=============================================================================== Volume 1 Issue 8 October 1989 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____ _____ ____ ____ ___________ / | / | | | | | | _____ \ / |/ | | | | | | | \__\ / /| /| | | | | | | | / / | / | | | | | | | | / / | / | | | | | | | | ____ / / | / | | | | | | | | |__ \ / / | / | | \ \_______| | | |_________\ \ |___| |/ |___| \____________| |________________\ __ __ ____ ______ _____ ____ | \ || / __ \ --,,-- |,--- //--\\ ||\\ || || || || || \\__ || \\ || || || || |,== ---\\ || \\|| ||__|| || ||___ ___// || \_| \____/ || |____ ___/ The Official Newsletter of: The Motorola Users Group of London =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Graphics Month =============================================================================== October 1989 MUG Notes Page 1 Motorola Users Group of London 1989 EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT Stan Bischop 500 Osgoode Dr. #122. London N6E 2G9 668-7277 VICE- PRESIDENT Gerry Davis 1053 Frances St. London N5W 2L8 453-8686 SECRETARY Judy Daviau 500 Osgoode Dr. #122 London N6E 2G9 668-7277 TREASURER Sheila Smith 11 Bridle Path London N6Y 2H1 672-4913 APPOINTED POSITIONS MEMBERSHIP CO-ORDINATOR Judy Daviau 500 Osgoode Dr. #122 London N6E 2G9 668-7277 NEWSLETTER EDITOR Sheila Smith 11 Bridle Path London N6Y 2H1 672-4913 P.D.LIBRARIAN Diane Gubbels R.R. #1 Miller Rd. Delaware N7G 3H8 652-3844 PUBLIC RELATIONS Gerry Thomas 232 Oakland Ave. London N5V 4H1 659-1374 B.B.S. SYSOP Wayne Morrison 532 Pinetree Dr. London N6H 3N1 471-5064 NEWSLETTER PUBLISHER Wayne Morrison 532 Pinetree Dr. London N6H 3N1 471-5064 TECHNICAL ADVISORS Stan Bischop 500 Osgoode Dr. #122 London N6E 2G9 668-7277 Gerry Davis 1053 Frances St. London N5W 2L8 453-8686 Wayne Morrison 532 Pinetree Dr. London N6H 3N1 471-5064 MUG Line B.B.S. 24 Hours Daily 300/1200 Baud N-8-1 641-0927 DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of the Motorola Users Group of London, the editors, or the club members. While we try to make sure that all software and hardware projects in this newsletter have been tested and do work, we will not be responsible for any damage to your own personal equipment resulting from using information contained in this newsletter. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Contents of this newsletter are copyrighted 1989 by the Motorola Users Group of London. Reproduction by any means other than for the personal use of members without prior written consent is forbidden. Other non-profit computer clubs may make use of the enclosed material as long as written acknowledgement is made of the source. MANDATE This newsletter is published by and for the Motorola Users Group of London. This club has no affiliation with the Motorola Corporation. This club is a non-profit organization for anyone that may have an interest in Motorola 68XX and 68XXX based microcomputers and the use and exchange of information about these machines. October 1989 MUG Notes Page 2 Table of Contents Page Item ==== ==== 1.....................List of Officers and Mandate 2.....................Table of Contents 3.....................Peeks Pokes and Execs 5.....................Telecom Comments 6.....................Malicious BBS Hacker 8.....................About Basic09 10....................The Night of the Hackers SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS The Motorola Users Group of London sponsors two special interest groups (SIG's for short). The beginners' SIG meets on Tuesday nights at Wayne Morrison's (532 Pinetree Dr.) starting at 7:00 P.M. The advanced SIG meets at Sheila Smith's (11 Bridle Path) Wednesday nights also starting at 7:00 P.M. Whether you have just started out or you are an experienced hacker, there should be something of interest for you! October 1989 MUG Notes Page 3 Peeks Pokes and Execs SIGN-ON MESSAGE AND VERSION.......EXEC 41175..................... SIGN-ON MESSAGE IN DISK BASIC.....EXEC 49152..................... SKIPF EQUIVALENT..................EXEC 42476..................... SLOT 1 OF MULTI-PAK...............POKE 65407,0................... SLOT 2 OF MULTI-PAK...............POKE 65407,17.................. SLOT 3 OF MULTI-PAK...............POKE 65407,34.................. SLOT 4 OF MULTI-PAK...............POKE 65407,51.................. SLOW PROGRAM LISTING..............POKE 359,60.................... SOUND GENERATION(PITCH401,DUR402).POKE 402,X:POKE401,Y:EXEC44350. SOUND GENERATION..................EXEC 43350..................... SOUND SPEED UP....................POKE 65313,4................... SP RACE EXTRA MEN.................POKE 10638,XX ................. SPACE BEFORE NUMBERS ELIMINATED...POKE 48612,214:POKE 48613,24... SPACE BEFORE NUMBERS RESTORED.....POKE 48612,167:POKE 48613,192.. SPEED UP SOUND....................POKE 65313,4................... START ADDRESS OF ML PROGRAM.......PEEK 487*256+PEEK(488)......... START