Lock this Yankee Hacker up!

[Robert Cooksey]

Hey I love the internet--but like you say it shouldn't be your whole life

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Originally posted by Jennifer Zimdars

... I'm trying to do the best I possibly can for my children because I want them to grow up to be healthy, independent adults who think for themselves and make the RIGHT decisions.

....people need to take time out of their busy schedule and do something with their children. Even if it's just for a little while. That little bit WILL make a difference.

This is right, Jennifer. But you do more than "a little while" and your reward will be a generous one.

I remember what means breaking bussy schedules (mine and my wife's) in order to spend more time with our daughter. We fought heavy fights to counter some tendencies that teenagers consider "steps towards independence". We knew, such tendencies could lead to possible dangers for a teen. All our spare time was dedicated to her... Now, when she is on her own, having in her backpack a degree, a promissing career and the plan for her wedding, I feel relaxed (a little bit). My greatest reward came when she told me for the first time: "Dad, you was right..."

Jennifer, you are struggling like I did, like many other parents.
I assure you, again, you will be fully rewarded.

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Robert,

I am impressed by your clear and professional presentation regarding "hacker psychology", as well as the "new frontier of crime" - Cyberspace.

Originally posted by Robert Cooksey

... I have also been informed that some of these anti-virus software companies actually make the viruses so they never run out of work!.....

....Cyberspace is the great new frontier in crime. In some cases yeah the hackers are too immature to understand the gravity of what they're doing, but so what? Some know exactly what they are doing and don't care. These hackers who steal credit card numbers are theives as much as a person who robs a bank!

This is not only a new topic for media, but a new domain for FBI and Police. Also, the domain is widely open for PI. I think your competence in the matter would make you a virtual candidate for Cyberspace Crime Investigation.

[Jennifer Zimdars]

Originally posted by Dragos Sfinteanu


This is right, Jennifer. But you do more than "a little while" and your reward will be a generous one.

I remember what means breaking bussy schedules (mine and my wife's) in order to spend more time with our daughter. We fought heavy fights to counter some tendencies that teenagers consider "steps towards independence". We knew, such tendencies could lead to possible dangers for a teen. All our spare time was dedicated to her... Now, when she is on her own, having in her backpack a degree, a promissing career and the plan for her wedding, I feel relaxed (a little bit). My greatest reward came when she told me for the first time: "Dad, you was right..."

Jennifer, you are struggling like I did, like many other parents.
I assure you, again, you will be fully rewarded.

I love being a mother. It's one of the toughest jobs in the world and one of the most rewarding.

[Robert Cooksey]

Hey I've worked with hackers for nearly a decade and have come to understand that subculture. Most hackers grow out of that phase where they just wanna stir up trouble for the thrill of it, but others don't.

This technology is changing so fast that it's almost impossible for anybody to keep up--and Law Enforcement is always a few steps behind, unfortunately.

The biggest wild card for internet crime is the anonymity of the internet and e-mail. People can sell drugs over the net, traffic kiddie porn and dream up money all day long and 99% of them don't get caught because nobody knows who they really are. They can disguise their identity a thousand different ways--and they do.
I have gotten the exact same penis enlargement ad easily 1,000 times and yet the "sender" is different every time.

So--some states have already started legislation prohibitting people from assuming multiple false cyber identities and it's about time. Buying online is incredibly risky--because of this anonymity.

[Jennifer Zimdars]

I used to get the penis enlargement ad. I didn't really think I needed a bigger penis.

The only place I buy online from is Amazon. It always made me nervous to put my credit card number online.

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Originally posted by Jennifer Zimdars

The only place I buy online from is Amazon. It always made me nervous to put my credit card number online.

I believe you, Jennifer. The only place for me are Airline companies, for plane tickets... and I am still uncomfortable.

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Rob,

I got an idea...

Originally posted by Robert Cooksey

Hey I've worked with hackers for nearly a decade and have come to understand that subculture....

This technology is changing so fast that it's almost impossible for anybody to keep up--and Law Enforcement is always a few steps behind, unfortunately.

The "cyber-space crime" domain is a new one. I am convinced, FBI is trying hard to organize its staff in this matter. They should appreciate and welcome individuals having the experience and background that you have. Just a thought.

[Robert Cooksey]

Yeah Drag and I feel like I know very little compared to some of the geeks I worked with. I know that people in foriegn countries right now are advertising medicine and even pet medicine so that Americans (and others) can get the meds without a perscription, and usually for a lot less money. This is whole new domain. I get ads for Xxannax and other drugs every day and I'm sure a lot of those sites are .

