

  THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN UNDERGROUND COMPUTING / Published Quarterly
  ======================================================================
  ISSN 1074-3111         Volume One, Issue Eight          April 21, 1995
  ======================================================================

   Editor-in-Chief:             Scott Davis      (dfox@fc.net)
   Co-Editor/Technology:        Max Mednick      (kahuna@fc.net)
   Conspiracy Editor:           Gordon Fagan     (flyer@io.com)
   Information Systems:         Carl Guderian    (bjacques@usis.com)
   Legal Editor                 Steve Ryan       (blivion@sccsi.com)
   Computer Security:           George Phillips  (ice9@paranoia.com)
   Graphics/WWW Design          Mario Martinez   (digital@comland.com)

   ** ftp site: etext.archive.umich.edu    /pub/Zines/JAUC
   ** ftp site: ftp.fc.net                 /pub/tjoauc
   ** WWW page: http://www.fc.net/~dfox

   U.S. Mail:
   The Journal Of American Underground Computing
   or Fennec Information Systems
   10111 N. Lamar - Suite 25
   Austin, Texas 78753-3601

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 IMPORTANT ADDRESSES -
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 To Subscribe to "TJOAUC", send mail to:              sub@fennec.com
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 All questions/comments about this publication to:    comments@fennec.com
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 "The underground press serves as the only effective counter to a growing
 power, and more sophisticated techniques used by establishment mass media
 to falsify, misrepresent, misquote, rule out of consideration as a priori
 ridiculous, or simply ignore and blot out of existence: data, books,
 discoveries that they consider prejudicial to establishment interest..."

 (William S. Burroughs and Daniel Odier, "The Job", Viking, New York, 1989)

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 Contents Copyright (C) 1995 The Journal Of American Underground Computing
 and/or the author of the articles presented herein. All rights reserved.
 Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission
 of the Editor-In-Chief and/or the author of the article. This publication
 is made available periodically to the amateur computer hobbyist free of
 charge.  Any commercial usage (electronic or otherwise) is strictly
 prohibited without prior consent of the Editor, and is in violation of
 applicable US Copyright laws. To subscribe, send email to sub@fennec.com

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 DISCLAIMER AND NOTICE TO DISTRIBUTORS -

 NOTE: This electronic publication is to be distributed free of charge
 without modifications to anyone who wishes to have a copy. Under NO
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 to be sold for money or services, nor is it to be packaged with other
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 To obtain permission to distribute this publication under any of the
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 This publication is provided without charge to anyone who wants it.
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 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS

 [File #1:]

 Web Page Opens For Business                           Editors
 Black Pluterday                                       Carl Guderian
 MTV-Europe Donates to EFF-Austin                      Eff-Austin
 City Connects People With Info on The Net             Jesus Garza
 Kevin Mitnick Affidavit                               Unknown
 Kevin Mitnick FAQ From The Well                       The Well
 More Mitnick From AP                                  Unknown
 Brain Dead In Cyberspace                              Jim Silvania

 [File #2]

 SummerCon Press Release                               Chris Goggans
 Fringe Ware #7 - WeIrD Issue                          Jon Lebkowsky
 Proposed FTC Rules To Cut Telemarket Abuse            Barry Fraser
 Chaos Corner V5, #1                                   Dr. Chaos

 [File #3]

 The Final Breaths Of The American Dream               Kenneth Stahl
 Wired War Tales                                       Carl Guderian

 [File #4]

 The Internet Addiction Support Group                  Ivan Goldberg
 Interactive Img. Launches Riddler(tm)                 Honey Essman
 USPS To Offer E-Mail Crypto                           USPS
 First Internet TV Series Premiers                     Unknown
 I-Com (Software) From Talent Comm.                    Talent Comm.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


                          WEB PAGE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

 By Scott Davis (dfox@fc.net)

 We now (and FINALLY!) have somewhat of a WWW page for you to enjoy.  It
 is not complete by any means.  As a matter of fact, no issues of the
 journal are up as of yet...but you can still route you're browser there
 and take a look at some stuff.  Please mail me and let me know what you
 think of it.  You're input is appreciated.

    http://www.fc.net/~dfox

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

          BLACK PLUTERDAY: IS ANYONE REALLY GUNNING FOR E-MONEY?

 By Carl Guderian (Information Systems Editor) bjacques@usis.com

 As the concept of digital money approaches reality, economists, players,
 and armchair analysts have begun to scrutinize it more closely. Digital
 money, or e-money, allows individuals--not just banks--to move money
 around the world at near-lightspeed. It could be the biggest thing since
 checking accounts and installment plans. Industry pundits are looking past
 the "gee-whiz" stage of e-money and toward its dark side, spinning
 scenarios of its collapse and subsequent disruption of the world financial
 market. The most popular agent of this chaos seems to be hackers or
 terrorists. History, however, suggests that Murphy, not Mitnick, will be
 the likely culprit.

 The histories of electronic commerce and computer networks, which converge
 in e-money, provide three excellent examples of technological debacles,
 of which only one is the work of a hacker. The New York Stock Exchange
 and AT&T's long-distance network both crashed all by themselves (October
 1987 and January 15, 1990, respectively). The release by Robert Morris of
 the Internet worm on November 2, 1988 was either an accident or a case of
 willful sabotage, depending on who's telling the story. All three cases
 highlight the growing pains of a complex emerging technology.

 The Internet worm incident exemplifies the lowest level of vulnerability:
 the completely open system. Morris' rogue program tied up 6000 computers
 on the Internet within hours of its release. System administrators were
 completely unprepared for it, but rallied in time to contain and kill the
 worm. Leaving the front doors open cost millions of dollars in lost
 computer time. At the time of the incident, the Internet was largely an
 academic milieu, and sysadmins felt little need for security. Today,
 however, hackers often bring down systems, either through sabotage or
 ineptitude. Though the majority of hacking incidents result in more
 embarrassment than actual damage, there is no excuse these days for not
 securing one's system.

 Yet a future crash of the e-money system engineered by hackers is not very
 likely. Hackers have historically posed little danger to computer systems.
 Computer security professionals ascribe over 90% of security breaches to
 in-house mis- or malfeasance. Outside hackers account for the remnant.
 Some pundits have played up the hacker threat, citing the lure of a fast
 e-buck. But automatic teller machines and electronic funds transfer have
 been in wide use since the seventies, and the most spectacular capers have
 not been hacking raids, but plain old embezzlement. When a system is
 cracked or crashed, hackers are seldom to blame. Human error is more often
 at fault.

 AT&T's long-distance nightmare was caused by a faulty system that crashed
 itself. A few lines of bad code caused an electronic switch to shut itself
 down during peak operating hours. Other switches, which shared this defect,
 shut down also. As more switches shut down, many of those remaining simply
 overloaded. In the ensuing avalanche, half of AT&T's long-distance
 capability was lost for a few hours. Though a few opportunistic net.cops
 initially (and publicly) suspected hackers, AT&T's engineers were able to
 quickly put the kibosh on such speculation. Meanwhile, AT&T lost a few
 million dollars and suffered a black eye because the same thing didn't
 happen to MCI.

 The e-money infrastructure, if it becomes as complex as the AT&T network,
 will be equally at risk of failure. To prevent a fiasco, designers should
 keep the system simple. Counting packets out of one account and into
 another is trivial. Building in transaction tracing and other government-
 and industry-friendly bells and whistles will only make the system more
 complex and more likely to fail. Designers should also try to anticipate
 possible conflicts with the various systems into which e-money will be
 integrated. (As well, the committee now working on IPNG, the next-
 generation Internet Protocol, could meet them halfway by not trying to
 overdesign it for multimedia, metered billing, security, user
 identification, and other user-onerous "features.")

 Still, the best-designed systems can go awry when put into actual use.
 Exhaustive testing seldom reveals the fact that technologies sometimes
 function too well.

 There's a story about the "Correction of '87" that bears repeating. A
 friend of this writer, while at an overseas science fiction convention
 that August, was warned that the New York Stock Exchange was headed for
 trouble. The story went that computers in all major brokerages in the U.S.
 used the same software for program trading and, therefore, used the same
 parameters in gauging the market. As the summer's bull market reached
 hitherto unknown heights, one of those computers was bound to decide that
 the market was close to topping out. It would start selling off before the
 other trading programs did. The others, seeing this as a sign of an
 imminent downturn, would begin profit-taking as well. The market would
 plummet and not recover, since the machines were probably programed not
 to buy into a bear market. All of this was supposed to occur by autumn.
 Which it did. Though not physically networked, the Exchange's trading
 computers were as inextrically bound together by the mathematics of
 avalanche and stampede. After a plunge of more 500 points, SEC officials
 called a halt to the day's trading. Today, stock trading is forcibly
 suspended if the Dow Jones drops a hundred points.

 E-money, like many powerful technologies, can cause the biggest problems
 when it is working perfectly. A few of its promises, such as the global
 circulation of private currencies, should be throwing government bodies
 and industry leaders into fits right now. Home shopping will quickly give
 way to desktop currency speculation when Joe Pentium discovers he can
 dump his weak dollars for yen during a bathroom break. Does the already
 volatile currency market really need more players? Every hard drive a
 bank! (Certainly the economic powers are eyeing e-money and similar
 technologies. They've cooperated to curb international hacking and software
 piracy; encryption and anonymous e-mail are now on the agenda. Government
 and industry seem to share a vision of the Internet as a global virtual
 shopping mall with a cover charge, so users can't look to official
 guardians or hip, young, Wired-reading infotainment executives for
 representation. The window for individual experimentation is closing fast.)

 In drawing scenarios for the rise of E-money,  pundits should look to the
 history of a similarly powerful technology: steam power. Lessons drawn
 from the latter apply somewhat to the former. Steam proved extraordinarily
 useful, despite headline-grabbing disasters, because it was very
 manageable. Therefore, hysterical tales of sabotage by business rivals or
 foreign agents did little to slow the adoption of steam. Sound thinking
 minimized the risk of steam just as it will with e-money. At the high end
 this means thoroughly exploring the dynamics of complex human and machine
 systems and sharing knowledge gleaned therefrom. At the low end (e-money
 is eminently scalable), this means keeping enough cash on hand to cover
 one's potential liability. To the extent that pundits follow e-money
 intelligently and leave the dime-novel speculations to tabloid TV shows,
 they will help to ensure the best possible future for e-money and those
 using it.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 PRESS RELEASE

 MTV-EUROPE DONATES 500 POUNDS TO AUSTIN CYBERSPACE CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP

 Austin, March 21, 1995

 EFF-Austin, an Austin, Texas civil rights group concerned with
 electronic network access and free expression, gratefully acknowledges a
 contribution of 500 pounds from the European branch of MTV Music
 Television.  The donation came in response to an MTV publication titled
 "Global Communication: Channel Your Experience," which was released in
 conjunction with the 1994 First European Music Awards, held at the
 Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

 Cyberpunk science fiction writers William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
 created an original collaborative artwork for the "Global Communication"
 project. MTV-Europe then contributed a cheque for 500 pounds to the two
 authors' favorite charity -- EFF-Austin.

 "We've seen some oddities in our five years on the electronic
 frontier," said EFF-Austin President David Smith, "but this one takes the
 cake.  Not only are we so hip that we get contributions from MTV-Europe,
 but now we can describe ourselves as 'William Gibson's favorite charity.'"

