Datapac Hacker 2.0                                                by Pica Man
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"Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends..."
                                        -- Emerson, Lake & Palmer


    Well, hello, and welcome to Datapac Hacker 2.0.  The (ahem) definative
IBM Datapac Scanner.  Some of you may be familiar with the prior version of
this software, and from it there are many improvements.

    Please keep in mind that I hate writing documentation...in fact I would
rather drown in a pool of my own vomit than write documentation, but since
it is necessary, here we go.  It will therefore be somewhat sketchy in 
places.  I have tried to make the program as self-explanitory as humanly
possible, but there are some non-obvious features as well.  I will leave you
to figure out the program, and just explain some of the neat bits.
 
    Oh yeah, I should get this out of the way right now:

****************
START DISCLAIMER
****************

     The author does not advocate the use of this program for any
illegal purpose.  This is a tool for exploring the world-wide global
network, not for crime.
 
     I will not be held responsible for the actions of any user of this
program.

     In other words, if you get busted, don't go blaming me.

**************
END DISCLAIMER
**************


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     Ok, first of all, the following files should have been included in
the archive.

DHAT.EXE   -  The AT version of the software
DHXT.EXE   -  The XT/PC version of the software
DH.OVL     -  Overlay file.
DH.CFG     -  Configuration file
DH.TXT     -  The file you are reading.

     The AT version of the software uses 286 specific instructions and
runs slightly faster, it is therefore more desirable.

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"I Can't Drive 65!"
             -- Sammy Hagar

     Speed is important, no doubt about it.  This is especially true when
we are talking about Datapac, where they have limited speeds to a mere 2400
baud.  Even still, trial runs of DHAT show speeds around the 1850 address/
hour rate, and DHXT comes in around 1725/hour, still well beyond any other
program of this type I have seen.

     At this rate, we can scan 10000 addresses in a 5.5 hour period.  During
an average night's sleep (8 hours) we get 15000 adresses.  
  
     Mind you in the grand scheme of things that isn't too fast, even at
it's top speed of 1850/hour it would still take 6.1 YEARS of continuous
scanning to try all the possible 8-digit Datapac addresses.

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Running on automatic

     First thing: MAKE A BACKUP OF YOUR DH.CFG FILE!  If you don't you could
be sorry.  The contents of this file define which information will be 
supplied by default.  The information it knows how to handle is:

COMPORT  - the com port your modem is hooked up to (1-4)
BAUD     - the baud rate you wish to run at (300,1200,2400)
PHONE    - the phone number for you local Datapac dial-up.
TONE     - whether or not you use a touch-tone line. (Y or N)
SHUFFLE  - if you wish to run in "shuffle" mode (Y or N)
REPORT   - the file you wish to save your report to
START    - the address you want to start scanning at
END      - the address you want to stop scanning at

     All of this information is optional, you will be asked for it when
you start the program if it is not supplied here.  Typically you will
fill in everything except START and END.  
 
     If ALL of the information is supplied in the config file, the program
will AUTOMATICALLY start the scan without waiting for you to enter info.
This is great if you want it to run automatically, in a DesqView window,
for instance.  (Oh yeah, this program does run under DesqView, which is nice
because rarely do you want to tie up your main machine for a long time).

     See the DH.CFG file for more info on how to setup the file, it comes
with a lot of comments.

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The Datapac "Shuffle"

     You may well ask, "What the Hell is Shuffle Mode?"  Put simply, Shuffle
Mode is the ability for DH to scan the addresses in RANDOM order, without
repeating them, and then report back in sequential order, EVEN if the scan
is interrupted.  As far as I know, DH is the only scanner to offer this
feature.

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"Dazed and Confused"
             - Led Zepplin

     DH has the (limited) ability to read through (most) line noise.  So,
with any luck, even on a noisy line, you will not be subject to a ton of
"Unknown Response" messages.

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Starting from where you left off.

     If you abort a scan, you will have the option to continue it when you
next start the program.  If you choose to, the program will go to the last
address tried, skip to the next one, and then start.  In Shuffle Mode, it
will not forget which ones it tried before, so you need not worry about
duplicating work again.

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     Well, that's it folks, I hope you have fun with it.  Just a few more
things to be said.

1.  Thanks to my boss, whose lack of computer knowledge enabled me to work
    on this program under his nose without him noticing.
2.  I can be reached on Darkwell Network (403) 449-5132 or Death Row Node 2
    (403) 463-9474.
3.  Rap sucks, 'nuff said.
 
 
Pica
February 28, 1992

