That would have been 1988 for me. I've been on the internet long enough that I was there pre-WWW days.

I was at 2400 baud, which was blistering fast - but remember paying $1K for a 14.4Kpbs modem. Porn was a thing, there were a lot of porn BBSes in the day. If you were savvy enough you knew how to call anywhere without paying long distance charges.
- TrashPanda

That jump from 300 to 1200 to 2400 to 14.4k . . . and then I think we skipped the 28.8 and went to the 56k modem. With our 10G hard drives and an upgraded 8GB of RAM. Original Nerd Gangsta.

Mitnik was an amateur - he's only famous because he got caught.
- TrashPanda

he got caught before he could become a professional social engineer

Arguably the greatest sketch ever made. RIP Charlie
- AdamFrench

It's still to this day priceless...I laughed just posting that gif and couldn't help but keep laughing whenever I'd scroll by it.

RIP Charlie Murphy indeed

That jump from 300 to 1200 to 2400 to 14.4k . . . and then I think we skipped the 28.8 and went to the 56k modem. With our 10G hard drives and an upgraded 8GB of RAM. Original Nerd Gangsta.
- Monkeypunk

back when computers had the turbo button

That GQ article was bullpoop - stealing long distance was much easier than that. Social engineering is still used today, and is extremely effective. Most people in a corporate setting are afraid NOT to be helpful.

Pizza Pizza was a prime target. If you called them, you just waited for the person on the other end to hang up the phone. If you waited long enough (30 - 60 seconds) you would be rewarded with a dial tone and could dial out - anywhere you wanted. It took them a very long time to figure that one out (and longer to fix) and cost them millions.
- TrashPanda

I've never heard of that one. But you're right. Almost all hacks are some form of social hacking. Decryption is nearly impossible (or insanely time consuming - and I have no experience, just what I've read) these days. You can get out and get sniffers on routers and this and that, but it's way easier to just trick people.

It's not the same, but it is the same - remember the "I Love You" virus? The thought process that made that virus so effective is the same thought process that makes social hacking so easy. People want to be trusting.

That jump from 300 to 1200 to 2400 to 14.4k . . . and then I think we skipped the 28.8 and went to the 56k modem. With our 10G hard drives and an upgraded 8GB of RAM. Original Nerd Gangsta.
- Monkeypunk

My first hard drive was a 120MB RLL unit connected to an Amiga with 1MB (yes, megabyte) of RAM. Those were the days.

he got caught before he could become a professional social engineer
- senstroll

I'm not sure what you mean by this - he was making money at it.

back when computers had the turbo button
- Lucas.Neilson

The funny thing to me is that I tell my kids - who are 9 and 11 - that they can't even fathom what it was like in the 70's - because we were all unconnected without computers, and maybe 5 television stations. The best source of up-to-date news was the radio.

. . and then I think, in 25-30 years, they'll be telling THEIR kids that they can't even fathom what it was like in the 2010s, and I can't imagine where technology is going from here.

I've never heard of that one. But you're right. Almost all hacks are some form of social hacking. Decryption is nearly impossible (or insanely time consuming - and I have no experience, just what I've read) these days. You can get out and get sniffers on routers and this and that, but it's way easier to just trick people.

It's not the same, but it is the same - remember the "I Love You" virus? The thought process that made that virus so effective is the same thought process that makes social hacking so easy. People want to be trusting.
- Monkeypunk

Decryption is shockingly easy. Do you really think that they're letting you have anything that can't be broken?

Decryption is shockingly easy. Do you really think that they're letting you have anything that can't be broken?
- TrashPanda

If you can get the key, it's easy, sure. I remember in one of our applications a developer had instituted 32-bit encryption on credit card data, but he'd left the key in an open code table that everyone could see. But decrypting to figure out the key from the encrypted data seems like a serious process.

If you can get the key, it's easy, sure. I remember in one of our applications a developer had instituted 32-bit encryption on credit card data, but he'd left the key in an open code table that everyone could see. But decrypting to figure out the key from the encrypted data seems like a serious process.
- Monkeypunk

You don't even need the key. With modern hardware it's feasible for folks like us, at the government level it's laughable. You need a skill set that most don't have, but it's possible.