 For more information, contact Steve Jackson, EFF-Austin secretary
 (sj@io.com)

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

         CITY CONNECTS PEOPLE WITH INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

 Contacts:

 Jesus Garza, City Manager, (512)499-2200
 Betty Dunkerley, Dir. of Finance & Administrative Services,(512)499-2450
 Becky Gadell, Internet Task Force Co-Chair, (512)499-2402,

 The City of Austin today introduced City information on the Internet.

 Called the "Austin City Connection," the new City service provides
 Internet users on-line access to over 300 files of information on a broad
 range of topics, including agendas for City Council and Planning
 Commission, the City Charter, profiles of the Mayor and City Council,
 purchasing notices and job openings, directories of City and youth
 services, Electric utility services and the Austin Area Visitor's Guide.

 The Mayor, City Council Members and City Manager Jesus Garza cut an
 electronic ribbon on the Austin City Connection Tuesday morning in a
 ceremony at the Austin Convention Center. Internet users can access the
 new City service on the World Wide Web at Universal Resource Locator (URL)
  http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/

 "Our purpose is to use emerging technologies, such as the Internet, to
 connect people with information, services and people," said City Manager
 Jesus Garza. "This is just the tip of the iceberg, the beginning of using
 such technology to improve service delivery and bring government closer to
 people."

 Four week ago Garza appointed an employee team, the Internet Task Force,
 to put basic information on the Internet. The group pooled equipment and
 talent from all City departments to build the "Connection."

 The Task Force's experience and citizen response to this initial use of
 the Internet will help guide decisions about providing public access to
 the Internet at libraries and other facilities, initiating on-line access
 to the City Council and staff, and adding information and on-line services,
 such as applying for City jobs through the "Connection."

 "We've included a survey that people can fill out and send to us
 electronically," said City Internet Task Force Co-Chair Becky Gadell. "We
 particularly want to find out if the 'Connection' is easy to use and if
 the information we have included in this first phase is useful. The survey
 is an opportunity for people to tell us what they think and what they want
 to see next."

 Information offered through the "Connection" is grouped into
 nine major categories.

 1.   Leadership and Community Involvement includes information about the
      Mayor and City Council, City Boards and Commissions, meeting agendas
      and minutes, and voter information.

 2.   Austin City Government includes the City Charter.

 3.   News offers City news releases, public notices and the program
      schedule for the City's cable television access station, Channel 6.

 4.   Business contains listings of City job openings, purchasing notices,
      and instructions for businesses seeking certification as minority and
      women-owned businesses.

 5.   City Services includes a directory with phone numbers and in-depth
      information about the gamut of City services, from airport to garbage
      collection, recycling, environmental tips, parks, utilities, and
      opportunities for youth.

 6.   Public Safety focuses on emergency and prevention information from
      Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

 7.   Library and Education encompasses services and information from the
      Austin Public Library and City education programs, such as First Aid
      and CPR classes, and environmental conservation programs.

 8.   Health offers a guide to City-County health clinics, Brackenridge
      Hospital's HealthPLUS class schedule, a link to AIDS information on
      the Internet, and tips about how to safely enjoy Austin's one and a
      half million bats.

 9.   Around and About Austin includes visitor information, Austin
      Convention Center services and activities, parks and recreation
      guides, and the program schedule for the Austin Music Network.

 Information about voter registration, health clinics and some library
 services are provided in English and Spanish.

 Former Council Member Smoot Carl-Mitchell, president of Texas Internet
 Consultants (TIC), served as the project's consultant for system security.
 Go Media Inc., an Austin-based graphic design firm consulted on the overall
 on-line information architecture to ensure the most effective presentation
 and easy access to information. Additionally, Go Media designed the Austin
 City Connection logos and home page.

 "The leading, or 'Home Page,' logo is a montage that includes a 1953
 postcard of downtown Austin and a circuit board image connected by the
 Congress Avenue bridge. We feel this image illustrates Austin's commitment
 to the future and strong regard for tradition," said Julie Gomoll,
 president of Go Media Inc.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                 MAIN BODY OF THE MITNICK AFFIDAVIT

 On 2/12/95, Tsutomu Shimomura, SDSC, arrived in Raleigh, NC, to
 assist Jim Murphy Sprint Cellular, review and compare Sprint Cellular
 CDR's with logging information obtained from Robert Hood, Senior Netcom
 Administrator, Netcom. Review of call detail records (CDR) for MIN
 919-602-6523, determined that a call was initiated on February 11, 1995
 at 16:37 Eastern Standard Time (EST). This call was place [sic] to Netcom's
 POP in Minneapolis, Minnesota (612)-362-5400.  Netcom records verify
 session login to Netcoms machine from Minneapolis POP at 13:39 Pacific
 Standard Time (PST). CDR indicated that this call was terminated at 17:35
 EST and verified by Netcom record of termination at 14:35 PST.

 On 2/12/95, Joseph Orsak, Senior Maintenance Engineer, Sprint Cellular,
 advised affiant that he had identified the particular cell site in the
 Raleigh area associated with the cellular telephone calls to Netcom POP's.
 Cell site #19, sector 3 & 4 which are at 60 degree angles, with areas of
 coverage as follows: South East Bluestone Drive intersecting state highway
 #70; South West State Road #1649 to William Omstead State Park; South
 Duraleigh Road to State Road 1664 (see attached map). At 22:00 EST a
 search was initiated to seek out the cellular location associated with
 activity listed in paragraphs 9 & 10. Orsak informed affiant that he used
 Sprint Cellular service equipment to determine that the call was
 originating from the area of the Players Apartment complex, 4518
 Tournament Drive, Raleigh, NC. Once the area of the cellular transmission
 was determined Orsak terminated search at 04:00 EST. Orsak advised that
 his equipment indicated that MIN 919-602-6523 which match Cellular One
 CDR's for 2/12/95 conducted a series of calls from 02:00 to 04:00 EST.

 Your affiant is familiar with the computers, software and other equipment
 commonly used by hackers to modify or clone telephones. Hackers are able
 to use cellular phones to conduct their activities by connecting their
 computers to a cellular compatible modem. With such a modem, the hacker
 uses the cellular phone to dial out to a targeted land - line phone
 number - often a network remote or public dialup access line. Such an
 access number allows the hacker to connect to and communicate with the
 targeted computer system or network. The hacker will often launder his
 illegal access attempts by routing calls through a public computer
 access network - such as the Internet or by illegally accessing a PBX
 telephone system. Once they access the targeted system, the hacker uses
 his or her knowledge of computers to steal, erase or manipulate data and
 computer programs. Hackers commonly use sophisticated computer programs
 to break the password codes which protect computer systems form [sic]
 unauthorized use.

 Affiant believes that all referenced cellular calls in paragraphs 9 & 10
 originated from the same individual located within the Players Apartment
 Complex, Raleigh, NC. Records obtained from Robert Hood, Netcom, indicate
 that computer hacking sessions took place as a direct result of the
 cellular hacker activities referenced in paragraphs 9 & 10:

 - On February 11, 21:40 - 22:25 PST, computer system listed as bi.fish.com
   (belonging to Dan Farmer) is hacked into by gkremen@netcom.com and
   computer programs are compressed and transferred to another machine.

 - Files are later transferred to the Internet provider The Well. E-mail
   is read and hacker backdoor tools allowing the intruder to obtain
   root access are initiated. Programs to erase all accounting log files
   of intruder are activated.

 - Internex.net a [sic] Internet provider is accessed and backdoor programs
   are activated. On this machine stolen files are placed in the lost+found
   directory, a favorite place to hide information.

 - Intruder changes directories into that of New York Times writer John
   Markoff. Intruder reads E-mail and then deletes the mail from the system.

 - On February 12, 12:40 - 12:53 PST, from Netcom the intruder hacks into
   Mead Data Central (archive site for newspapers). Intruder then logs into
   escape.com then csn.org and begins to read the E-mail of a user
   named hank.

 - On February 13, 15:45 - 15:58 PST, intruder logs into internex.net then
   into escape.com where he changes the permissions and .rhost file of
   writer John Markoff to make his account world accessible by anyone.
   Proceeds to delete several files from the system. Activates backdoor
   hacking tools to obtain root superuser status on machine.

 Investigation conducted via electronic tracking measures has narrowed
 the citus of the target's cellular phone operations into the computer
 networks to Apartment No. 107 and Apartment No. 108, located in Players
 Apartment Complex on 4640 Tournament Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
 Investigation of the leases on these apartments reveal that Apartment
 No. 107 was leased on February 4, 1995, by a new lessee. This is the
 precise date on which the target began operating out of the Raleigh,
 North Carolina, area. The other apartment is leased by the girlfriend of
 the apartment complex's manager, who is not a suspect.

 Based upon the above stated facts, and upon my training and experience,
 your affiant believes that a resident of the Players Apartment Complex,
 is actively engaged in illegal use of cellular telephone to make
 unauthorized access into the above listed computer systems and of as
 yet, undetermined computer and business entities, a violation of Title
 18, United States Code, Section 1030, Computer Fraud and Abuse.

 To the best of my knowledge and belief, the information contained in
 the above affidavit is true and accurate.

 LEVORD M. BURNS
 Special Agent
 Federal Bureau of Investigation

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                   THE MITNICK FAQ FROM 'THE WELL'


 [mod's note: Kevin Mitnick's arrest was connected with the investigation
 of intrusions on the WELL, a conferencing system in Sausalito, California.
 The WELL has issued a press statement in the form of a FAQ]:

 The WELL : FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Sheet for Press

 Q.  When did The WELL first become aware of the unauthorized activity on
 it's system?
 A.  Friday, January 27th.

 Q.  How did you  discover it?
 A.  A routine system check.

 Q.  What actions did the WELL take to help track the suspect?
 A.  Our technical staff began monitoring and analyzing the situation over
 that weekend.  By Monday, we had contacted Computer Emergency Response Team
 (CERT), The FBI, Sun's Security Team, Tsutomo Shimomura of San Diego
 Supercomputer Center, the Board of Directors of The WELL, representatives of
 The WELL community and EFF to discuss our appropriate response. We also
 contacted other Internet service sites who we believed were compromised.
 Our main objective was to understand risks, options, and factors affecting
 our system security and Net-wide responsibilities.

 After discussing the situation with the above groups, and carefully
 considering our options and responsibilities, we made the decision to
 contact the U.S. Attorney's Office and to cooperate with Tsutomo Shimomura
 in apprehending the intruder.  We did this in an effort to foster greater
 security on the global net.

 We initiated round-the-clock staffing to monitor the illegal activity.
 WELL technical staff were joined by Mr. Shimomura and his associates to
 help trace the suspect using sophisticated monitoring software that he
 supplied.

 At no time was the FBI onsite at The WELL or involved in monitoring at our
 site.

 Q.  What was the chronology of events at The WELL the day leading up to the
 arrest of Kevin Mitnick?
 A. Tuesday, February 14, 2:30 pm PST

 WELL technical staff, which had been monitoring the activity for nearly 18
 days, notices that the cracker has erased information on one transaction
 file on The WELL.  The transaction file (there are dozens of accounting
 files on The WELL) contained user log-on data, and was a file which is
 stored elsewhere and backed up regularly.

 WELL decides to bring the system down so we can re-build the damaged file
 and do further investigation.  WELL staff shuts down WELL computers.

 Tuesday, February 14, 3:00 pm PST

 Technical staff positively determines that it is only one accounting file
 that has been affected.  Approximately three hours after the incident the
 damaged file is rebuilt.

 Tuesday, February 14, 5:00 pm PST

 Shimomura and assistants are contacted, and confirm with The WELL technology
 team that the cracker appeared to have made a typing error when he zeroed
 the one accounting file.  Shimomura reports that they are hours from
 catching the suspect.

