud
rates or communication protocols to communicate with each other over a long
distance.  Sometimes you'll notice a time lag in the remote machines response.
This is called PAD Delay, and is to be expected when you're sending data
through several different links.
   What do you do with this PAD?  You use it to connect to remote computer
systems by typing 'C' for connect and then the Network User Address (NUA) of
the system you want to go to.
   An NUA takes the form of   031103130002520
                              \___/\___/\___/
                                |    |    |
                                |    |    |____ network address
                                |    |_________ area prefix
                                |______________ DNIC


     This is a summary of DNIC's (taken from Blade Runner's file on ItaPAC)
     according to their country and network name.


DNIC   Network Name    Country          DNIC   Network Name    Country
_______________________________________________________________________________
                                     |
02041   Datanet 1       Netherlands  |  03110   Telenet         USA
02062   DCS             Belgium      |  03340   Telepac         Mexico
02080   Transpac        France       |  03400   UDTS-Curacau    Curacau
02284   Telepac         Switzerland  |  04251   Isranet         Israel
02322   Datex-P         Austria      |  04401   DDX-P           Japan
02329   Radaus          Austria      |  04408   Venus-P         Japan
02342   PSS             UK           |  04501   Dacom-Net       South Korea
02382   Datapak         Denmark      |  04542   Intelpak        Singapore
02402   Datapak         Sweden       |  05052   Austpac         Australia
02405   Telepak         Sweden       |  05053   Midas           Australia
02442   Finpak          Finland      |  05252   Telepac         Hong Kong
02624   Datex-P         West Germany |  05301   Pacnet          New Zealand
02704   Luxpac          Luxembourg   |  06550   Saponet         South Africa
02724   Eirpak          Ireland      |  07240   Interdata       Brazil
03020   Datapac         Canada       |  07241   Renpac          Brazil
03028   Infogram        Canada       |  09000   Dialnet         USA
03103   ITT/UDTS        USA          |  07421   Dompac          French Guiana
03106   Tymnet          USA          |

   There are two ways to find interesting addresses to connect to.  The first
and easiest way is to obtain a copy of the LOD/H Telenet Directory from the
LOD/H Technical Journal #4 or 2600 Magazine.  Jester Sluggo also put out a good
list of non-US addresses in Phrack Inc. Newsletter Issue 21.  These files will
tell you the NUA, whether it will accept collect calls or not, what type of
computer system it is (if known) and who it belongs to (also if known.)
   The second method of locating interesting addresses is to scan for them
manually.  On Telenet, you do not have to enter the 03110 DNIC to connect to a
Telenet host.  So if you saw that 031104120006140 had a VAX on it you wanted to
look at, you could type @c 412 614 (0's can be ignored most of the time.)
   If this node allows collect billed connections, it will say 412 614
CONNECTED and then you'll possibly get an identifying header or just a
Username: prompt.  If it doesn't allow collect connections, it will give you a
message such as 412 614 REFUSED COLLECT CONNECTION with some error codes out to
the right, and return you to the @ prompt.
   There are two primary ways to get around the REFUSED COLLECT message.  The
first is to use a Network User Id (NUI) to connect.  An NUI is a username/pw
combination that acts like a charge account on Telenet.  To collect to node
412 614 with NUI junk4248, password 525332, I'd type the following:
@c 412 614,junk4248,525332  <---- the 525332 will *not* be echoed to the
screen.  The problem with NUI's is that they're hard to come by unless you're
a good social engineer with a thorough knowledge of Telenet (in which case
you probably aren't reading this section), or you have someone who can
provide you with them.
   The second way to connect is to use a private PAD, either through an X.25
PAD or through something like Netlink off of a Prime computer (more on these
two below.)
   The prefix in a Telenet NUA oftentimes (not always) refers to the phone Area
Code that the computer is located in (i.e. 713 xxx would be a computer in
Houston, Texas.)  If there's a particular area you're interested in, (say,
New York City 914), you could begin by typing @c 914 001 <cr>.  If it connects,
you make a note of it and go on to 914 002.  You do this until you've found
some interesting systems to play with.
   Not all systems are on a simple xxx yyy address.  Some go out to four or
five digits (914 2354), and some have decimal or numeric extensions
(422 121A = 422 121.01).  You have to play with them, and you never know what
you're going to find.  To fully scan out a prefix would take ten million
attempts per prefix.  For example, if I want to scan 512 completely, I'd have
to start with 512 00000.00 and go through 512 00000.99, then increment the
address by 1 and try 512 00001.00 through 512 00001.99.  A lot of scanning.
There are plenty of neat computers to play with in a 3-digit scan, however,
so don't go berserk with the extensions.
   Sometimes you'll attempt to connect and it will just be sitting there after
one or two minutes.  In this case, you want to abort the connect attempt by
sending a hard break (this varies with different term programs, on Procomm,
it's ALT-B), and then when you get the @ prompt back, type 'D' for disconnect.
   If you connect to a computer and wish to disconnect, you can type <cr> @
<cr> and you it should say TELENET and then give you the @ prompt.  From there,
type D to disconnect or CONT to re-connect and continue your session
uninterrupted.

