Bulletin Board #11
Thought for the day:
Don't point a finger. Lend a helping hand.
#1
A little extra recognition for the Flemings couldn't hurt.
From: "O.R.T.S."
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 12:24:05 -0800
Re: Who you are makes a difference
Tim, thanks for including this item in your distribution. I think its
worthy to pass on and will.
As part of community service, I'm on a public school Site Council and a
school district Council; our Site Council just created a "Distinguished
Service Award" to recognize those who make outstanding contributions. The Flemming's recognition encouragement will be forwarded to the school and school district in the hope of raising recognition awareness.
Best regards,
M. D. Goslar
ORTS
#2
Subject: Hello
Tim, Jim from K-C here. Hope things are going well. Had a question about recreating recorded conversations or determining if a tape is original, edited or otherwise tampered with. Do you know anyone who can work with a tape to tell us things or what can be done with taped conversations as far a determining if the tape is edited.....Thanks..Jim
The question of specialists in various fields comes up on a regular basis. I have access to a number of them, but I'd like to have available a ready reference list. If you are, or know of someone who is a specialist in a particular field as pertains to security (what areas doesn't pertain to security now), pass on the info and I'll start a list, and have it posted to my web site. Prior to posting, I will be checking on credibility, training, experience, etc.
Also, comments pertaining to verification, etc are welcomed. I've had a lot of those inquiries and would loke to pass on different (same?) views.
#3
From: "Mike Andrews"
Subject: Re: Bulletin Board #9
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 06:07:14 -0500
Hi Tim,
Just back from the UK and am catching up on EMail. Here are some comments.
Cheerio,
Mike
-------------------------------
Strange phenomenon
From: "Steve Uhrig"
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 1997 09:59:48 -0500
Subject: Strange phenomenon
Subject: Industrial Sabotage ?
Hello Michael,
I experienced a vaguely similar thing here, about a year ago.
Woke up one morning, all clocks in my small house were messed up.
Clocks, VCR, microwave clock, three computers including laptop which was turned off and not hooked to anything including charger.
[clipped]
Hi Steve,
Sounds like EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse). There are several likely sources for EMP: Lightning, Radar, and nuclear detonation. Since your email didn't glow in the dark :) we can eliminate nuclear. You didn't mention a thunderstorm so that can probably be eliminated, also. That leaves Radar. The nature of Radar dictates a pulsed output and sometimes at considerable power--- depending upon the type of radar the pulsed power may approach many megawatts. Radar is also - depending upon antenna configuration - VERY directional. That could explain why your neighbors didn't notice anything unusual. (However, if your neighbors are like mine they don't have much in the way of electronics to be affected other than the mandatory satellite TV receiver.)
Based on your description of the affects, it would appear that the truck was more or less in the path of the beam (or the center of the foot-print if the source were aerial). Also, the field strength must have been considerably higher at the truck. I suggest a closer look at military activities in your area.
The only hole in my EMP theory is the fact that you mentioned the
alarm system was not affected. Alarm systems are usually the first
to "ring a bell." None the less - if all your distributed wiring
is filtered with capacitors and/or inductors at the central terminal
blocks then the Alarm system will be moderately immune to EMP.
If you want to spend a few dollars on some simple EMP indicators/detectors:
pick up a handful of neon bulbs. Solder a few inches of 26 gauge
hook-up wire to each leg. Ground one lead and let the other act as an
antenna. A pulse of the magnitude required to affect the equipment in the way you've described will cause the bulbs to flash and flicker.......
By the way - is your cabin located underneath any high-voltage transmission lines? (Just another possible source for EMP - switching transients on high voltage power lines can do some interesting things to whole neighbor-hoods.)
One last thing - did you see any alien foot-prints in your yard the next
day? ;)
Best Regards,
Mike Andrews
#4
The following came from my #2 son; he's in the Air Force and this your tax dollars at work.
From: "johnson"
Subject: MicroSoft Light Bulbs
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 97 10:41:18 PST
Q: How many Microsoft Internet Explorer programmers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The light bulb was never at fault. The college students who said they found a holes in the bulb were misled by faulty wiring in the receptacle. Our light bulb is perfectly integrated into the socket, if the bulb isn't working, it's because the user hasn't followed the simple instructions in the online help. We have opened a new web site for light bulb installation with a special feature allowing you to read in the dark until you get the light bulb working. By the way, a fix for the unbroken light bulb can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/explorer/internet/bulb/dark.html
Q: How many Microsoft tech support people dies it take to change a light bulb?
A: We have an exact copy of the light bulb here, and it seems to be working fine. Can you tell me what kind of system you have? Okay. Now exactly how dark is it? Okay, there could be 4 or 5 things wrong... have you tried the light switch?
--------------
Q: How many Microsoft technicians does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three. Two to hold the ladder and one to hammer the bulb into a faucet.
--------------
Q: How many Microsoft vice presidents does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Eight. One to work the bulb, and seven to make sure that Microsoft gets $2 for every light bulb ever changed anywhere in the world.
--------------
Q: How many Microsoft testers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: We just determine that the room is dark; we don't actually change the bulb. Since we have a dead-bulb result on file from a previous test, rest assured that Development is working on a bug fix..
--------------
Q: How many Microsoft shipping department personnel does it take to change a light bulb?