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Rob,

I heard about that (foreign and american sources). It is just a new branch of the tree. I believe there are also other ones, we are not yet aware about... This supports my idea from the previous post.

[Joyce C Dixon]

Hi everyone. Just reading through the forum here and boy how true how true. every day I get ------click here to enlarge your penis or click here I need to see you. Like you said Jenifer you and i both do not need a enlarge penis at lest God for bid !!

the other day I was just getting on the internet and bang I found myself on a pron web page and could not get out of it and i mean I couldn't do anything. the only thing I did do was shut down my computer and start all over.

I am getting real sick of this all. I really enjoy the computer and I feel this junk should be stopped.

so what can we do to stop this? any ideas besides keeping the computer off

[Neal Naughton -]

Hey Guys,
Not to change the subject to much, but I believe a lot of hackers live outside the US. While I was a contractor at NASA, hackers from China breeched the firewall and were trying gain control of my computer. Luckly for me Security was tight enough to stop them and determine their location. Just a thought. -NFN

[Jennifer Zimdars]

Everytime I've heard of a hacker being caught it was always someone who lived outside the US.

Like you said Jenifer you and i both do not need a enlarge penis at lest God for bid !!

Yeah Joyce, not only would that be scary, but difficult to explain!@ ahah

[Robert Cooksey]

Joyce--absolutely. I have gotten the same penis enlargement ad, from "different" senders, easily 1,000 times. I have missed important e-mails because they have been lost in the midst of hundreds of spam. This is INSANE. It is sad that once again our government will have to start regulating the internet, but idiots always ruin it for everybody.

If I sign up for an internet forum, it should be ILLEGAL for them to sell my information to ANYBODY else, end of story And how can it pOSSIBLY be legal for porn sites to send porn to my e-mail address, unsolicited, when a person has to have Adult Check or something like it to legally enter a porn site? This is absolutely illegal, and yet it is happening all the time. I say prosecute these idiots and send a message. If I want to go to a porn site then that's my perogative--I don't want my inbox inundated with ads for "incest Sex" and "Barnyard sex."

[Tim Hentenaar]

Hi all,

I saw this post and thought I'd make a couple of comments:

I agree, hackers can do some good things, Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, is/was a hacker.

It's a shame that all these people call themselves "hackers" but are simply what we call "script kiddies" (The term is used to describe kids who would simply use other people's exploit scripts to damage systems). All they've done is give the term "hacker" a negative connontation over the years.

Hackers are generally in it for the knowledge, not for the cheap thrill of damaging another system, or selling sensitive info from it.

As for spam, I even get my fair share, most of it through an old forewarding account I use. I don't generally reveal my true email address, just a forewarding address that does get to my real box. Unfortunately spam is a problem that I don't see going away any time soon. You can allways determine the true source of an email, but it's up to the ISP to do anything. Yes, it is quite annoying...

Persuing litigation against spam would be a waste of time and money in my opinion. As far as I know, there aren't any laws against spam, in the United States at least. I believe there are some measures against that in the EU, but there are only bills in the US, that get shot down every time.

On another note: Since the "MSBlaster" worm exploited a security hole in Microsoft Windows, being a Linux user, I was unaffected

[Joyce C Dixon]

Hello Robert, Oh yes I sure do agree with you. The other day I was in my e-mail delected all the junk and praying Ididn't delect the good stuff and then all of a sudden bang I was in a porn sight and no matter what I did I could not get out of it. I was so MAD... I did find a sight that I downloaded for Free and now it is helping me to stop allmost all of this. But I know these hackers will find another way to get me.. But I am ready I HOPE..
Thank goodness my children are grown can you see them having this going on to little kids? These sights need to be stoped once and for all!!!

[B Ann Craig -]

Tim, thank you for all the great information. I would like to invite you to post an introduction. Tell us a little about yourself. This way other members can welcome you to the forum. I will give you the link.

Click Here: Forum Member Introduction's Lounge!

Be sure to click on the button to post your introduction.

This is another link that will be of interest to you. You should add your computer information in this forum.

Click Here: Home Office, Computers, Satellite & Internet Tips

This link will help you get started.

Click Here: Newcomer? Do This First

Have a wonderful, and safe holiday season. Take care.

[Tim Hentenaar]

Originally posted by B Ann Craig
Tim, thank you for all the great information. I would like to invite you to post an introduction. Tell us a little about yourself. This way other members can welcome you to the forum. I will give you the link.