Outdials, Network Servers, and PADs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   In addition to computers, an NUA may connect you to several other things.
One of the most useful is the outdial.  An outdial is nothing more than a modem
you can get to over telenet- similar to the PC Pursuit concept, except that
these don't have passwords on them most of the time.
   When you connect, you will get a message like 'Hayes 1200 baud outdial,
Detroit, MI', or 'VEN-TEL 212 Modem', or possibly 'Session 1234 established
on Modem 5588'.  The best way to figure out the commands on these is to
type ? or H or HELP- this will get you all the information that you need to
use one.
   Safety tip here- when you are hacking *any* system through a phone dialup,
always use an outdial or a diverter, especially if it is a local phone number
to you.  More people get popped hacking on local computers than you can
imagine, Intra-LATA calls are the easiest things in the world to trace inexp-
ensively.
   Another nice trick you can do with an outdial is use the redial or macro
function that many of them have.  First thing you do when you connect is to
invoke the 'Redial Last Number' facility.  This will dial the last number used,
which will be the one the person using it before you typed.  Write down the
number, as no one would be calling a number without a computer on it.  This
is a good way to find new systems to hack.  Also, on a VENTEL modem, type 'D'
for Display and it will display the five numbers stored as macros in the
modem's memory.
   There are also different types of servers for remote Local Area Networks
(LAN) that have many machine all over the office or the nation connected to
them.  I'll discuss identifying these later in the computer ID section.
   And finally, you may connect to something that says 'X.25 Communication
PAD' and then some more stuff, followed by a new @ prompt.  This is a PAD
just like the one you are on, except that all attempted connections are billed
to the PAD, allowing you to connect to those nodes who earlier refused collect
connections.
   This also has the added bonus of confusing where you are connecting from.
When a packet is transmitted from PAD to PAD, it contains a header that has
the location you're calling from.  For instance, when you first connected
to Telenet, it might have said 212 44A CONNECTED if you called from the 212
area code.  This means you were calling PAD number 44A in the 212 area.
That 21244A will be sent out in the header of all packets leaving the PAD.
   Once you connect to a private PAD, however, all the packets going out
from *it* will have it's address on them, not yours.  This can be a valuable
buffer between yourself and detection.

Phone Scanning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Finally, there's the time-honored method of computer hunting that was made
famous among the non-hacker crowd by that Oh-So-Technically-Accurate movie
Wargames.  You pick a three digit phone prefix in your area and dial every
number from 0000 --> 9999 in that prefix, making a note of all the carriers
you find.  There is software available to do this for nearly every computer
in the world, so you don't have to do it by hand.

Part Three: I've Found a Computer, Now What?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   This next section is applicable universally.  It doesn't matter how you
found this computer, it could be through a network, or it could be from
carrier scanning your High School's phone prefix, you've got this prompt
this prompt, what the hell is it?
   I'm *NOT* going to attempt to tell you what to do once you're inside of
any of these operating systems.  Each one is worth several G-files in its
own right.  I'm going to tell you how to identify and recognize certain
OpSystems, how to approach hacking into them, and how to deal with something
that you've never seen before and have know idea what it is.