COLD........................POKE 113,0:EXEC40999........... START OF BASIC PROGRAM............PEEK 25*256+PEEK26............. STATEMENT NUMBER, CURRENT.........PEEK (104)*256+PEEK(105)....... SUPER SPEED BACK TO NORMAL........POKE 65496,0................... SUPER SPEED POKE..................POKE 65497,0................... TAPE AT FAULT FOR I/O ERROR IF=1..PEEK 129....................... TAPE FILE MERGED WITH PROGRAM.....OPEN#1,X$:POKE111,255:EXEC44156 TAPE FLAW IF = 1..................PEEK 126....................... TAPE MOTOR ON.....................EXEC 42954..................... TELEWRITER-64 BLACK ON GREEN......POKE 12522,240................. TELEWRITER-64 BLACK ON GREEN......POKE 12729,240................. TELEWRITER-64 BLACK ON GREEN......POKE 61122,240................. TELEWRITER-64 BLACK ON GREEN......POKE 61259,240................. TEMPO, CURRENT....................PEEK 226....................... TEXT BACK TO NORMAL AFTER RED.....POKE 359,126................... TEXT MODE RED LETTERS.............POKE 65314,8................... TEXT SCREEN 32x16 LOWER CASE ..POKE 38345,127:65331,16:....... TEXT SCREEN 32x16 LOWER CASE cont.pmode 2,1: screen 1............ TEXT SCREEN, CHARACTER POKED TO...POKE (1024-1535),(33-255)...... THE FROG EXTRA MEN................POKE 12002,XX ................. TIMER = 0 ........................POKE 274,0:POKE 275,0.......... TIMER VALUE.......................PEEK (274)*256+PEEK(275)....... TIMER VALUE.......................PEEK 275....................... TRACER OFF (TROFF)................EXEC 34472..................... October 1989 MUG Notes Page 4 Peeks Pokes and Execs (continued) TRACER OFF (TROFF)................POKE 175,0..................... TRACER OFF PRINTER IN DISK BASIC..POKE 360,203:POKE361,74........ TRACER OFF PRINTER IN E.C.BASIC...POKE 360,130:POKE361,115....... TRACER ON (TRON)..................EXEC 3447...................... TRACER ON (TRON)..................POKE 175,79.................... TRACER ON PRINTER.................POKE 360,162:POKE361,191....... TRACK # OF DSKINI ERROR...........PEEK 236....................... TRAPFALL EX,nTRA MEN (XX < 255).....POKE &H2CBC,XX .............. TRAPFALL EXTRA MEN................POKE 11452,XX ................. TROFF EQUIVALENT..................EXEC 34472..................... TROFF EQUIVALENT..................POKE 175,0..................... TRON EQUIVALENT...................EXEC 3447...................... TRON EQUIVALENT...................POKE 175,79.................... TUTANKHAMEN EXTRA MEN.............POKE 17437,XX ................. TYPE TO PRINTER...................POKE 360,162:POKE 361,191...... UNLOCK KEYBOARD POKE 65295,240 ,......................... UPPER CASE........................POKE 282,255................... UPPER/LOWER CASE..................POKE 65314,4................... USR ADDRESS IN COLOR BASIC........PEEK(274)*256+PEEK(275)........ USR START VALUE FOR COLOR BASIC...POKE 274,XX:POKE 275,YY........ VARIABLE LAST USED IN ASCII.......PEEK 55 + PEEK 56.............. VERSION 1.0 IF EVEN NUMBER........PEEK 65313..................... VERSION 1.1 IF EVEN NUMBER........PEEK 65314..................... VERSION AND SIGN-ON MESSAGE.......EXEC 41175..................... VERTICAL POSITION FOR X-PAD.......PEEK 65377..................... VITAMIN E POKE BACK TO NORMAL.....POKE 65494,0................... VITAMIN E POKE....................POKE 65495,0................... VM-4 MONOCHROME MONITOR CLEAR.....POKE974899,16;57404,19;57413,19 WARM START........................POKE 113,3:EXEC 40999.......... WHIRLYBIRD EXTRA MEN..............POKE 8312,XX .................. X-PAD HORIZONTAL POSITION.........PEEK 65376..................... X-PAD PEN STATUS..................PEEK 65378..................... X-PAD VERTICAL POSITION...........PEEK 65377..................... ZAKSUND EXTRA MEN.................POKE 16670,XX ................. ZAXXON EXTRA MEN..................POKE 25624,XX ................. ZEUS EXTRA MEN....................POKE 8274,XX:POKE 8318,XX ..... October 1989 MUG Notes Page 5 TELECOM COMMENTS by W. Morrison In the last thirty or forty days, an awful lot has happened! Two of the BBS systems that I have recommended in past articles have gone down, seemingly forever, and our own system has had a change of phone number and physical location. In addition to this, some of our members have come accross a new source for public domain downloads, providing us with new software, both for MUG, and Midnight Remote Data Systems. Yes, you could say the last few weeks have been busy! The two boards which have recently shut down are Datagate BBS and Strathroy BBS. If you call either number, all you will get is a "Ma Bell" recording telling you that those lines are no longer in service. Our own system is doing quite well, thank you, after its change in number and re-location. In fact, if all goes well, we may soon be running RiBBs 2.0, the latest update on the RiBBS