As you are surveying the dark and misty swamp you come across what
appears to be a small cave. You light a torch and enter. You
have walked several hundred feet when you stumble into a bright
blue portal. . . With a sudden burst of light and a loud
explosion you are swept into . . . DRAGONFIRE . . . Press Any Key
if You Dare."
. You have programmed your personal computer to dial into
Dragonfire, a computer bulletin board in Gainesville, Texas. But
before you get any information, Dragonfire demands your name, home
city and phone number. So, for tonight's tour of the electronic
wilderness you become Montana Wildhack of San Francisco.
. Dragonfire, Sherwood Forest (sic), Forbidden Zone,
Blottoland, Plovernet, The Vault, Shadowland, PHBI and scores of
other computer bulletin boards are hangouts of a new generation of
vandals. These precocious teenagers use their electronic skills to
play hide-and-seek with computer and telephone security forces.
Many computer bulletin boards are perfectly legitimate: they
resemble electronic versions of the familiar cork boards in
supermarkets and school corridors, listing services and providing
information someone out there is bound to find useful. But this
is a walk on the wild side, a trip into the world of underground
bulletin boards dedicated to encouraging -- and making --
mischief.
. The phone number for these boards are as closely guarded as a
psychiatrist's home telephone number. Some numbers are posted on
underground boards; others are exchanged over the telephone. A
friendly hacker provided Dragonfire's number. Hook up and you see
a broad choice of topics offered. For Phone Phreaks -- who delight
in stealing service from AT&T and other phone networks .
Phreakenstein's Lair is a potpourri of phone numbers, access codes
and technical information. For computer hackers -- who dial into
other people's computers -- Ranger's Lodge is chock-full of phone
numbers and passwords for government, university and corporate
computers. Moving through Dragonfire's offerings, you can only
marvel at how conversant these teen-agers are with the technical
esoterica of today's electronic age. Obviously they have spent a
great deal of time studying computers, though their grammar and
spelling indicate they haven't been diligent in other subjects.
You are constantly reminded of how young they are.