A: We can change the bulb in 7 to 10 working days. If you call before 2 PM, and pay an extra $15, we can get the bulb changed overnight. Don't forget to put your name in the upper right hand corner of the light bulb box.
--------------
Q: How many Windows users does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One. But they'll swear up and down that it was JUST as easy as it would be for a Mac user.
--------------
Q: How many Microsoft managers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: We've formed a task force to study the problem of why light bulbs burn out, and to determine what, exactly, we as supervisors can do to make the bulbs work smarter, not harder.
-------------
Q: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Bill Gates will just redefine Darkness(TM) as the new industry standard.
#5
From: TMcdono903@aol.com
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 12:01:40 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: BULLETIN BOARD #10
Here's my vote: don't work with the TV guys for the following reasons:
maintaining trade secrets and avoiding facilitation of advanced technologies and professional practices being used by the unscrupulous.
#6
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 02:29:27 PST
From: azumpf@juno.com (Al Zumpf)
From a talk by R. James Woolsey, Director of Central Intelligence Agency, given at a conference on global organized crime.
"Just in case you think the FBI is not on the job, )the following is from a tape that the FBI made of itself while conducting an investigation in San Diego. It is called "The FBI Pizza Call."
FBI agents conducted a raid of a San Diego psychiatric hospital that was under investigation for medical insurance fraud. After hours of reviewing thousands of medical records, the dozens of agents worked up quite an appetite. The agent in charge of the investigation called a nearby pizza parlor to order a quick dinner for his colleagues. The
following telephone conversation took place and was recorded by the FBI because they were taping the hospital.
Agent: "Hello, I would like to order 19 large pizzas and 67 cans of soda."
Pizza Man: "And where would you like them delivered?"
Agent: "We're over at the psychiatric hospital."
Pizza Man: "To the psychiatric hospital?"
Agent: "That's right, I'm an FBI agent."
Pizza Man: "You're an FBI agent?"
Agent: "That's correct. Just about everybody here is."
Pizza Man: "And you're at the psychiatric hospital?"
Agent: "That's correct. And make sure you don't go through the front
doors. We have them locked. You will have to go around the back to the
service entrance to deliver the pizzas."
Pizza Man: "And you say you're all FBI agents?"
Agent: "That's right. How soon can you have them here?"
Pizza Man: "And everyone at the psychiatric hospital is an FBI agent?"
Agent: "That's right, We've been here all day and we're starving."
Pizza Man: "How are you going to pay for all of this?"
Agent: "I have my checkbook right here."
Pizza Man: "And you're all FBI agents?"
Agent: "That's right. Everyone here is an FBI agent. Can you remember
to bring the pizzas and sodas to the service entrance in the rear? We
have the doors locked."
Pizza Man: "I don't think so."
CLICK
#7
I need assistance (again).
I have a small troop of paranoids running around in my computer. I can't see them, but I know they are there. They leave me little indicators scattered throughout the OS. You know the kind I mean, like when you find a light on in a room and you KNOW you turned it off or when the seat is up in the bathroom and there are no men in the house, or you get a late payment notice and you have the check stub showing you made out the check.
Computer paranoids are a little more rambunctious--they turn off files or cause the system to freeze when you are doing nothing at all. Most recently, my troop of paranoids hid a file from me; it was BULLETIN BOARD #8. I KNOW I saved it, I just KNOW it. But it isn't there anymore. I've had my file finder looking for days and always comes back with an empty file. To compound the issue, they deleted it from my out folder and trash folder (on Eudora Pro) as well.
#8
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 97 12:55:03 +1100
From: Chrissie McIntyre
To: "Tim Johnson"
Nice talking to you again Tim...here's some more info on us ie.
"Ultrascience":
"Ultrascience" is being made for The Learning Channel (TLC) is based at:
7700 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda. MD 20814-1999....phone/fax: +301 986 1999
Our shopping list:
- TEMPEST system
- ECHELON global tracking system
- Mondex
- Olivetti active badge
- email monitoring
- DNA testing
- bank/medical records retrieval
....basically all latest high tech eavesdropping devices
just heard via Kevin that the FBI is wanting to TAP all
persons...a global tapping system...is there someone we can get to talk
about this?
as I mentioned we'll be in Seattle, possibly San Francisco, Virginia,
Florida...and in London.UK; Paris,France, maybe in Zurich...possibly
Beijing, China and possibly Hong Kong.
so we would like to get as much of a international perpective as possible.
thanks again Tim...look forward to more email from you.
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Each of you will have to make your own determination as to whether you're "giving away the farm". My feelings are already on record, I don't think YOU (the security professional) can get to much information. And I can guarantee that the guys in the black hats already know as much about what's out there as any of us in the profession, if they are interested.
Also, for those of you with foreign contacts, you may want to pass the above on.
Reference her inquiry regarding TEMPEST, I suggested she try to contact Wim van Eck while she is in Europe. If anyone has an address or phone number for him, I'd appreciate it if you'd pass it to me as well.
Also, feel free to contact her directly if you would feel more comfortable. She wishes to arrange for demonstrations of various pieces of equipment used in gathering information, ranging from dumpster diving to the latest "Oh wow" stuff out there.
Tim Johnson
info@dbugman.com