8bitfiles.net/archives/archives.tar/archives/genie-commodore-file-library/Listserv/L070296.TXT

Text File | 2019-04-13 | 19KB | 483 lines

There are 8 messages totalling 460 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. On-line banking (2)
  2. CSX01/QWKIE questions
  3. csx01/qwkie Question (2)
  4. fidonet  << Internet (2)
  5. LYNX's "Save File to Disk" Option

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Tue, 2 Jul 1996 21:20:30 -0500
From:    "<Guliamo> <Cappucci>" <[e-mail]>
Subject: On-line banking

CO>     Last night I was surfing the net (64-style) and I came across my bank,
CO>     on-line!

CO>     The home page touted their on-line banking options.  I looked around,
CO>     saw a place to enter a social security number and a password.  I, of
CO>     course, did not have a password, so I figured all I needed to do was
CO>     to contact customer service and get set up.  Before I knew it (I
CO>     thought), I'd be getting balances and doing transfers on-line!  :-)

CO>     But (we, all KNEW there was a big "BUT" coming) when I called customer
CO>     service (being the computer LITERATE people the are, hehe) they
CO>     insisted that I could not bank on-line with them unless I was using
CO>     Netscape.  I stated that I received a SS# and password prompt, and
CO>     was, thus, ABLE to access on-line banking w/out Netscape.

CO>     They were adamant about it, citing "encryption" reasons for me not
CO>     being able to access this info via my ISP.

CO>     True to C= form, I don't believe a word of it.  :-)

CO>     I am certain that all I need is a bank-given password, and I'm in!

CO>     I did get the customer service rep to send me the free software, in
CO>     hopes that the materials will come with a password.  IF so, ta-da!

CO>     Has anyone out there had the same (or similar) experiences?

CO>     What recommendations can you give?  Is there some sort of info I need
CO>     to give them to get them to set me up, despite their party-line
CO>     understanding?  :-)

CO>     Thanks to all!

CO>     Chris McLeod
CO>     *:-

B

 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF HACKING.... However you will be required to
break the encryption program which they have devised... It will be
included with your startup software. Also be advised that they have
defensive measures to seriously hinder your efforts...including viruses,
power spikes, etc....

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 07:24:40 -0500
From:    David Meads <[e-mail]>
Subject: CSX01/QWKIE questions

CO>[B>1)  How would I set up to use 2 drives (useful for files that are
CO>CO>greater than half a disk side)?  I have tried to put drive 1, unit #9,
CO>CO>but the program came back with a "74, drive not ready" error message.

CO>CO>2)  Many options are addressed for the QWK module on the bbs (it's
CO>CO>OLMS), such as creating message indexes, toggling new file scan, opening
CO>CO>screens, system news, etc.  Are any of these necessary for the file to
CO>CO>be usable, or is it just a disk space waster?

CO>CO>3)  Is there something that shows on print or in a text file just what
CO>CO>everything's supposed to look like when I do the qwk stuff right?  No
CO>CO>one here in the area seems to want to bother with the qwk stuff except
CO>CO>me...

CO>CO>de Hat           [e-mail]

CO>   you can open the drive....locate jumper "1" and cut it...this will
CO>make the drive's address #9. Usually the jumper is right next to Jumper
CO>"2". As far as the location of the jumpers...that varies from drive to
CO>drive...Also, if you are any good at soldering you can solder a switch
CO>on the jumper, thus allowing you to quickly change the address of the
CO>drive.

The second drive has been hard-wired to be device #9...all I need is
what to put so the CSX01 program will see it.

de Hat

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 07:29:42 -0500
From:    David Meads <[e-mail]>
Subject: csx01/qwkie Question

Gaelyne...

I will try the "drive 0, unit 9" option...and as I have stated in an
earlier reply, my second drive is hard wired device 9.

Will try to get the WWW info, but due to my work schedule I don't know
if I can get to the library anytime soon...still not on a Lynx capable
ISP...yet.

Thanks...that may have been the thing I need to get it done!

de Hat     aka Dave

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 09:53:58 -0500
From:    Aaron Baugher <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: On-line banking

   Date:         Tue, 2 Jul 1996 21:20:30 -0500
   From: "<[e-mail]> <Cappucci>" <[e-mail]>

   CO>  Last night I was surfing the net (64-style) and I came across my bank,
   CO>  on-line!

