Articles

• FloodFAQ 2.0 •

That's right, FloodFAQ 2.0 is complete!  Instead of throwing the pages and pages of text into Docmaker, I set up an html version for all of you that are interested:

http://www.ntbbs.org/ntbbs/emc/floodfaq/

You probably also noticed that the file itself is included in the EMCVol10.sit archive.

Enjoy!

-Freakman

• MacWorld Exposition 1997 - Show Report •

This year's show had a strong military atmosphere. People wearing camouflage and flak jackets strolled about the show, communicating on their hands-free radios. I followed these strange mac-commandos until I found where they were coming from, the Power Computing booth. With a booth almost as large as Apple Computer, Power Computing stole the show. 

After asking around, Cuahtemoc, Cowboy, and I were given permission to ride in the Power Computing Hummers driving around outside the show. We saw one, waved it down, and jumped in it in the middle of traffic. The Hummers are very capable vehicles. The Power Computing employee driving it showed us how it was able to drive up onto curbs and corner at high speeds. He also demonstrated how to push other cars out into traffic, deflate and inflate the tires while moving, and use the loudspeakers mounted on top of the car. The Hummer's most impressive capability was it's braking. While we were driving on a curb, a small, geo metro car pulled out in front of us. The Hummer skidded to a stop, barely missing a chance to run over this speed bump of a car.

Quake was spotted at the MacSoft booth, in the far corner. Curiously, nobody was demoing it, and nobody was around checking it out. Upon closer inspection, the copy running was a beta of a demo, which was set to expire January 31. From the looks of it the port is behind schedule.

Next to the MacSoft booth, Bungie was demoing Myth, their newest game. I played a network game of Myth against three other show-goers, it looks like a sure hit. The game was being carefully guarded by Bungie employees, so further inspection was impossible. Myth is far from being finished. Bungie had no release date set, and it crashed often. Bungie also was showing Weekend Warrior, a very bland game. In Weekend Warrior, all you do is go around and hit people. The graphics suck, unless you have a 3D accelerator board.

Nishinden was showing a 40" flat-screen plasma monitor. I was all set to pick mine up until I noticed the $15,000 price tag.

Motorola's booth was exceedingly lame. The only thing that saved them from complete lameness was the fact that they were giving away free shirts.

Apple was showing off their new Emate 300s. These Newtons on a clamshell are amazing! 800 bucks for a killer newton with a keyboard built in. One problem: they will only be available through educational outlets.

Apple's twentieth-anniversary mac, the Spartacus, was on exhibit at MacWorld Magazine's booth. The Spartacus was being carefully guarded under the careful eye of a Rent-a-cop, who explained that "they are giving it away because the colors are whacked."

This year's show was definitely more exciting than previous years. I walked away from the show with eight free shirts, and tons of product literature. If you haven't been to a MacWorld exposition, you're missing out. If you're on the east coast, MacWorld Boston is coming this summer. If you are on the west coast, you will have to wait another year for MacWorld San Francisco.

- c_D

• [∂A∂] - Anarchy 1.0 • 

Anarchy 1.0 is a script for Ircle 2.6bx created by Plugs.  You're looking at the future in Ircle scripting!

This is similar to other scripts and different than other scripts in a few different ways.  Each feature in this script is taken care of by it's own menu/window of configurations.  This gives Anarchy a VERY slick and unique look compared to the other scripts currently being offered for Ircle.  Check out the features:

XDCC Offerror
   /offer -- will bring up a dialog to set all your prefs
   /plist -- will overide the automatic lister and list you files to the channel

 

When you type /offer while online with Ircle, this window will pop up (after you select the offer path) and you can configure your file descriptions, offering time delay, and your target channel for offering.  Note:  future versions will include multi-channel offering support!

Logger Commands
   /alogs on -- will turn the logger on and set you as away

Simply type in your away message, [Anarchy] will display your message to the current channel in this format:
            emcCTCP is away -=- example message -=- messages will be logged

Logger Commands
   /alogs -- will let you view current saved messages and set you back if you wish

As you'll notice, there is a slick looking menu that contains all of your logged away messages with the time/date/message.  You can scroll through your list, clear message by message, or clear all message.  Simply click "Back" when you're done reading your messages and [Anarchy] will let everyone know you're back at your computer!

