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The Syndicate Report Issue 25 (part 1)
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THE SYNDICATE REPORT
Information Transmittal No. 25
(Part 1 of 2)
Released September 20, 1989
Featuring:
Editor's Note
"TSR Clears Month #25"
Time, Notwithstanding, The Line Noise Collusion
CCCP Experiences "COMPUTER CRIME"
More Morris Jr. Morrings
Extender Bender v2 & C.C. Checksum Kit for Applers
CI; AT&T, AMEX Telcom, Info Processing Service
FONVIEW Allows Hacks to Analyze Fone Bills
Brief Notes from the Report
"Cellular Fone Sets Off Alarm: Ring!, Ring!"
Vocabulary Tonic
by The Sensei
Editor Syndicate Report Magazine
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EXPOSITION: TSR
Once again, The Report accepts outside sources. Anybody can write/provide
information to The Syndicate Report. Articles/Information may be provided
through RADIO WAVES Bulletin Board System 612-639-1053. Any info such as
Busts, Phreaking, Hacking, Data / Telecommunications, and new developments
on any the previous mentioned specialties will be: accepted, labeled, and
given full actual credit to the article/info provider(s), or writer(s). --
** All articles have been presented by me unless shown at the end of the
article as the information provider(s), or writer(s). **
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EDITOR'S NOTE: TSR
The Syndicate Report Clears Month #25!
Well, since TSR #1 was first published back in May, 1986 -- there have
been a whopping 25 issues. There would have been many more, but The Editor
took a few months off due too: The '87 Crackdowns (Mine was one of the first),
Modem Data Burnout (You have to get away from it once in a while), and the
summer came about. What keeps TSR coming out to you, the hacks/phreaks/users
of the world, is your continued support. Each time I receive a good word, or
find users helping out by contributing files, it energizing me.
Another year of college will be on the way by tyme this file is
released, so expect future TSRs to be late -- as last year's record show. I'm
not going to try to get TSRs out by the desired 1 month limit, but I'll surely
keep by that general time frame.
With this transmittal, I'm releasing a file on the new Interactive
Personal Computer System called, Prodigy. I've had a chance to get online
the system FREE of charge of course, and I'm going to evaluate it -- and make
some helpful hack suggestions. Expect it released at the end up Sept.
...enjoy!
;The Sensei / TSR Editor 1989
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TIME, NOTWITHSTANDING, THE LINE NOISE COLLUSION: (all TSR 9\6)
The age old problem of "Line Noise" still haunts many telecommunication
users -- causing many levels of stress. Here and now, I will try to point out
some common problems that can cause line noise. Many of these you've heard
before, many you may have not. Basically this is a summary of solves:
During the early days of my telecom/modem experiences, many phreaks and
hacks alike that experienced LN (Line Noise), immediately blamed the local or
LD (Long Distance) Fone companies. Those guys are great scapegoats for many
reasons. The most obvious is the outrageous prices they drop upon the users.
Let's face it, the LD services make a bundle off users dialing LD -- and work
what? the cost of electricity (which is very cheap in Minnesota, 612).
Anyway, call up your TSPS Operator (0), and tell her to send you to
someone that can fix your fone, your getting a lot of static -- say.
The Bell system can still be the blame: A signal is routed through
multiple stations before it eventually makes it to the other end and some of
these stations aren't exactly up-to-date standard ESS or above. Older areas
may have older, less sophisticated equipment that is more apt to be affected by
ambient noise. This is one reason some people continue to have noise problems
even after hanging up and calling back multiple times. Also, a given physical
connection at one of these junctions may not be up to snuff. If your
particular bundle of line noise is solved by hanging up and calling back, then
it's probable that you were previously connected through an intermittent or
'dirty' connection. Some of these trunk lines (large, multi-caller 'pipes')
may pass through an area that has a lot of ambient RFI (Radio Frequency
Interference) present although this is not usually the case.
Also, if you have a cordless fone, some other person may be connecting to
you and your cordless fone. I've had this happen before, just after calling
Bell and figuring it out myself. It doesn't pay to buy a cheap cordless. Also
those car fones can emit those nasty waves -- check your neighbors. Steal
all fones for best results.
What else then, if not the fone company? Your home. Most homes have
televisions, radios, microwave ovens, VCR's, and if you are reading this, a
micro-computer. All these devices radiate radio waves that can (and often do)
get into the phone lines and cause noise. Electric motors and mechanical
dimmer controls can introduce noise into the electrical wiring in your house
and cause problems. If your line noise problem does not go away after repeated
hanging up and calling back, then you may be suffering from one of these
household problems. If you are suffering from this problem, you can take steps
to eliminate it. First of all, turn off EVERYTHING, and see if the noise
persists. If it goes away, then start turning things back on, checking the
computer each time until you see the noise start up again. It may be that a
single device is not bugging you but several devices plotting together to annoy
you. This elimination tournament may take awhile.
