Comments on: What Not To Do and How Not To Do It

What Not To Do and How Not To Do It

fenriq — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:27:41 -0800

Idiot Tries to Hire Hacker to Change his GPA
Why study when you can just hire a hacker to adjust your GPA to something more to your liking? Or not.
And now an amazing (and scary) amount of his personal information is pwned!

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:34:15 -0800

My school is Texas Christian University. www.tcu.edu The holier they claim they are......

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:37:27 -0800

About as smart as hiring a rapist to help you get into the pants of a girl you like.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:38:27 -0800

too funny

By: dead_

dead_ — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:40:36 -0800

Oh man. I was hoping for more. It ends pretty abruptly.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:40:49 -0800

I assure you no one will ever hear about this from me. I'll take this to my grave. The privacy aspect of this is critical for me.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:43:05 -0800

bonus points for carrier pigeons and rot-26

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:45:30 -0800

Todd Shriber, meet Laura K. Pahl. (Best. Thread. Ever.)

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:46:29 -0800

Any help understanding the in-joke hacker jargon would be much appreciated as I figure some of the technical nonsense is hilarious. For example, what is rot-26 a reference to?

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:47:41 -0800

The Pahl thread was classic.

By: ImJustRick

ImJustRick — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:48:32 -0800

"I hope he doesn't die. I can't HANDLE summer school..."

By: jedicus

jedicus — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:49:46 -0800

rot-26 is a play on rot-13, a crummy but simple encryption method. Rot-13 stands for 'rotate 13.' For each letter in the text you want encrypted, you move it up 13 places in the alphabet (letters past N get wrapped back around to the start of the alphabet). The practical upshot is that (since there are 26 letters) if you apply rot-13 twice you get the original message back. Rot-26 of course is completely useless because you get the original message back the first time it's applied.

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:51:15 -0800

Ha, that's fantastic, jedicus.

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:51:16 -0800

The packet pigeon's a classic too ! Here ack pigeon, here !

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:53:06 -0800

Thanks jedicus, I didn't catch that first time through either and its alot funnier now.

By: musicinmybrain

musicinmybrain — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:55:23 -0800

spicynuts: I see ROT26 has been explained, so here's IP over Avian Carriers.

By: waxboy

waxboy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:59:48 -0800

not bad. reminds me somewhat of shutup i hack you

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:01:10 -0800

That reminds me, my GPA could use some polishing also. Can one of you guys help me out, or should I just post it on Jobs?

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:11:04 -0800

So much hilarity! I can't decide on my favorite bit - though picturing "nascar24_08530" running round his home town, trying like hell to capture a squirrel in front of a building on film with a borrowed camera is especially delightful. I would really love some further news on this caper. Were these fellas just stringing him along for the personal info? Or did they really get busted? What shape is nascar24_08530's credit nowadays? And did he make it into grad school? Has this made the news?

By: dontoine

dontoine — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:21:38 -0800

This pretty much sums it up for me: When the front-end traversals are complete, the back-end injection process should be fairly simple.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:27:41 -0800

The squirrel pic reminds me of this guy. (Story here, for you cave dwellers) Faint of Butt: This technique has proven success for raising GPA.

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:31:19 -0800

Were these fellas just stringing him along for the personal info? Or did they really get busted? Uh, it's completely obvious that they were just screwing with him.

By: Firas

Firas — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:31:39 -0800

EatTheWeak: they were just playing and didn't investigate anything; attrition.org isn't a hire-a-hacker service (frankly I don't think there is such a thing. He was talking about breaking encryption? The whole raison d'etre of using an encryption algorithm is that it's currenly impossible to break.)

Small SQL injection issue merged with XSS shows that the backend database may be either 768-bit encrypted or a simple 3DES matter, but a little more time should take care of that issue. Once the tables are writable to sa, should be ready to jump in and jump out with no problem. One of their systems caught an early sniff, but was shut down with a smurf.

(Emphasis added.) Something I find interesting is how liable people are to fall for notions of 'hacking into systems' being a Neuromancer-type process of actually avoiding detection techniques and physically shutting things down like you were sneaking into a building, etc. You just can't 'shut down' most logging systems because they're built into the way the system operates, it's not like shooting up a security camera. Anyone see what I'm getting at?

By: quin

quin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:45:14 -0800

I find myself constantly underestimating the stupidity of people attempting to be criminals. Shriber should consider himself fortunate if all he got was publicly shamed by this. If the people at attrition.org wanted to, they could have easily sent the whole mess to the FBI. Also Rot-26. Genius.