War Commands
   /flood -- will bring up flood dialog

From this popup menu, you type in the target nick that you'll flood, the number of clones you have online, and which type of flood to use.  This is where [Anarchy] is unique compared to other Ircle scripts--it has VERY EFFECTIVE flooding, and when used correctly, [Anarchy] can be very effective against any type of client.  Read the FloodFAQ 1.5 for more details on flooding with [Anarchy].

[Anarchy] contains the same flooding style that Death 2.1 had, as Plugs was the writer of that script as well.  This is nice however, as you don't have to run a seperate application anymore to flood.  [Anarchy] is also NOTICEABLY faster with CTCP floods and DCC bombs.  If you used Death 2.1, you'll NEED to check out [Anarchy].

My thoughts...

Personally, I'll use this script more than any other, most likely in conjunction with LSD 2.0.  LSD 2.0 is still a different type of script compared to this, only because [Anarchy] does not (yet) have shortcuts for commands on irc.  No big deal, the two of them can easily be used together.

The /plist is VERY clean, no sloppy output to the channel, easy to create descriptions, easy to create new lists, the menus really make this script badass.

Although I'm not a huge fan of auto-away messages, this format is quite cool, and this is the first script that I've seen the abaility to log messages SUCCESSFULLY.

This script is FULL of potential, and I know Plugs will be working frantically to produce a new version as soon as possible.  As mentioned above, the next release will include multiple channel /plist support, among other things.  Kudos to Plugs for very cool ideas on this script, you may find it on EFNet's #emc.

-Freakman

Editor's Note:  Yes, v1.0 is old, the current version of [A]narchy is 1.8 and has a couple new features and bug fixes--the interface is still the same as the featured one above.  EMC Volume #11 will focus on [A]narchy 2.0 by Plugs that'll have a whole new interface and new flooding features!  Also, this works for either Ircle 2.6 or 3.0.

• Cyber Strike •

For those of you wondering about the articles in CA newspapers and online news regarding the latest piracy busts, here's the inside scoop:

 The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided
                          operators of bulletin board services and FTP sites
                          throughout the country today as part of an
                          eight-month investigation into software piracy
                          code-named "Operation Cyber Strike."

                          The raids, which took place in Georgia, Ohio,
                          Florida, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Iowa and
                          California, were aimed at "individuals and groups
                          who have banded together to pass
                          protected/restricted/copyrighted information and
                          commercially copyrighted software," according to a
                          statement released by the bureau.

                          FBI officials did not say whether any arrests have
                          been made.

                          Companies specifically affected by illegal
                          duplication efforts included Microsoft Corp., Sega of
                          America Inc. and Sony Computer Entertainment of
                          America, among others.

                          Sega lauded the FBI sting, saying it had worked with
                          the FBI over the past eight months to help catch the
                          pirates.

                          "Sega aggressively protects its properties and
                          products," said CEO Shoichiro Irimajiri. "We are
                          especially pleased that the FBI has taken this
                          industrywide situation so seriously and dedicated a
                          special team to shutting down this illegal activity."

                          The Software Publisher's Association and the
                          Business Software Alliance also applauded the
                          FBI's actions. 

                          The SPA called the strike a "clear and decisive
                          indication by the FBI ... that illegal duplication and
                          distribution of computer software will not be
                          tolerated by the Federal government, and
                          individuals or groups engaged in pirating software
                          are subject to the full force of the law."

*** Exactly ONE year after this bust:

REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A, 1996 JAN 12 (NB) -- Microsoft Corp. 
(NASDAQ: MSFT) and Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) have announced what 
may be the largest settlement ever in a software piracy case. 
The two software giants said they have reached a settlement with 
Scott Morris, the operator of the computer bulletin board known as 
the Assassin's Guild Bulletin Board Service.  
 
The deal calls for Morris to pay $70,300 in cash and forfeit 
computer hardware valued at more than $40,000. Morris also 
reportedly agreed to assist Microsoft and Novell in their 
continuing BBS investigations.  
 
The Lexington, Kentucky-based Assassin's Guild promoted itself as 
the worldwide headquarters for two large software pirate groups, 
Pirates with an Attitude and Razor 1911.  
 
