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Add ReplyIs Your Son a Computer Hacker?
As an enlightened, modern parent, I try to be as
involved as possible in the lives of my six children.
I encourage them to join team sports. I attend their
teen parties with them to ensure no drinking or
alcohol is on the premises. I keep a fatherly eye on
the CDs they listen to and the shows they watch, the
company they keep and the books they read. You could
say I'm a model parent. My children have never failed
to make me proud, and I can say without the slightest
embellishment that I have the finest family in the
USA.
Two years ago, my wife Carol and I decided that our
children's education would not be complete without
some grounding in modern computers. To this end, we
bought our children a brand new Compaq to learn with.
The kids had a lot of fun using the handful of
application programs we'd bought, such as Adobe's
Photoshop and Microsoft's Word, and my wife and I were
pleased that our gift was received so well. Our son
Peter was most entranced by the device, and became
quite a pro at surfing the net. When Peter began to
spend whole days on the machine, I became concerned,
but Carol advised me to calm down, and that it was
only a passing phase. I was content to bow to her
experience as a mother, until our youngest daughter,
Cindy, charged into the living room one night to blurt
out: "Peter is a computer hacker!"
As you can imagine, I was amazed. A computer hacker in
my own house! I began to monitor my son's habits, to
make certain that Cindy wasn't just telling stories,
as she is prone to doing at times.
After a few days of investigation, and some research
into computer hacking, I confronted Peter with the
evidence. I'm afraid to say, this was the only time I
have ever been truly disappointed in one of my
children. We raised them to be honest and to have
integrity, and Peter betrayed the principles we tried
to encourage in him, when he refused point blank to
admit to his activities. His denials continued for
hours, and in the end, I was left with no choice but
to ban him from using the computer until he is old
enough to be responsible for his actions.
After going through this ordeal with my own family, I
was left pondering how I could best help others in
similar situations. I'd gained a lot of knowledge over
those few days regarding hackers. It's only right that
I provide that information to other parents, in the
hope that they will be able to tell if their children
are being drawn into the world of hacking. Perhaps
other parents will be able to steer their sons back
onto the straight and narrow before extreme measures
need to be employed.
To this end, I have decided to publish the top ten
signs that your son is a hacker. I advise any parents
to read this list carefully and if their son matches
the profile, they should take action. A smart parent
will first try to reason with their son, before
resorting to groundings, or even spanking. I pride
myself that I have never had to spank a child, and I
hope this guide will help other parents to put a halt
to their son's misbehaviour before a spanking becomes
necessary.
1. Has your son asked you to change ISPs?
Most American families use trusted and responsible
Internet Service Providers, such as AOL. These
providers have a strict "No Hacking" policy, and take
careful measures to ensure that your internet
experience is enjoyable, educational and above all
legal. If your child is becoming a hacker, one of his
first steps will be to request a change to a more
hacker friendly provider.
I would advise all parents to refuse this request. One
of the reasons your son is interested in switching
providers is to get away from AOL's child safety
filter. This filter is vital to any parent who wants
his son to enjoy the internet without the endangering
him through exposure to "adult" content. It is best to
stick with the protection AOL provides, rather than
using a home-based solution. If your son is becoming a
hacker, he will be able to circumvent any home-based
measures with surprising ease, using information
gleaned from various hacker sites.
2. Are you finding programs on your computer that you
don't remember installing?
Your son will probably try to install some hacker
software. He may attempt to conceal the presence of
the software in some way, but you can usually find any
new programs by reading through the programs listed
under "Install/Remove Programs" in your control panel.
Popular hacker software includes "Comet Cursor",
"Bonzi Buddy" and "Flash".
The best option is to confront your son with the
evidence, and force him to remove the offending
programs. He will probably try to install the software
again, but you will be able to tell that this is
happening, if your machine offers to "download" one of
the hacker applications. If this happens, it is time
to give your son a stern talking to, and possibly
consider punishing him with a grounding.
3. Has your child asked for new hardware?
Computer hackers are often limited by conventional
computer hardware. They may request "faster" video
cards, and larger hard drives, or even more memory. If
your son starts requesting these devices, it is
possible that he has a legitimate need. You can best
ensure that you are buying legal, trustworthy hardware
by only buying replacement parts from your computer's
manufacturer.
If your son has requested a new "processor" from a
company called "AMD", this is genuine cause for alarm.
AMD is a third-world based company who make inferior,
"knock-off" copies of American processor chips. They
use child labor extensively in their third world
sweatshops, and they deliberately disable the security
features that American processor makers, such as
Intel, use to prevent hacking. AMD chips are never
sold in stores, and you will most likely be told that
you have to order them from internet sites. Do not buy
this chip! This is one request that you must refuse
your son, if you are to have any hope of raising him
well.
4. Does your child read hacking manuals?
If you pay close attention to your son's reading
habits, as I do, you will be able to determine a great
deal about his opinions and hobbies. Children are at
their most impressionable in the teenage years. Any
father who has had a seventeen year old daughter
attempt to sneak out on a date wearing make up and
perfume is well aware of the effect that improper
influences can have on inexperienced minds.
