Letters: DIAGNOSTICS

General Questions

Dear 2600: Do you feature poets or review poetry?       Keshuv Everything we do is related in one way or another to hackers.  So if you send us a poem on hacking, we may print it.  If you publish a collection of poetry concerning hackers, we may very well review it.  Anything is possible.

Dear 2600: I'm doing a documentary and some pictures are very old, featuring phones that are not used anymore.  Is there a problem if I use some pictures of payphones?       Derneval Assuming you're talking about the ones we print, we have no issues as long as attribution is given.  That means our name and the name of the contributor.  If you're asking if using pictures of payphones in a documentary is problematic in itself, we have never heard anyone complain about that in particular, although there are certainly people who would if they had the chance.

Dear 2600: While reading the latest edition of 2600 on my iPad Kindle app, I noticed it was showing the date wrong in the title bar across the top as January 1, 1970.  It should probably say January 6, 2015.  I wonder where the Kindle app is trying to get this date from and if it was something they changed and forgot to tell you to make sure it was set in your digital format?  Has anyone else noticed this?       Josh Yes, you're far from the only one.  Here's another:

Dear 2600: Thanks for your generous response to my letter in 32:1.  I was gratified to see it.  Although I noted the header only in passing, I thought I should send you a screenshot of what I see so you can see it yourselves.  In 32:1, once again the header date is incorrect and again January 01, 1970.  I am using the Kindle app on an iPad Air in Canada.       Saskman The screenshot certainly helped us describe the problem to Amazon.  While we work hard to preserve our history, we don't want anyone to think we're printing material from 45 years ago.  We suspect this is an issue involving UNIX somewhere, as that exact date represents the start of time in that universe.  We forwarded this to the techs at Amazon and this is where it stood at press time: "The issue is happening because of a bug in our system.  Our engineering team is currently working on high priority to fix the issue.  We'll keep you posted once we get an update."  We expect they'll have it figured out by the time you read this.  Let's see.

Dear 2600: I got the Winter issue and am happy to see a letter that I had sent in printed in it.  I notice, however, that it is not as I had sent it in.  (I had sent in two separate letters and 2600 edited them into one letter.)  I was unaware that 2600 does that.  The impression I used to have was that 2600 prints letters exactly the way that they are sent in, regardless of whether that was the intended way or anything else.       Ibid 11962 That would make our job incredibly easy.  But editing is an essential part of publishing.  Without it, we'd have all kinds of spelling errors, grammatical offenses, and overall sloppiness.  We would basically have an online forum on paper and we doubt anyone wants to see that here.  While we may combine letters on occasion or reword awkward phrases, we take great pains to ensure that the meaning and tone of the piece are preserved.  The same is true of articles - with the exception of fiction, which may use improper grammar and weird speech as an essential part of the overall piece.  We hope that explains things, but perhaps another reader can articulate it better:

Dear 2600: HELP got that problem you know.. .i dont have my own computer and no mobilephone???  no i am alone to.Zuckeberg FACELOOK must have some problems whith his C workers... maybe the swedish dpeartments is to mutch of a problem..swedes hate me. ...wonder ever when the swedes come to US.._..they love you_ but. when you are in sweden. or.. Europe all hate the amercans...so how alone must i be. so that videoclipp at. "mitnick" ...man we all change dont we.       marie And this is why we need editors.  And maybe the occasional miracle worker.

Dear 2600: I am a graduate student doing research on malware preservation and using the WANK worm, which infected NASA computers in 1989, as a case study.  Did 2600 ever publish any articles related to the WANK worm?  Or have you published any articles related to malware preservation?  If so, how can I access back issues of the magazine?       Jonathan We certainly made reference to various worms as they came out and had a few articles focusing on specific ones, but not the WANK worm in particular, although we did have a quote from that one on the cover of our Winter 1989-90 issue.  (Our digital digest subscribers are reliving that era of history right now, in fact.)  We'd like to know more about what "malware preservation" is all about.  It sounds both intriguing and dangerous.  As for back issue access, you can find all of that info on our website at www.2600.com.

Dear 2600: I've heard about your magazine for years now, and I've finally decided to get a subscription.  I noticed, however, that your store doesn't accept payment in Bitcoin.  Do you think it would be at all possible to set up Bitcoin as a way to pay for a subscription? Thanks, I look forward to hearing a response.       Doug We couldn't agree more.  Our old store made this impossible.  By the time you read this, we expect to have razed the old store and built an entirely new one.  Our address remains the same: store.2600.com.  You will find that your Bitcoins go far there.  Enjoy.

Dear 2600: I want unban my account from miniclip.com they ban my account because I use AOB (Array of Bytes) codes & auto win in 8 ball pool, so can u make something like unbanner please it's request to you please. Thanks in advance.       Saleem Big mistake to thank us in advance.  You never know what we're going to do, after all.  And people who write to us and don't bother to even spell out the word "and" become instant enemies.  Prepare.

Dear 2600: Hello there, I'm a representative of 2600 Thailand, a group which used the name "2600" to organize meetings about information security on the first Friday of every month.  We have never officially registered our group to 2600 and we organized meetings about 17 times in the past two years (some months are canceled due to big flooding in Thailand).  So our questions are: 1.)  What is the impact of our using the name of "2600" as 2600 Thailand, but not following guidelines from the official 2600 site (e.g. we're organizing meetings in Thai)? 2.)  If we want to organize a conference in Thailand, could we use the name 2600 Thailand Conference/2600 Con?  We heard that the official 2600 has the HOPE con. 3.)  Is it okay for us to organize another conference using the name 2600 Thailand?       Pichaya 1.)  You can't use our name for meetings if you don t follow our meeting guidelines.  However, there is nothing in our meeting guidelines that says you can't use your own language to organize and conduct them.  It's surprising that anyone would think otherwise. 2.)  You can't have a conference in our name without direct involvement from us.  That goes for both the 2600 and Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) names.  We doubt any organization would agree to any less. 3.)  In addition to not being able to have a conference in our name without our involvement, you cannot have another conference in our name without our involvement either.  (Definitely good to have cleared that up.) All that said, we are more than willing to help you build a decent hacker community and/or find an already existing one in your part of the world.  You should be aware that such a community is much more than people interested in mere computer security, programming, exploits, or anything too specific or limiting.  If you're prepared to dream, explore, and defy restrictions, we're ready to assist however possible.

Dear 2600: I've been having trouble with someone remotely having access to my Android cell phone.  Is there any software to protect and to keep anyone from looking and remotely running my cell phone?       Please15 We get this question sometimes from people who have actually stolen an Android phone and wish for the rightful owners to stop bothering them.  Assuming that isn't the case here, we'd need to know more details as to just how your phone is being controlled and what sorts of things have been happening to tell you this.  In short, if this is indeed happening, there are certainly ways of keeping this sort of thing from continuing.  As with most anything, understanding how to do something in the first place is one of the best ways to figure out how to stop it from happening.

Dear 2600: I subscribed to 2600 starting in 2010.  I have back issues from then until now. I'd like to find a good home for these.  I was wondering if you'd like them - you could sell them in your online store (or otherwise) and make some money for 2600. I'd be willing to bear the cost of snail mailing them to you, media mail or the like; I don't need to be paid for the issues. Let me know if you're interested.  If so, where should I send the issues?       Robert We think they would be far more helpful if you either gave them away or simply put them on eBay for as minimal an amount as is possible.  We don't believe in selling the same thing twice and there's no reason why your specific issues can't continue to serve a purpose once they've left our nest.  (If you want to use our Marketplace for this purpose, just ask.)

