gtmhh2-2_____________________________________________________________GUIDE TO (mostly) HARMLESS HACKINGVol. 2 Number 2Linux!______________________________________________________________Unix has become the primo operating system of theInternet. In fact,Unix is the most widely used operating system in the worldamong computerswith more power than PCs.True, Windows NT is coming up fast as a common Internetoperating system,and is sooo wonderfully buggy that it looks like it couldbecome the numberone favorite to crack into. But today Unix in all itswonderful flavorsstill is the operating system to know in order to be atruly elite hacker.So far we have assumed that you have been hackingusing a shellaccount that you get through your Internet Service Provider(ISP). A shellaccount allows you to give Unix commands on one of yourISP's computers. Butyou don't need to depend on your ISP for a machine that letsyou play withUnix. You can run Unix on your own computer and with a SLIPor PPPconnection be directly connected to the Internet.***********************Newbie note: Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) andPoint-to-PointProtocol (PPP) connections give you a temporary InternetProtocol (IP)address that allows you to be hooked directly to thePage 1
gtmhh2-2Internet. You have touse either SLIP or PPP connections to get to use a Webbrowser that givesyou pictures instead on text only. So if you can seepictures on the Web,you already have one of these available to you.The advantage of using one of these directconnections for yourhacking activities is that you will not leave behind a shelllog file foryour ISP's sysadmin to pore over. Even if you are notbreaking the law, ashell log file that shows you doing lots of hackerish stuphcan be enoughfor some sysadmins to summarily close your account.********************What is the best kind of computer to run Unix on?Unless you are awealthy hacker who thinks nothing of buying a Sun SPARCworkstation, you'llprobably do best with some sort of PC. There are almostcountless variantsof Unix that run on PCs. Most of them are free for download,orinexpensively available on CD-ROMs.The three primary variations of Unix that run on PCsare Sun'sSolaris, FreeBSD and Linux. Solaris costs around $700.Enough said. FreeBSDis really, really good but doesn't offer a lot of support.Linux, however,has the advantage of being available in many variants (soyou can have funmixing and matching programs from different Linuxofferings). Mostimportantly, Linux is supported by many news groups, maillists and Websites. If you have hacker friends in your area, most of themprobably useLinux and can help you out.Page 2
gtmhh2-2*********************Historical note: Linux was created in 1991 by a group led byLinus Torvaldsof the University of Helsinki. Linux is copyrighted underthe GNU GeneralPublic License. Under this agreement, Linux may beredistributed to anyonealong with the source code. Anyone can sell any variant ofLinux and modifyit and repackage it. But even if someone modifies the sourcecode he or shemay not claim copyright for anything created from Linux.Anyone who sells amodified version of Linux must provide source code to thebuyers and allowthem to reuse it in their commercial products withoutcharging licensingfees. This arrangement is known as a "copyleft."Under this arrangement the original creators ofLinux receive nolicensing or shareware fees. Linus Torvalds and the manyothers who havecontributed to Linux have done so from the joy ofprogramming and a sense ofcommunity with all of us who will hopefully use Linux in thespirit of goodguy hacking. Viva la Linux! Viva Torvalds!**********************Linux consists of the operating system itself(called the "kernel")plus a set of associated programs.The kernel, like all types of Unix, is amultitasking, multi-useroperating system. Although it uses a different filestructure, and hence isnot directly compatible with DOS and Windows, it is soflexible that manyDOS and Windows programs can be run while in Linux. So apower user willprobably want to boot up in Linux and then be able to runDOS and WindowsPage 3
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