Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site islenet.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!floyd!whuxle!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!noscvax!uhpgvax!islenet!bob From: bob@islenet.UUCP Newsgroups: net.followup,net.micro Subject: Re: BBS Confiscation Message-ID: <469@islenet.UUCP> Date: Fri, 8-Jun-84 02:14:37 EDT Article-I.D.: islenet.469 Posted: Fri Jun 8 02:14:37 1984 Date-Received: Wed, 6-Jun-84 04:12:41 EDT References: <292@ames-lm.UUCP> Organization: Islenet Inc., Honolulu Lines: 26 Kenn Barry asks, > I heard recently that the system-manglers are even attacking >the BBS's! Apparently a number of the local BBS's have been brought down >intentionally by people calling in. Are there any sysops out there who >have encountered this, or heard about it? Yes. The BBS's out here regularly undergo attacks by self-styled "systems crashers". If there are any loopholes in the BBS software that allow the system to be brought down, they will be found. Passwords easily broken, are. Control characters that might create a program interrupt or hang the modem are regularly tried. Stable systems without passwords (Conference Tree clones and some of the RBBS systems) tend to get a surprising amount of pointless obscene messages posted. Messages posting various cracking techniques and phone numbers show up regularly. It takes a considerable amount of time and patience on the part their SYSOPs to keep this stuff pruned off. All sorts of subterfuges and phoney names are tried to obtain passwords. Out of the 1000 or so people out here who use the public BBS's, it seems 1% to 2% of them enjoy trying to mangle systems. -- Bob Cunningham ..{dual,ihnp4,uhpgvax,vortex}!islenet!bob Honolulu, Hawaii