 Tuesday, February 14, 8:30 pm PST

 WELL puts system back up.  Monitoring continues in full gear.

 Tuesday, February 14, 10:30 pm PST

 Kevin Mitnick is arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 Q.  What other sites were affected?
 A.  In the interest of their privacy, we will not say.  We believe that at
 least a dozen sites were compromised.

 Q.  What are The WELL's normal security procedures?
 A.  The WELL follows normal UNIX and Internet system security procedures
 including, but not limited to, implementing changes as recommended by CERT
 advisories, security patches as available from vendors (e.g. SUN, Cisco),
 regular use of system security diagnostic software, including "crack" and
 other appropriate security related measures.  We feel it is inappropriate to
 enumerate all our security measures in a public forum.

 Q.  Did the cracker get WELL members' credit card information or personal
 files?
 A.  To the extent that we are able to determine, no credit card information
 was accessed by the intruder.

 We monitored nearly every keystroke of the cracker.  A total of 11 accounts
 were compromised by the intruder, and we have contacted all of the account
 holders.  In general, the cracker was not interested in information on The
 WELL itself, but used the WELL for storing files from other sites.

 Q.  Wouldn't have changing all members' passwords have secured the system?
 A.  Fundamentally, it wouldn't have made any difference.  The tools used by
 this cracker would not have been defeated by changing individual passwords.
 Additionally, we have no information that would lead us to believe that
 member's passwords had been cracked or distributed.

 Q.  What exactly were you monitoring and who was doing this?
 A.  We were tracking network transactions, e.g.. ftp, smtp, telnet etc. to
 and from systems known and/or suspected by us to have been compromised.  We
 added additional sites  as we learned about this.

 Those monitoring our system included The WELL tech staff as well as Andrew
 Gross, a consultant from Shimomura's office.

 Q.  What are you doing to strengthen the security of The WELL?
 A.  We've purchased a new main server, a Sparc 1000e.  We're re-installing
 application software from binaries, implementing one-time (DES) password
 protection for critical including root passwords, and requiring every user
 on the system to select a new password (adhering to standards that make
 password cracking more difficult).  We are  continuing close liaison with
 Sun specialists and other system security specialists and advisors to
 examine techniques used by the cracker to gain system access and addressing
 these system weaknesses.

 The WELL plans to install the new Sparc 1000e on Monday, February 20th.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

 This is from the AP wire for Thursday, February 16, 1995.

 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - He was a notorious computer vandal, a fugitive
 described by one official as "the most wanted hacker in the world."

 In more than two years on the run, Kevin D. Mitnick allegedly pilfered
 thousands of data files and at least 20,000 credit card numbers, worming
 his way into even the most sophisticated systems.

 But Mitnick, who once broke into a top-secret military defense system as a
 teen-age prank, apparently infiltrated one computer too many.

 One of his latest victims, a computer security expert, was so angered that
 he made it his crusade to track Mitnick down.

 Mitnick, 31, was charge with computer fraud, punishable by 20 years in
 prison, and illegal use of a telephone access device, which carries a
 maximum 15-year sentence. Both crimes also are punishable by $250,000
 fines.

 He already was wanted in California for violating probation on a previous
 hacking conviction.

 "He was clearly the most wanted computer hacker in the world," Kent
 Walker, an assistant U.S. attorney in San Francisco who helped coordinate
 the investigation, told The New York Times. "He allegedly had access to
 corporate trade secrets worth billions of dollars. He was a very big
 threat."

 Mitnick had been on the run since 1992. Authorities say he broke into many
 of the nation's telephone networks, and most recently he had become a
 suspect in a rash of break-ins on the global Internet computer network.
 "He's a computer terrorist," said John Russell, a U.S. Justice Department
 spokesman.

 Mitnick's downfall began Christmas Day, when he broke into the home
 computer of Tsutomu Shimomura of the San Diego Supercomputer Center and
 stole security programs he had written.

 Incensed, Shimomura canceled a ski vacation and assembled a team of
 computer experts to hunt down the intruder. They traced Mitnick to
 Netcom, a nationwide Internet access provider, and with the help of
 federally subpoenaed phone records determined that he was lacing calls
 from a cellular phone near Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the
 Times said.

 Early Monday morning, Shimomura drove around Raleigh with a telephone
 company technician. They used a cellular frequency direction-finding
 antenna hooked to a laptop to narrow the search to an apartment complex.
 The FBI arrested Mitnick after a 24-hour stakeout.

 Shimomura, 30, attended Mitnick's prearraignment hearing Wednesday at the
 federal courthouse in Raleigh. At the end of the hearing, a handcuffed
 Mitnick turned to Shimomura, who he had never met, according to the Times.
 "Hello, Tsutomu. I respect your skills." Shimomura nodded solemnly.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                           BRAIN DEAD IN CYBERSPACE

 By Jim Silvania

 The demise of  America's number one cyperthief, Kevin Mitnick, The
 Condor, has been widely reported.  Discussions among Internet users
 regarding Mitnick's arrest have led to some interesting revelations.
 There appears to be a growing fear by Internet computer users  that
 Mitnick (sometimes referred to as the "Hannibal Lector of hacking"), or
 other cyberpunks with modems, could somehow gain access to their
 private computer system and reek havoc by stealing their secrets or
 implanting an information consuming virus.  The possibility exists but
 even more of a threat is someone surreptitiously entering your home or
 business and walking off with your hard drive and thereby rendering
 your business brain dead.

 Medical shows (such as ER and Chicago Hope) have once again become
 popular with TV viewers.  Would I be revealing my age if  I stated I
 can remember watching Ben Casey, M.D. and Dr. Kildare?  In all of the
 previous mentioned medical shows one scene always portrayed is that of
 a patient lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a visual monitor.  One
 soon learned that at some point during the show the lines on the
 monitor went flat causing the monitor to sound an alarm and thereby
 sending the staff into a controlled "Code Blue" panic.  In the older
 television dramas, the doctor would rush to the rescue and save the
 dying patient.  In the newer TV dramas, the viewers have learned that
 if the lines on the monitor remain flat, the patient dies.  The patient
 is labeled "brain dead" and all bodily functions cease.

 I  am now involved in an investigation of another theft or a lobotomy
 of a business entity.  Again an uncommon thief  has entered a business
 and removed  or stolen the computer's hard drive. The hard drive
 contained the business' customer list.  In one of the more recent
 cases, not only did the perpetrator steal the hard drive, he/she also
 stole the taped backup which was located next to the hard drive and, of
 course, plainly marked "backup".

 The thieves in these past instances did not gain access to the
 business' secrets via the use of a modem or  the process of hacking.
 The acts of these criminal s were committed as easily  as the
 professional shoplifter who steals from the neighborhood discount
 store.

 The  investigation into the theft of a hard drive becomes a horse of a
 different color.  The street cop who is dispatched to the business to
 take the theft report views the whole affair as just a minor theft of
 computer hardware that can be easily replaced by submitting an
 insurance claim.  The investigating detective with a stack of 100
 reports on his desk views the matter in the same light. What neither
 law enforcement officer realizes is that the actions of the
 perpetrators amount to more than just a theft.  Their actions amount to
 murder. The lines on the monitor monitoring your business have gone
 flat. The alarm should be sounding a "Code Blue" because your  company
 is now "brain dead".

 The motivations of such thievery can be inclusive of espionage,
 subversion, competitor intelligence or just a disgruntled employee
 seeking revenge.  Here are some tips on preventing your business from
 becoming "brain dead":

 1.   Secure your hard drive, preferably with a lock and key.

 2.   Pass wording doesn't cut it. If your hard drive is stolen, it can
 be booted by a floppy disk or simply mounting your hard drive into a
 new computer.

 3.   Secure your backup.   It belongs someplace else other than next to
 your computer.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


                        1995 SUMMERCON INFORMATION

 By Chris Goggans (phrack@well.sf.ca.us)

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

  Phrack Magazine and Computer Security Technologies proudly present:

                     The 1995 Summer Security Conference

  SSSS  U    U  M     M  M     M   EEEEE   RRRR     CCCC   OOOO    N   N
 S      U    U  MM   MM  MM   MM   E       R   R   C      O    O   NN  N
  SSS   U    U  M M M M  M M M M   EEE     RRRR    C      O    O   N N N
     S  U    U  M  M  M  M  M  M   E       R  R    C      O    O   N  NN
 SSSS    UUUU   M     M  M     M   EEEEE   R   R    CCCC   OOOO    N   N

                               "SUMMERCON"

      June 2-4 1995 @ the Downtown Clarion Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia

 This is the official announcement and open invitation to the 1995
 incarnation of Summercon.  In the past, Summercon was an invite-only
 hacker gathering held annually in St. Louis, Missouri.  Starting with this
 incarnation, Summercon is open to any and all interested parties: Hackers,
 Phreaks, Pirates, Virus Writers, System Administrators, Law Enforcement
 Officials, Neo-Hippies, Secret Agents, Teachers, Disgruntled Employees,
 Telco Flunkies, Journalists, New Yorkers, Programmers, Conspiracy Nuts,
 Musicians and Nudists.

 LOCATION:

 The Clarion Hotel is located in downtown Atlanta, 9 miles from Hartsfield
 International Airport and just a few blocks from the Peachtree Center MARTA
 Station.


 Considering the exorbitant expenses involved with attending other
  conferences of this type, Rooms at Summercon are reduced to

                 $65 per night for Single or Double Occupancy

       The Clarion Hotel Downtown, Courtland at 70 Houston St., NE,
                            Atlanta, GA 30303
        (404) 659-2660 or (800) 241-3828   (404) 524-5390 (fax)


 No one likes to pay a hundred dollars a night.  We don't expect you
 to have to.  Spend your money on room service, drinks in the hotel bar,
 or on k-rad hacker t-shirts.  Remember:  Mention that you are attending
 Summercon in order to receive the discount.

 DIRECTIONS

 75/85 Southbound - Exit 97 (Courtland).  Go 3 blocks south on Courtland
           then turn left on Houston (John Wesley Dobbs Ave.)
 20 East - Exit 75/85 North at International.  Turn Left on Courtland at
           Houston Ave. NE. (aka. John Wesley Dobbs Ave. NE.)
 20 West - Exit 75/85 North at International.  One block to Courtland
           and right at Houston Ave. NE. (John Wesley Dobbs Ave. NE.)

 Atlanta Airport Shuttle - The Express Bus that leaves from Atlanta's
 International Airport will drop you off at many hotels in the downtown
 area, including the Clarion.  The shuttle should be no more than 12
 dollars.  Fares may be paid at the Airport Shuttle in the Ground
 Transportation area of the Airport Terminal.

 MARTA - The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), is a
 convenient and inexpensive way to negotiate most of the Atlanta area.
 Take the MARTA train from the Airport to the Peach Tree Center Station.
 Walk three blocks down Houston to the intersection of Houston and
 Courtland.  The MARTA fare will be roughly 2 dollars.

 Taxis - The average cab fare from Atlanta's Airport to the downtown area
 is roughly 30 dollars.

 CONFERENCE INFO

 It has always been our contention that cons are for socializing.
 "Seekret Hacker InPh0" is never really discussed except in private
 circles, so the only way anyone is going to get any is to meet new people
 and take the initiative to start interesting conversations.

 Because of this, the formal speaking portion of Summercon will be held on
 one day, not two or three, leaving plenty of time for people to explore
 the city, compare hacking techniques, or go trashing and clubbing with
 their heretofore unseen online companions.

