[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [] -----==== ORACLE OF DELOS====----- [] [] [] [] .....Proudly Presents.... [] [] [] [] ---> Crashing Networks... The Causes and Prevention! <--- [] [] [] [] :: SIX WAYS TO KILL OR SAVE A NETWORKS BBS!!!!!!:: [] [] [] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [] [] [] 1) Unauthorized Sysop Access: [] [] -THIS CAUSED BY A USER TYPING IN A PASSWORD THAT [] [] INVOLVES THE NUMBER ONE. (I.E. M1PQ, E1LH, P1TT, [] [] D1SK, ETC.). THESE USERS DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW YOUR [] [] PHONE NUMBER TO RECIEVE ACCESS. AFTER THEY RECIEVE [] [] THE PROMPT: 'INVALID PASSWORD', THEY HAVE GAINED [] [] THE ACCESS THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOUR PASSWORD. [] [] FROM HERE THEY SIMPLY TYPE IN ANY NAME THEY PREFER, [] [] AND FROM THERE THEY ENTER NONE FOR THE TELEPHONE [] [] NUMBER AND BANG, FREE SYSOP ACCESS. [] [] -IT IS CAUSED BECAUSE THE NETWORKS PROGRAM READS [] [] THE FILES AND LOADS THE FILES WHEN M1PQ, OR ANY [] [] OTHER PASSWORD IS ENTERED. NETWORKS DOESN'T CLEAR [] [] OUT THE VARIABLE JUST AS IT DOES WITH A NEW USER. [] [] -THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO ELIMINATE THIS: 1) MAKE THE [] [] USERS ENTER A VALID PHONE NUMBER, OR CLEAR THE [] [] VARIABLE OUT BEFORE ENTRY ONTO THE BOARD. 2) [] [] LOWER THE SYSOP ACCESS AND ONLY VALIDATE HIS [] [] ACCESS BEFORE HE IS GOING TO LOG ON THE BOARD. [] [] 3) JUST CLEAR THE VARIABLE OUT AFTER THE USER [] [] ENCOUNTERS THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ERRORS BEFORE [] [] BEING LOGGED OFF. [] [] -THE WAY THAT I FEEL WOULD BEST SUIT OUR PURPOSE [] [] IS FORCING THE USER TO ENTER A PHONE NUMBER, [] [] THUS CAUSING HIM TO GO THROUGH THE NEW USER PROCESS [] [] AND CLEAR OUT THE VARIABLE. [] [] -I AM SURE THAT MOST OF YOU ARE SAYING TO YOUR- [] [] SELVES, "BIG DEAL" BECAUSE THE USER IS NOT [] [] VALIDATED. IT MAY BE A BIG DEAL ON SOME SYSTEMS [] [] BECAUSE THE USER(HACKER) MAY BE ABLE TO READ SOME [] [] MESSAGES THAT ARE MEANT FOR VALIDATED USERS ONLY, [] [] OR THEY MAY BE ABLE TO GET AN IDEA OF WHO IS ON [] [] THE SYSOP BLACKLIST, JUST FROM THE TITLES. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 2)Crashing with the Library [] [] -ANOTHER WAY NETWORKS CAN BE CRASHED IS BY GOING [] [] TO THE LIBRARY OR THE 'G' SECTION AND TYPING ANY [] [] NUMBER THAT HAS A DECIMAL POINT IN IT. THAT DOES [] [] NOT EXCEED THE MAXIUM NUMBER OF THE MENU. (I.E. [] [] 1.2, 3.2, 4.1, 5.6, ETC.). THIS PROCEDURE WILL NOT [] [] DO ANY DAMAGE, UNLESS THEY TYPE: '1.SYS' AND WITH [] [] THIS AT HAND THEY CAN CAUSE THE COMPUTER TO TRY TO [] [] OPEN A FILE WHICH IS NOT THE PROPER ONE. FROM [] [] THERE IT MAY CAUSE THE COMPUTER TO GO INTO MONITOR [] [] AND WHICH AT THIS POINT, YOU ARE SCREWED. GETTING [] [] BACK ON TRACK, THE FILES WHICH INCLUDE DECIMALS [] [] IN THEM ARE WRITING ONE SECTOR TEXT FILES TO DISK. [] [] CONSIDERING THAT MOST BOARDS RUN ON TWO DRIVES THIS [] [] MAY FILL UP A DISK REAL FAST. [] [] -TO ELIMINATE THIS PROBLEM YOU WILL HAVE TO LOOK [] [] AROUND 10440 TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 3)Crashing with E-Mail [] [] -THE 99E99 TRICK, (WHICH WILL WORK WITH 99E98, [] [] 99E97, ETC). WILL CAUSE THE