VMS-       The VAX computer is made by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC),
           and runs the VMS (Virtual Memory System) operating system.
           VMS is characterized by the 'Username:' prompt.  It will not tell
           you if you've entered a valid username or not, and will disconnect
           you after three bad login attempts.  It also keeps track of all
           failed login attempts and informs the owner of the account next time
           s/he logs in how many bad login attempts were made on the account.
           It is one of the most secure operating systems around from the
           outside, but once you're in there are many things that you can do
           to circumvent system security.  The VAX also has the best set of
           help files in the world.  Just type HELP and read to your heart's
           content.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:  [username: password [[,password]] ]
           SYSTEM:     OPERATOR or MANAGER or SYSTEM or SYSLIB
           OPERATOR:   OPERATOR
           SYSTEST:    UETP
           SYSMAINT:   SYSMAINT or SERVICE or DIGITAL
           FIELD:      FIELD or SERVICE
           GUEST:      GUEST or unpassworded
           DEMO:       DEMO  or unpassworded
           DECNET:     DECNET


DEC-10-    An earlier line of DEC computer equipment, running the TOPS-10
           operating system.  These machines are recognized by their
           '.' prompt.  The DEC-10/20 series are remarkably hacker-friendly,
           allowing you to enter several important commands without ever
           logging into the system.  Accounts are in the format [xxx,yyy] where
           xxx and yyy are integers.  You can get a listing of the accounts and
           the process names of everyone on the system before logging in with
           the command .systat (for SYstem STATus).  If you seen an account
           that reads [234,1001]   BOB JONES, it might be wise to try BOB or
           JONES or both for a password on this account.  To login, you type
           .login xxx,yyy  and then type the password when prompted for it.
           The system will allow you unlimited tries at an account, and does
           not keep records of bad login attempts.  It will also inform you
           if the UIC you're trying (UIC = User Identification Code, 1,2 for
           example) is bad.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:
           1,2:        SYSLIB or OPERATOR or MANAGER
           2,7:        MAINTAIN
           5,30:       GAMES

UNIX-      There are dozens of different machines out there that run UNIX.
           While some might argue it isn't the best operating system in the
           world, it is certainly the most widely used.  A UNIX system will
           usually have a prompt like 'login:' in lower case.  UNIX also
           will give you unlimited shots at logging in (in most cases), and
           there is usually no log kept of bad attempts.
           Common Accounts/Defaults: (note that some systems are case
           sensitive, so use lower case as a general rule.  Also, many times
           the accounts will be unpassworded, you'll just drop right in!)
           root:       root
           admin:      admin
           sysadmin:   sysadmin or admin
           unix:       unix
           uucp:       uucp
           rje:        rje
           guest:      guest
           demo:       demo
           daemon:     daemon
           sysbin:     sysbin

Prime-     Prime computer company's mainframe running the Primos operating
           system.  The are easy to spot, as the greet you with
           'Primecon 18.23.05' or the like, depending on the version of the
           operating system you run into.  There will usually be no prompt
           offered, it will just look like it's sitting there.  At this point,
           type 'login <username>'.  If it is a pre-18.00.00 version of Primos,
           you can hit a bunch of ^C's for the password and you'll drop in.
           Unfortunately, most people are running versions 19+.  Primos also
           comes with a good set of help files.  One of the most useful
           features of a Prime on Telenet is a facility called NETLINK.  Once
           you're inside, type NETLINK and follow the help files.  This allows
           you to connect to NUA's all over the world using the 'nc' command.
           For example, to connect to NUA 026245890040004, you would type
           @nc :26245890040004 at the netlink prompt.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:
           PRIME       PRIME or PRIMOS
           PRIMOS_CS   PRIME or PRIMOS
           PRIMENET    PRIMENET
           SYSTEM      SYSTEM or PRIME
           NETLINK     NETLINK
           TEST        TEST
           GUEST       GUEST
           GUEST1      GUEST