I have done so, though I'm not particularly good at introductions :P

My Intro

Originally posted by B Ann Craig
This is another link that will be of interest to you. You should add your computer information in this forum.

Click Here: Home Office, Computers, Satellite & Internet Tips

Have a wonderful, and safe holiday season. Take care.

I read a few topics there and replied. :P I just got laid off from my job, btw.

You too

[B Ann Craig -]

Tim, this is a bad time to get laid off. I hope you get called back to work very soon. Thank goodness for unemployment. I hope you are getting to draw that, at least.

Have a wonderful, and safe holiday week. Take care.

[Joyce C Dixon]

Hi Tim. I sure hope you are not laid off to long. I wish you all the luckgood luck and happy Holiday

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Originally posted by Tim Hentenaar

"Was kann ich tun weil ich bin gestorben?"

That means: (What can I do if I am already dead?)

You are... dead wrong Tim. Keep the head above water and swim towards the shore. You will certainly reach it.
God gave us the strength to perform this "swimming". We have only to remember that.

Dragos

P.S. According to my German souvenirs, your (uninspired) logo should sound better as: " Was kann ich tun weil ich gestorben bin?"... Am I right?

[Alfonso Pelote]

This story really enforces the need for all of us that uses computers to ensure that we have the tools needed to at least limit a hackers ability to cause problems with our computer files.

Installing firewalls and anti-virus software can help to reduce an attack on our computers from worms like this gentleman has caused.

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Alfonso,

When posting, was you inspired by "The bank robber gentleman"?

[Raymond Fogle]

I just wanted to interject something in here if I could. I agree with everyone concerning the joyous feeling that people like this are tracked down and stopped. They would have so much more to offer society if they just thought critically about what they were doing before they did it.

However, Hacker is really a good term. Hackers, like previously mentioned actually gained the name hacker because they would "hack" software and see how it worked, make it better, and lots of times fix bugs prior to the vendor being able to do it.

Crackers, on the other hand tend to be the bad guys out there. Some "script kiddies" as they are called, who simply copy someone else's ideas and viruses as there own call themselves hackers and give the good hackers a bad name.

I am in no way condoning illegal activity and spend a great deal of my time combating it at work and at home on a daily basis in my current profession. However, I hate to see good "hackers" get a bad name for doing good things. One way to distinguish them is whether they wear a white hat or a black hat.

Search the Internet if you have time on hacking and you are sure to find some very interesting stuff concerning the good and bad of it all. I only wish I had more time between, school, studying to be a PI, work, and family. I would devote every waking moment to identifying, tracking, and sending in tips on these people who commit cyberspace crime at our expense.

Thanks.

[VictoriaTBrown]

Okay here we have a prime example of an intellegient teenager using his abilities to corrupt society. To many hackers out there this young boy is a hero. Think About It!!

[Jonathan J. DiBello]

Everyone's right! Lock that jerk up. He deserves to be locked up and caged. Hopfully, he'll make new "friends" in there if you know what I mean.

Thanks,

Jonathan J. DiBello

[Terence Mack]

I wish to also interject my opinion into this discussion. First of all this script kidde is hardly a genius of any sort. He was out to make a name for himself and instead of doing it anonomously he wasn't smart enough to cover his tracks.

I too am a laid off computer professional (AT&T Broadband Network Administrator). We were constantly on the lookout for malicious malcontents (hackers who wear the black hats). We needed to know most of the tricks of the trade or our network would have been toast!

We always strived to stay one step of the black hats, afterall we wore the White hats 8)). Understanding why hackers do what they do is a full time occupation. Education is the ultimate key. Go to the right sites and you can find all sorts of information. 8o
...and you can meet some of these characters.

One word of caution to those malcontents...We are out there educating ourselves everyday to do battle with the 'black hats'. Some of us know a lot more than you do so beware! When you least expect it...BUSTED!

Everyone Stay Safe! Keep your Antivirus software updated regularily and believe me run trojan nabbing software like Pest Patrol! It is amazing how many viruses get through Norton and McAfee!!! The trojans include keystroke loggers which can capture credit card numbers, social security numbers and the like as you type them on your computer. As a matter of fact backdoor trojans can take over your entire computer remotely!

Ok, I don't mean to alarm people (but do mean to educate)although there many things that go on on the dark side of the internet. Do what you can to protect yourself...and we'll keep doing what we can to protect the internet from itself!

[Michael Harris]

Originally posted by Diane Jarosz
What a total waste of a young gifted mind.

Diane,

I agree that his mind and talents are being wasted.

