I basically just another member of the teenage internet population (15). I am a gray hat hacker/cracker, can negotiate online better than most "predators" and law enforcement, and am fully aware of most things that go on. Since this site is automatically bookmarked on most computers in my school, it grabbed my curiosity. Upon reading the material and propaganda here, I have observed some misconceptions about cyber-communication and the nature of the internet itself on this forum.
If anybody wishes to ask me a question, I will check this thread from time to time and answer it. Questions must be as specific as possible and related to internet safety in some way. The purpose of my presence and participation is to help educate parents on what is really on the internet, and how to protect your kids against it (so that I might stop seeing so many people acting stupid on IRC). I will also answer questions about myself so that you can get a better idea about who is on the internet. If I deem you to be intelligent and satisfying to talk to, I may even give you my email address so that we can talk some more (I will not do live interviews or talk on the telephone however, that is the line).
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Anne
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507
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(9 of 69)
Jan 12, 2007 10:29 PM
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Very cool you you're doing this. Glad to have you here as long as you stay interested. Might help others here if you explain/describe "social hacking" - what are the people? What talents are involved? How much time do you spend on it? Whatever else you want to say about it. BTW, "give up computers forever" - why would you do that? Do you foresee being sick of 'em some day? Thanks and best,
Anne
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Anne Collier
BlogSafety co-director
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Lt_Flippy
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1/7/07
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(8 of 69)
Jan 12, 2007 10:01 PM
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*Thanks for your candid answers, Lt Flippy. You mention falling in with the underground. Could you explain what that means? I imagine there's "good" underground (meaning something like messing around with network security for the fun of it rather than the money) and "bad" underground, as in illegal stuff like running botnets, etc. (see this recent NYTimes article about how huge the latter's getting). What are your ambitions for using your skills in the future?
- There really is no good or bad underground, just the people who participate in it. What you refer to as the "bad" underground is non-existant. People who slave-hack computers try to avoid bragging about their exploits, so you never really see them online. If a hacker pulls off something that big, they keep quiet about it (and sometimes they are out of hacking for good). As for my abilities, I plan to join the military after I finish college. If everything turns out the way I think it will, I might be an intel guy for the military. Working on intel might be the challenge I am really looking for, and I could learn a lot. From there, I will have a ton of options for what I want to do with my life (I will probably be done for good with computers).
*On the online-safety front: Do you think most kids just hear stuff like "don't share your full name, address, etc." and that's it, they stay safe? Have you helped other people be smart about that?
- Even though most kids hear that stuff, they are most likely going to do it anyways. The reason I didn't was because I learned exactly how predators use info and became quite paranoid for a bit. If more kids were introduced to "social hacking" we would have a significantly lower number of them getting into trouble.
...I have not really made an effort to help others be safe on the internet before, this is my first time contributing to anything of that sort.
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Anne
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(7 of 69)
Jan 10, 2007 9:51 PM
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Thanks for your candid answers, Lt Flippy. You mention falling in with the underground. Could you explain what that means? I imagine there's "good" underground (meaning something like messing around with network security for the fun of it rather than the money) and "bad" underground, as in illegal stuff like running botnets, etc. (see this recent NYTimes article about how huge the latter's getting). What are your ambitions for using your skills in the future?
On the online-safety front: Do you think most kids just hear stuff like "don't share your full name, address, etc." and that's it, they stay safe? Have you helped other people be smart about that? Thanks,
Anne
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Anne Collier
BlogSafety co-director |
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Lt_Flippy
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1/7/07
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(6 of 69)
Jan 10, 2007 4:02 PM
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* It would be great to know a little more about you - e.g., how and when you became interested in the Internet? What are your favorite uses of the Net (e.g., pure hacking as in testing network security; writing code; playing MMORPGs; etc.) and why? What do your parents think of your tech expertise and did they ever worry about your safety online (if they did and now don't, how did you ease their concerns)?
- I became interested in the internet when my cousin showed me a BBS on his computer. My favorite uses of the net are playing games (I have a gaming addiction) and learning. I learn whatever I can about computers and how they work and I am currently proficient in Python, HTML, JavaScript, and am learning Visual Basic (even though I never really code anything).
I have never really met my dad so I can't tell you what he thinks about my internet addiction, but I can tell you about my mom. My mom doesn't really worry about my tech abilities but she does stress about how much time I like to spend on the computer. Safety has also pretty much been a non-issue. When I was little I was told not to give out my name, number, or address and that was it.