HP-x000-   This system is made by Hewlett-Packard.  It is characterized by the
           ':' prompt.  The HP has one of the more complicated login sequences
           around- you type 'HELLO SESSION NAME,USERNAME,ACCOUNTNAME,GROUP'.
           Fortunately, some of these fields can be left blank in many cases.
           Since any and all of these fields can be passworded, this is not
           the easiest system to get into, except for the fact that there are
           usually some unpassworded accounts around.  In general, if the
           defaults don't work, you'll have to brute force it using the
           common password list (see below.)  The HP-x000 runs the MPE operat-
           ing system, the prompt for it will be a ':', just like the logon
           prompt.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:
           MGR.TELESUP,PUB                      User: MGR Acct: HPONLY Grp: PUB
           MGR.HPOFFICE,PUB                     unpassworded
           MANAGER.ITF3000,PUB                  unpassworded
           FIELD.SUPPORT,PUB                    user: FLD,  others unpassworded
           MAIL.TELESUP,PUB                     user: MAIL, others
                                                unpassworded
           MGR.RJE                              unpassworded
           FIELD.HPPl89 ,HPPl87,HPPl89,HPPl96   unpassworded
           MGR.TELESUP,PUB,HPONLY,HP3           unpassworded


IRIS-      IRIS stands for Interactive Real Time Information System.  It orig-
           inally ran on PDP-11's, but now runs on many other minis.  You can
           spot an IRIS by the 'Welcome to "IRIS" R9.1.4 Timesharing' banner,
           and the ACCOUNT ID? prompt.  IRIS allows unlimited tries at hacking
           in, and keeps no logs of bad attempts.  I don't know any default
           passwords, so just try the common ones from the password database
           below.
           Common Accounts:
           MANAGER
           BOSS
           SOFTWARE
           DEMO
           PDP8
           PDP11
           ACCOUNTING

VM/CMS-    The VM/CMS operating system runs in International Business Machines
           (IBM) mainframes.  When you connect to one of these, you will get
           message similar to 'VM/370 ONLINE', and then give you a '.' prompt,
           just like TOPS-10 does.  To login, you type 'LOGON <username>'.
           Common Accounts/Defaults are:
           AUTOLOG1:            AUTOLOG or AUTOLOG1
           CMS:                 CMS
           CMSBATCH:            CMS or CMSBATCH
           EREP:                EREP
           MAINT:               MAINT or MAINTAIN
           OPERATNS:            OPERATNS or OPERATOR
           OPERATOR:            OPERATOR
           RSCS:                RSCS
           SMART:               SMART
           SNA:                 SNA
           VMTEST:              VMTEST
           VMUTIL:              VMUTIL
           VTAM:                VTAM

NOS-       NOS stands for Networking Operating System, and runs on the Cyber
           computer made by Control Data Corporation.  NOS identifies itself
           quite readily, with a banner of 'WELCOME TO THE NOS SOFTWARE
           SYSTEM.  COPYRIGHT CONTROL DATA 1978,1987'.  The first prompt you
           will get will be FAMILY:.  Just hit return here.  Then you'll get
           a USER NAME: prompt.  Usernames are typically 7 alpha-numerics
           characters long, and are *extremely* site dependent. Operator
           accounts begin with a digit, such as 7ETPDOC.
           Common Accounts/Defaults:
           $SYSTEM              unknown
           SYSTEMV              unknown

Decserver- This is not truly a computer system, but is a network server that
           has many different machines available from it.  A Decserver will
           say 'Enter Username>' when you first connect.  This can be anything,
           it doesn't matter, it's just an identifier.  Type 'c', as this is
           the least conspicuous thing to enter.  It will then present you
           with a 'Local>' prompt.  From here, you type 'c <systemname>' to
           connect to a system.  To get a list of system names, type
           'sh services' or 'sh nodes'.  If you have any problems, online
           help is available with the 'help' command.  Be sure and look for
           services named 'MODEM' or 'DIAL' or something similar, these are
           often outdial modems and can be useful!