What else? Check your wiring. If your system looks at all like mine
(with other computer surrounding), you have a mess of wiring interweaving. You
know what it's like, just look back there to see for yourself. It almost
immediately reminds me of fishing wire tangled to infinity. You have to unwind
it all, or you can't go fishing.
If nothing, try using noise supressors on your power connections to both
the PC and the modem (if external). Ribbon cables (especially long runs of it)
are great antennas and will cause problems. Re-route the RS-232 cable so it
does not run next to the PC power supply or any other transformer. Many
'clone' monitors do not have internal metal shielding and can radiate lots of
noise (Ever notice an occasional high pitched whining ring? That's it...).
Make sure the cable does not run near the monitor. If you are particularly
adventuresome, you can line the interior of the monitor with foil and ground it
with a ribbon grounding strap.
If you're lucky enough to live next to an annoying freeway/highway, then
interference from CB radio can present a problem. Many of those beer belly,
coke snorting, no money bum truckers have 100+ watts of power (illegally) on
their CB rigs and frequently have sloppy amplifiers that can emit spurious
radiation all over the radio spectrum. (See box plans: Blotto Box, if
confused.)
Check software, change baud speeds, could be your brand of modem (cheap?),
could be the BBS software (another computer type than yours? commie story),
The modem! Many say that the high the speed transferring your
information, the more prone you are to LN. Not true. Personally, and say
others, back when I switched from 300 to 1200, the LN disappeared completely.
Same happened with me. So, check speeds to see if that does the trick. The
most common transfer rate is 2400 BPS -- which is very reliable, but to some, a
hellish nightmare. Try dropping a bps level. If this helps, it's your modem
(it really pays to shoppe at KMart). The brand of your modem is also very
critical. Shoppe around for a very reliable modem brand name. I have a
Packard Bell 2400 Plus -- and it works excellent. Also try: Robotics, Everex,
Courier, Multitech, and of course Hayes (over priced). But I always hold to
the phobia that anything expensive is going to be worth it -- besides Radio
Shack computer equipment.
Hardware Kantankering: This'll help out the line noise problems by way of
hardware adjustments:
The Bell Linemun are usually stupid when it comes to static. After all,
it can come from ANYWHERE! Bell people will usually charge you also for a
visit, but only if they find something wrong with your equipment.
Throw this thing together in about 10 minutes. And take another five to
adjust the stuff for best results on your worst connection.
Quick Pointers:
1) The pot need not be either 5K or audio taper. I used a 10K 15 turn trim pot.
Suggest you use what is handy.
2) I used 2MFD's of capacitance (two 1MFD's in parallel) Two R.S. p/n 272-1055
work fine. Remember that about 90 Volts will appear across red & green at
ring, so the caps should be rated at 100VDC+.
3) I ended up with a final series resistance value (100 ohm + pot) of 2.75K.
I speculate that one could probably use 2MFD and a fixed 2.7K resistor and
do the job 90% of the time. The adjustment of the pot is not very critical.
Changes of +/- 1K made little difference in the performance of the circuit.
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For more help on LN (Line Noise), read Mike McCauley's: Modem Noise
Killer (alpha version).
Also, try a static box. In theory, it keeps the voltage on you line
stable to reduce garbage/static. Schematics may be found around the BBS
community.
:::: Information Written by The Sensei / TSR Editor ::::
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CCCP EXPERIENCES "COMPUTER CRIME": TSR (log.d 8\1)
... In Moscow, the first All-Union Conference on Social and Legal Issues
of Information Science has begun. It is being conducted by the USSR State
Committee for Computers and Information Science (SCCIS), the USSR Academy
of Sciences, the USSR State Committee on Public Education, and the USSR
Ministry of Justice. When I began discussing this with I. Z. Karas, one of
the conference organizers and chairman of the SCCIS Scientific and
Technical Council's section on computer-science norms and laws, I didn't
realize that we were speaking of "computer crime."
"Legally, it would seem that there is no such thing in our country,"
said Ilya Zinovyevich, "but in fact, it does exist and is growing. We
cannot close our eyes to this fact."
I. Karas is the Chairman of the Board of the Informatika <Information
Science> Union of Cooperatives, which was created in November, and one of
whose goals is to assist domestic programming. Ilya Zinovyevich spoke of
something he knows well, something that requires urgent action. Let me clarify.
"You are obviously referring to the recently publicized incidents of the
dangerous computer disease having to do with 'computer viruses,' right?" I
asked.
