IRC Security

Introduction

Unfortunately, one of the problems with the internet is that there are some lifeless losers who believe the only way to have fun is to hassle other people. To them, the internet is one big playground over which they can roam and bully others. They tend to hang out together online, seeking mutual admiration for what lowlife they are. Of course, they think they are "cool."

Many of you may realize that I'm not using the term "hackers" in its correct sense. (See an editorial on this.) But I'm using the term that the electronic terrorists use for themselves, so in a sense, I'm accurate. They want to think of themselves as hackers. So I'll call them hackers, even though they don't possess the technical expertise required for traditional hacking--and probably never will. Everybody knows that it takes no great genius to send anonymous email to somebody saying, "f*** you." And a person doesn't have to be a system engineer to message somebody on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) with "get a life, as***le," and then change his nick so he can't be found. These things are easy. Amazingly, though, the people who do these things generally believe that they are accomplishing some great technical feat. The "anonymous" email that these lowlife send usually isn't as anonymous as they think it is. See this link, and the case study that follows at the end of it, to see how easily "hackers" are tracked. The link also shows how conceited and how stupid these "hackers" are in general.

The type of "hacker" I'm talking about typically spends all or most of his free time on the net in search of people to screw with. He tries to justify his actions by saying that "sometimes" it's for revenge--somebody has screwed with him, and he needs to get even. But this explanation falls apart when such hackers stupidly admit, when asked, that they also hassle people who have never caused them a bit of trouble.

So here we have a person who considers it a great injustice when somebody is rude to him. But he freely practices the same thing--and more--toward other people. Do such people actually believe they are right and the rest of the world is wrong? Do they actually believe they can do anything and it's okay, but others are bound by stricter moral standards? There is a word for this: hypocrisy.

The primary playground of these pseudo-hackers appears to be IRC. It's easy to hassle people on IRC. There are many people there. But what passes for "hacking" on IRC is really the electronic equivalent of throwing rocks at people. That's all. There is no real hacking involved at all. Just hassling people.

One of the instructive things about hackers like these are that they become very offended if you even discuss what they do. To them, you are the one wrong, because you talk about their actions and ask questions they would rather not answer. (They will answer your questions at first, but when they realize their answers are ridiculous and filled with double standards, they accuse you of interfering with their enjoyment of the net--this from the same people who get their "enjoyment" by maliciously interfering with others' enjoyment!)

Equally stupid is another rationale these morons use. They say that if the victim had had better security, he wouldn't have been attacked. Has vandalism ever been justified by the victim not nailing down or locking up his property tightly enough? I don't think so. This mentality is common among the jerk-hackers. Blame the victim, although the hacker is the one who chose to harass or destroy, set out to do it, and did exactly what he chose to do. If this justification works, it's only by concluding that hackers have no control over their minds or muscles; they are lifeless automons. Well, I'm not buying it. It's like blaming the woman for getting rap*d.

The double standards are clear. But these hackers go further, and try to put down others for their normal, peaceful enjoyment of the internet. It might surprise many people to learn that these hackers consider you a "loser" or a "lamer" if you use the internet for it's intended purposes, are courteous to people, and don't try to destroy what others build. By contrast, they consider themselves "elite." By that, they mean that they are "cool" or somehow more intelligent or resourceful in that they are able to do something as simple as type "fu*k you" to somebody. It doesn't make sense, but there it is.

For all the egos these people have, they are amazingly incompetent. Look at this usenet post:
 

Hmmmm... a hacker in search of friends? And he doesn't even know how to join a channel on IRC?

These hackers even have their own type of language that they type in. They are "elite." Everybody else is "lame." But they are not just cool dudes, they are "c00L d00dz." The substitution of digits for letters and the intentional mixing of case appears to be some kind of identification badge. (Can I be a c00L d00d, too? I d0N't kNoW iF i hAvE the aBiLitY!) It appears to be similar to gang slang or secret handshakes.

How does one become a hacker? How is this level of accomplishment reached? Suppose you wanted to be a hacker on IRC. What would you do? It's simple! Just post a Usenet article asking people to tell you how to do it! As this person did:
 

"iMAGE" certainly has dedication to his craft, doesn't he? I bet he will go far and become a world famous hacker.

Now let's take a look at a guy who likes to do "nice things" on IRC.

"Thug4Life" just can't do his "nice stuff" yet, because he doesn't have any "kewl" options. You just gotta love the guy! How do you do "kewl" things? Download a file.... that's genius!

By now, some might be wondering what the "real" hackers think of hacking IRC. Here's an example:

Yes, you'll see this again and again in the Usenet newsgroups. Some wanna-be comes in, thinking he's c00L or "elite", and makes a fool of himself. Real hackers tell him that he's a lamer. Here is one that goes into more detail on why today's cool jerks are not what they think they are. It was in response to a question as to the difference between a "hacker" and a "cracker."

Here's one that really takes the cake. This guy innocently asks for advice, and ends up revealing more about himself than he realizes:

So, he would like to flood someone. KewL. But first he would like to know what flooding is! Compare the following:

Gee. I would tell him, but I'm a lamer, not an elite c00L d00d.

realize that these examples are subject to the criticism that they are isolated and extreme, and do not accurately represent the general "hacker" personality. But keep in mind I'm not talking about the traditional hacker. I'm talking about those who have set themselves a misson of destroying what others have created or disrupting others who simply want to enjoy the internet.

So this is what "hacking" has come to. A hacker used to be somebody who explored and learned things. Today, sadly, "hackers" are people who download files (by clicking a mouse pointer on a file name), set them up (by double clicking a mouse pointer on a file name), and run them (by double clicking a mouse pointer on an icon.) They like to think they are superior and more intelligent than everybody else. In fact, they are incredibly stupid people with incredibly large egos. They like to think they have a better life than everybody else, when in fact they have a pitiful life, if any life at all.

Many hackers (the true, traditional kind of hacker) have written to me and expressed their agreement.  I appreciate that feedback.  But the new, punk type of "screw people for the hell of it" hackers don't have much good to say about my views.  Some of them have told me that they are really "creators," and the world should be grateful for their existence.  Sadly, these people somehow don't see the difference between creating something and destroying something for the heck of it.  Creating something takes work, imagination, and skill.  Destroying something just takes a hammer.  I think this is self-evident to anybody.  Therefore, I completely reject the new hackers' notion that they are God's gift to mankind because they try their best to make the world miserable.  I have no use for them, and based on the feedback I'm getting, many decent people are fed up with their antics.

From what I've seen of the hacker punks, they have no skills at all--whether it be social, literary, or technical.  Let's assume, for the moment, however, that destroying does take the great skill that the illiterate, uneducated punks claim it takes.  Why, then, do they want to destroy, rather than build and create?  Why do they brag about a skill that is used only to terrorize people and make life harder for everybody else.  If that is a skill at all, what use is that skill? Why would the world appreciate a skill that is demonstrated only with anitsocial behavior?  I wish the "hackers" would answer that question.