Dear 2600: I currently have a subscription to the magazine for the paper edition.  Is it possible to convert that to a Kindle or Google subscription?       Steve We're not able to do that because we have no access to subscriber data for the digital editions, other than the digests we sell on our own store.  The way it is at present, these are two distinct items, just like any other separate items we produce.  If we had full control over this, we'd handle it differently and also make it possible for anyone in the world to subscribe, using the device of their choosing.  Hopefully, such a day is on the horizon.

Dear 2600: I am interested in purchasing items from your store, i.e., t-shirt, hoodies, etc., but I can't access your store at the library because your site is blocked.  That is the only place I can get Internet access as I'm broke/poor.  I am a subscriber and would like to offer more support for your periodical.  Help.       S If you're broke, don't buy things from our store!  Take care of yourself first.  You can always write "2600" with a Sharpie on a t-shirt and be just as cool.  Better yet, write us a decent article and get a shirt in exchange.  If you're running into blockage problems, the solution is to go elsewhere for connectivity.  There are lots of options these days and many locations offer free Wi-Fi - even for those who don't buy something or who sit outside in the parking lot trying not to look too suspicious.  And, of course, you can also access our store on any smartphone.  Thanks for your support, whether it's financial or moral.

Injustice

Dear 2600: WTF is up with the Gestapo tactics DHS and ICE are using to legally detain illegal immigrants in this country using DHS assets designed to combat terrorism and house terrorists?  It's sick and I'd like 2600 to help get it out into the media. Here's some leedz to go on: Tacoma Northwest Detention Center 1623 E J Street, Tacoma, WA 98421 www.ice.gov/detention-facility/tacoma-northwest-detention-center This facility is phked up.  The front of the facility is camouflaged by "shipping company storefronts."  The sign out front indicates that it is a DHS facility.  They house immigrant detainees indefinitely and make it extremely hard for these detainees to communicate with family by making a mockery out of the scheduling.  If I wasn't a math genius and a linguistic whiz, I would not be able to decipher the scheduling system.  ICE runs the facility, however, none of the uniformed personnel represent themselves as such.  They are disguised as some security firm I have never heard of... perhaps your journalists have some insight.  They are detaining persons for deportation... raiding homes in the middle of the night with agents by having uniformed police approach target houses without warrants and asking residents to enter for seemingly harmless intentions and then using the excuse that a police officer was granted entry to the home as an authorization for agents to raid the house.  Freaking pathetic.  The websites they have set up for detainees to use are a mockery of social networking.  (www.gettingout.com , www.telmate.com/verify). $100 has bought me one voice message of about 30 seconds and perhaps a 30 minute phone call.  Communications must be handled out of Zimbabwe at that rate. These are SS tactics at their finest.  There are small protests going on here in the northwest, but I don't think the situations surrounding the camps are too well known as of yet.  When they are, I am sure all hell will be raised by the northwest citizenry.  I have visited the Tacoma facilities and can further describe first-hand the situation. When ethnicity is thinned, they'll start looking for diversity to export.  Think Op Sundevil and what they would have done with those kids had they had the facilities to do so. Peace Out.       Jason We've always been averse to secret prisons and anything less than full disclosure when it comes to how detainees are being treated.  The price gauging alone is a crime worse than what many inside are serving time for.  And in the case of those being detained for not having sufficient documentation, many of us would rather not look into it any further.  But the very existence of such a policy is a demonstration of our failures in dealing with the issues at play.  To treat those caught up in these circumstances as anything less than what we would want for ourselves is a scary trend that will eventually hurt every one of us.  We welcome as much info as possible on exposing such programs, secretive facilities, and any abuses that affect people.  Without exposing these things, a paranoid and suspicious society will continue to grow until it strangles whatever freedoms we have left.

Curiosity

Dear 2600: So I decided I would like to check out the source code behind some of the utilities found in Linux.  One of them is man.  Either way, I thought I would share this link with everyone who is interested: www.gnu.org/software/coreutils The reason behind me wanting to check out the source code: after using man to read about stdio, I wondered what other libraries I could check out.  One I saw today while skimming a game programming book was windows.h. The command man windows yielded nothing.  I wondered if I could use the * key to help figure out what it was. man win * resulted in: No manual entry for win*.  Hmm... Out of some weird, pure luck or, should I say, ignorance, I typed: man *.  This, interestingly, gave me the man pages for all files and directories located in the current operating folder.  I tried looking up the command in the man man page, but didn't see it.  I began to wonder if I had stumbled across something hidden from the world.  What else didn't I know about?  Now I want to read the source code itself. I was inspired by the teachers at Harvard and CS50's edx.org course, which is free to audit.  I have learned more about programming from their staff and I have to thank them for what they are doing.  Programming is a beautiful art form.       WorWin And you are exploring it in just the right way, by experimenting and remaining curious.  It's not about competing to find the answer or translating all of this into a high paying job.  It's about getting your hands dirty and plunging into the technology you choose and figuring out as much as you can for the sheer joy and satisfaction of learning.  That's the foundation that's essential for anything else that follows.

Dear 2600: Thank you, I'm a long time fan.  I am low-level/new to Linux and have no program skills besides copy-and-paste.  Ninety percent of the stuff is way too much, due to my inexperience with C++ and/or just being in and out of prison.  But I love this shit and all of you for opening our eyes, because whether or not I can apply it now or ever, it gives me the chance and the key to it.  I'm a basic grayhat opportunist.  Thank you, love you.       J Thanks for understanding and acknowledging what it's all about - which is having options and the freedom to learn and experiment.  There will be no shortage of people and institutions discouraging us from this, which hopefully will serve as inspiration to keep pushing forward.

Dear 2600: Thank you for printing my letter and responding.  I have enjoyed your suggestion of utilizing streema.com to find worldwide satellite television on the Internet here at the library.  I used startpage.com to prevent me from being blocked.  However, I tried using startpage.com to view 2600.com and was blocked by the computer defenses.  Needless to say, I was pleased to receive my first copy of my year's subscription (Spring print version) last week.  Thank you for contributing to the world of print literature and, of course, to technology.       stupedestrian We're glad it's working out.  As for our being blocked, it's incredible to us how widespread such practices are, especially considering that there's absolutely nothing illegal on our website.  Every time our site is blocked by some software, it reinforces what we say about the demonization of hackers and how even discussing the topic is enough to have you condemned by those who fear losing the control they cling to.

Meetings

Dear 2600: I would like to propose a meeting at the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.  Is it possible to put in my email address instead of the address of the place?       Marcelo We don't permit this, as we're not a secret society, nor are we planning something like a last-minute rave location.  You need to have your meeting site selected before you can announce the meeting.  It has to be a place that's accessible to all, doesn't charge money, and allows people to freely congregate and have discussions of their own choosing.  We hope to hear back when you find a decent spot.  Good luck.