program. Not only that, but with any luck, we will also have an online game or two. We shall just have to see how things go between now and Christmas! Oh yes, and in case you haven't heard, the new number for the MUG Line is 641-0927. With Autumn definitely in the air, and some new members coming into MUG, I would like to cover some old territory for a minute. If you are new to the club, and you are involved in telecom, or would like to be, I would like to let you know what our public domain library has to get you started. For CoCo 1 & 2 users we have MIKEYTERM, and for those computers, that has to be one of the best modeming packages around. For the CoCo 3 users in the crowd, we have either the latest version of MIKEYTERM, or another package called ULTIMATERM. This one is really slick, BUT you MUST have a monitor instead of a TV set to be able to use it. If OS-9 is your thing, we have several packages available, but the two best appear to be OSTERM and TELSTAR. All these pieces of software are available from our club public domain library. If you are interested, see me at any club or SIG meeting, and we can talk about the best package for you. Last month, it was mentioned in the executive meeting minutes that we were going to purchase some hardware for our club system. As of this time, non of it has come in yet, but I would like to let you know what it will mean to us when it does get here. The RS-232 Pack and the "Y" cable do nothing more than replace some equipment loaned to us by Rick Tower back last Spring. (It is about time we got that stuff back to Rick!) The memory upgrade and new disk drive, however, are another story. The new drive will increase our total system storage to just over one meg. This allows us extra storage room for things like on-line games and other interesting things. The memory upgrade will allow us to use a new version of our BBS software, and it offers new features to us as well. The club executive felt that this was definitely worth doing, and hopefully, all the new improvements will be on line shortly. October 1989 MUG Notes Page 6 A VERY MALICOUS BBS HACKER by Gerry Thomas A Detailed Account of Discovery From a Phone Conversation with Scott t. Griepentrog - SysOp Indy OS9 - Speedway, Indianna History of COJONU Early this year, Indy OS9's main (and at the time only) hard drive was mysteriously erased. At the time,I wasn't sure what happened,as there was no record of anything to review. While I suspected foul play,I couldn't rule out some strange software glitch. However, I wasn't going to take any chances. Tighter security was implemented and a monitor terminal was installed. During this time a particular user, COJONU (Angel Talavera), located here in Indy, was giving me some trouble. He made a habit of logging in as many as twelve times a day - never for very long - and trying to steal my software. After putting some restrictions on his account, he became frustrated, and attempted to hack the password of my and other accounts. Then through a loophole (which was soon fixed) he managed to get logged in,along with access to a shell. I decided to let him try what he might while I watched. Through out the next nine hours,he attempted in almost every way numerous times to crash the system. This included uploading a copy of format, and writing a C program to do a direct putstat "write track" call to the hard drive. It would appear he wanted to cover his tracks. About six in the morning I got tired of him - I removed his access, leaving only a message letting him know I knew everything and that he was busted. A few days later I received mail from him via the menu account asking in an innocent way why he was being blamed, and threatening me that I was loosing a customer.This was ignored, and a letter explaining in full detail my views of what he had done was mailed to him. A few weeks later, I was watching what appeared to be a local user I was familiar with logging into the system. However,he wasn't getting his password right. My voice line rang a couple of times, but nobody was there. I called up the owner of the account, and as he was denying having tried to log in somebody was at it again. I have no doubt that it was cojonu again. I sent a message to the port asking him to get lost and hung the modem up. Since then he (I imagine) has tried several times to lock the system up by hanging up right after connecting. This guy does not appear to want to give up. He owns a CoCo3/OS9 Lv2 and has technical knowledge of the machine. Talking with him voice or even watching him on the system normally gives little clue as to his hidden malicious hacking habit. I would suggest voice verification of ALL new users - double checking against the following info: October 1989 MUG Notes Page 7 W A N T E D Angel Talavera Alias: COJONU Alias: CORAL Address: 3667 D Windgate Ct Indy, IN 46236 Phone:(317) 897-5518 For malicious hacking, software