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The Hack

posted onDecember 17, 2000
by hitbsecnews

I know what your thinking when you see my title "The hack"... your thinking that this will discuss a new exploit or a backdoor, well your wrong! This article will discuss The "theoretical Hack". If this does not pique your interest then I ask you to read on because this is the knowledge
which is logically missed by everyday people. Do not fool yourself with
the simple solution that "Hacking is done by computer nerds who have
a problem with the world", because that's just plain and simply - stupid. Hacking is done by person(s) with a purpose, we often judge people who "hack" for stupid reasons, but we fail to realize that they are still reasons. Morally and ethically we can justifiably say that hacking is wrong, we can also state that those victimised people are not all morally or ethically correct.

An example would be those people representing Pakistan's rights hacking
WebPages of people who have morally wronged them. Who can tell if a person's "reason(s)" are justified? What I'm trying to say is that we can't judge those "hackers" or the "victims" but we can discuss the perfect hack.... so
lets begin. (Note: Cyber-terrorism and Cyber-vandalism is not considered
in this article.)

There are two kinds of hacks, "brute force" and "exploitation".
Although I will explain why exploitation is a more powerful means of entry, both methods are equally
effective. An easy way of explaining hacking without technical words
or complex codes is to compare, hacking with robbing a store. Yes, hacking
is like robbing a store, you have a store (Victim), yourself and the money(What you hack for/the purpose of the hack) and of course you can "be caught!". Most people use a "weapon"
to rob a store which can represent a computer program. Brute force is
taking that weapon into the store and demanding your money. I know what
you thinking, "taking a gun and demanding money is not brute-force hacking"... but it's quite similar. The first way it's the same is that when this happens the "clerk" instantly knows your robbing the store, in hacking when you brute force a machine many "alarms" are triggered at the "victims" computer. (
Brute force hacking is when a computer or person manually try's every
possible password to gain entry into the machine). There are many ways to hide your identity in a robbery as there are in hacking, and just as many
or more ways to be caught! There are many situations that can occur during
that robbery as in hacking, such as a clerk having a "weapon" just like
a computer can have a counter program to yours (Firewall for example).
The unpredictability comes in all forms no matter what you do. Such
as the computer that your hacking could detach itself from the network... as if a cop showing up during a robbery....see the similarities? If you do successfully complete your task the money (what your hacking for) might not be there (think 7-11)! So you can now effectively understand the simplicity of brute force attack.

The second and more powerful hack is "exploiting". Exploiting
is knowing a computer system inside out, knowing every problem and knowing
every solution. This way a person can manipulate that computer to it's
purpose. Such as if you knew a store inside out:

1) Who has the money

2) Where the money is

3) When it's there.

4) Knowing the people or computer(s)
who guard it, etc.

Do you see the power? Knowledge is the power. In a store if you knew when the manager takes the money to the bank you
could simply rob him and save allot of unpredictability. Same as in hacking,
if you knew what the computer system was, Windows, Linux, Mac and so
forth you could simple study and understand. Such as a few years back
when certain people studied perl and found cgi exploits that could give
access to http servers, or the newest Redhat exploits that allow access
to root (root means Godly access to a computer). Exploiting is more powerful
because it can be used on a wider scale and not one location. Like if
you knew a flaw in a security company you could rob all it's client just
like Windows or Linux exploits!! Another advantage is that you could
steal that money or hack and have a good chance of the people "not" knowing
instantly...which means more time to cover-up or run. I hope your seeing
the power now...although is some respects it's easer to rob then to hack
it's the same principle.

Most people don't understand these methods, so they download
a program and try to "Hack, crack and so on" without the knowledge. That
is why people get "caught", it's because they don't have the power to
be smart. Learning is the key, there are lots of texts or zines and so
forth, that provide you with the basic skills to hack. I used to read
the zine "Happle" which is how I learned how to hack on the old Macintosh.
Don't laugh, it's the same principle, "knowledge is power". So I give
you two choices: download your weapon or understand your possible method
and solution. The choice is yours.

-JesterS (HackX@onebox.com)
I will answer all comments sent to this address.

1.) The Hack - JesterS

2.) The State of the Hack Awards #1 - MadSaxon

3.) Slackware vs OpenBSD (part 1) - Liquid Sphear

4.) Why Cryptography is Harder Than it Looks - Bruce Schneier

5.) Physics Utilizing Computer Technology or Computer Techology Utilizing Physics? (part 1) - Josette

6.) OsReview : Red Hat Linux 7.0 - L33tdawg

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