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:49:17 -0800

Firas - i figured. Another especially wonderful bit was the "picture everything you've seen in the movies, but better"

By: Terminal Verbosity

Terminal Verbosity — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:50:48 -0800

Something I find interesting is how liable people are to fall for notions of 'hacking into systems' being a Neuromancer-type process of actually avoiding detection techniques and physically shutting things down like you were sneaking into a building, etc. So wait. In Hackers, when Angelina Jolie hacks the Gibson and finds the garbage file in a tall column of light...that's not how it works?

By: delmoi

delmoi — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:59:42 -0800

So wait. In Hackers, when Angelina Jolie hacks the Gibson and finds the garbage file in a tall column of light...that's not how it works? Actually there was one scene in hackers that showed the 'crew' in time laps just sitting at computers for several days. Here at Iowa State there's a class called Information warfare which is all about hacking. The teacher does something called ISEAGE where people get together, a network is setup and "black hats" try to get into systems setup by "white hats"

By: thekilgore

thekilgore — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:04:43 -0800

*golf clap*

By: The Power Nap

The Power Nap — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:08:50 -0800

Back in high school I guess I was what passes for a hacker. My english teacher had a computer in the lab he used for keeping track of our grades and stuff. Well, he decided that using his last name was the bestest password in all of creation so it took me all of one attempt to get into it. Now while I was a teenage jerk, I did have some ethic and didn't think about changing my grades. Though I was tempted to fail out some people I didn't like. No, I took the high road and changed his password to something more secure, I just forgot to notify him about it. As a postscript, the librarian caught me circumventing the nanny software and changing the system colors to some garrish tones on some of the other computers, and I was conscripted to the position of student lab tech. Nothing like forced responsibility to make a young mind think.

By: Kloryne

Kloryne — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:17:10 -0800

Awww, I wanted more! That was great.

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:19:03 -0800

that rot-26 stuff will get you every time ...

By: setanor

setanor — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:32:14 -0800

There's more...

By: psmealey

psmealey — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:42:17 -0800

This was a great story, and the guy deserved to be screwed with a little bit, but that's just mean.

By: No Mutant Enemy

No Mutant Enemy — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:44:39 -0800

768-bit encrypted - serious stuff. I didn't realise there were that many.

By: chinston

chinston — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:48:04 -0800

Hmm. Interesting follow-up, but dude seems a little too unconcerned for knowing that the entire correspondence is posted on the web.

By: jfuller

jfuller — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:49:31 -0800

> rot-26 is a play on rot-13, a crummy but simple encryption method. Perhaps worth pointing out: the main reason for rot13's existence is to make particular text not instantly readable, in case some people don't want to read it by accident. For instance, posting spoilers on usenet in rot13 form was a common courtesy, for those who might not want to find out about the ew-ew-ew guerrfbzr vaibyivat Urezvbar, Evgn Fxrrgre, naq Fvevhf nf n qbt on some dorky message board before they see the movie.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:55:02 -0800

Very funny, but I see a future for this little exchange beyond just amusing people on the internet. Here's my idea, for all you aspiring "How to Pick Up The Opposite Sex Even Though You Have a Major in CS for Dummies" writers: after all the more generally applicable but somewhat negative chapters about hygiene and presentation (who wants to hear that they have to change?), you give them an unstoppable weapon that makes (ab)use of their chosen craft: making shit like this up to romanticize a life of digging through compiler errors at 4 am fueled only by Bawls and an impotent self-hatred. After all, who couldn't resist being told on a date the story about the time you dropped in the DoD's backend and a perimeter scan showed multiple traceroutes closing in fast until you shut them down with a smurf? I think it's a technique that's liable to get you ravaged right there in the restaurant or movie theater, whether you're a man or a woman. Of course, it only works on people who, by virtue of having chosen a life less masochistic, have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I'm not bitter, I promise.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:56:20 -0800

jfuller, is there an easy to translate it? The follow up is a bit over the top but thanks for adding it, setanor.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:58:54 -0800

fenriq, this is probably the easiest rot13 decryption method around.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 11:59:38 -0800

Oh, and Qnegu Inqre vf Yhxr'f sngure!

By: DakotaPaul

DakotaPaul — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:05:06 -0800

http://www.rot13.com/

By: DakotaPaul

DakotaPaul — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:05:33 -0800

d'oh!

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:14:06 -0800

invitapriore: no, I understand. An unforseen consequence of career choice is that I have absolutely no good stories from work.

By: fleetmouse

fleetmouse — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:14:14 -0800

Plunging further into derail: rot13 (and others) extension for Firefox.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:15:01 -0800

Interesting follow-up, but dude seems a little too unconcerned for knowing that the entire correspondence is posted on the web. I can only assume that he thinks that only he can see it.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:26:32 -0800

Hm, same Todd Shriber?

By: chinston

chinston — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:06:15 -0800

Maybe someone can i.d. the squirrel in the photograph. Or the trees. Squirrelus washingtoniensis suburbus? Doesn't look what I'd imagine Montana to look like, but what do I know.