Dear 2600: As a long time reader and periodic contributor to 2600, I'd like to host a meeting in northeast Pennsylvania.  The meeting place would be in a cigar lounge.  I'm a long time cigar aficionado and lover of all things tech.  I'd love to finally share those passions with like-minded individuals and hopefully write some more articles about our experiences and meetings, maybe even inspire some new subscribers.  The only reservation is that participants must be 18 or older to enter the establishment.  Keep up the great work, 2600!       jk31214 Again, this goes pretty directly against our guidelines.  It's great that you're into cigars and that's something to share with others, agreed.  But you can't exclude all of those people who aren't into cigars from coming to a 2600 meeting, as what we cover in these pages isn't exactly cigar-based.  And you especially can't exclude people based on age.  Where would the hacker community be without young people?  We suggest finding a nice place in the area where everyone is welcome.  After the meeting (or in a few years when the kids grow up), you can lead them into the cigar lair.  Please keep us updated.

Dear 2600: I am flirting with the idea of starting a 2600 meeting in Lansing, Michigan.  Ann Arbor has one listed in the Meetings section, which is about an hour away, so I am not sure if that is allowed with them being relatively close.  So my question is, would this be something I could do?  I have looked at the guidelines on the website and feel that it would be a great opportunity.       Syn Ystr Definitely.  Go for it.

Dear 2600: I realize I am probably sending this to the wrong email address.  I just wanted to inform you guys that I recently tried to connect with some other 2600ers at the Houston, Texas meeting at the Ninfa's Express restaurant in the Galleria, but unfortunately, no one was there.  Not only was no one there, but Ninfa's is not there anymore either.  Their website is still up with some dead links, so possibly it has moved or has died.  I would be more than happy to help get it going again.  Just tell me what to do.  Just passing it on.       Michael We were able to verify that the establishment is no longer there, however, the meetings are still going on.  There are a number of reasons why you might not have found someone there on the occasion you went, but hopefully it was an anomaly.  Please continue to show up and let us know if you continue to experience problems.

Dear 2600: I was at the World Exchange Plaza in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada yesterday, Friday, May 1st, at 6:30 pm on the second floor.  There was no meeting.  There were only four people on the entire second floor and I asked them all if they knew anything about a 2600 meeting and none of them had a clue what I was talking about.  Do you have contact information for the person who is supposed to be running the Ottawa meeting?       Michael We don't give out contact info or act as go-betweens, other than to keep track of what meetings are happening, publicize the new ones, and stop listing the ones that no longer exist.  We will keep an eye on this one to see if it needs to be delisted.  If you continue to attend, please let us know.  Also, be advised that there is no one person who runs any of the meetings.  You are as much in charge as the next person, who hopefully will show up next time.

Artwork

Dear 2600: I have been meaning to send this in for over ten years at the very least - it is a piece of art I made in high school based off the cover of the Winter 1995 issue.  It's coming up on the 20th anniversary of that issue.  So, since I needed to try to do an address change since my dad is taking and reading my magazines and not giving them to me, I figured I would finally do this too.  I was thinking it might be nice for a back cover photo - maybe you guys will think so too.  Thanks for all the awesome work you guys do - I look forward to getting my magazines again.       Michael As this wasn't in color and doesn't really fit the back cover requirements, we thought we'd print it in these pages, so people could appreciate it.  Thanks for sharing.  And, since your dad doesn't seem to know the meaning of that word, perhaps a gift subscription for him is in order?  It might help keep the peace within your home.  Unless you're actually moving out of your house to solve this problem - if so, we can't say we're surprised; people go to incredible lengths to get this magazine and sometimes incredible distances.

Deep Thoughts

Dear 2600: The tremendous advancements recently in 3D printing technology brings up the discussion relating to the pros and cons of such tools.  Let's first start with the tremendous opportunities that come along with 3D printing technology, such as being able to make all sorts of objects from various materials whether they're toys, electronics, automobiles, or even buildings - from a single device.  Having the ability for an individual to make their own objects without using a company and/or other person is a tremendous advantage because ideas/objects made are only limited to what one can imagine.  That's the great upside to 3D printing.  But 3D printing isn't without its downside like anything else, and that's the loss of employment for those who used to make various products, but would lose their position to a 3D printer.  Even though someone needs to operate it, the amount of positions could be drastically reduced and less employment opportunities available.  The other potential downside of 3D printing is that very few can afford one currently because prices are still relatively high, but hopefully will go down in the near future.  3D printing can be a valuable tool to utilize since it can make practically anything one can imagine, but the downside has to be looked at as well regarding this technology.       Bill Miller They said the same thing about computers back in the day.  Old jobs disappear, new ones emerge.

Help

Dear 2600: Two weeks ago, I sent 2600 snail mail a disk with my book manuscript on the philosophy of computing that I am seeking a mainstream publisher for.  I have been published before in the letters to the editor section of 2600 Magazine.  I am hoping that 2600 can help in placing this book manuscript to a mainstream publisher.       John We're not agents, so this is not the sort of thing we would do.  We do, however, print stories, articles, and essays on a very regular basis, so receiving something of this nature that we weren't able to print (being non-mainstream ourselves) probably caused a great deal of frustration down in the articles department.

Dear 2600: What is the name of the news you were talking about re Google taking down blogs? How can I search for news about this online, how can I research it?  I tried doing it through their search engine or looking at newspapers but I don't know what to call it. Thank you.       Anonymous Not to be picky, but we had no idea what you were referring to or where you might have heard it, since this extremely vague description and lack of a timeline could apply to a number of occurrences in history.  We suspect you're talking about something that was on one of our radio shows at some point a while back.  This is how Wikipedia sums it up: "On February 24, 2015, Blogger announced it will no longer allow its users in late March to post sexually explicit content, unless the nudity [offers] 'substantial public benefit,' for example in 'artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts.'  On February 28, 2015, [due to] severe backlash from long-term bloggers, Blogger reversed its decision on banning sexual content, going back to the previous policy that allowed explicit images and videos if the blog was marked as 'adult'." We hope this helps in your research and inspires people to use their voices to reverse unfair policies.

Contributions

Dear 2600: I have written an extensive critique of the Apple Watch that your readership may find interesting.  It delves into feasible security and surveillance issues of the mobile platform in a realistic model of today's political situation. The text itself has been available as a PDF (link included) since January and a new ebook was just completed, with a version best viewed on the Kindle Paperwhite as well as an EPUB version.  These are all publicly available at Dropbox, as well as an online version. Any feedback or ideas appreciated.       BTC We really wish you had sent us the article, as it would likely have been prominently featured in this issue and preserved for all time.  Apart from the fact that we don't generally print articles that have already appeared online, the links you sent us no longer work, so there's nowhere to even find the piece you wrote.  Please, in the future, send anything like this to articles@2600.com first.  Once it's printed, you're free to post it anywhere, but we think it will reach more people and be accessible for far longer through our pages.

Dear 2600: I am getting in touch because I'm an artist and anthropologist, long fascinated with the history of phone phreaking and telecommunications culture in the 20th century. I wanted to get in touch to potentially open up a conversation about whether there might be a way of turning the "payphones of the world" into a printed publication.  I think it would be wonderful and an interesting insight to have these photographs gathered together in one reference book. If this is of any interest to yourself and the 2600 team, please do be in touch!       Lewis This has long been something we've had an interest in putting together.  We certainly have compiled a fair bit of history on this one form of technology over the decades.  Right now, the closest thing we have to a payphone photo book is our annual calendar, which features 14 unique pictures each year done up in style.  We hope to do even more in the near future.  Of course, a fanatical response to this idea might convince us to move quicker.