In April 1995 Newsbytes reported that US Marshals and 
investigators for Microsoft and Novell had raided Morris' 
residence, charging him with illegal reproduction and distribution 
of copyrighted software. Law enforcement officials said the 
Assassin's Guild had been offering hundreds of pirated software 
products for downloading at no charge, including programs 
published by Microsoft and Novell.  
 
US Marshals seized 13 computers, 11 modems, a satellite dish, 
nine gigabytes of online data and more than 40 gigabytes of offline 
data dating back to 1992, according to Microsoft.  
 
Jim Lowe, Microsoft corporate attorney, said online piracy is a 
growing concern for software publishers. Microsoft has often 
announced it is committed to put a crimp in pirate operations.  
 
Both Microsoft and Novell are members of the Business Software 
Alliance (BSA), and industry alliance formed to promote the growth 
of the software industry through education and enforcement 
initiatives. According to Bob Kruger, director of enforcement at 
BSA, the Assassin's Guild settlement sends a strong message to 
pirates. "It sends a clear message to operators of bulletin boards 
who are illegally distributing copyright-protected software that they 
will be investigated and sued, or criminally prosecuted."  
 
Following the raid BSA spokesperson Kim Willard told Newsbytes the 
pirated software on the Assassin's Guild computers included 
Microsoft Windows, Novell Netware, Wordperfect word processor 
software and numerous games and utilities.  
 
Before the settlement was reached Morris faced potential penalties 
that included up to $100,000 in fines and up to five years in 
jail if convicted.  
 
In 1994, the last year for which complete figures are available, an 
estimated $15.2 billion in revenue was lost by the software 
publishing industry as a result of software piracy, according to 
the BSA. the organization estimates that in the US alone 35 
percent of the business software in use is pirated, resulting in 
almost $3 billion in losses to the industry. Loss figures refer to 
the retail value of the pirated software if it were purchased 
legitimately.  
 
The BSA maintains a toll-free hotline to report suspected software 
piracy and also has an e-mail address for that purpose. The group 
can be contacted at 800-688-2721 or software@bsa.org.  
 
Microsoft and Novell also maintain hotlines and e-mail addresses for 
users with questions about the legitimacy of those company's 
products. The Microsoft number is 800-786-3448 or you can send 
e-mail to piracy@microsoft.com.Inquiries to Novell go to 
800-747-2837 or pirates@novell.com.  
 
(Jim Mallory/19960112/Press contact: Greg Shaw, Microsoft, 
206-882-8080 or Ron Barker, Novell, 81-429-7811 or Diane Smiroldo, 
BSA, 202-87-5500/PIRATE960112/PHOTO)  
--
This is the NEW RELEASE of the ClariNet e.News! If you notice any 
problems with the new edition, please mail us at editor@clari.net and 
let us know. Thanks!  More information can be found on our web site at 
http://www.clari.net/ or in clari.net.announce.  
                
Now, let's put two and two together.  The FBI all of a sudden launches this "Cyber Strike" with 9 known people that will be busted, right out of nowhere?  A little *too* smooth for them, might this be related to the tag-bust case that occurred one year earlier?  Most likely.

A few friends notified me that the most recent busts were all PC related piracy rings, which is what "Pirates with an Attitude" and "Razor 1911" are associated with.  How convenient that the SysOp of the tag-bust ordeal agreed to "help" MS and Novell in their BBS investigations.  So, this generally means that he has narced on BBSes that he was on, and now MS and Novell are on these BBSs' asses.  Normally, things like this can take a year to organize, which very much explains the recent busts, and the reported 9 different people that were going to be busted (probably the people that the sysop narced on).

A few people that were running Hotlines asked me whether or not I thought it was safe to openly run one.  Well, no, it's never safe, but if you have it setup correctly, you have the users UPLOAD first before downloading.  That way, anyone "investigating" would theroretically have to upload an illegal file before you would give them the access to leech away.  This question was asked in regards to the Cyber Strike that has been launched, which is really nothing more than a scare.  This recent strike was focused mainly on BBSes in the CA area which are PC-related, according to sources.

-Freakman