   CO>  The home page touted their on-line banking options.  I looked around,
   CO>  saw a place to enter a social security number and a password.  I, of
   CO>  course, did not have a password, so I figured all I needed to do was
   CO>  to contact customer service and get set up.  Before I knew it (I
   CO>  thought), I'd be getting balances and doing transfers on-line!  :-)

   CO>  But (we, all KNEW there was a big "BUT" coming) when I called customer
   CO>  service (being the computer LITERATE people the are, hehe) they
   CO>  insisted that I could not bank on-line with them unless I was using
   CO>  Netscape.  I stated that I received a SS# and password prompt, and
   CO>  was, thus, ABLE to access on-line banking w/out Netscape.

   CO>  They were adamant about it, citing "encryption" reasons for me not
   CO>  being able to access this info via my ISP.

    WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF HACKING.... However you will be required to
   break the encryption program which they have devised... It will be
   included with your startup software. Also be advised that they have
   defensive measures to seriously hinder your efforts...including viruses,
   power spikes, etc....

I've got a little more time today, so I can get more long-winded about
this... :-)

If they're saying you just need Netscape (plus a password), then there
are no viruses, power spikes (?), or anything like that to hack.  Most
likely you're dealing with two levels of security: X.509
authentication and SSL encryption.

X.509 authentication is pretty simple - the server requires you to
enter a username and password that match a pair in its database before
allowing your browser access to a particular directory on the server.
However, the username and password that you enter in the browser are
passed in plaintext to the server, so this is pretty minor security.
You might use this to limit access to your pirate software site, but I
wouldn't try to protect national secrets with it.  Every browser I've
used, from lynx to Netscape, will do X.509 authentication.

SSL encryption is much more serious.  Where normal httpd servers run
on port 80, SSL-enabled servers reside on port 443.  When you connect
to an SSL-compliant server, all communications between client and
server are encrypted with an encryption key provided by the server.
These keys are certified by a Certificate Authority, like Verisign (or
you can become your own CA).

Once the client gets the key, and acknowledges the Certificate that
backs up its authenticity, all further communication is encrypted with
the key.  These keys can be from 40-128 bits; serious encryption uses
128 bits, as anything less than that is considered relatively
crackable.  The encryption schemes are patented, so there are some
export restrictions outside the US, but I think most of that has been
overcome.

Once you've established an encrypted connection, your
username/password for X.509 can be passed safely to the server,
ensuring that noone can grab it with a packet tracer and get into your
bank account.

Yesterday I said that Netscape was the only browser that will do SSL;
since then I've discovered that there are patches for Lynx for it.
I'll probably be trying them soon; I'll report back here how they
work.

Aaron
--------------------------------------------------------
 Aaron J. Baugher          http://www.bcl.net/~abaugher
 Software Engineer                     [e-mail]
 Basic Communications, Ltd.              _Roark_ on IRC
--------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 14:55:47 EDT
From:    [e-mail]
Subject: csx01/qwkie Question

To: [e-mail]

G'day,


 CL> The second drive has been hard-wired to
 CL> be device #9...all I need is
 CL> what to put so the CSX01 program will see it.

That's easy.  A lot of people who have to use CSX01 to dissolve their
mail packets never SEE the program, because they use a utility that
does it for them and then loads QWKie or QWKRR after dissolving the
mail.

Suggestion:  download the file NZP12817.SFX from ccnga.uwaterloo.ca -
it's in the  /pub/cbm/util128  directory.


Now, don't panic just because it has "128" in it's filename.

Within the archive are two gems for C64 users.

The first is a program called QPE.BAS -- when you run it and set it up,
it will resave itself as just "QPE", which is what you will load and
run to dissolve your mail.   Put the program on the same disk as you
have CSX01.  Run QPE and tell it which drives/partitions the different
files are or will be put during the dissolving process, plus all the
other relevant info.