Dear 2600: you are the best, im sorry this looks like a tweet, it is not.  Shamplaza forever!       Info And yet it fits so comfortably within the 140 character limit.

Dear 2600: I am a software developer and have been since the mid-1980s.  I created a new encryption program called Yull Encryption.  It does not use AES and, as far as I can tell, is not like others on the market, which hopefully is a good thing.  But that is not for me to decide.  It is located at: www.yullencryption.com.  I wrote a couple of white papers which go into some detail about how the program works.  The links for them are also on this page.       RON Our readers will take it for a test drive and hopefully let us (and you) know how it handles.

Dear 2600: I would like to discuss potential partnerships with 2600 and a crypto-currency business that I represent.  If the appropriate staff member could get in touch with me, I would be most grateful.       Minded Phreak We don't really do partnerships and we have little time for phone calls.  If you're doing something cool enough for our readers to take an interest in, write it up as an article.  Be warned that we burn puffy PR pieces at the end of each week.

Dear 2600: From the 2015 Old Farmer's Almanac (Western edition), page 118: "When observed in desert skies far from any city, there seem to be millions of stars visible to the naked eye.  However, the actual number is about 2,600.  You could count every star just over 20 minutes at a leisurely rate of about two per second." So now you know.       Wolverine Bates We do indeed.  But we don't intend to try this.

Dear 2600: I forgot to mention in my last transmission, would it be possible for me to give shout-outs to Scratchy T. Carrier and Mark Bernay?       Wolverine Bates Shout-outs in letters now.  And a separate letter to ask permission.  What is the world coming to?

Dear 2600: I've been leafing through our library's online database for the local newspaper, The Oklahoman - it goes all the way back to the 1900s, all scanned, all downloadable. Anyhow, I found this ad, and I knew you had to see it and have it. Keep up the good work.       Alan Now that is a classic.

Deeper Thoughts

Dear 2600: The advancing field of quantum computing offers many solutions to several complex problems through a series of algorithms in various manners, whether it be medicine, artificial intelligence, cryptography to name a few.  Quantum computing in theory allows for calculations to be made simultaneously, especially more complex problems, whether it's medicine or something such as encryption.  Traditional computing does not have the power to arrive at answers that quantum computers offer.  Quantum computing would be great to find break-throughs for cures of various diseases that currently inflict millions such as cancer, heart, etc.  Quantum computing could also allow for better cryptography, but also break encryption, which brings up a hot topic of privacy that is much discussed in academia and corporate circles.  Quantum computing could lead to more breakthroughs relating to artificial intelligence, which could be of great use for humans, especially for mundane tasks.  But many argue another side of the equation concerning job losses.  Quantum computing could have many promising offerings in various ways, but downsides have to be considered as well through dialogue between experts and the public at large to best maximize the positives and minimize potential negatives.       Bill Miller This seems strangely familiar, particularly the part about possible job losses and considering the downsides.  They once said the same thing about 3D printers, didn't they?

Concerns

Dear 2600: I've been aware of the 2600 group and publication for almost a decade, but up until now I haven't actually read the magazine (I know, I'm full of shame).  But happily, I can say I purchased my first (of many) 2600 magazines.  After reading through all of the great sections, I came to the "Letters to the Editor" and, as I was reading, I noticed something that has made me kind of morose.  Low-quality questions and statements.  Things like this are so common on many of the "hacker" forums/communities you see today.  People who use and abuse tools without understanding.  I personally am worried for the mindset of the next generation of hackers.  I worry that people who actually think, develop, and hack are going to become more and more rare.  Especially since this new generation is fine with tool suites like "Kali Linux" or some other USB distro.  Spoon-feeding and cookie cutter "Certified Ethical Hacker" courses are damaging the future for new hackers.  What do you think the future of hacking will be like with all of these present trends?       With Concern       NO-OP You raise some excellent points and ones that we worry about as well.  When all of this was first unfolding (much of it right here in these pages), you were able to see the curiosity and inquisitiveness as the dominant force driving the many discoveries being made, discoveries that we would subsequently devote space to.  This has by no means disappeared, at least not from here, but it's largely overshadowed in the mainstream by shortcuts, conformity, and the proliferation of technology.  That last bit is certainly not a bad thing, at least not on its own.  However, when people stop questioning or experimenting or even understanding the technology they're using, that's when we see a steady distancing from the hacker mindset we all treasure.  It's a very easy trap to fall into, as we have so many conveniences and toys to be occupied with that we don't see when we're agreeing to accept unfavorable terms in exchange.  Giving up our privacy, agreeing not to reverse engineer hardware or software, and accepting advancements without actually being a part of their development are each unhealthy symptoms of the problem we're all facing.  The one fact to remember is that hackers have always been a rare breed, so being overshadowed by the mainstream isn't really something to worry too much about.  We believe the hacker spirit will prevail, as it always has, and that we'll manage to retain control of our technology, break the rules that hold us back, and use these tools in manners in which they were not intended.  That is, after all, our legacy.

Dear 2600: I loathe and detest the amount of data being taken from my use of the Internet, email, etc.  It's like having the rear door of our house open and inviting in anyone who feels like rooting through my drawers and closets. But just how far should I go to make my use of the computer private?  I've been reading 2600 since 2012 and, from it, found the Kevin Mitnick book which has made a deep impression on me. I use the SRWare Iron browser (it's supposed to not give out private data), but what else?  I'd like to encrypt messages, but don't have anyone to write to in encrypted form.  I'd like to encrypt my hard disk.  I'm thinking of installing EasyBCD, or perhaps going "dark."  But is it worth it? I'm 75, my disk has many family photos, a good music selection, and a number of articles that I've written, plus a bunch of emails.  I do banking and purchasing online.  I never open attachments to emails unless I know and trust the sender.  I have several email accounts: one POP mail; the others I open on the website using their mail programs.  (I travel quite a lot and access my mail when away, including the main account where messages wait on their site for me to read, and can then download them when I'm back home). My machine?  An old HP with two disks: one has Kubuntu; the other Windows XP.       David You're doing everything you should be doing just by thinking about this and considering the different possibilities.  It's about as far as most anyone else has gotten, something that clearly needs to change - and will, if more people exercise the diligence you're demonstrating.  Preserving your privacy is a very serious concern, but only you can decide where the line is between security and convenience.  We don't think anything is gained from cutting oneself off entirely simply because these issues remain mostly unresolved.  That's precisely the reason to remain involved so we can all participate in creating an eventual solution.  It certainly won't happen without all of us being in the conversation.

Dear 2600: Nice that you have a new Blue Box shirt.  After all these years, the obvious schematic mistake is still there.  There is only one summing resistor going to the audio amp (100k). Ma would have rejected these tones as they would have too much twist.       Fred We'd be somewhat happy to redesign the schematic so that the device, albeit outdated, would work properly if built.  If there's a good deal of agreement that this needs fixing and is worth doing, we'll tackle it.  Otherwise, we'll consider it an exercise in preserving a bit of flawed history.