 The "Conference" will be held on June 3rd from roughly 11:00 am until
 6:00 pm with a 1 hour lunch break from 1:00 to 2:00.

 NO VIDEO TAPING WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM.  Audio Taping
 and still photography will be permitted.


 CURRENT LIST OF SPEAKERS:

 Robert Steele   - Ex-Intelligence Agent, Founder and CEO of Open Source
                   Solutions (a private sector intelligence firm)

            Topic: Hackers from the Intelligence Perspective

 Winn Schwartau  - Author of "Information Warfare" and "Terminal
                   Compromise", Publisher of Security Insider Report, and
                   noted security expert

            Topic: Electromagnetic Weaponry

 Bob Stratton    - Information Security Expert from one of America's largest
                   Internet service providers

            Topic: The Future of TCP/IP Security

 Eric Hughes     - Cryptography Expert and founding member of the
                   "Cypherpunks"

            Topic: Cryptography, Banking, and Commerce

 Annaliza Savage - London-based Director/Producer

            Topic: Discussion of her documentary "Unauthorized Access"
                   (Followed by a public screening of the film)

 Chris Goggans   - Editor of Phrack Magazine and Summercon M.C.

            Topic: introductions, incidentals and a topic which is sure
                   to culminate in an international incident.


 (Other Speakers May Be Added - Interested parties may contact scon@fc.net)

 COSTS

 Since other cons of this type have been charging from 25 to 40 dollars
 entry fees, we are only charging 10 dollars.  Yes, that's correct,
 TEN (10) dollars in US currency.  Money is far too scarce among the
 hacker community to fleece everyone for money they will probably need
 to eat with or pay for their hotel rooms.


 WHAT TO DO IN ATLANTA:

 To attempt to make everyone's stay in Atlanta more exciting, we are
 contacting local establishments to arrange for special discounts and/or
 price reductions for Summercon attendees.  Information will be handed
 out regarding these arrangements at the conference.

 Atlanta is a happening town.

 Touristy Stuff                            Party Time

   The World of Coca-Cola                  Buckhead
   Underground Atlanta                     The Gold Club
   Georgia Dome (Baseball?)                (Countless Other Clubs and Bars)
   Six Flags

 CONTACTING SUMMERCON SPONSORS

 You can contact the Summercon sponsors by several means:

     E-mail:     scon@fc.net

        WWW:     http://www.fc.net/scon.html

 Snail Mail:     Phrack Magazine
                 603 W. 13th #1A-278
                 Austin, TX 78701


 If deemed severely urgent, you can PGP your email with the following PGP
 key:

 - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
 Version: 2.6

 mQCNAizMHvgAAAEEAJuIW5snS6e567/34+nkSA9cn2BHFIJLfBm3m0EYHFLB0wEP
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 Dk9BF57GftqM5zesJHqO9hjUlVlnRqYFT49vcMFTvT7krR9Gj6R4oxgb1CldAAUR
 tBRwaHJhY2tAd2VsbC5zZi5jYS51cw==
 =evjv
 - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----


 See you in Atlanta!


 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
 Version: 2.6

 iQCVAwUBL4mMEaR4oxgb1CldAQE5dQP+ItUraBw4D/3p6UxjY/V8CO807qXXH6U4
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 uRix2FrftCY=
 =m/Yt
 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                  FRINGE WARE REVIEW #7 - THE WeIrD ISSUE

 By Jon Lebkowsky (jonl@io.com)

 A while back ago, a friend of ours named Andy V. chatted with FWR
 about doing a parody of Wired magazine. At the same time some of the
 FWR editors were having a lively discussion with one of the Wired
 editors about doing parodies of other zines...you get the picture.

 Featured in FWR #7 you will find our idears about how that glossy,
 six-color rag from SF should be produced--that is if they had our
 limited budget and a good measure of self-humor. Check here for the
 latest WeIrD news in our new departments: Electronic Weird, Gorgon
 Watch, Fringe Product Fetish, Rants & Raves, etc... You'll also find a
 second installment of the graphic novel Eight Hands by Glenn Israel,
 our mailart showcase featuring an original by Tiffany Lee Brown & Bart
 Nagel...photography and illustrations by Monte McCarter, BB Depew,
 Caresse P-Orridge, nos4a2, Heath Bunting, and GAK-Art...plus a bright
 (almost-six) color cover, the usual fun of our back cover PGP
 message/contest, and an updated catalog of gizmos, widgets and memes.

      -- Paco Xander Nathan
      special issue editor, FWR #7


                             TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Wired Sonnet
        Mary Denning: will she ever work again in this town?

 Stuck in the MUD
        grimoire @ telnet mud.stanford.edu 2010: why PXN's shrink
        enjoys the Net so much

 Gorgon Watch
        Garnet Baldwyg: our friend and cohort explains what those funny
        words in the FW email list headers mean..

 Fringe Product Fetish
        Scotto: stuff you really can't afford, but really can't afford
        not to have read about here

 R.U.Wired?
        Baby Boy Depew & Monte McCarter: in a WiReD world, somebody's
        nearly always yanking your strings

 Tubed
        Don Webb: noted author dares question about the future of a
        brave new medium

 Consciousness In A Box
        Jon Lebkowsky: the scifi mythopoetic delusional
        psychoelectronic "I"

 McLuhan Center i/v
        Spiro(s) Antonopoulos: FWR's newest contributing editor
        actually calls up one of those adverts found in the back of
        Wired magazine

 Genesis P-Orridge i/v
        Dissemination Network: Brother Gen talks openly about his
        connection with Bill Gates and other people who control the
        world

 KNOW-THIS
        Genesis P-Orridge: "Thee Frequency Ov Truth"

 DIY Infobotics
        Paco Xander Nathan: FWR dares advocate the heir of demons

 nEurorAncid
        Paco Xander Nathan: you've probably read Neuromancer...welcome
        to bubbaspace

 Pick Your Noise
        Demandra: music you should listen to, now

 Drugs We Used
        Scotto: it takes a lot of personal sacrifice to produce an
        issue of WeIrD magazine, but hey we're pros...

 Techgnosis
        Shelly Soma: speculations on technology, ritual and other such
        matters


                             HOW TO SUBSCRIBE

 for more info, send the email message GET SUBSCRIBE to:
 info@fringeware.com or call: +1 512 323 0039

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

          Proposed FTC Rules Could Reduce Telemarketing Abuses

 By Barry D. Fraser (fraser@pwa.acusd.edu)
 Online Legal Research Associate

 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed a set of rules which
 would ban many deceptive or abusive telemarketing sales practices.
 Although there has been very little publicity about this rulemaking, it
 could severely restrict telemarketing activity and substantially cut
 down on those annoying sales calls that always seem to come at the
 wrong time.  It would also provide a strong deterrent to scam artists.

 The FTC is seeking public comment over the next several weeks on the
 proposed rules.  A copy of the proposal can be obtained by calling
 202.326.2222.  The actual text is very long (120 pages), so interested
 persons might request a press release which explains the rules in some
 detail.  I'm not aware of any online availability of these materials.

 Under the proposed rules, telemarketers would have to tell consumers at
 the beginning of each call that it is a sales call and provide the name
 of the seller.  The rule would prohibit telemarketing calls before 8
 a.m. or after 9 p.m.  Telemarketers offering credit or loans, credit
 repair services, or assistance to consumers in recovering lost money
 from prior telemarketing schemes, would be prohibited from seeking
 payment until the services have been rendered.

 Additionally, telemarketers would be required to disclose all material
 information about any offer made to a consumer, and would be required
 to obtain signed acknowledgment of written disclosure regarding all
 prize-promotions and investment offerings before seeking any payment.
 These disclosures must include information about the retail price of
 all prizes, odds of winning, costs of obtaining any prize, and the "No
 purchase necessary to win" statement.

 The proposed rules also prohibit a variety of specific
 misrepresentations, including that a person was selected to receive a
 prize, that the telemarketer is affiliated with a government entity, or
 that the telemarketer can improve credit records or obtain loans for
 customers regardless of credit record.

 Also, telemarketers would be prohibited from calling consumers more
 than once every three months to sell the same thing, and calling
 consumers who have stated that they do not want to be called by the
 telemarketer.  Violations of the proposed rule could result in civil
 penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

 There will likely be strong resistance from the telemarketing industry
 to these regulations, and attempts to weaken the proposed rules.
 Written comments in support of the rules may be submitted to the FTC,
 Office of the Secretary, Room 159, Washington D.C. 20580, and should be
 captioned "Proposed Telemarketing Sales Rule."  The FTC requests that
 the comments also be submitted on disk, preferably in a DOS word
 processor format, or as a text file.

 BTW, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has a free publication entitled
 "Telemarketing: Whatever Happened to a Quiet Evening at Home?" that
 provides tips on cutting down on sales calls.  The document is
 available via gopher at gopher.acusd.edu; ftp at teetot.acusd.edu  cd
 pub/privacy; WWW at http://www.manymedia.com/prc/; or e-mail this
 address for a copy.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                   CHAOS CORNER V05 N01 27 (Feb '95)

By Dr. Chaos (drchaos@pelican.cit.cornell.edu)

 Copyright 1995 by Robert D. Cowles; Ithaca, NY 14850.  Permission is
 hereby granted to republish complete issues in unaltered form.
 Republication of partial issues must reference the source and state that
 subscriptions to Chaos Corner are available (free) by sending electronic
 mail to chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu.
 --------------------------------------------------
 Table of Contents for V05 N01

 Book Reviews - *Internet After Hours* - *Your Internet Consultant*
 Two months and a New Year
 OS/2 Warp status report
 Game information - FAQs and more FAQs
 Files of Interest? in the Archives
 Contribution from alt.humor.puns
 MCI and Telephone Foolishness
 Telling the World Who You Are
 Voyager - It's on the Internet
 A Few More Web Resources of Interest
 Get your Free Subscription Here!

 --------------------------------------------------
 Book Reviews - *Internet After Hours* - *Your Internet Consultant*

 One of the problems with writing a book about the Internet is the speed
 at which the Internet changes relative to normal publishing cycles.
 Many things that seem new and full of promise when book is first written
 (like Apple's Newton) are battle scarred veterans by the time the books
 sees print.  Although the books appeared fairly recently, there have
 been many changes during the 9-12 month period from the time the text is
 written.

 As mentioned in V04 N06, we received a copy of *Internet After Hours* by
 Andy Eddy.  The book describes itself as a " ... guide to finding games,
 entertainment, and just plain weirdness on the Internet!"  The Internet
 described in the book is one from 1993.  (While there is some mention of
 personal computers connecting to the Internet via SLIP or PPP, the
 connection method often assumed is to a Unix or VMS system via a command
 line interface.  The World Wide Web is mentioned in the Glossary, in the
 Big Fun list, and in a short section about Wired magazine.  The Internet
 source of answers to Frequently Asked Questions was referred to by its
 old name of pit-manager.mit.edu rather than rtfm.mit.edu.)  Nearly 40
 pages are devoted to Internet Relay Chat (a development spinoff of
 BITNET Relay) with all the detail of a reference book.  However, with
 only a six page index the book can hardly qualify.  Fully 25% of the
 book is occupied with reprints of Internet accessible lists that are 6-
 12 months old.  Editorially, some figures that were lists of commands
 got moved to pages or sections where they not really relevant -- in the
 interest of not splitting the figure -- making the use of the book for
 reference more difficult.  On the plus side, we enjoyed the descriptions
 of MUDs and NetTrek.  This book is most suitable for someone with almost
 no net experience who is feeling the "need" to be online but hasn't
 quiet found a good enough reason to invest the time and effort.