COMPUTER TO GO INTO [] [] MONITOR IF IT IS DONE ENOUGH. THIS ONLY WORKS IN [] [] E-MAIL SO LOOK FOR THE PROBLEM THERE. WHAT THE [] [] USER HAS TO DO FROM THE MAIN MENU IS THIS: [] [] SEND MAIL? Y [] [] [] [] SEND TO (FIRST NAME): GARBAGE [] [] (LAST NAME): CAN [] [] [] [] IS THIS CORRECT? Y [] [] [] [] GARBAGE CANS LOCKER CONTAINS (0) [] [] LETTERS, SEND LETTER? Y [] [] [] [] ->30 LINES MAX WITH WARNING ON LINE 4<- [] [] ->TO ENTER EDITOR TYPE (/EX)<- [] [] [] [] 1> ENTER GARBAGE HERE [] [] 2> /EX [] [] [] [] -> S)END, F)IX, L)IST, A)PPEND. [] [] WHICH? S [] [] [] [] MESSAGE SAVED. SEND MORE MAIL? 99E99 [] [] [] [] SEND TO (FIRST NAME):KEEP [] [] (LAST NAME):DOING THIS [] [] [] [] -BY THE USER DOING THIS ABOUT TEN TIMES IT WOULD [] [] EVENTUALLY GO INTO MONITOR. [] [] -THIS CAN BE AVOIDED BY ADDING AN ONERR STATEMENT, [] [] BUT WATCH WHERE IT POINTS BECAUSE IF IT POINTS [] [] IN THE WRONG PLACE, IT MAY SCREW UP THE STACK [] [] THUS CAUSING THE USER TO GO INTO MONITOR. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 4)Crashing with Memory [] [] -FILLING YOUR FREE MEMORY IS ANOTHER POPULAR [] [] TECHNIQUE THAT COULD CAUSE YOUR BOARD SOME [] [] PROBLEMS. WHAT THE USER HAS TO DO IS GO INTO [] [] F>EEDBACK WITH THE 8O COLUMN SELECT MODE ON, [] [] AND LEAVING FEW OR NO BLANK LINES, FILL UP [] [] F>EEDBACK UNTIL THE MEMORY IS FULL AND IT THROWS [] [] HIM INTO MONITOR. AGAIN, THIS IS AVOIDED BY THE [] [] ONERR STATEMENT. IT CAN ALSO BE AVOIDED BY LIMIT- [] [] ING THE LENGTH OF YOUR NETWORKS PROGRAM. IN GENERAL [] [] THOSE WITH //e'S OR //+'S WITH 16K CARDS HAVE LITTLE [] [] WORRY. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 5)New User Crashing [] [] -ANOTHER WAY A USER CAN GO INTO MONITOR IS BY, [] [] LOGING IN AS A NEW USER, AND FOLLOWING ALL THE [] [] WAY THROUGH UNTIL PHONE NUMBER. AT THIS TIME TYPE [] [] AN 'O' AND DO THIS ABOUT 8 TIMES. IT WILL KEEP [] [] ASKING FOR A NAME SO JUST KEEP FEEDING IT GARBAGE. [] [] -TO AVOID THIS YOU COULD MAKE 'O' AN INVALID COMMAND [] [] AND FORCE THE USER TO TYPE THE FULL WORD 'OFF'. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 6)Deleting System Files [] [] -A USER CAN DELETE FILES BY INSERTING SPACES BEFORE [] [] A TITLE. THUS BY TYPING NW.USERS .SYS, THIS FILE [] [] FILE CAN DELETED JUST AS ANY OTHER. [] [] -THIS CAN BE AVOIDED BY NOT ALLOWING SPACES BEFORE [] [] A TITLE. (OBVIOUSLY) [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] NOTE: ONCE THE USER HAS PUT HIMSELF IN MONITOR, HE [] [] SIMPLY NEEDS TO TYPE A: ^C. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] 1)Tricks for fun [] [] -BY TYPING THE WORD 'OFF' NETWORKS WILL LOG A USER [] [] OFF ALMOST ANYWHERE IN THE PROGRAM. WHETHER THE [] [] LOGOFF COMMAND HAS BEEN CHANGED OR NOT. [] [] -BY TYPING ^S ^N THE SERIAL NUMBER WILL BE DISPLAYED [] [] ON MOST NETWORK SYSTEMS. [] [] [] [][][][ ORACLE OF DELOS...................(312)/528-7017!][][][] [] [] [] MORE WILL BE ADDED TO THIS LIST AS TIME PASSES ALONG! [] [] [] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [][][][][][][] ORACLE OF DELOS...<312>/528-7017![][][][][][][][] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] << END OF PHILE--CALL AGAIN!!!>> <>!!!! == === == =====--==== =====/!\!! !!====={ === ========== }/\!!!