Dear 2600: I've been a reader of your brilliant magazine for a few years now and love every edition.  I have even purchased all of the back volumes since their releases a few years ago. I purchased a small hoodie from the 2600 store on March 9th and paid $11 for international delivery.  As such, I was incredibly shocked to be contacted by the postal service to find out I had to pay $11.24 for customs charges.  Going to collect the item and having to pay was a massive hassle, and I expected all of this to be covered in the postal charges I'd paid to you. Lucky for me, in this current economic climate, I'm in full time employment and can afford the little bit extra, but I want to make you aware of this issue with delivery to the U.K., as I would hate for anyone else to get stung by the postal service's hidden charges!       Si M We have no control over how other countries deal with customs and whether or not there are additional charges.  From what we can see, though, you shouldn't have been charged any customs duty based on the value of what you bought being nowhere near the minimum level needed for such a charge.  You may have been subjected to a VAT (Value-Added Tax) charge, but we can't say for sure, as this is all quite literally foreign to us.  What should be clear is that our packages are treated the same way as anything else coming from the States.  Please let us know if you have reason to believe otherwise.

Dear 2600: In your Winter 2014-2015 issue I read a letter from an inmate held at a federal corrections facility.  He seemed like a pretty smart guy that had been knowledgeable enough to be able to alter MP3 player firmware.  I was intrigued about what this person may have done to land him there. Doing some digging, I found his record on the Bureau of Prisons website to make sure this was a real person who didn't just make up some inmate number.  Sure enough, he put his real name and number down.  Searching for his name took me to an article on the FBI website.  This article revealed that one Solomon B. Kersey had not only been arrested for distribution of child pornography but had also confessed.  His current place of residence is what one would expect, given where he was arrested from and the release date from the Bureau of Prisons website matches what was found in the FBI article, give or take a few months for possible time served and/or good/bad behavior. Other people reading his letter probably just assumed he had gotten in trouble for hacking-related activities given his knowledge.  I think it's fine if he wants to give out MP3 players to people who can crack the firmware because, hey, I am a hacker after all, and the more knowledge out there the better.  I probably wouldn't even be writing this letter, though, if it weren't for his last sentence which asks for donations.  Donate whatever you want to whomever you want, but you should at least first know who it is you're donating to. Bureau of Prison's inmate locator: www.bop.gov/inmateloc FBI article: www.fbi.gov/atlanta/press-releases/2011/at012811a.htm       Caz We agree it's always a good idea to check people out to see what's in their past and/or present.  But we hope those who do also consider that such determinations are seldom black and white.  There's always more to the story and questions to be asked.  (We know nothing about this particular case nor do we wish to as we have more than enough to handle as it is - too many people in prison send us their legal papers thinking we can help and we just aren't equipped for this.)  We find that charges of child pornography are handed out - or threatened - in far more cases than one might expect.  It's a charge that's almost impossible to challenge in today's society and is almost certain to result in widespread condemnation before conviction.  That alone makes us suspicious as to whether such charges are being embellished by the authorities - it certainly wouldn't be the first time such abuse occurred.  And in so many cases, the word of the prosecution is the only word given credence by the media and, hence, seen by the public. Even saying this much is enough to enrage many people, despite the fact that we have always suspected the motives of the authorities by default.  So we will enrage them even further by saying that copying files is simply not the same thing as actually committing the crime documented within the files.  It just isn't, despite the strong emotions we may feel.  We know all about the negative effects caused by the distribution of child pornography.  But a "fantasy offender" isn't necessarily the same as someone who directly causes harm to another.  They certainly can be, and that's what further investigation ought to focus on.  By painting everyone who possesses a certain type of file with a broad brush, it not only sets a very dangerous precedent for other less obviously awful subject matter, but it actually minimizes the actions of the true abusers since they're treated almost exactly the same as those who just hit a few keys on the keyboard.  Of course, distribution is significantly worse than mere possession, but still is very different from actual abuse. We hope people think about such issues critically and not in jingoistic terms.  Remember that it's always the most indefensible behavior that is first subjected to treatment that we would otherwise consider unacceptable - lengthy imprisonment, surveillance, drug tests, lie detectors, etc. - and that this treatment without exception is gradually expanded to a broader and broader part of society, for our safety and at the insistence of many.  As we said, there's always more to the story. Here's another letter from this very person that predates this discussion:

Dear 2600: I'm writing for support and because I feel as though I was really screwed over by the U.S. legal system.  A hacker at heart, I began taking things apart since I can remember, then putting them back together again, fixing and tinkering with them. I learned basic programming when I was six or seven and had the C-64, VIC-20, Plus/4, TRS-80, Tandy 1000, IBM PS/2, etc.  By age eight, I could build a 386/486, set the DIP switches for the CPU, ISA, SCSI cards, etc. and installed DOS, Windows, and software.  By nine I was copying floppy disks (games, etc. for friends) on the Tandy 1000.  I took apart any and everything I could get my hands on. I was lucky enough to be able to buy car trunk-loads of school surplus for $25 a month at age 12 to 18.  I got TiVos , VCRs, LaserDisc players, computers, Macs, PCs, etc.  I would fix, buy, or sell.  I have a photographic memory of how most anything works. One of my favorite projects was the original Xbox and EvolutionX dashboard.  I learned so much modding my Xbox and playing with all of the supporting software and hardware mods.  I always built all of my own PCs and towers, of which I've owned at least 20.  I got into Linux with Menuet OS, PHLAK, Ubuntu, and BackTrack, as well as Xbox and Dreamcast Linux. My dad, who was a communications maintainer for CSX Transportation, taught me how to solder at age six.  (Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack at age 45.)  I can easily build my own custom PC boards now. As a kid, I burnt up the Gnutella networks, MP3s, movies, games, etc., then moved on to BitTorrent and downloaded everything I could get my hands on - PC games, movies, etc., etc.  It was all free and I had STBs and never deleted anything.  You name it, I probably downloaded it for "testing purposes." I could go on and on about all of the stuff I've done, but I need to get to the point at hand.  In 2008, a phone call was made to the FBI (by someone I barely knew) stating that one of my PCs had CP on it.  Well, here I sit, five years so far in federal prison with six years remaining and that's counting my year and a half of good time. I'm not asking for pity and I understand how the world may view me, but really I'm just a kid who made a mistake (I was arrested at age 23) and it's not as cut and dry as you may think.  I'm lucky to be in a low facility that tries to rehabilitate.  I've even had CIOs say that I got f*cked over, being that I had no criminal history. Now to the core of my issue with the laws.  There is something very wrong when people in state prison are serving two and a half to five years for physical contact with a minor, and in some cases the acts are horrific.  But to give someone who had something on a computer 10-15 years is ridiculous.  And to enhance them for using a computer is even worse. Attention needs to be brought to these laws and to the federal guidelines for all cases.  Just compare the cases of people who had actual victims to those that had computer related crimes.  Murderers get less time! During my time here, I've only made one really good friend (educated and tech savvy people are hard to come by).  He was a hacker and didn't know it.  He modded games and levels, he took apart, tinkered, designed, and fixed things.  I taught him as much as I could during the year I got to know him.  Thankfully, he was "lucky" in only getting a five year sentence on possession of CP.  Thankfully, he is back home with his family now. He and I worked at the prison's electronic shop and comm tech shop, making $45-$80 a month.  I have since used some of my money to send him some books on electronics and biodiesel (he and his family are farmers).  I've also worked on plans to create a solar electric installation business when I get out that I would like to work on with him.  Although this may prove difficult, being that felons can't normally associate with each other, I am working with LegalZoom to establish the LLC. Another plan I have is a website to cross reference cases and time served/punishment received.  This was indeed a wake up call, but I believe five years would have been plenty.  After that much time, you start going downhill and it does more harm than good, not to mention the 25 years of paper with restrictions that are next to impossible to adhere to for 25 years.  My friend got life paper. Since being incarcerated and confined to living in a small space, I've discovered a lot about myself.  One thing is that I'm a pack rat.  I was also a digital pack rat, never deleting hardly anything.  Also, I've discovered I'm a bit OCD, which was misdiagnosed in my childhood as ADD (it may be Asperger syndrome) for which I was prescribed Ritalin as a child.  Both of these may have been contributing factors in my case. I'm not so much writing for support for myself, but to get this info out there.  I see so much government waste here.  Eighty-five percent of the 1900 inmates here would be O.K. on ankle monitors confined to house arrest, where they could work jobs, contribute to the community, and pay their way instead of being a burden on the economy, as well as maintaining family ties to help with their recovery. Instead, federal prison is a slave industry.  Inmates work for UNICOR and pay for overpriced MP3 players, songs, commissary, etc.  We and our families are milked out of our money and our labor. Anyways, just my two cents.  Letters welcomed.       Solomon B. Kersey #87754-020       Federal Corrections Complex - Low       P.O. Box 5000       Yazoo City, MS 39194

