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                             How to crash a board
                                 By Einstein

This article is divided into sections, those being:

        [1]  General board crashing tips
        [2]  How to crash a public domain board
        [3]  How to crash a lame underground board
        [4]  How to crash a borderline public domain/underground board

        No, this is not for information purposes only.  This is for the 
sole purpose of taking down a board, for whatever reason you may have.  
Before you're sure you want to take someone down, make sure you're doing 
it for the right reasons.  It's best not to be capricious when dealing 
with these idiots.  Formulate your own opinion and go from there.
        
        [1]  General board crashing tips        

        First, let me go into some general tips to help.  I suppose I 
should address this oh so important issue to crashers.  The insurgence of
caller identification as a valid security measure is a joke in itself.  Ask
yourself, seriously, what this sysop is going to do even if he has your
phone number and registered operator name?  I suppose he can just call the 
residence and try to harass you, but if you haven't figured it out yet, 
it's completely within your rights to get Telco on this one and get the 
sysop trapped with a harassing phone call charge.  And what should you do 
if the system operator is within his senses when he calls you?  Feign 
ignorance.  Tell him you don't have a computer and have not the slightest 
idea what he's talking about.  Sure, the sysop could call the authorities.  
And do what?  Tell them that he ran a file a user gave to him that happened 
to have destructive code in it?  What do you think the Memphis Police 
Department would(could) do, if anything, in the event of such a complaint.  
You guessed it: nothing.  Basically, what I'm trying to say is: if you can 
get the sysop to crash himself then you can't be held at fault, unless you 
admit to it.  Remember, in these cases, who's really the "hacker"?  The 
sysop of course.  If he runs the file, then it's his own business and you 
have nothing to worry about.
        
        Now there are some out there that are reading this and exclaiming:
"This is not hacking!"  Well, yes and no.  Ask yourself: if a virus crashes
a system, does it really matter if you did or didn't use a backdoor in the
software to implant it?  Of course not.  This article is about board 
crashing, not board hacking.  Board hacking is basically a thing of the 
past, with a few exceptions.  If someone wants to take down a board, there
should be no options closed to him.  Viruses work.  They always have and
probably always will work.  As long as you're dealing with human being
sysops, you can't go wrong.  Well let me rephrase that.  If you know what
you're doing, you can't go wrong.

        [2] How to crash a public domain board

        This is usually the easiest system to crash, and almost always 
harbors a trusting if not completely moronic system operator.  First of 
all, either create a fake account or use someone else's to get on.  Once 
you're on, act as normally as you would on any other, with one exception.  
Make sure you page the sysop and chat with him for a few minutes every day 
or two.  Most of these people haven't been out of their houses since age 
18, so you should have no problem getting this person to become "friends" 
with you.  If, while in chat, the sysop wants to break in for a voice 
talk, go for it!  That's the best way to gather information: to firmly 
associate in the sysop's mind a user's name and human voice. 
        
        Assume any identity you're good at for this phase of the plan, 
but try to adapt your identity to one fitting the general need or idea 
of the board you are trying to crash.  For example, to crash a graphics 
oriented system, you would become the biggest, baddest, and bestest GIF 
trader on this side of the Mississippi.  No, really.  If the sysop
happens to have posted a message requesting some certain type of file,
be helpful.  Share with the class and dutifully upload that file, or
a reasonable facsimile of such (read: replaced executable), to the 
sysop.  He'll appreciate it, and you will too in the long run.
        
        If the sysop has never before been crashed, you'll probably have no 
need for any social engineering skills whatsoever.  I'm sure you can think 
of some executables that people will run from public domain boards.  Public 
domain games, BBS Utilities and programs, Anti-Virus utilities(heh), 
Hypertext Documentation, programming files; these are just some ideas for 
potential droppers; these all work nicely.
        
        It doesn't really matter, just ensure that it has a dropper inside.
If you've found that the sysop won't run it for fear of viruses, get him in
chat and convince him! And whatever you do, don't hang up after he's run
it.  Try to fix the problem for him(yeah, sure) or find some way to keep
yourself on the line.  If after he runs the file, it returns to the
command prompt, tell him you forgot a file and upload another COM "loader"
file(only for really malicious users indeed).
        
        Well, in any case, he's infected, mission accomplished.  Almost.
Make sure you get the dropper around; I mean, really cover the area.  Try
to get accounts that use the same password everywhere(people are out there
that still do this) and cover their dialing directory with the dropper.
You never know which one you'll crash.

        [3]  How to crash a lame underground board

        Since almost all underground boards in Memphis are lame anyway,
this section should probably cover them as well.  The procedure in 
crashing an underground board is basically the same, save one aspect.
Don't annoy the sysop with chat pages, turn instead to his message bases
or his file sections.  Upload some good files.  Post some messages.  Start
some activity on his system, then just sit back and watch him worship the
ground you walk on.  Take advantage of it, and upload your virus then.
It's amazing how these "elite" sysops squirm when their "secure" systems
have been breached and conquered.  Sometimes you can actually help these
poor sysops get some real security.  Tell them that they have a backdoor
hole in their software and they'll never be quite sure whether you're lying
or telling the truth.  The paranoia sometimes runs so deep that they switch
softwares, hopefully to one which will have a backdoor.  Don't waste time
uploading fake wares unless it's a true wares addiction board.  Small 
"philes" always work better and save you time.

        [4]  How to crash a borderline public domain/underground board

        This is where your judgment comes in.  You have to decide whether
you want to take the first or the second approach to crashing the system.
Whichever you choose, this _is_ the place to upload the fake wares, since
in most cases the users on here with access to wares are losers. Here also
the sysops are more akin to public domain sysops with the intention of 
covering their wares and their asses.  So where should I start?  If you
need a testing ground for your crashing skills, get onto the Chessboard at
901-854-2561.  I don't have a grudge against him or anything, but it's sad 
to see someone try to cover their wares with a public domain system.

        In summation, board crashing is very rewarding with little if any
effort.  If you know how to get away with it, crashing can provide an
exciting release from the humdrum patterns of everyday life.  There's
nothing lame about crashing a system for a good reason, remember that.

                                        Einstein

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