GS/1-      Another type of network server.  Unlike a Decserver, you can't
           predict what prompt a GS/1 gateway is going to give you.  The
           default prompt it 'GS/1>', but this is redifinable by the
           system administrator.  To test for a GS/1, do a 'sh d'.  If that
           prints out a large list of defaults (terminal speed, prompt,
           parity, etc...), you are on a GS/1.  You connect in the same manner
           as a Decserver, typing 'c <systemname>'.  To find out what systems
           are available, do a 'sh n' or a 'sh c'.  Another trick is to do a
           'sh m', which will sometimes show you a list of macros for logging
           onto a system.  If there is a macro named VAX, for instance, type
           'do VAX'.

           The above are the main system types in use today.  There are
           hundreds of minor variants on the above, but this should be
           enough to get you started.
        
Unresponsive Systems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Occasionally you will connect to a system that will do nothing but sit
there.  This is a frustrating feeling, but a methodical approach to the system
will yield a response if you take your time.  The following list will usually
make *something* happen.
1)  Change your parity, data length, and stop bits.  A system that won't re-
    spond at 8N1 may react at 7E1 or 8E2 or 7S2.  If you don't have a term
    program that will let you set parity to EVEN, ODD, SPACE, MARK, and NONE,
    with data length of 7 or 8, and 1 or 2 stop bits, go out and buy one.
    While having a good term program isn't absolutely necessary, it sure is
    helpful.
2)  Change baud rates.  Again, if your term program will let you choose odd
    baud rates such as 600 or 1100, you will occasionally be able to penetrate
    some very interesting systems, as most systems that depend on a strange
    baud rate seem to think that this is all the security they need...
3)  Send a series of <cr>'s.
4)  Send a hard break followed by a <cr>.
5)  Type a series of .'s (periods).  The Canadian network Datapac responds
    to this.
6)  If you're getting garbage, hit an 'i'.  Tymnet responds to this, as does
    a MultiLink II.
7)  Begin sending control characters, starting with ^A --> ^Z.
8)  Change terminal emulations.  What your vt100 emulation thinks is garbage
    may all of a sudden become crystal clear using ADM-5 emulation.  This also
    relates to how good your term program is.
9)  Type LOGIN, HELLO, LOG, ATTACH, CONNECT, START, RUN, BEGIN, LOGON, GO,
    JOIN, HELP, and anything else you can think of.
10) If it's a dialin, call the numbers around it and see if a company
    answers.  If they do, try some social engineering.

Brute Force Hacking
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   There will also be many occasions when the default passwords will not work
on an account.  At this point, you can either go onto the next system on your
list, or you can try to 'brute-force' your way in by trying a large database
of passwords on that one account.  Be careful, though!  This works fine on
systems that don't keep track of invalid logins, but on a system like a VMS,
someone is going to have a heart attack if they come back and see '600 Bad
Login Attempts Since Last Session' on their account.  There are also some
operating systems that disconnect after 'x' number of invalid login attempts
and refuse to allow any more attempts for one hour, or ten minutes, or some-
times until the next day.
   The following list is taken from my own password database plus the data-
base of passwords that was used in the Internet UNIX Worm that was running
around in November of 1988.  For a shorter group, try first names, computer
terms, and obvious things like 'secret', 'password', 'open', and the name
of the account.  Also try the name of the company that owns the computer
system (if known), the company initials, and things relating to the products
the company makes or deals with.