"That is an extremely serious matter, but it is only part of the
'computer-crime' problem. By the way, in terms of its consequences, I would
say that what happened at one Soviet enterprise, when an unscrupulous
programmer input an 'infected' program into a computer and disrupted
control of a production process, is comparable to an act of sabotage. But
while people stand trial for intentional sabotage of equipment, in cases of
this kind our laws have proven practically helpless. The programmer got a
suspended sentence, which, in my opinion, is laughable compared to the
damage done. In the US, by contrast, such actions are punishable by a fine
of up to $10,000 or a jail term of up to 10 years. ...
"In the USSR today, the information-science situation is this: Total
anarchy rules, there is no copyright, and, for all intents and purposes,
there is no recognition of property rights where programs are concerned.
They are universally pirated, but for some reason we see nothing wrong in
that. If a disk worth 500 rubles, with a program worth 100,000 rubles
written on it, is stolen, the thief will be tried only for the theft of the
disk itself. The following harmful practice also exists: On leaving an
enterprise, a specialist often destroys a program that he has written and
then proceeds to sell it to another organization. This is a clear case of
unearned income. If, for example, only the program is lifted, has there
been no crime? That's wrong! With the development of cheap duplicating
equipment, the problem has taken on special urgency. One and the same
program gets repeatedly sold and resold as a new one that has just been
developed. We need a psychological breakthrough where computer information
is concerned. And as long as we do not officially recognize rights to it in
the same sense that we recognize rights to tangible products, we will not
be able to deal normally in it, and computerization in the country will be
impeded. ...
"In my view, the USSR presently needs at least 10,000 lawyers in the
field of computer law. As yet, there are very few such specialists.
Computer forensics is also needed." ...
:::: Information Provided by Vlady-wire ::::
:::: Originated from USSR, Moscow, by way of Galaxy Link ::::
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MORE MORRIS JR. MOORINGS: TSR (log.d 8\1)
The Justice Department is expected to announce that it will file felony
charges against Robert T. Morris Jr, who allegedly concocted the computer
worm that penetrated and shut down some 6,200 computers on the Internet
network in Nov 1988. Morris will likely be charged under provisions of the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, which makes it a felony to 'access a
federal-interest computer without authorization,' or to 'prevent authorized
use of any such computer information.' The virus cost nearly $100 million
in lost computer time and manpower that was used to purge the worm and
restore the network's functionality.
Robert T. Morris Jr. is being indicted the week of Jul 20, 1989 in US
federal court in Syracuse, NY, with violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse
Act of 1986. Morris is the alleged author of the computer virus, or worm
program, that infiltrated the national Internet computer network beginning
on Nov 2, 1989. He is the first defendant in a federal prosecution of a
computer crime involving a virus or worm and his is the first case under
the 1986 law. The law makes it a felony to intentionally access a federal
interest computer without authorization. Morris allegedly paralyzed up to
6,200 university and military computers and caused substantial damage with
a worm released from Cornell University.
:::: Information Provided by Stall Ecklhouse / 615 ::::
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EXTENDER BENDER V2.0 & C.C. CHECKSUM GENERATION KIT TSR (t.p.v 8\24)
UPDATES/ADDITIONS FOR APPLE USERS:
Extender Bender V2 is no ready, and available. Look for it everywhere.
Also, Viper is sending out a Credit Card Checksum Generator Kit, much like
Scourges quick generic IBM CC Checksum Generator. Both are no here!
Here's what Viper posted on Radio Waves, 612-639-1053...
C R E D I T C A R D C H E C K S U M G E N E R A T I O N K I T
For The Apple II
Written By The Phantom Viper
Based On Information By Dr. Cyclops And The Alias
Part C Of Hayes Hacamatic ][, The Next Generation
Create Validly Checksumed Credit Card Numbers
Verify Credit Card's Authenticity
Okay, there are two uploads of this up, on the IBM systems. One file is
11264 bytes long. Check-it out.
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CI; AT&T, AMEX TELCOM, INFO PROCESSING SERVICE: TSR (g.md 8\1)
Call Interactive is a new joint venture company of American Express
Information Services Company (ISC) and AT&T. Call Interactive provides a
telecommunications and information processing service that enables thousands of
callers to participate simultaneously in marketing and entertainment programs.
The service combines ISC's patented interactive technology and
telemarketing and data processing expertise with AT&T's call-handling capacity
and customized audio response capability.
"Call Interactive will allow businesses to use 800 and 900 telephone calls
for direct sales, market research, contests, audience participation in
broadcasts, and many other applications never before possible," said Ric
Duques, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISC.
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FONVIEW ALLOWS HACKS TO ANALYZE FONE BILLS: TSR (g.md 8\1)
Compucom Communications Corp. and US Sprint have signed an agreement
for the introduction of what they claim is a telecommunications first: an
intelligent fone billing system using PC based technology.