 The book *Your Internet Consultant* (subtitled "The FAQs of Life
 Online") is written by Kevin Savetz (maintainer of several lists that we
 have referenced in Chaos Corner).  The format of this book is to provide
 answers (sometimes contributed by topical experts) to certain questions
 that have been asked over and over again by newcomers to the Internet.
 Again, the book suffers from having material that is sometimes more than
 10 months old -- a long time on the Internet.  Savetz writes that the
 Simtel20 archives are no longer being updated -- surely a surprise to
 Keith Peterson, the maintainer of the archives.  (The archives are quite
 alive and continue to set high standards for how to maintain and
 organize the huge volume of DOS freeware and shareware.)  Savetz also
 writes that PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is contraband software (due to
 legal maneuvering that was going on when the book was written).  We
 won't claim to KNOW a status for PGP, but we're pretty sure that
 licensing restrictions for private users have been substantially removed
 (of course, we're not lawyers ...).  The method of sending faxes via the
 Internet has been vastly improved since the book was written ... you are
 no longer required to enter the destination fax number in reverse order.
 On the plus side, the combination of a 25 page index and a nearly 20
 page table of contents improve the ability to use this book as a
 reference material.  The combination of the Questions (listed in the
 Table of Contents) and the Index make it much easier to look up some
 dimly remembered fact (Dr. Chaos likes to point out that I don't
 remember ANY facts except dimly).  By organizing the book around answers
 to specific questions, Savetz has done a good job of keeping up the flow
 of information without having to back up and explain in each answer how
 to use something like FTP or gopher.  Most of the topics mentioned in
 *Internet After Hours* are also mentioned in *Your Internet Consultant*,
 with less detail but pointers to get you to the current information.

 --------------------------------------------------
 Two months and a New Year

 It's been nearly two months since the last Chaos Corner, and, as usual,
 we have far too much saved up to possibly be able to tell you about.
 The most popular file from last time was the Descent FAQ (I hope none of
 you have had motion sickness while playing it.)  The current version is
 now 1.0; if you want the "production" version of the FAQ describing this
 great game, send e-mail to chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu.  We
 appreciate the interest of our readers in other pursuits, since the file
 on Physics was a close second.  We also welcome over 250 new readers to
 with issue.

 --------------------------------------------------
 OS/2 Warp status report

 Last week, IBM announced availability of OS/2 Warp ... the surprise was
 that they actually got the upgrade offers out to registered OS/2 2.1
 users in record time (USD 89, shipping included if ordered before March
 31).  Just in time, the FAQ for OS/2 Warp is now available via anonymous
 ftp from ftp-os2.cdrom.com from the /pub/os2/incoming directory.  Look
 for the file named faq3.zip.  It will probably be moved at some point,
 but nothing has been moved from the incoming directory of that site for
 over 2 months, so it's difficult to say when that might happen.  If you
 have a web browser (like the Web Explorer for OS/2), a good place for
 OS/2 tips and techniques is the Warp Pharmacy -- just point you browser
 to http://www.zeta.org.au/~jon/WarpPharmacy.html.  Another source of
 OS/2 information is: http://www.cen.uiuc.edu/~rs9678/raj.html at the
 University of Illinois.

 --------------------------------------------------
 Game information - FAQs and more FAQs

 A wonderful place for information on your favorite game is located in
 the UK (my daughter is just returning from the UK after spending a
 little more than a week there with her high school Global Studies
 class).  The URL http://wcl-rs.bham.ac.uk/GamesDomain/games.html will
 get you to the page that lists the FAQs that are available.  It's the
 only place we know of to get the Sim City 2000 FAQ (for those of you who
 keep building cities but can never get anyone to move in).

 --------------------------------------------------
 Files of Interest? in the Archives

 As we look over the Chaos Corner archives, Dr. Chaos is only to happy to
 point out the wonderful collection he has for this issue.  A guaranteed
 favorite is "The Canonical Collection of Lightbulb Jokes" -- careful
 when you ask for it -- it's over 4400 lines long (it IS the canonical
 collection!).  Of course, there's always Scott Yanoff's wonderful
 "Updated Internet Services List" and for those interested in German or
 Germany, there's the FAQ from the soc.culture.german Usenet newsgroup
 (if you just want to keep up with Deutsche Welle, take a look at ftp-
 dw.gmd.de).  For the first time -- Dr. Chaos has a mini-FAQ on the Sony
 CDU 55E CD-ROM drive (having acquired such a drive, we have developed
 some interest in such information).  For those of you wanting to take a
 break from the games, there is a file giving the location "Physics
 Servers and Services Around the World".  If you would like any of these
 files, just send your request to chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu.
 Ever wonder what the real difference is between SLIP and PPP protocols
 as ways of accessing the Internet?

 --------------------------------------------------
 Contribution from alt.humor.puns

 There have been several versions of this pun posted to the Usenet
 newsgroup alt.humor.puns recently and Dr. Chaos thought we should share
 it with you all:

 Israel police were looking for a man named Joseph, wanted
 for looting in the port city of Haifa.

 The suspect was described as the son of a Barcelona ex-nun
 and a German father. He was a former flutist and worked
 occasionally as a farmer.

 In short, he was "A Haifa-lootin', flutin' Teuton, son-of-a-nun
 from Barcelona, part-time plowboy Joe."


 --------------------------------------------------
 MCI and Telephone Foolishness

 Are you suffering through the Winter?  If you call (sorry, North America
 only) 1-800-969-4874 (also 1-800-WOW-ITSHOT) you get connected to their
 seasonal hot line.  There are 9 different summer sounds you can listen
 to like: someone playing golf; a baseball game; tropical birds; etc.
 One other telephone trick -- have you gotten a check from AT&T that
 switches your long distance carrier to them if you cash it?  If you want
 to stay with MCI, just call them up and get the address where you can
 send the AT&T check.  MCI will send back to you a certificate worth USD
 40 -- and the certificate grows in value by USD 5 / month until it
 reaches a maximum of USD 100 after one year.  Isn't competition
 wonderful?

 A document that is on its way to Internet RFC status is something you
 might be interested in taking a look at.  The document contains all US
 and international area codes, telex codes, country codes, etc.  The name
 of the document is /internet-draft/draft-robinson-newtelex-01.txt and it
 can be obtained by anonymous ftp from the following sites:

 Africa:        ftp.is.co.za    (196.4.160.2)
 Europe:        nic.nordu.net   (192.36.148.17)
 Pacific Rim:   munnari.oz.au   (128.250.1.21)
 US East Coast: ds.internic.net (198.49.45.10)
 US West Coast: ftp.isi.edu     (128.9.0.32)

 --------------------------------------------------
 Telling the World Who You Are

 As we have stated in other issues, the most requested file we have in
 our collection is one containing a large number of humorous signatures.
 In what might be a close runner-up, we now are pleased to announce the
 availability of the "Signature and Finger FAQ" -- all you ever wanted to
 know about these distinctively different ways to let people know the
 REAL you.  Request it from chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu,
 supplies are limited so act quickly!

 --------------------------------------------------
 Voyager - It's on the Internet

 Through the usual set of bureaucratic red tape and finger pointing,
 Ithaca, NY seems to be blessed with about 60-70 cable television
 channels -- none of which carry the new Star Trek series.  We are not
 limited to watching re-runs of the former series -- because Star Trek
 Voyager is On The Internet!  Paramount pictures has gotten into the act
 with Web pages containing sound clips and QuickTime movies -- point your
 Web browser to http://voyager.paramount.com and start with your visit to
 the holographic doctor.  Other Star Trek information can be found on the
 Internet at http://www.ftms.com/vidiot.

 --------------------------------------------------
 A Few More Web Resources of Interest

 For you weather freaks out there, it's great to have someone prepare an
 annotated list of weather-related resources on the Internet.   Check out
 http://www.eskimo.com/~jgriffin/weather.html for everything you might
 want to know about the weather.  Having driven used Volvo cars for the
 past 21 years (drive'em until they rust away is our motto), we will
 point out that the Volvo home page on the Web (for the US and Canada, in
 any case) is located at http://organic.com/Ads/Volvo.  See pictures of
 the 1995 models and options and locate the nearest dealer.  Dr. Chaos
 points out that we won't have any of these cars for at least 5 years,
 but who knows -- one of you out there may be the first owner of the car
 we eventually buy.  Take good care of it, OK?

 --------------------------------------------------
 Get your Free Subscription Here!

 Just send a message to Dr. Chaos - chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu
 and ask to be put on the subscription list.  From CompuServe, use the
 address INTERNET:chaos-request@pelican.cit.cornell.edu.  It's that easy.
 Don't delay ---- act now!

 Dr. Chaos

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



                THE FINAL BREATHS OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
           The Agonizing Demise Of The American Way Of Life

 By Kenneth C. Stahl (kstahl@nr.infi.net)

 About the author:  Kenneth C Stahl is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of
 Colorado State University with a B.A. in Speech Communication. He served
 in the U.S. Navy for seven years and later spent 11 years with the Central
 Intelligence Agency as a Telecommunications Officer and as a Computer
 Systems Analyst Programmer, serving in both domestic and foreign
 assignments.  He is currently working as a software consultant and lives
 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

 Most people are short-sighted.  They know little about history and are so
 consumed with the every day affairs of their own lives that they never
 really question whether they will have a future.  Sadly, any honest
 appraisal of current trends in our society will reveal that any hope for a
 better future is rapidly fading.  The American people are beginning to
 suffer daily at the hands of a minority who will eventually enslave the
 general populace.

 There is a story told of an goldfish who spent it's days swimming to and
 fro in its fish tank.  One day the owner of this fish decided that it was
 a shame to waste all that water just so the goldfish could live
 comfortably, so the owner removed a cup of water and told the fish that it
 was really for its own good and that he would never miss the water.  The
 goldfish didn't mind.  He didn't even really notice that his environment
 had shrunken slightly.  Over the next few weeks the owner would
 occasionally remove another cup of water - each time with the remark that
 the goldfish really didn't need all of that water anyhow.  As the
 goldfish's world became smaller, he noticed that he wasn't as free as he
 once was and the water was now a bit more cloudy then it used to be, but
 he could still swim back and forth in his tank without experiencing any
 genuine discomfort.  The rate at which the water was being withdrawn was
 so gradual that the goldfish never saw his own doom approaching.  One day,
 the goldfish noticed that he now seemed to be spending all of his time at
 the bottom of the tank next to the gravel.  He could no longer swim up and
 down in the tank, but since he could still swim forward and to the right
 and the left, he merely frowned and tried to make the best of his
 situation.  At least he was still being fed every day, and the water was
 still the right temperature.  Finally, however, the day came when the
 owner removed a cup of water and the goldfish noticed that his dorsal
 fin was exposed unless he stayed in just one small area of the tank where
 there was a small depression in the gravel. He began to worry, but had to
 be careful about how he moved around now.  He also noticed that he was
 feeling more lethargic - primarily because the water could not hold
 sufficient oxygen.  That night the heater was turned off in the tank, but
 since it was winter and the tank sat near a heat vent, the goldfish just
 remained still to conserve energy.  When dawn came the next day, the owner
 removed one more cup of water and finally the goldfish saw his own doom
 approaching.  Barely able to think clearly due to oxygen deprivation, he
 yearned for the old days when the tank was filled to the top with clear,
 sparkling water, but the memory of those days was quickly fading.  That
 evening, the owner saw the goldfish lying on its side, its fins barely
 moving.  He shrugged and turned out the light as he left the room.  In the
 morning the goldfish was dead. He had been dying for a long time and had
 not realized it.