The second gem for C64 users is a boring looking file that you don't
load and run.  It's unzip4.ml  -- put this on the same disk as QPE and
CSX01, and when/if you have a mail packet that is Zipped with PKZip
1.x, the QPE program will automatically use the ML program to unzip
your mail.  :-)

The nice thing about QPE is that it determines how your mail packet was
archived and automatically chooses the correct program to use to
dissolve the mail, and since you set it up with all your devices
defined and this gets saved, you only have to run this program to
dissolve the mail and it loads and runs your mail reading program.
It makes things MUCH easier.

If I recall, NZP12817.SFX also has some modules that lets you use your
brand new REU, too.  This means you can dissolve your mail to the REU
if it fits and then use QWKie to read mail from the REU - you'll have
to experiment with this, as I've not played with it much.


Cheers,
Gaelyne



Gaelyne R. Moranec (Gasson)   [e-mail]   //\         /\\
90 Hilliers Rd                                        || * \ . . / * ||
Reynella S.A. 5161    Fido:  1:366/221.128             \\____\X/____//
Australia                    3:800/809.128              / *  /O\  * \
                                                        \__/  "  \__/
WWW: http://people.delphi.com/gaelyne
QWKRR128: http://people.delphi..com/gaelyne/qtoc.html
Genie C= RTC hostess Mondays // IRC: #QWKRR on Dalnet - Thurs 9pm EST
Speaking for myself and not for any publications or other employers.

___ QWKRR128 V4.51 [R]

---
 * Origin: Official QWKRR128 test site (USA) (3:800/809.64)

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 18:22:39 -0230
From:    Adam Vardy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: fidonet  << Internet

Any Fidonetter's out there??

On Mon, 1 Jul 1996 [e-mail] wrote:

> To: [e-mail]
>
> G'day,
>
>  CL> I have been meaning to ask someone this question for a long while.
>  CL> There is no Fidonet access in my area. No BBSs will carry it here.
>
> If you send me an Email and tell me what City/State (or Providence) and
> country you are (and area code would be a big help, too), in I will

No go.  The problem is that I am certain there is no Fidonet access in my
area.  I know that Fidonet is supposed to be widely available, but it is
not here where I live.  I am aware of all the BBSs in my area.  I even
asked the sysop of the most active BBS in my area about it, and he
replied that it simply was too costly to get the Fidonet feed.  I do
believe that Fidonet may have been available here in the past, but it is
not now.

> check the Fidonet nodelist and see if there ARE any in your area. There

I do not live in what you'd call a well populated area.  :(

> may be some you're not aware of.
>
>  CL> But I have been thinking that I have been missing out.
>
> The CBM echos are a nice friendly place.  It is my first place of CBM
> mail and it's where I call "home".

I've heard good things about it since I've started using the Internet.

>
>  CL> A little while ago someone told me he thought that it was possible
>  CL> to access Fidonet through the Internet.  So can I do this?

I looked back at the e-mail message from the guy who told me this.  Kirk
Cowen says that there is a gateway/door to the Fidonet conferences from
any Internet gateway.  That is what he said verbatim.  He wasn't able to
tell me how to do it.  He said he never bothered to check out how because
he already has access to Fidonet from BBSs.

Perhaps someone on Fidonet would know how to do it?  Perhaps someone
would be nice enough to post a message on Fidonet asking how to do it?

>
> There ARE some newsgroups listed that start with "fido." but none seem
> to have any activity.
>
> I am a Fidonet BBS Point (meaning I run a private BBS).  I receive
> Fidonet mail pkts via my Email, but that's not the same as what you're
> asking.  I still have to take the packet and process it before I can
> read the messages.
>
> To keep this topical to CBM content, I'm also an Omni BBS Point and
> receive Omninet mail packets from Brian Bell via Email too.  Same deal
> though.  I have to process the mail before I can read it.
>
>  CL> Can someone tell me how I might be able to access it?
>
> If you can send your info (above) to me, I'll find out if you have
> someplace local to you. Other than that, I don't think you can over the
> Internet.  I *could* put the packet files on an FTP site, but you

That would be right nice.