                              Password List
                              =============

      aaa                daniel             jester             rascal
      academia           danny              johnny             really
      ada                dave               joseph             rebecca
      adrian             deb                joshua             remote
      aerobics           debbie             judith             rick
      airplane           deborah            juggle             reagan
      albany             december           julia              robot
      albatross          desperate          kathleen           robotics
      albert             develop            kermit             rolex
      alex               diet               kernel             ronald
      alexander          digital            knight             rosebud
      algebra            discovery          lambda             rosemary
      alias              disney             larry              roses
      alpha              dog                lazarus            ruben
      alphabet           drought            lee                rules
      ama                duncan             leroy              ruth
      amy                easy               lewis              sal
      analog             eatme              light              saxon
      anchor             edges              lisa               scheme
      andy               edwin              louis              scott
      andrea             egghead            lynne              scotty
      animal             eileen             mac                secret
      answer             einstein           macintosh          sensor
      anything           elephant           mack               serenity
      arrow              elizabeth          maggot             sex
      arthur             ellen              magic              shark
      asshole            emerald            malcolm            sharon
      athena             engine             mark               shit
      atmosphere         engineer           markus             shiva
      bacchus            enterprise         marty              shuttle
      badass             enzyme             marvin             simon
      bailey             euclid             master             simple
      banana             evelyn             maurice            singer
      bandit             extension          merlin             single
      banks              fairway            mets               smile
      bass               felicia            michael            smiles
      batman             fender             michelle           smooch
      beauty             fermat             mike               smother
      beaver             finite             minimum            snatch
      beethoven          flower             minsky             snoopy
      beloved            foolproof          mogul              soap
      benz               football           moose              socrates
      beowulf            format             mozart             spit
      berkeley           forsythe           nancy              spring
      berlin             fourier            napoleon           subway
      beta               fred               network            success
      beverly            friend             newton             summer
      bob                frighten           next               super
      brenda             fun                olivia             support
      brian              gabriel            oracle             surfer
      bridget            garfield           orca               suzanne
      broadway           gauss              orwell             tangerine
      bumbling           george             osiris             tape
      cardinal           gertrude           outlaw             target
      carmen             gibson             oxford             taylor
      carolina           ginger             pacific            telephone
      caroline           gnu                painless           temptation
      castle             golf               pam                tiger
      cat                golfer             paper              toggle
      celtics            gorgeous           password           tomato
      change             graham             pat                toyota
      charles            gryphon            patricia           trivial
      charming           guest              penguin            unhappy
      charon             guitar             pete               unicorn
      chester            hacker             peter              unknown
      cigar              harmony            philip             urchin
      classic            harold             phoenix            utility
      coffee             harvey             pierre             vicky
      coke               heinlein           pizza              virginia
      collins            hello              plover             warren
      comrade            help               polynomial         water
      computer           herbert            praise             weenie
      condo              honey              prelude            whatnot
      condom             horse              prince             whitney
      cookie             imperial           protect            will
      cooper             include            pumpkin            william
      create             ingres             puppet             willie
      creation           innocuous          rabbit             winston
      creator            irishman           rachmaninoff       wizard
      cretin             isis               rainbow            wombat
      daemon             japan              raindrop           yosemite
      dancer             jessica            random             zap


Part Four: Wrapping it up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I hope this file has been of some help in getting started.  If you're
asking yourself the question 'Why hack?', then you've probably wasted a lot
of time reading this, as you'll never understand.  For those of you who
have read this and found it useful, please send a tax-deductible donation
of $5.00 (or more!) in the name of the Legion of Doom to:
                                       The American Cancer Society
                                       90 Park Avenue
                                       New York, NY  10016


******************************************************************************
References:
1) Introduction to ItaPAC by Blade Runner
   Telecom Security Bulletin #1
2) The IBM VM/CMS Operating System by Lex Luthor
   The LOD/H Technical Journal #2
3) Hacking the IRIS Operating System by The Leftist
   The LOD/H Technical Journal #3
4) Hacking CDC's Cyber by Phrozen Ghost
   Phrack Inc. Newsletter #18
5) USENET comp.risks digest (various authors, various issues)
6) USENET unix.wizards forum (various authors)
7) USENET info-vax forum (various authors)

Recommended Reading:
1) Hackers by Steven Levy
2) Out of the Inner Circle by Bill Landreth
3) Turing's Man by J. David Bolter
4) Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder
5) Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and Burning Chrome, all
   by William Gibson
6) Reality Hackers Magazine c/o High Frontiers, P.O. Box 40271, Berkeley,
   California, 94704, 415-995-2606
7) Any of the Phrack Inc. Newsletters & LOD/H Technical Journals you can find.