 So it is with the society that we live in today.  We do not recognize that
 every so gradually our freedoms are being taken from us.  We desperately
 hope that those who have the power in this country will have compassion on
 us and we are too frightened of what they might do to us if we anger
 them by being ungrateful for the few remaining freedoms that we still
 posses.

 Over two hundred years ago, the individuals who fought so desperately for
 freedom from tyranny sought to create a country which was grounded in
 principles of freedom.  Freedom from being told what they must believe,
 where they must live and how they must think and act.  They had a
 fundamental belief that if people were given freedom, they would not use
 that freedom to create anarchy.  For two hundred years, the people of this
 country demonstrated that the founders had not been mistaken.  Then,
 suddenly, without warning, the first cup of water was removed.  We were
 starting to die and we didn't even know it.

 The evidence is before us.

 Do people really understand the news that is being reported by the media?
 Or do they simply perceive it as just another form of nightly
 entertainment? Can anyone really listen to the stories and not be alarmed
 by what they hear?

 There is a movement to pass a constitutional amendment to put prayer back
 in our public schools.  This seems to assume that prayer is not permitted
 in our public schools. Is there anyone who really believes this? For
 students who have been raised in a religious family and who frequently use
 prayer in their personal lives, offering a prayer to God is a natural part
 of their everyday existence. I doubt that there are very many who sneak
 into a lonely corner, carefully check to see whether they were followed and
 then keep one eye open while they silently bow their head to place their
 petitions before God. This movement isn't about religious freedom - it
 concerns efforts to force everyone to accept a notion of God that is held
 by a few in the power elite who believe that if God has not intervened to
 make everyone pray, then they must act as agents for God and coerce
 religion with legislative force. The concept of silent of prayer that they
 desire is decidedly a Christian version.  They certainly do not want
 Muslims to bring their prayer rugs to public schools and face Mecca at the
 prescribed hours.  They don't want followers of eastern religions to burn
 incense before statues.  They want to demand that all students conform to
 an overt religious practice that is almost totally unique to Christianity.

 I, myself, am a Christian and believe very firmly in the Christian faith.
 I stand by my beliefs based on my own understanding of God.  When I offer
 prayers, it is because I want to come before my Creator and express my
 concerns and ask for His guidance.  If anyone were to tell me that I must
 bow my head in prayer at precisely 8:45 Monday through Friday, I would
 view that as an attempt to control my religious expression.  What if
 I didn't bow my head properly?  What if I didn't close my eyes?  What if
 I were really thinking about the girl next door who I saw through an open
 window the night before? Would the thought police come and arrest me
 because I was not exhibiting proper respect for the Christian faith.  This
 amendment is a bad idea.  It flies in the face of every principle upon
 which our nation was founded.  The individuals who left their homes to
 come to an unexplored land far from their families and familiar surrounds
 often did so because they had lost the freedom to worship God in their
 own way.  A constitutional amendment to put prayer back in our public
 schools may sound like something very noble and worthy, but are the
 American people really willing to pay the price for the eventual lawsuits
 which will result from such a frivolous use of the Constitution?
 Inevitably, someone will not exhibit the proper level of respect and
 deference towards someone who will claim that their Constitutional right
 to pray was hindered. The resultant lawsuit will mark the end of religious
 tolerance in the United States.

 There is also a belief by some that we need a constitutional amendment to
 ban flag burning. What problem will this solve? How will the common
 citizen of this country benefit from such an amendment? This movement
 displays a gross ignorance about the role of the U.S. Constitution in
 the framework of our country's judiciary system.  Flag burning will become
 a political crime and we will soon begin to populate our prisons with
 political prisoners.  Did someone kill the innocent daughter of a lowly
 rural craftsman?  Yes, but the murderer was a victim of poor parentage and
 was successfully reformed. Did someone burn a flag?  He has insulted the
 entire country.  Such a crime must be dealt with severely or else no one
 will ever have respect for the symbols of our country.  Has anyone stopped
 their ravings long enough to remember that symbols are only physical
 representations of the underlying object?  Burning a flag does little more
 then demonstrate that the individual is so frustrated with society that a
 symbolic act is performed which will certainly generate attention by the
 media.  If the media were able to just walk away in silent disgust from
 such obscene displays, flag burnings would lose their power to attract
 attention. If there is a perceived need to protect the symbols of our
 country, enact a public law to that effect.  A constitutional amendment
 would only be seen by the world at large as a desperate act.

 Why do lawmakers want to enact legislation as constitutional amendments?
 The explanation is very simple but seems to evade many. If an amendment is
 made to the constitution, the judiciary cannot declare the provision to be
 unconstitutional since that would violate the principle of
 constitutionality.   In other words, there is no effective JUDICIAL
 challenge to any part of the constitution since it is the ostensible basis
 for all other laws in our country. All judges, elected officials and
 federal workers take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the
 United States.  Failure to do so is treasonous and seditious.  Once enacted
 as a constitutional amendment, the only way to counteract the new amendment
 is to pass another amendment.

 In recent years we seem to have forgotten the origins of our country lie
 in freedom.  Freedom of religion.  Freedom of expression.  Freedom from
 tyranny.  Yet, today we are there are those who believe that this freedom
 thing is out of hand.  They believe that because they hold certain
 religious beliefs that others should be forced to hold those same beliefs.
 They believe that an individual's freedom to disagree with the government
 should be curtailed because it is dangerous to entertain certain ideas.
 They would like to force subservience on the American people - all under
 the guise of their own personal agendas.

 Whether we like it or not, the America that many of us were raised to
 believe in has already passed from the scene.  Everyone is afraid to
 question the reductions in our freedoms lest even more is taken from us.
 The only recourse is for the American people to take back their government
 by forcing members of Congress and the President to act according to the
 will of the people rather then on their own personal beliefs.  This is not
 an option.  It must be done or else we will live to see our nation crumble
 slowly and irreversibly.  If we do not, then eventually our laws won't even
 be made by Congress - they will come in the form of demands from other
 countries.  This is already on the horizon in the form of the threat that
 Japan holds over our economy.  There was once a day when the Japanese yen
 was compared to the U.S. dollar to indicate its relative strength rather
 then the U.S. dollar being compared to the Japanese yen.  How long will it
 take before Japan can demand that the United States lift all current
 restrictions on Japanese goods coming into the United States?

 There is one final item that I wish to mention.  The "most favored nation"
 trade status for the People's Republic of China.  The American public has
 no idea of why China has been given such status.  For years now,
politicians stumping for election swear
 that they will do whatever it takes to rescind the status of China as "most
 favored nation".  Yet, once elected, they only mumble about how it is a
 complicated issue.  There are reasons for China's status that are not being
 told to the American people.  There are very good reasons why the
 American public should demand a full accountability for this policy despite
 China's almost total disregard for human rights.  Believe me when I
 say that the American people really NEED to demand answers on this issue
 and that they should start a drive to recall every Congressman until we
 can put those in place who will tell the American people the real reason
 for this policy.  This is not another GATT or NAFTA type of issue.  There
 is far more to it then that.

 Do I see any hope at all?  Unfortunately, no.  Complacency is deeply rooted
 in our society.  We simply do not speak out and we willingly re-elect
 officials whom we cannot trust to represent the interests of the American
 people.  The decline has started.  How many years it will be until the
 world can hear the death rattle of the final breaths of the United States
as an independent nation can only be
 guessed. But, unless the American people once again take destiny into their
 own hands, the demise of our nation is virtually guaranteed.  And the day
 the American flag is lowered for the last time, will be a sad one indeed.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

          WIRED WAR TALES: Scientology and the Scorched Internet

 By Carl Guderian (bjacques@usis.com)

 (WARNING! This piece does not even approach objective journalism. It is a
 sarcastic essay on a skirmish on a particular usenet newsgroup)

 Toss the TV, yank the cable and go online for a ringside seat at the Wired
 Wars. Among the 6,000 or so usenet newsgroups, about a dozen skirmishes are
 raging at any given time, fueled by the pent-up energies of shut-ins,
 insomniac college students, and other disgruntled cybercitizens. Flame wars
 are the perfect arena for quick-witted geeks who long ago despaired of
 winning fistfights. They're a lot like the old Star Trek episode in which
 wars were fought by computer, except you don't have to report for
 disintegration when your side loses. For lurkers, they deliver more
 vicarious thrills than a Sweeps Month of Melrose Place. Wars can erupt
 anytime, anywhere, even on the supermajority of peaceful newsgroups.  Most
 are low-intensity conflicts, verbal potshots desultorily hurled between
 bored students. A few melt the screen, such as the ongoing battle between
 Scientologists and everyone else. Some newsgroups promise a few thrills,
 but the hottest of zones is alt.religion.scientology, where the prose
 explodes like a Claymore in a Vietnam flashback. So, press "Enter" and let
 slip the dogs of flame!

 The easiest place to pick a fight is on any newsgroup whose name includes
 guns, politics, religion, a Sunbelt state, or alt.fan.currently
 (in)famous-politician. It's axiomatic that idiots have invaded the Internet,
 shipped here in steerage by certain major carriers. If you can't get enough
 of their noxious opinions on syndicated hate radio you can log on and see
 them in text. Hommasexshuls, free luv, and liberal media get their
 comeuppance here, while the rest of the world wonder aloud why Americans
 are allowed to run loose. It's better than talk radio, since there's no
 DJ dominating the forum. A lot of jokers "troll," pretending to hold
 extreme opinions that drive some to apoplectic rage and others to agreement.
 There is no position so stupid that it won't find support here. But after
 a while, the nonsense all starts to sound the same and it's time to move
 on to the harder stuff.

 Closer to reality are the soc.culture.[any two countries at war] newsgroups.
 A few months ago, Peru and Ecuador brought their little squabble online
 with rival World Wide Web pages. Serbs and Croats, too, continually denounce
 each other's outrages while denying or defending their own. When the
 atrocities are well-documented and casualty figures available, the
 partisans fight over where to put the commas. It's a nice reminder that
 Americans are not history's only bastards. But after a few requests for the
 whereabouts of ethnically-cleansed relatives, the fun quickly evaporates out
 of lurking around, much less posting. And chances are, you haven't survived
 enough carnage to earn the moral right to post. If, like Kurtz, you feel
 a need to make a friend of horror, you can find plenty of horrible friends
 here. If you can keep this kind of company (and can read other languages),
 these newsgroups are for you. If not, mentally wish luck to the side you
 dislike least, then take a shower and a quick exit.

 The most enjoyable battles are those fought over things that matter not a
 whit in the real world. Religious arguments, as mentioned above, are hugely
 entertaining to those who consider blasphemy a victimless crime.
 Skip alt.religion.[mainstream denomination] unless you went to parochial
 school and still need to deal with unquiet holy ghosts. For that you can go
 rent "The Boys of St. Vincent's." Take a sideways turn instead to
 alt.religion.scientology, locus of a jihad declared against the Church of
 Scientology by former members, adherents of the cheerfully wacky Church of
 the Subgenius, and others who can't pass up a good brawl. Whatever fluid
 leaks out of punctured egos, the virtual fields of a.r.s are awash in it.
 Odd insults that provoke bemusement elsewhere slash deeply here. A little
 background in Scientology history and lore may help the newcomer to
 understand them.