As soon as I gained access to a computer at home, I fell in with the underground and started playing online chess. I have always had an innate hate for AOL and the like and it resulted in me being relatively safe.
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Lt_Flippy
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(5 of 69)
Jan 9, 2007 6:01 PM
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* What should parents be concerned about in the online-safety area, if anything?
- Parents should be concerned about everything, that is their job. I cannot say what a parent should specifically watch out for because there is no generic answer. Other than talking to your kid, there is little you can do. This is why I would have to say that a parent's best bet is to educate themselves. By educate, I mean becoming proficient in using Windows/Macintosh, learning to use a web browser, learning to read the full header of an email, and learning how the internet works. An educated parent has the capability of of at least monitoring what their child is doing.
Sadly, it becomes harder and harder to protect your kids each day. Simply barring them from the internet is impossible in this day and age, and anything you might want to use to spy on them can easily be uninstalled by friends like me (I have been doing this since I was 10). Parent's can only hope that their kids don't do anything stupid, and if they do, that they are caught by the right people.
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Anne
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(4 of 69)
Jan 7, 2007 10:12 PM
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Helpful, Lt Flippy - thanks. Looking forward to more....
Anne
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Anne Collier
BlogSafety co-director
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Lt_Flippy
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(3 of 69)
Jan 7, 2007 10:01 PM
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This will take me a while to answer (thoughtfully), so I will answer one question at a time in order to help you as much as possible.
The easiest one first:
* Do you see greater risks to minors' online safety in IRC than, say, in social Web sites? We don't see anything about IRC in tech media coverage of Net-using youth, and I'm wondering if it's just because the mainstream media don't know much about Internet relay chat.
- All chat programs present the risk of your child's internet safety being compromised, IRC is not any different. However, I would say that IRC is definitely a lot safer than social websites. This is not because of the its structure or the way it was designed, but because of the crowd it has attracted since the late eighties. IRC is the haven of hackers, nerds, geeks, crackers, pirates, and gamers. Not very many people try to get a date on IRC (I have only seen it once, and the poor guy was immediately ridiculed), the only real life meetings are LAN parties...
The reason IRC is not given media attention is because nothing really happens. There are always exceptions, but IRC is just not that exciting. All the girls are on AOL.
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Anne
Posts:
507
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(2 of 69)
Jan 7, 2007 4:24 PM
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Thanks for joining us, Lt Flippy. I have a few Qs for when you have time:
* What are the most glaring 4 or 5 misconceptions about cyber-communication and the nature of the Net you've seen in this site?
* It would be great to know a little more about you - e.g., how and when you became interested in the Internet? What are your favorite uses of the Net (e.g., pure hacking as in testing network security; writing code; playing MMORPGs; etc.) and why? What do your parents think of your tech expertise and did they ever worry about your safety online (if they did and now don't, how did you ease their concerns)?
* Do you see greater risks to minors' online safety in IRC than, say, in social Web sites? We don't see anything about IRC in tech media coverage of Net-using youth, and I'm wondering if it's just because the mainstream media don't know much about Internet relay chat.
* What should parents be concerned about in the online-safety area, if anything?
That's probably plenty for now. Thanks again for jumping in,
Anne
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Anne Collier
BlogSafety co-director |
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Lt_Flippy
Posts:
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Registered:
1/7/07
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(1 of 69)
Jan 7, 2007 3:41 PM
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I basically just another member of the teenage internet population (15). I am a gray hat hacker/cracker, can negotiate online better than most "predators" and law enforcement, and am fully aware of most things that go on. Since this site is automatically bookmarked on most computers in my school, it grabbed my curiosity. Upon reading the material and propaganda here, I have observed some misconceptions about cyber-communication and the nature of the internet itself on this forum.
If anybody wishes to ask me a question, I will check this thread from time to time and answer it. Questions must be as specific as possible and related to internet safety in some way. The purpose of my presence and participation is to help educate parents on what is really on the internet, and how to protect your kids against it (so that I might stop seeing so many people acting stupid on IRC). I will also answer questions about myself so that you can get a better idea about who is on the internet. If I deem you to be intelligent and satisfying to talk to, I may even give you my email address so that we can talk some more (I will not do live interviews or talk on the telephone however, that is the line).
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