There are, unfortunately, many hacking manuals
available in bookshops today. A few titles to be on
the lookout for are: "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon"
by Neal Stephenson; "Neuromancer" by William Gibson;
"Programming with Perl" by Timothy O'Reilly; "Geeks"
by Jon Katz; "The Hacker Crackdown" by Bruce Sterling;
"Microserfs" by Douglas Coupland; "Hackers" by Steven
Levy; and "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" by Eric S.
Raymond.
If you find any of these hacking manuals in your
child's possession, confiscate them immediately. You
should also petition local booksellers to remove these
titles from their shelves. You may meet with some
resistance at first, but even booksellers have to bow
to community pressure.
5. How much time does your child spend using the
computer each day?
If your son spends more than thirty minutes each day
on the computer, he may be using it to DOS other
peoples sites. DOSing involves gaining access to the
"command prompt" on other people's machines, and using
it to tie up vital internet services. This can take up
to eight hours. If your son is doing this, he is
breaking the law, and you should stop him immediately.
The safest policy is to limit your children's access
to the computer to a maximum of forty-five minutes
each day.
6. Does your son use Quake?
Quake is an online virtual reality used by hackers. It
is a popular meeting place and training ground, where
they discuss hacking and train in the use of various
firearms. Many hackers develop anti-social tendencies
due to the use of this virtual world, and it may cause
erratic behaviour at home and at school.
If your son is using Quake, you should make hime
understand that this is not acceptable to you. You
should ensure all the firearms in your house are
carefully locked away, and have trigger locks
installed. You should also bring your concerns to the
attention of his school.
7. Is your son becoming argumentative and surly in his
social behaviour?
As a child enters the electronic world of hacking, he
may become disaffected with the real world. He may
lose the ability to control his actions, or judge the
rightness or wrongness of a course of behaviour. This
will manifest itself soonest in the way he treats
others. Those whom he disagrees with will be met with
scorn, bitterness, and even foul language. He may
utter threats of violence of a real or electronic
nature.
Even when confronted, your son will probably find it
difficult to talk about this problem to you. He will
probably claim that there is no problem, and that you
are imagining things. He may tell you that it is you
who has the problem, and you should "back off" and
"stop smothering him." Do not allow yourself to be
deceived. You are the only chance your son has, even
if he doesn't understand the situation he is in. Keep
trying to get through to him, no matter how much he
retreats into himself.
8. Is your son obsessed with "Lunix"?
BSD, Lunix, Debian and Mandrake are all versions of an
illegal hacker operation system, invented by a Soviet
computer hacker named Linyos Torovoltos, before the
Russians lost the Cold War. It is based on a program
called "xenix", which was written by Microsoft for the
US government. These programs are used by hackers to
break into other people's computer systems to steal
credit card numbers. They may also be used to break
into people's stereos to steal their music, using the
"mp3" program. Torovoltos is a notorious hacker,
responsible for writing many hacker programs, such as
"telnet", which is used by hackers to connect to
machines on the internet without using a telephone.
Your son may try to install "lunix" on your hard
drive. If he is careful, you may not notice its
presence, however, lunix is a capricious beast, and if
handled incorrectly, your son may damage your
computer, and even break it completely by deleting
Windows, at which point you will have to have your
computer repaired by a professional.
If you see the word "LILO" during your windows startup
(just after you turn the machine on), your son has
installed lunix. In order to get rid of it, you will
have to send your computer back to the manufacturer,
and have them fit a new hard drive. Lunix is extremely
dangerous software, and cannot be removed without
destroying part of your hard disk surface.
9. Has your son radically changed his appearance?
If your son has undergone a sudden change in his style
of dress, you may have a hacker on your hands. Hackers
tend to dress in bright, day-glo colors. They may wear
baggy pants, bright colored shirts and spiky hair dyed
in bright colors to match their clothes. They may take
to carrying "glow-sticks" and some wear pacifiers
around their necks. (I have no idea why they do this)
There are many such hackers in schools today, and your
son may have started to associate with them. If you
notice that your son's group of friends includes
people dressed like this, it is time to think about a
severe curfew, to protect him from dangerous
influences.
10. Is your son struggling academically?
If your son is failing courses in school, or
performing poorly on sports teams, he may be involved
in a hacking group, such as the infamous "Otaku"
hacker association. Excessive time spent on the
computer, communicating with his fellow hackers may
cause temporary damage to the eyes and brain, from the
electromagnetic radiation. This will cause his marks
to slip dramatically, particularly in difficult
subjects such as Math, and Chemistry. In extreme
cases, over-exposure to computer radiation can cause
schizophrenia, meningitis and other psychological
diseases. Also, the reduction in exercise may cause
him to lose muscle mass, and even to start gaining
weight. For the sake of your child's mental and
physical health, you must put a stop to his hacking,
and limit his computer time drastically.
I encourage all parents to read through this guide
carefully. Your child's future may depend upon it.
Hacking is an illegal and dangerous activity, that may
land your child in prison, and tear your family apart.
It cannot be taken too seriously.
The original document was posted on December 02, 2001, at "http://adequacy.org/public/stories/2001.12.2.42056.2147.html" by T. Reginald Gibbons.
Tink yoyu evry1!
:yuck: :yuc:wub: 
huh: 
MultiQuote
Posted 29 January 2004 - 08:39 PM
Posted 30 January 2004 - 04:46 PM