piracy, destruction of data, and general nuisance. All sysops beware, this criminal is armed with a manual and is dangerous. Apprehend with careful records of all his actions. Direct any further information to Sysop at: Indy OS9 (317) 244-3159 *** Reprinted with permission from *** *** Midnight Remote Data Systems *** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * T H E N E X T M E E T I N G O F * * * * _____ _____ ____ ____ ___________ * * / | / | | | | | | _____ \ * * / |/ | | | | | | | \__\ * * / /| /| | | | | | | | * * / / | / | | | | | | | | * * / / | / | | | | | | | | ____ * * / / | / | | | | | | | | |__ \ * * / / | / | | \ \_______| | | |_________\ \ * * |___| |/ |___| \____________| |________________\ * * * * Will Be Held On November 14, 1989 * * 6:30pm to 9:00pm * * London Central Public Library * * Lower Level * * Room #2 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * October 1989 MUG Notes Page 8 ABOUT BASIC09 by W. Morrison Last time we actually used the Basic09 compiler to write a bit of code. This month we will expand upon it slightly and have a first look at the concept of modularity. One of the more powerful features of this language is the way in which one program, or procedure, can call another to do something for the first procedure, and when done return system control to the original procedure. Sound confusing? Lets try some hands on and re-load the program that we created last month. You did save it to disk didn't you? O.K., I'll repeat what we did last time. The lines of code were as follows; PROCEDURE test PRINT CHR$(12) PRINT CHR$(2); CHR$(62); CHR$(42); "This is an example of" PRINT CHR$(2); CHR$(65); CHR$(43); "Basic09 at work" Last time I intentionally left you with an unanswered question. In lines two and three, what do all the CHR$ with numbers do? This is a good question, and answering it will take us off on a bit of a tangent, but I think that you will find that the final results are worth the effort. At this point, I must ask you to remember that OS-9 level 2 takes available memory as it needs it, up to the system maximum, in 8 kilobyte blocks. In other words, whether your code is fifty bytes in length or five kilobytes in length, you will need to have at least eight kilobytes available if you want to start something new. With that in mind, lets look at some of the Basic09 commands that are available to us. The important one right now is one called "GFX2". There is a subset of this command called CURXY which will position your cursor just about anywhere you might want it, but there is a catch. This command requires its own eight kilobyte block of memory, and to me that seems a little much, just to do some basic screen positioning. As always we have a plan B available to us. It is possible to write your own little procedure of about four lines in length that will do exactly the same thing. Consulting the OS-9 manual in the right place (in the windowing section, page 5-1 ),we find a list of commands that we can access. Look at the second command. Yes, this one, when used properly, can position the cursor for you. To use it you must print with the CHR$ configuration, the figures indicated in the manual. In the manual, these are done in hexadecimal. Interestingly enough, when these are used with the CHR$ notation from Basic09, they must be in decimal, so a little conversion is in order. The 02 indicates that we will be wanting the system to position our The 02 indicates that we will be wanting the system to position our cursor for us and the x and y co-ordinates must have 32 added to them in order to work (hex 20). So, now that this is as clear as mud, let me give you an example; PRINT CHR$(2); CHR$(42); CHR$(35); October 1989 MUG Notes Page 9 Starting your line of code to print to the screen with the above would tell Basic09 to start printing ten spaces from the left edge of the screen (42-32=10) and three lines down from the top(35-32=3). Interesting how one line of code can replace eight kilobytes isn't it? But wait there is much more. Wouldn't it be nice to encorporate this as a sub-routine that can be called at any time? Great you say, but how do we make the screen co-ordinates available? We certainly don't want to be limited to doing all our printing ten spaces over and three lines down! This is where another Basic09 concept comes in handy. In this language it is possible to pass information from the parent procedure to the one that it is calling. Using that here we can make a generalized sub-routine and pass our screen co-ordinates to it. Then this little "aid" can do our screen positioning for us quite slickly. The final procedure is as follows; PROCEDURE locate PARAM horz,vert:INTEGER PRINT CHR$(2); CHR$(horz+32); CHR$(vert+32); END The PARAM command lets Basic09 know to expect two values to be passed to this procedure, horz and vert. The second line actually does the work (remember that the