 The Church of Scientology is a global organization devoted to promulgating
 the teachings of the late L. Ron Hubbard, a onetime pulp science fiction
 writer. Scientology is a sort of human potential movement with
 appropriately opaque jargon and science-fiction trappings. There is a
 nautical flavor to it, as Hubbard made a lot of his short stint in the U.S.
 Navy during World War II. The "Synthiotics" movement depicted in the 1993
 TV miniseries "Wild Palms" owes a lot to latter-day Scientology. Many
 prominent persons are proud to call themselves Scientologists, among them
 actress Karen Black, eternally beloved of badfilm fans for her role in the
 Rending Juju Doll segment of "Trilogy of Terror." So are Tom Cruise and
 John Travolta. Musical Scientologists Chick Corea and Nicky Hopkins
 contributed to "Space Jazz," a concept album produced as a soundtrack to
 Hubbard's sci-fi novel "Battlefield Earth." The innocuous jazz-pop and
 simple lyrics recall "The Ultimate Fantasy," a Seventies-era Star Trek
 musical that helped die-hard Trekkies (Trekkers? Trekkists?) fill their
 lives before the movies came out.

 Beneath the dorky theology, however, there beats a sinister heart. Almost
 since its inception in the 1950s, the Church has allegedly involved itself
 in murky financial dealings, harassment, and general bad craziness.
 Ex-members have successfully sued the organization for mental and financial
 abuse. Much of this is documented in two books: Barefaced Messiah: The True
 Story of L. Ron Hubbard, by Russell Miller and Religion, Inc., by Stewart
 Lamont. These are not friendly accounts, but they are well-researched,
 drawing from U.S. government documents released under the Freedom of
 Information Act, and from Hubbard's own books and personal papers. CoS
 tactics are directly responsible for its spotty reputation and for the
 online imbroglio in which it finds itself today.

 The war started last winter after the CoS sued a former member for posting
 it's secrets to the Internet. Dennis Erlich was a high-ranking officer of
 an "Org," a branch of the Church bureaucracy. His job was to memorize
 Church policy and dogma and help members cram for examinations as they
 climbed the ladder to Clearness. Erlich quit over CoS tactics and denounced
 them on a.r.s, posting damning excerpts from Church documents to back
 him up. The CoS responded by having Erlich's computer seized and making
 Erlich travel hundreds of miles to defend himself against a copyright
 lawsuit. Unable to afford a lawyer, Erlich is defending himself on grounds
 of fair use and appears to be successful. If he wins, he will probably
 countersue for harassment.

 The Church of Scientology has employed other tactics perfectly suited for
 making enemies on the Internet. It has sued Internet providers in attempts
 to silence detractors. The Church got the government of Finland to
 compromise anon.penet.fi, the world's largest anonymous remailer, forcing
 the sysop to hand over the identity of an anonymous detractor.
 Scientologists have allegedly used a program called CancelMoose (tm) to
 delete unfriendly posts from a.r.s, possibly violating U.S. federal laws
 against destruction of electronic data. The CoS threatens to sue everybody,
 but mostly goes after Time Magazine and former members who have gone public.
 At this rate, the CoS may soon become more unpopular than Canter & Siegel,
 the "green card" lawyers who last year blanketed ("spammed") the Internet
 with ads for immigration assistance.

 In the other corner, the Rebel Alliance. Along with former members like
 Mr. Erlich, a.r.s is home to many overeducated, underemployed, dangerously
 bored college-age Internet surfers. It's no surprise that many belong to
 the Church of the Subgenius or some Discordian cabal, and post regularly
 to alt.slack, alt.usenet.kooks, or similar newsgroups. On those newsgroups,
 the Subgenii and Discordians are often self-referential and precious, but
 on a.r.s they shine like black opals in blancmange.

 Pressing the counterattack, the RA (Hubbard would have approved of such
 hastily-coined acronyms) posts strange insults, disturbing doctrinal
 questions, and reports of the doings of various CoS officials. One group
 is looking for David Miscavige, Hubbard's apparent heir to the CoS empire.
 Miscavige has disappeared after allegedly shifting church funds around to
 avoid paying off a court judgment. A group calling itself *Biased
 Journalism*, reports on the progress of the CoS lawsuit against Erlich,
 recounting a tale of Scientologists trying to cast the evil eye on the
 defendant and his supporters, to the amusement of the latter. Still others
 have posted CoS documents that are part of court records and thus no longer
 subject to CoS copyright.

 The two taunts most often seen on a.r.s are "Rice and Beans!!" and "Snap!
 Snap! Poor little clams!" The former refers to punishment rations imposed
 on errant Scientologists for sins like drug use and not raising enough
 money for the Org. The latter is derived from CoS dogma, which holds that
 people are descended from clams that had trouble opening and closing to
 feed from the tide. Each action was a struggle between conflicting sets of
 muscles, with the weaker set always losing to the stronger set and passing
 along its frustration to us as genetic memory. In the present, one can
 induce cramping of jaw muscles in another by saying the above phrase and
 opening and closing one's hand like a flapping mouth. Since man didn't
 evolve from clams, this theory doesn't hold much water, ha ha, but it might
 work on a Scientologist.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


                   THE INTERNET ADDICTION SUPPORT GROUP

 By Ivan Goldberg (psydoc@netcom.com)

  [This is not real...from what I understand from the author of this
  message.  It was created for good fun.  However, I do know some people
  who would benefit from such an organization...  -Editor]

 As the incidence and prevalence of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) has
 been increasing exponentially, a support group. The Internet Addiction
 Support Group  (IASG) has been established.  Below are the official
 criteria for the diagnosis of IAD and subscription information for the
 IASG.


          Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) - Diagnostic Criteria

 A maladaptive pattern of Internet use, leading to clinically significant
 impairment or distress as manifested by three (or more) of the following,
 occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:

 (I) tolerance, as defined by either of the following:

         (A) A need for markedly increased amounts of time
             on Internet to achieve satisfaction

         (B) markedly diminished effect with continued use
             of the same amount of time on Internet

 (II) withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following

         (A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome

                 (1) Cessation of (or reduction) in Internet use
                      that has been heavy and prolonged.

                 (2) Two (or more) of the following, developing within
                     several days to a month after Criterion 1:

                         (a) psychomotor agitation
                         (b) anxiety
                         (c) obsessive thinking about what is happening
                             on Internet
                         (d) fantasies or dreams about Internet
                         (e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements
                             of the fingers

                 (3) The symptoms in Criterion B cause distress or
                     impairment in social, occupational or other important
                     other area of functioning

         (B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in
             to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms

 (III) Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time
       than was intended

 (IV) There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down
      or control Internet use

 (V) A great deal of time is spent in activities related to Internet
     use (e.g., buying Internet books, trying out new WWW browsers,
     researching Internet vendors, organizing files of downloaded materials

 (VI) Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are
      given up or reduced because of Internet use.

 (VII) Internet use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent
       or recurrent physical, social, occupational, or psychological
 problem
       that is likely to been caused or exacerbated by Internet use (sleep
       deprivation, marital difficulties, lateness for early morning
       appointments, neglect of occupational duties, or  feelings of
       abandonment in significant others)

 Subscribe to the Internet Addiction Support Group by e-mail:

                 Address: listserv@netcom.com
                 Subject:  (leave blank)
                 Message: Subscribe internet-addiction-support-group

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

             INTERACTIVE IMAGINATIONS LAUNCHES RIDDLER(tm)
          World Wide Web Gaming Environment Offers Cash Prizes

 By Honey Essman (stracom@ingress.com)

 NEW YORK, April 5 -- Interactive Imaginations Inc.,  the New York-based
 interactive entertainment company,  today launched  Riddler,  the first
 interactive gaming environment on the Internet to offer cash prizes to
 players. Riddler can be accessed on the World Wide Web at
 http://www.riddler.com.

 Riddler combines elements of trivia, scavenger hunts and an online road
 rallye through the Web to present an interactive gaming format unique to
 the medium.   Each game begins with the posting of a riddle and a prize of
 $500 for the first to solve it.  Although players may attempt to solve the
 riddle immediately,  it is likely that they will need the additional clues
 that they can earn -- by playing trivia and finding secret keywords hidden
 on other Web pages -- as they progress through the game.

 The Riddler Home Page also provides players with the opportunity to
 compete for cash prizes in two additional contests.  Crispy ChallengeÙ is
 a daily puzzle with a $100 prize.  The Tortoise and the Hare is an ongoing
 contest, offering a $1,000 prize to the first player to accumulate 25,000
 points.  Points are awarded both for winning games and for progress
 through Riddler.

 Although players must fill out a registration form and verify that they
 are 18 years old,  Riddler is sponsor-supported and there are no
 registration, membership or hourly charges.

 Announcing the launch, Interactive Imaginations president Michael
 Paolucci,  said, "Our vision is to become the preeminent entertainment
 company programming for the World Wide Web.  That means providing the
 consumer with more than just an entertaining page,  and a lot more than
 the vicarious involvement they have with game show contestants on
 television.

 "Riddler is fun, challenging and very much in tune with the culture and
 ethic of the Web.   And, every player has a real chance to win
 considerable prize money."

 Riddler's $500 opening prize is increased by $100 every day for the next
 five days that the riddle remains unsolved.  On the seventh day,  the
 prize is increased by an additional $500,  for a total of $1,500.  If the
 riddle remains unsolved after a week,  a new riddle is posted and the
 unclaimed prize money rolls over to become the opening prize in the new
 game.

 Players seeking clues to help them solve Riddler select a trivia category
 -- such as music,  movies, science  or famous ad slogans -- which links
 them to a sponsor's web page where a Riddler icon is located.  Clicking on
 the icon takes the player to a round of four trivia questions in the
 selected category.  For each correct answer,  the player will  receive a
 hint  that points to a  page out on the Web where a keyword is hidden.
 Keywords can be exchanged for clues to the riddle.  There are four rounds
 of successively more difficult trivia questions -- and four keywords
 hidden out on the Web -- in each game of Riddler.

 "Feedback from our recent beta tests," said Paolucci, "told us that
 players not only enjoyed the challenge,  but really liked the fact that
 the game plays out on a variety of Web sites -- it gave them the
 opportunity to explore the Web and search out  new and interesting sites
 as they attempted to solve the riddles."

 If Riddler is solved within a week,  the game continues for another
 24-hours so that players can continue to amass points towards the 25,000
 point goal of The Tortoise and the Hare.

 "With the convergence of entertainment technologies and the rapid
 development of increasingly sophisticated interactive multimedia
 capabilities on the Internet," said Paolucci,  "we believe that the
 personal computer can emerge as the hardware choice for  consumer
 entertainment.  The determining factor will be entertainment programming.
 Interactive Imaginations'  goal is to create the kind of unique
 programming on the Web that has real entertainment value for the
 consumer."

 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:
         Internet:       stracom@ingress.com
         Voice:          Peggy Berk @ 212-779-7240

                         #          #          #

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                     USPS TO OFFER EMAIL CRYPTO

 INTRO

 This is a "trip report" of sorts. Thursday (4/6/95) evening I attended
 a Smart Valley sponsored talk at Rickey's Hyatt by the VP of Advanced
 Technology at the US Postal Service, Bob Reissler (sp?) and by the
 technical architect, Richard Rothwell. The purpose of the talk was to
 give USPS an opportunity to present their plans for "electronic mail
 and electronic commerce for the general population".