[Michael Harris]

Originally posted by Dragos Sfinteanu
There are definitely two groups here.
...The second (and smaller) group suggests that instead to be isolated , the "expert" could be recovered and used to catch other hackers (the quote of the couple Leonardo di Caprio - Tom Hanks from "Catch me if you can" is excellent in this respect). I am joining the second (and smaller) group: the guy is young and the essence of human nature is a good one...

Dragos,

Using him to catch other hacker is a noble goal. I like the reference - good movie.

[Dragos Sfinteanu]

Michael,

You are right. It is a noble goal, and at the same time, a
certain... revenge of the fate.

[Bridgett Brown -]

Originally posted by Michael Harris

....the mind and talents are being wasted.

The young man is very talented. I'm thinking maybe he did this to make a name for himself or to prove to someone that he could do it.

Whatever the reason.... you do the crime; therefore, you must serve the time.

[Abraham King]

It seems as though this young mans technical prowess far exceeded his moral maturity, and with a generation that has the benefit of having access to computers at an early age but the lack of parental involvment I fear that we will see many more of his kind, with each one trying to outdo the last.



Abe King

[James L Parmenter -]

Obviously this talented, gifted young man had several resourses. Seven Computers? Most of us are lucky to have one or two. I agree that he should be punished in an appropriate way but i dont think prison is the answer. The damages sustained by his actions lead software companies and anti-virus programmers to beef-up their detectors and actually incorporate more bug-sniffing devices. Warnings were posted on most Internet sites stating not to open suspicious e-mails.....which would prevent the worm from becoming active on that computer....

[Patrice-Maria Love]

I remember the story well because I live in Minneapolis. The deterrant wasn't enough. He should have been jailed. I have learned not to open emails that I'm not expecting.
I hope he isn't allowed to get back on the computer by his parents. Instead, he should apply himself to further his education and get a full time job while abiding to his house arrest. I agree that he have too much idle time.

[Victoria S Kinney]

I agree this is a waste of a good mind. You could try to change him and he could play the system and turn right around and do it again. I saw some one made the comment that kids should spend time with their friend and play outside. Now a days it is not safe for kids to play outside .

[K Morse]

I'd have to admit I've gotten a lot of computer (repair) work from guys like this! I'd never wishi it on anyone, and now, as I've been infected myself through all the protection anyone could buy...it's a relief to know hackers are being prosecuted. Thanks for sharing this.
K

[Patti Schubert -]

I will never understand hackers nor tolerate them. I don't know how someone can intentionally infect someone elses computer and they haven't done anything to them. How visious to reach out to millions of people and hurt them for no reason. As far as I'm concerned, reason or not it is unacceptable.



Patti

[Joanne DeHerrera]

This young man obviously has the knowledge and skills to get himself into trouble....but he is still young enough that possibly he could be directed in a more positive direction.

Hackers who use their skills to "break into" secure systems, searching for loopholes can help make computer networks more secure in the future.

I do think he should be punished, but I also think his skills should be directed to a more positive use.

Okay, maybe I'm a bit of a liberal

I am a bit of a liberal as well. I am this way because I could not get into the F.B.I. because as a kid (18) and younger I did things I should not have done, but I am 36 now and since 18 + I have been an outstanding person morally and ethically.

If I could take all the dumb things I did as a kid back I would not – because I am today what I am because of my past mistakes.

My greatest joy life – my greatest achievement would have to at least have passed Quantico, but unfortunately I will never have that pleasure or honor.

I respect their ways and bi-laws, and I do believe everything happens for a reason, but I do not think that an 18 year old kid or younger (what they did) should not effect their adulthood, that of being over 18 years of age.

I know the F.B.I. attends and tries to recruit young hackers at their conventions; perhaps they will have mercy on this young man and give him a career that he can be proud to have. At least give him the opportunity to be a great man for the United States Government.

Joanne

[Kristie L McKinley]

Where were this boy's parents who missed seeing SEVEN computers? Did they never go into his room? If that was me, my Mom would have kicked my butt.
This worm caused a lot of problems where I work to the point where now if anyone is responsible for letting in a virus for a "dumb" reason (ie, opening e-mails from outside the company from people they don't know, etc.), they could very well possibly loose their job, AND be financially responsible for the damages caused by the virus.
Too bad draw-and-quartering is illegal.
Darn.

[Katrina Burton Todd]

Yes, he should be locked up. I remember reading about his story. Computer hacking is very serious it can really do some damage across country if he hacks into the wrong information. It seems at 18 years old he should be putting his energy into something positive like getting a real job or going o college. What a waste.

Katrina