/-----------------------------\ | Xine - issue #1 - Phile 001 | \-----------------------------/ X-ine Editorial .-.-.-.-.-.-.-. A word of the old Psyco-Dad (previously known as famous tv-series hero of Al Bundy) Well I was told that I'll have to write the editorial so I thought what could be the topics that most people discuss nowadays. I found that internet censoring is in everybodies mouth also a lot of people - even if they don't know how to spell the word internet - are asking louder and louder for censoring of that net of perverts, hackers and other trash not worth to get a life. But what is the internet really ? The internet is always that what a user makes out of it! So let's take to separate approaches to demonstrate that: Look at Joe Average, working in office as salesman, having is first contact with the internet on his office computer. He will perhaps first look for entertainment stuff, games and so on. Probably, if he is smart enough, he will find the real tough sex resources as first thing. So what is the internet for him ? What will he tell his friends about what he thinks the internet means ? For him the internet perhaps just means a playground where laws do not exist. And he will tell that to everybody (even to those not asking for his oppinion). And now lets look at the second approach: An old fashioned computer freak, in this case also a fido veteran. What does the internet mean to him ? The realisation of all his dreams ? Messages sent to a user on another continent won't arrive the next week. No just a few moments later they are in the mailbox of the recipient. Files can be transferred without huge costs to your friend in australia or wherever... What will this subject tell his colleagues and friends ? Obviously he looks at the internet as perfect medium for communications among people worldwide... Well and that's just where I find the hook to ikx (that's what all this stuff is really about..) IKX does in fact mean just that. Communication among people who are spread all over the world. Like people in baseball fan club or so we are sharing our interests. But there is one problem: Our interest is computer security, hacking, phreaking, virus coding and so on. What the hell is this zine intended to be ? Bozo, me, JHB and KernelPanic started this project several months ago to provide us and other people with the same interests with a way for sharing information among'em. Well one problem actually is that this information is said to be illegal and criminal. But why ? We do not destroy our neighboors data nor do we hack nuclear control computers of the defense dep. we just want to know how this security things work and how they could probably be worked around... Why do we think we are not criminal ? I strongly believe that the criminal act starts not at the point when you just know how to do certain things, like i.e. coding a self-replicating program. It starts when you spread that program and then also the program would need a very destructive payload to fulfil the requirements of a criminal act. If we compare that to a man wearing a gun what would we find ? He is crossing the border not at the point when he just knows how to fire the gun or how the gun really works - NO. It starts then when he really fires his gun against another lifeform. Compared to a virus coder this is the case when the coder spreads his code among people who do not know what the code is really intended to do with his computer. But actually we are being punished very hard for just having the gun or even worser: For just knowing how gun works or having documents explaining how to build a gun your own. Well as far as I am concerned I would rather have my computer infected with a totally nasty virus than having one of those paranoids amok-runners blowing my head in the winds with a shotgun... Got the trick ? What I am trying to say is that the right knowing about those things is part of our freedom of speech. Using it might really lead one to be charged for it. But not just knowing it. The situation sometimes reminds me like if the government is saying "we want to have the biggest guns and you shouldn't have one at all, because you could stand up against us (the gov.) one time..." However, the Internet has changed this scene dramatically and we see now a huge growing of virus infections for example or also a huge growing of adult-material appearance on the net. As a consequence of that we also hear the voices crying for the censors hip louder and louder day by day. This makes it extremly important for us to not being involved in any hacking/virus/phreaking etc. issues where damage is the result of one of our members activities. That means not that if we develop a new i.e. infection technology or security hole that we may not share this information with others. It just means we may not at all use it for damaging others peoples systems. If people abuse this information then - they are responsible for what they do but not WE! If we compare that to my example with the gun: The guy that sold the gun will not be punished for what the buying customer does at least with the gun...right ? Or will GM be charged for one killing a kiddie with his car ? Will Budweiser be punished for inventing alcoholism or for wifebeating of drunken men ? NO - definitely not. The information you are going to see in this zine can infact be used to do damage and/or harm and loss to others. Please be aware of that and if you feel yourself not responsible enough for that just stop here and go to a nice website like www.playboy.com or www.microsaft.com or so... So guys let's fight for our right to know! All your comments/criticism is heavily welcome at psycodad@ikx.org And now let's start thru to the first issue of the famous IKX-ine!!!