Re: [oldboys] HAL appetizers to 'socialize'

["rachel baker" <rachel@irational.org>]

Thanks Amy and Mathilde for pre-HAL tech terminology.

I was wondering if youhad any knowledge or opinions on this:-

http://fuckmicrosoft.com/content/ms-hidden-files.shtml

There are folders on your computer that Microsoft has tried hard to keep
secret. Within these folders you will
find two (major) things: Microsoft Internet Explorer has been logging all of
the sites you have ever visited --
even after you've cleared your cache, and Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook
Express has been logging ALL of your e-mail correspondence -- even after
you've erased them from your trashbin. (This also includes all
 incoming and outgoing e-mail attachments.) And believe me, that's not even
the half of it.


> On Mon, 16 Jul 2001, Mathilde muPe wrote:
>
> >
> > About a week ago I dropped some keywords as appetizer for HAL.
> > Some of you would do be better then me in explaining these terms.
> > But some of you might like to have a post HAL clue before getting into
> > tech talk (and maybe even socialize with a genuine geek male/female).
> >
>
> thanks for the post, mathilde - good info. i have a few additions to some
> of your definitions, which i'll tag on here:
>
> > -UTP is nowadays the most common used network cable. Very  important at
> > HAL. There are two flavours; Twisted pair and Straight  As far as I know
> > (tell me if i'm wrong), most hubs (little network box with blinking
lights
> > wired  between computers) like the straight UTP cable to connect to
> > computers. See also http://www.addtron.com/test1/thisted.htm
> >
>
> afaik, UTP cable (also known as the cable you usually use for ethernet,
> sometimes referred to as 10BaseT and/or 100BaseT) is *always* twisted
> pair. that's just to differentiate it from "coaxial" ethernet cable -
which is
> more like the cable used to hook up your VCR or cable TV (but not
identical.)
> coaxial ethernet cable was popular about 5-10 years ago, but you don't see
> much of it now.
>
> however, there are straight and *crossover* UTP cables. the cable is
> twisted pair in either case, but it connects differently to the pins.
>
(http://www.imel1.kuis.kyoto-u.ac.jp/members/kameda/lecture/utp/index-e.html
#ten_s)
> in general, you use straight ethernet cable to connect a computer to a
> hub (or your DSL or cable modem) and crossover to connect two
> computers directly to each other or two hubs directly to each other.
> (however, many hubs have an "uplink" or "crossover" port, so you can just
> connect them with a straight cable.)
> so most users only need to deal with the straight cables; whereas
> sysadmins sometimes have to use crossover cables.
>
> i'm not sure why they'd be talking about this at HAL; is it because
> of the ever-changing standards? i.e. the faster your ethernet goes, the
> better your cable needs to be (cat 5, cat 5e, cat 6, etc.)
>
> > -  nfs =Network File System. Using TCP communication to share partitions
> > of computers like their were at the machine itself. See also
> > http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/NFS-HOWTO/intro.html
> >
> tech note: as i remember it, NFS actually uses UDP, not TCP communication.
>
> but to the non-geek reader, the distinction i've just made isn't very
> important. i'd add to your description that NFS is to unix systems what
> File Sharing is to Macs and PCs. except that typically with NFS, the
> shared drives stay mounted (i.e. "on the desktop" so to speak.) whereas on
> Macs and PCs users generally mount and unmount networked drives as needed,
> with NFS, the sysadmin generally sets the system to mount
> networked drives at boot time. (there are ways around that though, when
> desired.)
>
> btw, why is NFS a hot topic for HAL? it's been around for awhile...
> another standards thing? (NFS3 finally crawling its way into linux, e.g.?)
>
> >
> > - port scanning= Is roaming a computers TCP (communication) ports to
> > find an open door (and using it).
>
> well, not necessarily using it though. this is the big bone of contention
> these days. hackers (meaning inquisitive geeks, not attackers) often
> portscan for curiosity, to learn, to evaluate a service before signing up,
> and most importantly: sysadmins need to portscan their own systems to find
> out what doors and windows are actually open so they can close any that
> shouldn't be - in order to secure their own system. but, various legal
> issues have cropped up, including the inevitable ones by lawyers without
> quite the necessary technical grasp - and thereby the inevitable threats
> of making distribution or use of portscanning tools entirely illegal. and
> thus the controversy:
>
> 1) it seems ludicrous to outlaw scanning ports on ones own system
> 2) more touchy: should this act - checking to see if the door (port) is
> open, be outlawed, if it is just a scan? (as opposed to an actual
> break-in.) while it's true that portscanning often precedes a break-in,
> there are also non-destructive reasons for portscanning, and most geeks
> see illegalizing portscanning as an unnecessary restriction of their
> freedom to be inquisitive.
>
> (also i think both UDP and TCP ports can be included in the definition,
> but again, that's a technical detail.)
>
> > Again some of you might have a far better indept tech topic to
pre-crunch
> > before HAL. My 5c is just a general pick of topics.
> >
>
> i imagine they'll be talking also about issues like restrictions on
> reverse engineering and breaking encryption (such as were spawned in the
> US by the DMCA and made famous by the DeCSS cases which started last year
> - and it seems to spread
> internationally through the power of corporate-controlled law
> enforcement.) the freedom-to-hack is freedom-of-expression issues are a
> real powderkeg these days, so hopefully there'll be some good discussion
> of those.
>
> a brief intro to the DeCSS controversy:
> http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/rulemaker000127.htm
>
> shameless plug for "Naughty Bits: The DeCSS Uncensored Art Show"
> available at http://plagiarist.org
>
> more DeCSS "art" can be found at:
> http://web.lemuria.org/DeArt/
>
> ciao4now,
> -@
>
> --
> plagiarist.org
> Recontextualizing script-kiddyism as net-art for over 1/20 of a century.
>
>
>
>
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