CHR$(2) indicates that we want to position the cursor and the following two give the horizontal and vertical locations). At this point we must also change the original program. Delete lines two and three and write the following two lines instead. PRINT "This is an example of" PRINT "Basic09 at work" Now, between lines one and two type; RUN locate(30,10) and between the original lines two and three insert; RUN locate(33,11) Your little program should now look like the following; PROCEDURE test PRINT CHR$(12) RUN locate(30,10) PRINT "This is an example of" RUN locate(33,11) PRINT "Basic09 at work" Put both of these procedures in the memory of your Basic09 compiler and type run test. You should see everything work as it should and a message appear on your screen. You have seen an example of running one procedure from another, and also an example of passing variables. These are both extremely interesting concepts. Try substituting other numbers for the numbers in the brackets in the procedure called test. I think you should be starting to get the idea by now. Thats it for this time (mental overload, right?), but save both of these procedures to disk and we'll move on a little further next month. October 1989 MUG Notes Page 10 The Night of the Hackers ________________________ As you are surveying the dark and misty swamp you come across what appears to be a small cave. You light a torch and enter. You have walked several hundred feet when you stumble into a bright blue portal. . . With a sudden burst of light and a loud explosion you are swept into . . DRAGONFIRE . . . Press Any Key if You Dare." You have programmed your personal computer to dial into Dragonfire, a computer bulletin board in Gainesville, Texas. But before you get any information, Dragonfire demands your name, home city and phone number. So, for tonight's tour of the electronic wilderness you become Montana Wildhack of San Francisco. Dragonfire, Sherwood Forest (sic), Forbidden Zone, Blottoland, Plovernet, The Vault, Shadowland, PHBI and scores of other computer bulletin boards are hangouts of a new generation of vandals. These precocious teenagers use their electronic skills to play hide-and-seek with computer and telephone security forces. Many computer bulletin boards are perfectly legitimate: they resemble electronic versions of the familiar cork boards in supermarkets and school corridors, listing services and providing information someone out there is bound to find useful. But this is a walk on the wild side, a trip into the world of underground bulletin boards dedicated to encouraging -- and making -- mischief. The phone number for these boards are as closely guarded as a psychiatrist's home telephone number. Some numbers are posted on underground boards; others are exchanged over the telephone. A friendly hacker provided Dragonfire's number. Hook up and you see a broad choice of topics offered. For Phone Phreaks -- who delight in stealing service from AT&T and other phone networks . Phreakenstein's Lair is a potpourri of phone numbers, access codes and technical information. For computer hackers -- who dial into other people's computers -- Ranger's Lodge is chock-full of phone numbers and passwords for government, university and corporate computers. Moving through Dragonfire's offerings, you can only marvel at how conversant these teen-agers are with the technical esoterica of today's electronic age. Obviously they have spent a great deal of time studying computers, though their grammar and spelling indicate they haven't been diligent in other subjects. You are constantly reminded of how young they are. "Well it's that time of year again. School is back in session so let's get those high school computer phone numbers rolling in. Time to get straight A's, have perfect attendance (except when you've been up all night hacking school passwords), and messing up you worst teacher's paycheck." Forbidden Zone, in Detroit, is offering ammunition for hacker civil war -- tips on crashing the most popular bulletin-board software. There also are plans for building black, red and blue boxes to mimic operator tones and get free phone service. And here are the details for "the safest and best way to make and use nitroglycerine," compliments of Doctor Hex, who says he got it "from my chemistry teacher." October 1989 MUG Notes Page 11 Flip through the "pages." You have to wonder if this information is accurate. Can this really be the phone number and password for Taco Bell's computer? Do these kids really have the dial-up numbers for dozens of university computers? The temptation is too much. You sign off and have your computer dial the number for the Yale computer. Bingo -- the words Yale University appear on your screen. You enter the password. A menu appears. You hang up in a sweat. You are now a hacker. Punch in another number and your modem zips off the touch tones. Here comes the tedious side of all of this. Bulletin boards are popular. No vacancy in Bates Motel (named for Anthony Perkin's creepy motel in the movie "Psycho"); the line is busy. So are 221 B. Baker Street, PHBI, Shadowland and The Vault, Caesar's Palace rings and connects. This is different breed of board. Caesar's Palace is a combination Phreak board and computer store in Miami. This is the place to learn ways to mess up a department store's anti-shoplifting system, or make free calls on telephones with locks on the dial. Pure capitalism accompanies such anarchy, Caesar's Palace is offering good deals on disc drives, software, computers and all sorts of hardware. Orders are placed through electronic mail messages. 