- Adam

> wouldn't be able to reply to them.  You can read these with Rod
> Gasson's Browser program though.
>
> Cheers,
> Gaelyne
>
>
> Gaelyne R. Moranec (Gasson)   [e-mail]   //\         /\\
> 90 Hilliers Rd                                        || * \ . . / * ||
> Reynella S.A. 5161    Fido:  1:366/221.128             \\____\X/____//
> Australia                    3:800/809.128              / *  /O\  * \
>                                                         \__/  "  \__/
> WWW: http://people.delphi.com/gaelyne
> QWKRR128: http://people.delphi..com/gaelyne/qtoc.html
> Genie C= RTC hostess Mondays // IRC: #QWKRR on Dalnet - Thurs 9pm EST
> Speaking for myself and not for any publications or other employers.
>
> ___ QWKRR128 V4.51 [R]
>
> ---
>  * Origin: Official QWKRR128 test site (USA) (3:800/809.64)
>

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 17:32:11 -0400
From:    Gaelyne Moranec <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: fidonet  << Internet

On Wed, 3 Jul 1996, Adam Vardy wrote:

> > If you send me an Email and tell me what City/State (or Providence) and
> > country you are (and area code would be a big help, too), in I will
>
> No go.  The problem is that I am certain there is no Fidonet access in my
> area.  I know that Fidonet is supposed to be widely available, but it is

Heck, I was in a "remote" area of Australia and it has Fidonet boards.

> not here where I live.  I am aware of all the BBSs in my area.  I even

Ok.  But my offer still stands.

> >  CL> A little while ago someone told me he thought that it was possible
> >  CL> to access Fidonet through the Internet.  So can I do this?
>
> I looked back at the e-mail message from the guy who told me this.  Kirk
> Cowen says that there is a gateway/door to the Fidonet conferences from
> any Internet gateway.  That is what he said verbatim.  He wasn't able to
> tell me how to do it.  He said he never bothered to check out how because
> he already has access to Fidonet from BBSs.

Some BBS's that happen to carry Fidonet have gateways to receive/send
the USENET newsgroups.  It's possible that this is what he meant.  The
only other "gateways" I know of is that some sysops have bypassed
sending mail packets over the phonelines long distance by sending Email
to other sysops.

> Perhaps someone on Fidonet would know how to do it?  Perhaps someone
> would be nice enough to post a message on Fidonet asking how to do it?

Hopefully I'm not the only Fidonet user here on this list -- if no one
else volunteers, I'll ask around.

> > If you can send your info (above) to me, I'll find out if you have
> > someplace local to you. Other than that, I don't think you can over the
> > Internet.  I *could* put the packet files on an FTP site, but you
>
> That would be right nice.

For the time being, there's 3 months worth of the CBM Fidonet echos
sitting at:  hal9000.net.au  in the /pub/cbm/INCOMING directory.

These are in ASCII format and are very large files.  They are intended
for someone that is supposed to pick them up and use them to write an
article in C= Hacking, but there's no reason others can't grab them to
read.  If nothing else, it will give you an idea of the types of CBM
messages and such that pass through Fido.

No guarantees on how long they'll be on there, though as once the person
who is supposed to have the files lets us know they've got 'em, they'll
be taken off, since they are so large.

If, after browsing these, you'd like me to post smaller packet files,
I'd be willing to make them available.

Cheers,
Gaelyne

------------------------------

Date:    Wed, 3 Jul 1996 18:39:00 EST
From:    Christopher McLeod
         <[e-mail]>
Subject: LYNX's "Save File to Disk" Option

     Hello,

     I KNOW that I cannot view JPEG files on my 64 so what I want to do is
     to be able to send those files (while web browsing) to a computer that
     can view them.

     I am trying to think of different ways to do this without having to
     d/l the file to my C= and then forward it (via email) to another
     computer.

     When I select download for a file I get the option to Save File to
     Disk and another option which is something like "Local Computer"
     something or other.  This last option starts a direct download to my
     C=, but the "Save File to Disk" option downloads the file to some
     "mystery" computer, but I have no idea where it saves it to or how to
     access that saved file.

     If I can, indeed, access that file from this "mystery" computer, would
     it be possible for me to forward that file while the file is still in
     the "mystery" computer?

     Thank you in advance!  :-)

     Please send your responses to [e-mail] as I will be away from
     this email address for the 4th of July holiday.

     Chris (Crafty C).

------------------------------

End of COMMODOR Digest - 2 Jul 1996 to 3 Jul 1996
*************************************************



=END=