Sad Tidings

Dear 2600: Please be aware that one of your lifetime subscribers, [redacted], has passed away.  Therefore, can you please cancel his subscription? Have forwarded this to "letters."  Clearly needs to go to subscriptions, but was unsure of the email address for the department, so if you could please forward this message.  Just to say he always enjoyed reading the mag, so many thanks!       AC (Partner) Our sincerest condolences.  It's always sad when a lifetime subscription expires.  For the record, subscription correspondence can be sent to subs@2600.com.

Replies

Dear 2600: Please consider this as a response to your editorial, Nous Défions Tout. Normally I appreciate your editorials, even if I don't agree with everything you say, even if they challenge my current position.  But stating that the cartoonists and writers who died in the Charlie Hebdo massacre "felt most passionately about protecting the rights of anyone under assault", is just plain B.S.  Charlie Hebdo attacked Muslims in France because they are a weak and marginalized group (in that country) and the magazine profited from inflaming the racism of the White, nominally Christian population of France's right wing, from the party of the Le Pen family, National Front, and further into a cesspool of racism. To say that the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists "were no friends of the ugly nationalism and religious intolerance that has been springing up in France and other countries" is to just drown in contradictions.  The magazine came back from the brink of bankruptcy by profiting from "ugly nationalism" and "religious intolerance."  They got away with insults to Muslims and their religion in a way that was impossible with other groups.  To illustrate, there was an incident in 2009 where a writer for Hebdo joked that (((President Sarkozy's))) son was marrying a jewish woman for social advancement.  This was considered so far beyond the pale, and so anti-Semitic, that the writer, when he bravely refused to remove his pallid little joke, was fired.  (Community Note:  That "joke" was also 100% correct...)  Yet showing a naked and ugly Muhammad having anal sex was a staple of the magazine.  (Community Note:  Hmm...  Make fun of jews: bad.  Make fun of Muslims: O.K.) Furthermore, France, which stands solidly behind Charlie Hebdo, has only intensified its imposition of censorship.  Not against anti-Muslim sentiment, but against many things that offend the French state, or powerful people. None of this justifies the massacre.  If people machine gunned the staff at the most vile underground pedophile pornography website, it would still be a horrible crime.  But a horrible death does not automatically elevate the victims to sainthood.  We can defend freedom of speech without endorsing that speech.       David Crowe The only thing we can really disagree with here is the perception that Muslims were targeted for being "weak and marginalized."  The magazine ridiculed and mocked all religions, Christians and jews included.  This is well documented.  Obviously, the stronger the reaction, the stronger the response to that reaction would be.  It's not an unusual part of satire.  And you will always be able to find hypocrisies and contradictions within any organization, but that shouldn't define everyone who worked there, nor the people who supported the magazine's premise. Now, contrast Charlie Hebdo to a recent event held in Texas whose clear purpose was to antagonize Muslims by holding a contest for Prophet Mohammed cartoons and inviting speakers with blatantly racist backgrounds.  Had the attack on that conference been successful, it would be outrageous as well, but the moral ground that was achieved in Paris simply wasn't present in Texas.  Assuming that everyone who challenges taboo subjects is of the same ilk has a chilling effect on free speech, as does hesitancy to make a challenge for fear of being categorized in the same way.

Dear 2600: This letter is in response to the important issue of timing in the dissemination of knowledge.  I am a Vietnam survivor.  I agree 99.5 percent with what you stated in 30:3.  You continually state that knowledge should be free.  What about knowledge that in its timing of release causes the death of American soldiers of any service?  Is that justified?  I don't think it's even close!  Ten of my comrades were killed in an ambush that occurred due to the details of our mission being printed in a U.S. paper the day before we initiated the action.  It was not for killing, interdiction, capture, or any purpose but documentation.  We did not know the article was published - that was intelligence's job - but as soon as the chopper was gone, we were hit and within two minutes ten were dead.  The rest of us tramped our way back to our nominal lines, losing one more on the way.  For the next ten years, I had to submit to body and cavity searches whenever I flew civilian airlines, as I had so much shrapnel in my body that I set off the metal detectors as I went through them.  More than once, it made me miss my aircraft, to the point where we had to get permission to travel in uniform with a military physician's letter of explanation.  Do you consider that the justifiable use of information being free?  Again, I damn sure don't think so!  So, while I agree that information should be free, I also feel that appropriate timeliness is just as important.  Manning and Snowden's release of information was to inform and protect.  Kudos to their courage and appropriate timing that cost no American lives that I am aware of.  But the dangerous irresponsibility of the American press was evident at least as far back as Vietnam.  So much for that right to know.  Tell it to their parents!       Captain Cautious It's really a very subjective concept, as you'd likely feel quite differently if there happened to be leaked information that benefited the side you were fighting for and was to the detriment of the enemy.  When it comes to information and knowledge, it's really not about one side or another, but rather about what is true and what isn't.  That's obviously hard to grasp when you're in the thick of a conflict, but it's a reality (and we're seeing it more than ever in the present day).  A regime's military ambitions simply don't always reflect the interests of its people and oftentimes run contrary to them.  Therefore, it can be of little concern to those leaking the info as to whether or not it hurts the cause of a particular government.  It's truly unfortunate when individuals are caught up and sacrificed in these events, but you could just as easily say the same of soldiers and civilians from the other side who are adversely affected, often far worse than anything we're used to.  In short, it's tragic what happened in your case, but it really has nothing to do with the operations of a free press, whose obligation is to report the news.  Once something is leaked, it's worthy of being reported on.  Anything less means the media is not operating independently. All of that said, it seems nothing short of incredible that this was reported publicly in a U.S. paper that the enemy read and those commanding your side did not.  We suspect that resulted in some changes in the way military intelligence was handled.