 I was the only one from Sun there as far as I could tell. There was a
 big contingent of people from HP, Apple and some IBMers, many
 one-person companies and startups, some trainers and educators and many
 unaffiliated individuals - a total of about 150 people attended,
 standing room only.

 OVERVIEW

 Mr Rothwell's talk was the more substantive and interesting among the
 two.  He presented USPS's plans for offering electronic access to their
 email delivery system to the 80 million US households and businesses
 that are currently not reached by online service providers or the
 Internet. After his talk, Mr Rothwell presented a short video on how
 they intend to educate their customers on the new product, and another
 USPS employee demoed the client side of their system online. Their
 client side system works under Windows 3.1 with MS Mail and Lotus
 Notes.

 Overall points to note: They are very concerned about privacy. They do
 not want to be in the business of managing or issuing escrowed
 key-pairs. They are very concerned about the new possibilities for
 abuse of privacy that become available when public keys and identity
 certificates are widely used (I didn't understand this part - what
 would these oppties be?). They are interested in working with whoever
 cares to make the US Govt and legislative branch relax the rules about
 using crypto and the export controls. They are working on a system that
 works globally, and active collaboration with other postal services is
 high on their agenda.  Canada and European services were mentioned
 several times.

 TECHNICAL POINTS

 The system they are building is based on a transliteration of the basic
 principles that make hardcopy mail work today, into the electronic world:

 Stamp                   -> Digital Signature+digital money
 Privace (envelope)      -> Encryption
 Dating+location         -> Per-client digital time stamp (dts)
 Identity (signature)    -> Digital signature (ds)

 In regular hardcopy mail, the stamp proves that you paid and provides a
 guarantee that the postal service will deliver your hardcopy. The
 envelope provides privacy and is protected by privacy laws from
 tampering. The dating is provided by the cancellation on the stamp. The
 location is provided by each post office having its own cancellation
 label with its name and serial number listed. The identity is provided
 by the signature of the sender on the hardcopy stored within the sealed
 envelope carrying the cancelled stamp.

 The postal service will offer:

 - An electronic mechanism for stamping a message and adding a dts so that
   it proves payment and dates the message
 - Registered mail equivalent where the message gets signed by the USPS
   private key and the signature is returned to sender
 - Mechanisms for managing public keys (see below - no escrow)
 - Certificate mechanisms (see below - no escrow)
 - Archival services for both messages, certificates and message signatures

 In their new system, the "stamp" will be replaced by a digital
 signature on a receipt returned to the sender and archived by the
 service. The receipt will contain "enough bits to track the message
 through the system" (his words). The service replaces the traditional
 envelope with encryption: it accepts messages that are already
 encrypted and it will also offer RSA public key encryption as a
 service. Dating is achieved by adding a dts plus a digital signature
 identifying the client from which the message was received (if desire)
 or a more generic signature. Finally the service offers extensive
 mechanisms for corporate and individual public key management and
 certification with various levels of identity checking, all the way
 from biometrics based to a simple send-in-by-mail "under penalty of
 perjury I hereby certify that I am Jacob Levy and this key is my public
 key".  The service also offers a certificate and public key lookup
 service based on an ISO 509 standard (?) without a publishing database,
 i.e.  modelled after the "Moscow city phonebook" (his words). The idea
 is you can get anyone's public key if you know who they are but you
 cannot harvest the phone book for, e.g., all postal employees living in
 San Mateo (apparently they are concerned about e-mail bombs :).

 Some new services that he talked about:

 - Receipt notification through the equivalent of "sign here to receive
   your package" and delivery of the signed receipt back to the sender
 - "Bonded mail" which as far as I could tell includes archival and
   delivery upon the occurrence of an event specified by the sender.
   He called this "Forever mail", i.e. you send something which is
   potentially never delivered, and he noted that this is already a
   service offered by the current USPS (many laughs..) and so it should
   be offered in the new system, in the interest of preserving their
   current product offerings (more laughs).
 - Automatic tamper-proofing through the addition of a USPS generated
   signature that notarizes the text of your message.

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

               FIRST INTERNET TV SERIES PREMIERES THIS WEEK
    On-demand video arrives in the homes of 'Net Surfers around the globe

 Experts have long agreed that the TV of the future will more
 closely resemble the Internet than TV "as we know it." Specifically,
 beyond 500 channels will be NO channels, just databases, from
 which viewers may download and watch whatever they want,
 whenever they want.

      This week, the future arrives...on your desktop.

 A public-access TV program based in Bloomington, Indiana,  will become
 the world's first on-demand Internet TV series, beginning Tuesday. ROX,
 "a nutty, bohemian blast of irreverence and imagination" (Indianapolis
 Star), will be available to computer users around the world--twenty-four
 hours a day, seven days a week, via the World Wide Web.

 "We've been working toward this event for about a year and a half," says
 ROX co-producer Joe Nickell. "When I found out we were gonna premiere this
 month, I was so happy I nearly spilled my beer."

 Over the course of three years on public access, ROX has earned regional
 and national recognition for its wacky humor and cutting-edge style. The
 program has been featured on MTV Music Television, the Howard Stern Show,
 VideoMaker, the Gary Myers Show (Chicago), and in virtually every print
 and broadcast medium in Indiana.

 "ROX focuses on the trials and tribulations of a roving band of
 mid-twenties hedonists," explains Nickell. "It's improvisational, reality
 based...kind of like *Friends* in *MTV's Real World*, trying to avoid the
 *Cops*."

 On Tuesday, April 18, ROX episode 85, titled "Global Village Idiots," will
 premiere on the ROX Quarry (http://www.rox.com/quarry/). Featuring
 mixed-drink recipes, full-frontal nudity, neural digitizers and
 frog-gigging, the thirty-minute episode of ROX will pioneer a new form of
 entertainment: hyper-television.

 ROX Editor Bart Everson explains: "most TV shows present you with a linear
 stream of information. If you don't want to see the opening credits...too
 bad. 'Global Village Idiots' will be different, because it will allow
 people to download and view the different sections of the show in whatever
 order they wish. It is non-linear, or hyper-textual."

 After the premiere of "Global Village Idiots" on the Net, a new ROX episode
 will become available on a weekly basis.  "The ROX Quarry will be a
 multi-media cabaret of fun and information," says Nickell. "People will
 find everything from still images and video, to interactive drinking
 games. And there's something new every week."

 For more information, or to join the RoxList e-mail list, contact ROX at
 <rox@rox.com>.

 ****FACTS on the ROX****

 J, Joe Nickell, a native of Kentucky, came to Indiana in 1987 with high
 hopes of becoming a classical timpanist. He lost the hopes very quickly,
 but has remained high ever since. Joe graduated Phi Beta Kappa from
 Indiana University in 1991, in Anthropology and English; upon graduation
 his parents gave him his first video camera. Freshly inspired and
 typically tipsy, Joe promptly dropped out of society and became the
 blabbering Bartender and co-producer of Rox.

 B, Bart Everson, 28, was raised in a shopping mall in Greenwood,
 Indiana. While squandering his parents' money at Indiana University,
 Everson was arrested twice, for Public Indecency and Conversion. After
 completing his public restitution at the local cable access station,
 Everson decided to pursue a career in television. Editing Rox is now his
 full-time job.

 ROX is a weekly cable access TV show which airs every Tuesday night
 at 11 pm on Bloomington (IN) Community Access Television, and every
 Wednesday at 4 pm and Thursday at 5 pm on the Indianapolis
 Community Access Network.

 ROX reaches computer users around the world via the ROX Quarry,
 on the world-wide web (http://www.rox.com/quarry/). Rox is a
 reality-based program which endeavors to hold up a mirror to the
 community of Bloomington.

  Number of Episodes produced to date: 85
  First episode aired: July, 1992

 *Awards & Honors*

 In addition to the following awards, Rox has been honored by profiles and
 features on MTV Music Television, The Howard Stern Show, NUVO
 Newsweekly, Bloomington Confidential and virtually every central-
 Indiana print publication, TV station and radio station.
 *Citation Award, Indiana Film Society 1994 Film & Video Barbecue
 *Finalist, 1994 Hometown Video Competition, sponsored by the Alliance for
      Community Media
 *Best Local Television Show, 1994, 1993 and 1992 Best of Bloomington
      Reader Survey, Bloomington Voice
 *Favorite Local Celebrities, 1993 Best of Bloomington Reader Survey,
      Bloomington Voice
 *Best of Show & Best Independent/Experimental production, Indiana Film
      Society 1993 Film & Video Barbecue

 *Hot off the presses*

 "What Hunter S. Thompson did for--or to--journalism, these guys are doing
 to television."
  --The Ryder

 "At once a revealing slacker diary and satiric tour-de-farce of the
 Bohemian lifestyle...Their language is satire, subterfuge, subjectivity,
 and a refreshing dose of self-deprecation."
  -- NUVO Newsweekly

 "These Funky Young Cyclops of the Small Screen steep into our
 consciousness like a big jar of sun tea. Slowly, we have grown to
 know these guys...Generally, television has usurped the fire we once
 gathered around, supplanting tribal consciousness with fragments of
 individuality...J&B are handing the fire back to us--or at least the
 firewater."
  -- Bloomington Voice

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

                      Talent Communications, Inc.
                             ANNOUNCES:
          I-Comm -- Full Feature WWW Browser Without SLIP/PPP

 WHAT IS I-Comm ?

   I-Comm is a full feature graphical World Wide Web browser
   with full modem communication functionality. Designed
   specially for modem computer users, I-Comm does NOT require
   any kind of SLIP/PPP connections.

   I-Comm is going to be released as a shareware.


 HOW TO OBTAIN A COPY OF I-Comm ?

   The current version of I-Comm is 1.00 Beta. Your
   feedbacks are welcome.
   You can download it from one of the following ftp sites:

   Netcom ftp site:
       ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/ic/icomm/icom100b.zip

   Best Internet ftp site:
       ftp://ftp.best.com/pub/icomm/icom100b.zip


 KEY FEATURES:

   * Does NOT require any kind of SLIP/PPP connections
   * Support forms
   * Smart agent to do batch file download
   * Support HTTP, FTP and Gopher protocol
   * Allow user to view HTML text while background
     downloading image
   * Multi-level smart local disk document and image caching
   * Built-in modem communication capabilities
   * Build-in sound player
   * Web resource index which comes with the package makes
     surfing easier
   * Hot site facility allows user to save favorite WWW sites
   * Phone book facility allows user to save Internet
     dial-up numbers


 MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

   * 386dx running MS-Windows (tm) 3.1 or later
   * 4MB Memory and 1MB Disk Space
   * 9.6 KB Modem or faster
   * An UNIX shell account with Internet access


 INTERNET SHELL ACCOUNT SETUP REQUIREMENTS:

   * Z-Modem transfer program "sz" installed in your search
     path
   * One of following program installed in your search path:
       . icomhost program from Talent Communications, Inc.
       . Lynx browser
       . CERN WWW line mode browser


 WHY I-Comm -- FOR INTERNET SERVICES PROVIDERS:

   * Smart multi-level disk caching to save your bandwidth
   * Easy to setup on Internet host machine (add Web surfing
     to your shell account service in weeks)
   * Easy to install on your customer's PC (only 3 minutes)
   * Very small(~600K), can be easily distributed to your
     potential customers
   * Good internal design for extensibility and portability


 HOW TO REACH US:

   * Web: http://www.best.com/~icomm/icomm.htm
   * E-Mail: icomm@best.com
   * News: comp.infosystems.www.users

 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