The new state-of-the-art billing option, designed by Compucom, eliminates
the need for many costly resources previously required to analyze fone calls
and expenses. The new US Sprint product named "FONVIEW," has been adapted from
Compucom's software and production services entitled SMART BILL, for which a
patent application is being prepared. US Sprint expects to introduce this
optional service during the third quarter of this year.
Upon enrolling in Sprint's program, customers will receive a user-friendly
software diskette containing all of the programs necessary to analyze their US
Sprint fone bill, which will also be provided on an IBM PC compatible
diskette. The software will enable users to analyze all or selected parts of
their fone bill and view the data on their PC screen, in report form, or via
graphic displays.
Standard, menu-driven reports, including call distribution patterns, are
provided along with ad hoc report capabilities. Call detail can be downloaded
to various electronic spread sheets. The system also provides 12 months of
historical cost and usage data in report and graphic format. Users can
analyze data by such variables as area code, point of origin, department
number, time of day, and geographic range, to name a few.
Since the late 1800's, fone bills have been provided on paper.
In recent years, as an adjunct to paper bills for companies making
thousands of calls per month, long-distance call record detail has been
provided on magnetic tapes. Analyzing magnetic tapes requires access to
mainframe computers, costly computer programs and personnel. "FONVIEW"
effectively eliminates this need.
Neither Hardy nor Sprint would disclose the terms of the agreement except
to say that it covers a wide range of services over a minimum three year
period. Compucom is a mainframe-based computer service bureau specializing in
fone billing systems and software, fone traffic analysis and network
organization design services.
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::::::::::::::::::::::: SYNDICATE REPORT BRIEF NOTES :::::::::::::::::::::::
// Cellular Fone Sets Off Alarm //
A call placed to a portable cellular fone carried aboard an airplane
apparently triggered the plane's electronic smoke alarm, forcing the Northwest
Airlink plane to land in Columbus, Ohio. Federal Aviation Administration
officials investigated, and sent the plane on its way after discovering the
cellular phone, the FAA said. Nine people were aboard the commuter flight.
:::: Information Provided by Techno-Todd / 718 ::::
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// Navy Lofts 10 Satellites //
General Dynamics Atlas rockets will loft 10 Navy communications satellites
into orbit in the early 1990s, the company said Tuesday. Manufacturer Hughes
Aircraft Co., said the first would be ready for launch in 1992. The satellites
are designed to be part of the Navy's worldwide communications network, and are
intended for delivery to orbit by the space shuttle or other launch vehicles.
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// Sharks Like FO //
For all its high technology, speed and convenience, fiber optics has one
unexpected disadvantage contributing to recent optical cable problems: fiber
optics attracts sharks. Engineers on two undersea cable projects have reported
the problem, and have had to take extra steps to ensure the cables against
damage. Why the cables trigger sharks' appetites remains unknown.
(For more information, see TSR Information Transmittal #7, on Sharks and Fiber
Optical Cables)
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::::::::::::::::::::::::::: TSR Vocabulary Tonic ::::::::::::::::::::::::::
What "Vocab. Tonic" is, is a list of acronyms and definitions to help
education the ignorant hacker. With an extensive vocabulary, there is
virtually nothing one can't learn. Study on...
BANCS - Bell Admin. Network Communications Systems. This provides equipment
for the flow of information between terminals, computers, and
operators.
DK - Dead Kennedies (j/k), actually: Data Link. A voice-frequency
signaling path use (loops) and transfers switch commands
between data links (i.e. digital interfacing made easy.)
LCAMOS - Loop Cable Admin. & Maintenance Operations System. This systems
collects and analyzes cable trouble indicators, and activity.
If you break into FO lines, this is the system that takes care of
the trouble reports.
PICS - Plug-in Inventory Control Sys. This monitors inventories of
CO (Central Office) equipment. If you steal anything, check with
this service to erase it from the face of the earth. No trace.
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::: TSR "Quote of the Month" ::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Pray to the Lord Above, Ask and ye shall usually receive. Even
ye phreaks and hacks." -Shadow Hide 1976
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TSR will accept additional sponsor/support Systems. If you have a certain
interest in the Report, and wish to provide support to TSR -- Leave your BBS
number -- and any other information on RADIO WAVES Bulletin Board Systems.
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F O N E C O N S P I R A C Y I I I
R A D I O W A V E S
6 1 2 - 6 3 9 - 1 0 5 3
Logon: RW Pass: RADIO
- The Syndicate Report Support -
- Bulletin Board Systems -
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This concludes this Transmittal No. 25
(Part 1 of 2)
Released September 20th, 1989
by The Sensei
Editor of The Syndicate Report
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