Dear 2600: In 30:2, BudLighty says "... where has the loyalty gone?" (in regard to U.S. government agencies recruiting hackers "for their own purposes").  What he said was right on target. It's called U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), which is a branch of the Department of Defense at the Fort Meade Army base in Maryland.  In the words of former director of the National Security Agency, Chief of the Central Security Service, and Commander of USCYBERCOM Keith Alexander (a sort of all-powerful cyber Alexander the Great of the 21st Century), "It is in cyberspace that we must use our strategic vision to dominate the information environment."  That was, unofficially, his modus operandi. So yes, USCYBERCOM is recruiting hackers.  In early June 2009, while I was participating in a digital forensics competition called the DC3 Challenge, which is hosted annually by the Department of Defense (dc3.mil/challenge), I was approached by a recruiter who craftily played upon my ego and patriotism to try and get me to "switch hats" and turn me into an informant.  In fact, it was a DoD informant recruited from the DC3 who was my partner in the competition who hand delivered me to the FBI informant on my case whose testimony sent me to prison.  (DC3 Challenge is an informant recruitment platform for hired snitches.)  It was also a hacker-turned-informant who turned in Pfc. Bradley Manning. If my opinion carries any weight at all, I fervently believe that domestic spying is a far cry from patriotism.  Warrantless scanning, logging, and tracking makes utterly void the Constitution of the United States - this Constitution being the supreme law of the land designed to preserve the American way of life that thousands have bled and died for.  What shall we say then?  That our war tom martyrs have died in vain?  The people forbid it! Hackers have very incredible, unique skills and a distinctive way of thinking that establishes us and sets us apart from the simulation of society.  The government, no matter how hard they try, simply cannot teach the spirit of hacking in a rigid, mundane, two-hour lecture - things we have acquired during a lifetime of curiosity, exploration, and experience.  So they exploit us to acquire this power, not so they can learn it, but so they can abuse it through you.  Such a power has, is, and will be used to ensure governmental power and expansion, and all the players participating in this cyber power-grab, save for Alexander the Great, are fully expendable. Hacking is our last line of defense, but even then President Obama controls the Internet kill-switch.  But then again, hacking itself is not limited to the computer or the Internet, but is applicable in every facet of everyday life, so creativity is called to mind. If the government monopolizes all technology that we socially interface with, and hackers betray our knowledge (and each other), we will have little left to protect the people from a total government invasion.  If not for the fundamental provisions found in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, there would be no freedoms at all. Those employed by USCYBERCOM have to pass standard mandatory screening in order to qualify for security clearance.  They must relinquish all provisions of free speech regarding the nature of their work, even if their actions sear their guilty conscience, they are bound by oath, in which breaking the oath of office could amount to grave consequences. Their lives are routinely scrutinized, and all their communication put under surveillance.  Once you have the revelation that this operation has little to do with thwarting terrorism, but everything to do with integrating total surveillance into the social simulation, then what will you do?  Where are your loyalties now?  To whom do they belong?  The pursuit of power is never satisfied until it has consumed everything.  It is an unquenchable fire. Senator Sam Ervin once said in regard to the Pentagon Papers, "When the people do not know what their government is doing, those who govern are not accountable for their actions, and accountability is basic to the democratic system.  By using devices of secrecy, the government attains the power to 'manage' the news and through it manipulate public opinion."  Ramsey Clark as Attorney General also said, "if government is to be truly of, by, and for the people, the people must know in detail the activities of government.  Nothing so diminishes democracy as secrecy." Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa stated, concerning Edward Snowden's leaks about the NSA's spying program: "What's important here is what Snowden has revealed: the largest mass spying program in the history of humanity, inside and outside of the United States."  Manning, Assange, and Snowden represent the side I feel we should all be playing on.  Their incredible courage is not without sacrifice.  At the risk of their own lives, they have given us the truth - and that is the spirit of patriotism.  Power to the people.  (This is all my opinion, of course.)  Read and distribute copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to everyone.  It is your duty.  Inform and reclaim. "Torment is prescribed to the victims of a faceless antagonist."  (Go Anonymous!)       Ghost Exodus

Dear 2600: I was in Istanbul for a couple of months last year and don't consider myself an expert, unlike your "Telecom Informer" who was there for a lengthy three days and decided to submit a poorly informed travel blog for his column in the Spring 2015 issue. The lack of public calling isn't at all surprising when you look at how locked down the government tries to keep telecommunications in general.  The requirement to register your phone with the local authorities is a good example of that.  But, letting Vodaphone handle it all for you at the airport is how you pay a remarkable amount for the privilege of the government knowing which hardware is yours.  If you ask around, you can find someone selling SIMs that will register your phone to himself (or a friend, I'm not clear on the exact details) for half the price or less. I am surprised that The Prophet wrote about the censored Internet without mentioning how easy it is to get around.  Unless they upgraded their technology significantly since I was there, the Internet is censored through a simple DNS block.  Swap out your DNS for a DNS server not run by a Turkish ISP (but not 8.8.8.8 - that's been blocked, too) and you can troll all the YouTube and Reddits you want.  (As part of their campaign booth in the hip, young Besiktas district, the main opposition party, the CHP, kept passersby up to date on the latest ways to get around the firewall.  They still lost the election.) And I don't know what "shared language" they have with other countries in the region.  Turkish is only spoken by a majority of people in Turkey (and Cyprus, if you consider them a separate country).  It's a minority language in Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Iraq, Kosovo, and Macedonia.  There are similar Turkic languages (including Azerbaijani) that can probably be roughly understood by a Turkish speaker (like a Romanian speaker can understand Italian or French), but they're not similar enough to call it a shared language (unless you also want to assert that Portugal and Spain have a shared language). And speaking of language, the racistly-named "Turkish shrug" was probably more from the language barrier than a lack of knowledge or interest in whatever he was asking about, as less than 20 percent of the population of Turkey speaks English.  From conversations with Turkish people I had while I was there (and the many violently suppressed protests), I would say a good many Turkish people ask why. On the telecommunications front, Istanbul has an active hackerspace that, while I was there, was working on teaching the community how to set up mesh networking.  They also have a really interesting habit of running cables down the sides of buildings, and just cutting the cable and leaving it dangling when switching to a new cable/satellite/etc. provider.       Tia The Prophet responds: "I wrote about Turkey with some trepidation, because I have never seen anything written about the country that isn't answered with angry letters.  So, thanks for your letter.  It validates that Turkey remains one of the most radioactive subjects for writers. "- IMEI registration in Turkey is done for tax reasons, and it has been widely reported (not just by me) that IMEIs not registered with the appropriate Turkish tax authorities are not able to be used for prolonged periods on Turkish mobile networks.  While it is sometimes possible to temporarily switch a SIM card into an unregistered handset, this doesn't work for an extended period of time. "- I cover a lot of material in a relatively small amount of space and to some degree, it's impossible to avoid a certain degree of generalization.  This is as true for technology as it is for linguistic subtleties between the Turkic Azerbaijani language and Turkish as spoken in Turkey (or different regional accents thereof).  Thanks for your understanding. "- Changing your DNS server doesn't consistently work anymore to avoid the Great Firewall of Turkey, which is rapidly becoming a content filter more resembling that of China.  Internet censorship in Turkey is real, and even if there are ways to get around it, most people are not technically sophisticated enough to do so.  Also, keep in mind that evading censorship can paint a bulls-eye on your back.  Do so with caution when operating in authoritarian regimes that practice censorship. "- Different cultures practice different gestures and mannerisms.  Turkey is no exception in its practice of the 'Turkish shrug.'  Particularly in markets when you ask for a lower price. "- Finally, an interesting point about how outside plant is maintained.  It's also common to leave behind old cabling in Thailand. "Thanks for writing, and never stop exploring."