My first hard drive was a 120MB RLL unit connected to an Amiga with 1MB (yes, megabyte) of RAM. Those were the days.
- TrashPanda

I actually think ours was, too. Our first PC was an Apple 2 - with it's glorious 8 colours that you didn't even know you had, because you had a tiny green monochromatic monitor. But I think the HD was external and purchased later . . . .

I used to use the Amiga for Dr. T's music writing. I probably had a hundred 3.5's full of "music".

I learned years later that those 3.5" disks do very poorly at retaining data for 20 years.

You don't even need the key. With modern hardware it's feasible for folks like us, at the government level it's laughable. You need a skill set that most don't have, but it's possible.
- TrashPanda

Decryption is shockingly easy. Do you really think that they're letting you have anything that can't be broken?
- TrashPanda

its been 12 years since I did anything with that stuff (in college), we used rainbow tables to try to crack encrypted passwords..depending on how long and complex they are it can take a long time.. and even with lots of computing power..you might be dead before you get it

its been 12 years since I did anything with that stuff (in college), we used rainbow tables to try to crack encrypted passwords..depending on how long and complex they are it can take a long time.. and even with lots of computing power..you might be dead before you get it
- senstroll

Modern video cards are very good at this.

I remember playing the beta of counter-strike with a 56k modem.

Guys with cable were "cheating" in my book.
- Scabeh

haha D:

back when you could continuously jump on hostages heads as they "followed" you into the air and let you jump on top of the Assault skybox

haha D:

back when you could continuously jump on hostages heads as they "followed" you into the air and let you jump on top of the Assault skybox
- TheMussel

I actually think ours was, too. Our first PC was an Apple 2 - with it's glorious 8 colours that you didn't even know you had, because you had a tiny green monochromatic monitor. But I think the HD was external and purchased later . . . .

I used to use the Amiga for Dr. T's music writing. I probably had a hundred 3.5's full of "music".

I learned years later that those 3.5" disks do very poorly at retaining data for 20 years.
- Monkeypunk

First PC was in 1997: Pentium 233 with a 4gb WD harddrive, 32 MB of ram

My parents were very late adopters of technology... didn't have a TV until I was 10, got my first SNES the year the N64 came out.

First PC was in 1997: Pentium 233 with a 4gb WD harddrive, 32 MB of ram

My parents were very late adopters of technology... didn't have a TV until I was 10, got my first SNES the year the N64 came out.
- TheMussel

This was mine:



No hard drive.

No mouse.

Monochrome.

One 5.25" built-in floppy drive.

Yet it had an amazing piece of software: AppleWorks. Integrated word processing, spreadsheet and database.

IIRC, my parents bought it when I was in grade 9. I used it throughout university.

This was mine:



No hard drive.

No mouse.

Monochrome.

One 5.25" built-in floppy drive.

Yet it had an amazing piece of software: AppleWorks. Integrated word processing, spreadsheet and database.

IIRC, my parents bought it when I was in grade 9. I used it throughout university.
- Atomic Wedgie

The 2c was for fancy pants people! Look at that floating keyboard. It's a work of (frank)ing art.

This was mine:



No hard drive.

No mouse.

Monochrome.

One 5.25" built-in floppy drive.

Yet it had an amazing piece of software: AppleWorks. Integrated word processing, spreadsheet and database.

IIRC, my parents bought it when I was in grade 9. I used it throughout university.
- Atomic Wedgie

This was my first:

The 2c was for fancy pants people! Look at that floating keyboard. It's a work of (frank)ing art.
- Monkeypunk

It had a handle, so you could carry it like a suitcase. Not sure why - because hauling the monitor would be a S.O.B.

But the handle could flip down so that you could prop the body up, so the keyboard would angle.

It really was well-engineered.

I think it's still up at my parents' house.

It had a handle, so you could carry it like a suitcase. Not sure why - because hauling the monitor would be a S.O.B.

But the handle could flip down so that you could prop the body up, so the keyboard would angle.

It really was well-engineered.

I think it's still up at my parents' house.
- Atomic Wedgie

They were really expensive, too. You could buy a new car for what they cost.

They are protected, because they are not endangered but in the high risk category.
- winsix

That's stupid.

It had a handle, so you could carry it like a suitcase. Not sure why - because hauling the monitor would be a S.O.B.

But the handle could flip down so that you could prop the body up, so the keyboard would angle.

It really was well-engineered.

I think it's still up at my parents' house.
- Atomic Wedgie

Aren't retro apple pcs worth some coin?