Acknowledgements:
   Thanks to my wife for putting up with me.
   Thanks to Lone Wolf for the RSTS & TOPS assistance.
   Thanks to Android Pope for proofreading, suggestions, and beer.
   Thanks to The Urvile/Necron 99 for proofreading & Cyber info.
   Thanks to Eric Bloodaxe for wading through all the trash.
   Thanks to the users of Phoenix Project for their contributions.
   Thanks to Altos Computer Systems, Munich, for the chat system.
   Thanks to the various security personel who were willing to talk to
             me about how they operate.

        A Guide to Internet Security: Becoming an Uebercracker
        and Becoming an UeberAdmin to stop Uebercrackers.


Author: Christopher Klaus <cklaus@shadow.net>
Date: December 5th, 1993.
Version: 1.1

  This is a paper will be broken into two parts, one showing 15 easy steps
to becoming a uebercracker and the next part showing how to become a
ueberadmin and how to stop a uebercracker.  A uebercracker is a term phrased
by Dan Farmer to refer to some elite (cr/h)acker that is practically
impossible to keep out of the networks.

Here's the steps to becoming a uebercracker.

Step 1. Relax and remain calm. Remember YOU are a Uebercracker.

Step 2. If you know a little Unix, you are way ahead of the crowd and skip
past step 3.

Step 3. You may want to buy Unix manual or book to let you know what
ls,cd,cat does.

Step 4. Read Usenet for the following groups: alt.irc, alt.security,
comp.security.unix.  Subscribe to Phrack@well.sf.ca.us to get a background
in uebercracker culture.

Step 5. Ask on alt.irc how to get and compile the latest IRC client and
connect to IRC.

Step 6. Once on IRC, join the #hack channel. (Whew, you are half-way
there!)

Step 7. Now, sit on #hack and send messages to everyone in the channel
saying "Hi, Whats up?". Be obnoxious to anyone else that joins and asks
questions like "Why cant I join #warez?"

Step 8. (Important Step) Send private messages to everyone asking for new
bugs or holes. Here's a good pointer, look around your system for binary
programs suid root (look in Unix manual from step 3 if confused). After
finding a suid root binary, (ie. su, chfn, syslog), tell people you have a
new bug in that program and you wrote a script for it.  If they ask how it
works, tell them they are "layme". Remember, YOU are a UeberCracker. Ask
them to trade for their get-root scripts.

Step 9. Make them send you some scripts before you send some garbage file
(ie. a big core file). Tell them it is encrypted or it was messed up and
you need to upload your script again.

Step 10. Spend a week grabbing all the scripts you can. (Dont forget to be
obnoxious on #hack otherwise people will look down on you and not give you
anything.)

Step 11. Hopefully you will now have atleast one or two scripts that get
you root on most Unixes. Grab root on your local machines, read your
admin's mail, or even other user's mail, even rm log files and whatever
temps you. (look in Unix manual from step 3 if confused).

Step 12. A good test for true uebercrackerness is to be able to fake mail.
Ask other uebercrackers how to fake mail (because they have had to pass the
same test). Email your admin how "layme" he is and how you got root and how
you erased his files, and have it appear coming from satan@evil.com.

Step 13. Now, to pass into supreme eliteness of uebercrackerness, you brag
about your exploits on #hack to everyone. (Make up stuff, Remember, YOU are
a uebercracker.)

Step 14. Wait a few months and have all your notes, etc ready in your room
for when the FBI, Secret Service, and other law enforcement agencies
confinscate your equipment. Call eff.org to complain how you were innocent
and how you accidently gotten someone else's account and only looked
because you were curious. (Whatever else that may help, throw at them.)

Step 15. Now for the true final supreme eliteness of all uebercrackers, you
go back to #hack and brag about how you were busted.  YOU are finally a
true Uebercracker.


Now the next part of the paper is top secret.  Please only pass to trusted
administrators and friends and even some trusted mailing lists, Usenet
groups, etc. (Make sure no one who is NOT in the inner circle of security
gets this.)

This is broken down on How to Become an UeberAdmin (otherwise know as a
security expert) and How to stop Uebercrackers.

Step 1. Read Unix manual ( a good idea for admins ).