Still Deeper Thoughts

Dear 2600: The recent approval by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) with a 3-2 vote in favor of net neutrality will be bad for the future of the Internet both in short- and long-terms.  Net neutrality basically treats the Internet like any other utilities that an individual consumes such as gas, electric, water, etc., which clearly it isn't since there are different types of traffic like video, voice over, regular web information, to name a few.  The short- and long-term implications with regards to treating all of these types of content exactly the same will mean less innovation, making less opportunities for new ideas to come forth along with jobs such as engineering and entrepreneurs that normally would exist without those regulations.  Investors won't be so quick to back potential new innovations that could be great for consumers to use.  The other side being consumers will see less new and exciting products and/or services offered to them, thus stagnating money being spent by customers because everyone always like newer innovations that could be offered.  Net neutrality as well means paying the same or higher prices, both now and long-term, without newer innovations potentially being offered.  The Internet should not be regulated.  Doing so means less innovation, leading to fewer services/products offered to consumers.       Bill Miller We're afraid you have bought into the fear mongering that the big cable companies and Internet service providers have been dishing out to the public.  There is no indication that preserving the already existing net neutrality will hurt innovation in the slightest.  Smaller companies and innovators will be protected from being crowded out by huge companies that already have tremendous advantages.  Companies like Comcast and Verizon could easily have charged premium fees to other companies, such as Netfiix, for delivering content at a decent speed while not charging that same fee to others not viewed as competition.  In other words, they would have had more of a role in controlling the content in addition to simply providing access to it.  Of course, they pledged not to do this, but legally there would have been nothing preventing them from doing precisely that. Opposing net neutrality is great for those who believe we can trust one or two companies to do it all for us, similar to how cable TV works today.  But the Internet is so much more than a series of television channels.  It represents power to so many people in a variety of ways.  Whether it's amazon.com or 2600.com, you're able to connect directly to the site of your choice without anything getting in the way or slowing you down.  Net neutrality is what guarantees that will always be the case.  Consider that without the values of net neutrality being part of the Internet, it's likely a company like Google would have found it impossible to start up without already being controlled by one of the ISPs.  And that's an awful lot of jobs that would have never been. While we're all suspicious of government regulation, this is more a case of the people demanding that something be done to protect a precious resource.  Those same people will be the first to object if any entity abuses its position.  For now, this is a very positive development.

Trouble

Dear 2600: I sent a letter encrypted with your key 6585557 for the email letters@2600.com.  Then I got an email saying that letters should be in plain text or they might get caught by a spam filter? What key should I use?  The one on the web page is for articles@2600.com which is why I used the other one.       Juan We have no idea who created the PGP key you used and we haven't been able to revoke it.  This is part of the confusion we knew would plague us as soon as we announced our PGP key here.  We're trying to make it as simple as possible.  We're using only one PGP key and that is the one printed in the submissions section on the main www.2600.com web page.  Any other key found elsewhere should be ignored.  In fact, we'll make it even easier and print the damn key here: -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: GnuPG v1 mQENBFS+QTMBCADCZyCh6dYKIOMQiJt+nw+T27+NSgE5Wq+z3weqtUz+ldZ+Z5jG 3eswEn8htZBPjNoKL6YycARiDKRxPUPRgSOfT3gbSLDXxIqlnn9VVQN2tpQ5ofe+ oC4A/KrSHLktXV7jqn/sDhX+sLO+Hfa5O61TPxK5f/kgnXaZl3V24jfe6wKtN0w7 LTvy42MyI6W5DgnA98RZ0FvF2a9qA5jZTDH1JWnGehRgYBW9E4SlkggJo8i2/lB7 EECKDEkbx842xUugoND+QO0SnpUCyAx2Xp0ZjTNgA3QHBywNZYArByN6UiC8/WCM JpWnxamR6MV2zqBU7rPMr7jj+Zt9sa1TUVQ/ABEBAAG0OEVkaXRvcmlhbCBEZXBh cnRtZW50IC0gMjYwMCBNYWdhemluZSA8YXJ0aWNsZXNAMjYwMC5jb20+iQE4BBMB AgAiBQJUvkEzAhsDBgsJCAcDAgYVCAIJCgsEFgIDAQIeAQIXgAAKCRB/d0w8m8sj B33KCACHxz1d0iEhq80mvsyIVXl7QrqH/ZTXa7kENySwmjmnc2akuckzm6peuHqx TTdDiiIDs75zogHp3DKYGefKJyw55aSxHewCjdZ/j+WgU9kjimFy4s0R/aBz1Jnq 1eK6fHj64TNbix3ir333MkmQPqqE5A4KKxq6qTpDPHbsiUQRNeXx/NfzEgsb6NkL OdrFds/HzjR0jyLvf4FLvwa3Kd/lvVNYP9IdmrOcVWHw4ZGAXEoibQ1GdkoYXEPC 0zTXaM1151X8q1sCYAg1zLUISeJoMLmYz5wepTZjHXbyCqd7VCJL36dodBeb4dN7 mwSNU0sQ2ljMZUGrx6AVxaPJxtNmuQENBFS+QTMBCADT8q7tNSx/QXAHLelAj9ew cG5SJqI/s/GA2JQRz1neyRZb7SoFt//KXzvnjZ+VqLPnRp5VFL1OBMap7x89HTP7 QEUrlJnP9xXfj48ldeAZVQPguZO/PWKqscCiHbpilMtBBiAv1IVWjrDFrBsVUA90 Ho6TCrI3qeTT226+ZMI4341e07gTo5o2fcSzuAU0luToRrvnQD1+eQnkwnMJgLrE tXNly65mZ+cTBH3kkBX0sbMyV4UnUBul1NvMMZl4aXw6OYdIgJAmdsM6sXJ3cbzQ 37N9akRsnjbTFhnHoWFUxa3GizDbgvialFGJuCIkygoCKRetZCU742/dMtQPYrMN ABEBAAGJAR8EGAECAAkFAlS+QTMCGwwACgkQf3dMPJvLIwcyHAf9FJi9ngJtmfMM +CVnnFwOMTyJW51znQlzsnPWp4mDf05gTgxWfv5PU74QAvcS8ztSUp7FLUXZ5EBp WwLBeDS0moS0j3XvEqEd4oz8gq5TpIwMUFgyaOgR8OZXqANoeivXoOohS/UGSc0K Xtjjzd5HUO751m3uy9VQbp5FKXqYi6pm6yvckJPvkDc3YhIyCTRsaNzGS4tCiBLU c3lqpbVYdyDXqaqwS0uHzF/GcNVJE8MOgFAl9nmhURGBbwRI8GW5yHx3nULuegmr Wq1dxlz5cEKghU+HTp91Gn7VUuRBKG05zqwoptoFswMVdL62lu54EgAOA4Yv44As lDlAQbyciA== =x4+N -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- We hope, but hardly expect, this will end the confusion.