Humble Beginnings

[Bag of Bones]

Hey ive only been into hacking seriously for about a year and I was just wondering how/where everyone else started hacking or learned to.

[EvilMoFo]

a humble begining would have included reading the rules

[Bag of Bones]

I did, how does this post break them? Im not trying to get someone to teach me how, I just want to know how a few veterans got started.

[noid]

I'm not sure which rule is being broken here, seems like a valid question.


Me, I was born a coal miners daughter. I had to put my first computer together out of chicken bones and mud.

[Second]

Me, I was born a coal miners daughter. I had to put my first computer together out of chicken bones and mud.

You too?? Man..I thought I was the only one, except my parents were vegan so I could only use Boca chicken. It wasn't good for bones :(

[Bag of Bones]

I had to put my first computer together out of chicken bones and mud.

Talk about obsolete...

[hackajar]

I just couldn't stop buying computers. Started to buy rack mount ones at one point or another. This started around 94' when I had 1-286 4-386 1-486DX. I knew then that things were probably going to get out of hand in the future (in terms of Cocoo's egg definition of 'hacker').

[highwizard]

Hey ive only been into hacking seriously for about a year and I was just wondering how/where everyone else started hacking or learned to.

I will answer as you as you explain what "hacking seriously" means. What does it entail?

[noid]

Hacking Seriously is a cousin of famous Australian actor Yahoo Serious. His career didnt make it as far as Yahoo's.

But seriously (hah!), I think this is a good question that deserves an honest answer. Since the definition of 'hacking' is vauge I'll give my take on it.

I got into computers in the early 80s. School managed to aquire a few Apple ][ computers and I would come to class an hour early to use them. While still in elementry school I took a course in BASIC programming at the Jr. High where we used C64/128s. Buddy of mine got an Atari (400 I think) and a 300bps modem (acoustic coupler) so we started messing around with the phones. Thats when we discovered things like Tymenet and Telenet (not telnet, telEnet). Started getting connected to BBS' and networked systems and meeting other people. In about 86 my parents finally bought a computer (8086, 640K RAM, 10mb MFM HD) and the following year I got a 1200bps modem. While trying to pick a handle my buddy Sledgehammer suggested 'why dont you call yourself The Noid, you know 'avoid the noid''. The name has stuck since then. Spent most of high school programming and learning networking (Netware 2.x, token ring, IBM PS/2s) and hanging on the local BBS scene. Went to Defcon 1 the summer I graduated from HS.

[Bag of Bones]

I will answer as you as you explain what "hacking seriously" means. What does it entail?

Well I guess it wasnt a full year...In september I took my first computer science course. The language was turing, which really cant to that much usefull stuff. But it was really interesting to script programs. My first attempts at hacks were trying to get the schools administrator account. It was just so tempting (our school has no security programs and our admin still types with 2 fingers, and hes about 80). So I started experrimenting with pwdump and the registry. I am yet unsuccessfull so I am wondering how other people started and what some of their early accomplishments are.

[highwizard]

Well I guess it wasnt a full year...In september I took my first computer science course. The language was turing, which really cant to that much usefull stuff. But it was really interesting to script programs. My first attempts at hacks were trying to get the schools administrator account. It was just so tempting (our school has no security programs and our admin still types with 2 fingers, and hes about 80). So I started experrimenting with pwdump and the registry. I am yet unsuccessfull so I am wondering how other people started and what some of their early accomplishments are.

Do you usually admit to felonies on public forums?

By the way, if that's what hacking is to you, then perhaps you shouldn't flame people like you talked about in this thread.


Edit: Furthermore, the school must have some bit of security in place if you with all your uber-leet skillz were unable to crack the account. I wish I cared enough to help you see the err of your ways, but I really don't.... Maybe CotMan will help you out.

[Bag of Bones]

Well that the only thing that I have actually tried. I never succeded so its not exactly a fealony. I do find other things interesting like phreaking, but that doesnt really count as hacking, does it... I find it very interesting that things can be manipulated remotely.

[Tao_of_pi]

My first attempts at hacks were trying to get the schools administrator account. It was just so tempting (our school has no security programs and our admin still types with 2 fingers, and hes about 80). So I started experrimenting with pwdump and the registry. I am yet unsuccessfull

it took me five seconds to get the admin account in my school, i just guessed. it was:

UserName:SFSD
Password:

I think SFSD stood for "Sioux Falls School District". I don't know why they don't use a password?


To answer your question I took a Programming with Java course my freshmen year, after that i became fascinated with computers. From there i tought my self UNIX Assembly. Then One day I was messing around on a school computer and gained access to my Biology teacher's gradebook (i didn't change anything though), all the sudden I was like "hey, i can hack".

[noid]

Actually thats wrong times two. Not succeeding but trying is just as much of a felony. This is why we have things like attempted-murder and attempted-robbery, you dont have to be successful at your crime to be in trouble for it. In most cases if you were to get prosecuted the judge can sentence you as if you had actually committed the crime, as you had proved your intent to do so. So trying to hack your schools computers is just as bad as actually hacking your schools computers

Now on to phone phreaking. Phone phreaking is hacking. Phones and phone switching networks are facinating things. How they work, what they can do, what they are capable of but dont do, etc. To understand these things at an intimate level, one would have to be a true hacker.

Now, I have a bit of an issue with what you seem to define as hacking. Hacking is not breaking the law. Hacking is not rooting your schools admin box. Hacking is not stealing things or destroying things. Hacking is about exploring and understanding how things work. Its about having such an intimate knowledge tech that you can make things do stuff they arent supposed to, or intended for. Its about being able to engineer your own solutions even if it means getting a soldering iron and a voltmeter. If your idea of hacking is running exploits and rooting boxen, you're on the wrong forum. Maybe that is your idea of what hacking was before you got here, but after being on these forums it'll change, and thats fine too.

[Tao_of_pi]

Well that the only thing that I have actually tried. I never succeded so its not exactly a fealony. I do find other things interesting like phreaking, but that doesnt really count as hacking, does it... I find it very interesting that things can be manipulated remotely.

Phreaking and hacking go hand and hand, ever hear of John T. Draper (a.k.a. Cap'n Crunch). He was hacker but started out phreaking (i think he and a friend called the Pope).