'Tele-Trial': Bored by Caesar's Palace, you enter the number for Blottoland, the board operated by one of the nation's most notorious computer phreaks -- King Blotto. This one has been busy all night, but it's now pretty late in Cleveland. The phone rings and you connect. To get past the blank screen, type the secondary password "S-L-I-M-E." King Blotto obliges, listing his rules: he must have your real name, phone number, address, occupation and interests. He will call and disclose the primary password, "if you belong on this board." If admitted, do not reveal the phone number or the secondary password, lest you face "tele-trial," the King warns as he dismisses you by hanging up. You expected heavy security, but this teenager's security is, as they say, awesome. Computers at the Defense Department and hundreds of businesses let you know when you've reached them. Here you need a password just to find out what system answered the phone. Then King Blotto asks questions -- and hangs up. Professional computer-security experts could learn something from this kid. He knows that ever since the 414 computer hackers were arrested in August 1982, law-enforcement officers have been searching for leads on computer bulletin boards. "Do you have any ties to or connections with any law enforcement agency or any agency which would inform such a law enforcement agency of this bulletin board?" Such is the welcoming message from Plovernet, a Florida board known for its great hacker/phreak files. There amid a string of valid VISA and MasterCard numbers are dozens of computer phone numbers and passwords. Here you also learn what Blotto means by tele-trial. "As some of you may or may not know, a session of the conference court was held and the Wizard was found guilty of some miscellaneous charges, and sentenced to four months without bulletin boards." If Wizard calls, October 1989 MUG Notes Page 12 system operators like King Blotto disconnect him. Paging through bulletin boards is a test of your patience. Each board has different commands. Few are easy to follow, leaving you to hunt and peck your way around. So far you haven't had the nerve to type "C," which summons the system operator for a live, computer-to-computer conversation. The time, however, however has come for you to ask a few questions of the "sysop." You dial a computer in Boston. It answers and you begin working your way throughout the menus. You scan a handful of dial- up numbers, including one for Arpanet, the Defense Department's research computer. Bravely tap C and in seconds the screen blanks and your cursor dances across the screen. Hello . . . What kind of computer do you have? Contact. The sysop is here. You exchange amenities and get "talking." How much hacking does he do? Not much, too busy. Is he afraid of being busted, having his computer confiscated like the Los Angeles man facing criminal changes because his computer bulletin board contained a stolen telephone-credit-card number? "Hmmmm . . . No," he replies. Finally, he asks the dreaded question: "How old are you?" "How old are YOU," you reply, stalling. "15," he types. Once you confess and he knows you're old enough to be his father, the conversation gets very serious. You fear each new question; he probably thinks you're a cop. But all he wants to know is your choice for president. The chat continues, until he asks, "What time is it there?" Just past midnight, you reply. Expletive. "it's 3:08 here," Sysop types. "I must be going to sleep. I've got school tomorrow." The cursor dances "*********** Thank you for Calling." The screen goes blank. Epilog: A few weeks after this reporter submitted this article to Newsweek, he found that his credit had been altered, his drivers' licence revoked, and EVEN HIS Social Security records changed! Just in case you all might like to construe this as a 'Victimless' crime. The next time a computer fouls up your billing on some matter, and COSTS YOU, think about it! _______________________________ +----------------------------------------------+ | END of COLOSSUS NEWSLETTER | | Please upload to MANY boards | +----------------------------------------------+ *** Reprinted Courtesy of *** *** Midnight Remote Data Systems ***