By: Horace Rumpole

Horace Rumpole — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:33:19 -0800

Having checked the Congressional Yellow Book, I can confirm that the Todd Shriber who is Congressman Rehberg's spokesman did graduate from TCU in 2000 with a BS (of course!). Obviously, that is not proof that the emailer really is who he claims to be. But it is intriguing nonetheless.

By: trueluk

trueluk — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:52:04 -0800

According to TCU's site, he was also a staff reporter for their paper, and a Sig Ep. But is this the same guy? There's only one way to find out for sure, let's give him a call: Todd Shriber (Rehberg) - 202-226-9973 / todd.shriber@mail.house.gov via http://burns.senate.gov

By: mr_roboto

mr_roboto — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:53:52 -0800

Horace Rumpole writes "Obviously, that is not proof that the emailer really is who he claims to be." To confirm the ID, maybe the folks at Attrition can do a reverse TCP IMAP lookup trace. Republicans: unethical and stupid.

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:56:04 -0800

You just can't 'shut down' most logging systems because they're built into the way the system operates, it's not like shooting up a security camera. Anyone see what I'm getting at? Everything I learned about computer hacking I learned from the two System Shock games. You're saying it's nothing like that?

By: AsYouKnow Bob

AsYouKnow Bob — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 16:33:11 -0800

mr_roboto: To confirm the ID, maybe the folks at Attrition can do a reverse TCP IMAP lookup trace. An easier way would be to just call Todd and ask him to send a picture of a squirrel on Capitol Hill.

By: mulligan

mulligan — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:46:04 -0800

He has admitted he tried to hire hackers

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:56:42 -0800

what a dumb fuck

By: bruce

bruce — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 22:20:04 -0800

summa cum laughing

By: quin

quin — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 23:16:16 -0800

After reading mulligan's very informative link, I can see only two courses of action for the criminal wannabe that is Shriber. Either living off the grid, attempting to not draw attention to his manifest stupidity, or running for public office. I mean, with this guys gall, he could one day be our President. And wouldn't that be fun?

By: nofundy

nofundy — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:27:29 -0800

At least this one actually had a degree. Unlike so many other GOP staffers who obtained positions solely on their ability to work campaigns and stuff resumes.

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:45:08 -0800

Holy smokes, mulligen.. Best punchline evar!

By: cortex

cortex — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:00:09 -0800

Wow. Nice followthrough.

By: scalefree

scalefree — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:09:43 -0800

Computer security is an odd field, full of folks that many people think have a low sense of ethics but actually have a highly developed personal sense of right & wrong that prohibits them from doing many "bad" things they could very easily get away with. If I wanted to go truly blackhat I could use my skills to make lots of money illegally or acquire significant amounts of power. I think the more I understand how fragile & vulnerable the systems we use are, the more I want to protect them & not abuse them. Jericho's an old friend of mine & I think he sees it the same way. Too many people think "hacker" & go for the stereotype of a base criminal driven by greed or ego.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:06:39 -0800

Hahaha, this guy was a congresssional staffer.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:22:04 -0800

time laps yes. yes, it does.

By: beowulf573

beowulf573 — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:25:05 -0800

Emphasis on the was.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:46:09 -0800

Horace Rumpole writes "Todd Shriber, meet Laura K. Pahl.
"(Best. Thread. Ever.)" Why thank you.

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 17:52:06 -0800

dirtynumbangelboy, that was one of the very best, and perhaps the very, very best, ever thread on MeFi! Thank your for that.

By: caddis

caddis — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:33:04 -0800

"you", not "your.'

By: Ayn Marx

Ayn Marx — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:44:29 -0800

As first seen on Reddit. http://reddit.com/info/vm6p/comments When swiping content without attribution, at least change the title.

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 01:14:13 -0800

Ayn, your concerns will be acknowledged when you start posting some content. Frankly, no one credits Reddit, or Digg. Presurfer or Neatorama or some other site built with love, they get credit, Fark, Reddit and Digg just don't.

By: Ayn Marx

Ayn Marx — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 16:32:47 -0800

Ayn, your concerns will be acknowledged when you start posting some content. Wow, it's all up to me? How much content do I have to post? More than I have already, I gather. Scary to think I'm responsible for other's scruples. Frankly, no one credits Reddit, or Digg. Presurfer or Neatorama or some other site built with love, they get credit, Fark, Reddit and Digg just don't. Nice attitude. Now I don't feel so bad that I post all my content to Reddit. Plus, I can freely glom from MeFI with a clear conscience. Merry Christmas!

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 20:03:57 -0800

When swiping content without attribution, at least change the title. a link is not content welcome to the internet ... please learn how it works

By: Ayn Marx

Ayn Marx — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:35:24 -0800

> welcome to the internet ... please learn how it works Too funny!