Step 2. Very Important.  chmod 700 rdist; chmod 644 /etc/utmp. Install
sendmail 8.6.4.  You have probably stopped 60 percent of all Uebercrackers
now.  Rdist scripts is among the favorites for getting root by
uebercrackers.

Step 3. Okay, maybe you want to actually secure your machine from the
elite Uebercrackers who can break into any site on Internet. 

Step 4. Set up your firewall to block rpc/nfs/ip-forwarding/src routing
packets. (This only applies to advanced admins who have control of the
router, but this will stop 90% of all uebercrackers from attempting your
site.)

Step 5. Apply all CERT and vendor patches to all of your machines. You have
just now killed 95% of all uebercrackers.

Step 6. Run a good password cracker to find open accounts and close them.
Run tripwire after making sure your binaries are untouched. Run tcp_wrapper
to find if a uebercracker is knocking on your machines.  Run ISS to make
sure that all your machines are reasonably secure as far as remote
configuration (ie. your NFS exports and anon FTP site.)

Step 7. If you have done all of the following, you will have stopped 99%
of all uebercrackers. Congrads! (Remember, You are the admin.) 

Step 8. Now there is one percent of uebercrackers that have gained
knowledge from reading some security expert's mail (probably gained access
to his mail via NFS exports or the guest account.  You know how it is, like
the mechanic that always has a broken car, or the plumber that has the
broken sink, the security expert usually has an open machine.) 

Step 9. Here is the hard part is to try to convince these security experts
that they are not so above the average citizen and that by now giving out
their unknown (except for the uebercrackers) security bugs, it would be a
service to Internet.  They do not have to post it on Usenet, but share
among many other trusted people and hopefully fixes will come about and
new pressure will be applied to vendors to come out with patches.

Step 10.  If you have gained the confidence of enough security experts,
you will know be a looked upto as an elite security administrator that is
able to stop most uebercrackers.  The final true test for being a ueberadmin
is to compile a IRC client, go onto #hack and log all the bragging and
help catch the uebercrackers. If a uebercracker does get into your system,
and he has used a new method you have never seen, you can probably tell
your other security admins and get half of the replies like - "That bug
been known for years, there just isn't any patches for it yet. Here's my
fix." and the other half of the replies will be like - "Wow.  That is very
impressive. You have just moved up a big notch in my security circle."
VERY IMPORTANT HERE:  If you see anyone in Usenet's security newsgroups
mention anything about that security hole, Flame him for discussing it
since it could bring down Internet and all Uebercrackers will now have it
and the million other reasons to keep everything secret about security.


Well, this paper has shown the finer details of security on Internet. It has
shown both sides of the coin.  Three points I would like to make that would
probably clean up most of the security problems on Internet are as the
following:

1.  Vendors need to make security a little higher than zero in priority.
If most vendors shipped their Unixes already secure with most known bugs
that have been floating around since the Internet Worm (6 years ago) fixed
and patched, then most uebercrackers would be stuck as new machines get
added to Internet.  (I believe Uebercracker is german for "lame copy-cat
that can get root with 3 year old bugs.") An interesting note is that
if you probably check the mail alias for "security@vendor.com", you will
find it points to /dev/null.  Maybe with enough mail, it will overfill
/dev/null.  (Look in manual if confused.)

2.  Security experts giving up the attitude that they are above the normal
Internet user and try to give out information that could lead to pressure
by other admins to vendors to come out with fixes and patches.  Most
security experts probably don't realize how far their information has
already  spread.

3.  And probably one of the more important points is just following the
steps I have outlined for Stopping a Uebercracker.


Resources for Security:
   Many security advisories are available from anonymous ftp cert.org.
Ask archie to find tcp_wrapper, security programs.  For more information
about ISS (Internet Security Scanner), email cklaus@shadow.net.


Acknowledgements: 

   Thanks to the crew on IRC, Dan Farmer, Wietse Venema, Alec Muffet, Scott
Miles, Scott Yelich, and Henri De Valois.


Copyright:

This paper is Copyright 1993, 1994.  Please distribute to only trusted
people.  If you modify, alter, disassemble, reassemble, re-engineer or have
any suggestions or comments, please send them to:

cklaus@shadow.net