Re: Backwards Message Hack

Article: 7383 of alt.hackers
From: Gopi D Flaherty <gf2e+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.hackers
Subject: Re: Backwards Message Hack
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 02:58:02 -0500
Organization: Freshman, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 49
Approved: Krsna@krsnaloka.org
Message-ID: QjE6__a00WBOABr1dU@andrew.cmu.edu
 <3hp115$a56@whale.st.usm.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: po2.andrew.cmu.edu
In-Reply-To: <3hp115$a56@whale.st.usm.edu>
Status: RO

Excerpts from netnews.alt.hackers: 13-Feb-95 Re: Backwards Message Hack
by John W. Chambless@whale.
> obPatheticHack: writing a finger daemon that:
>
> 1. logs all finger requests, with who was fingered, and from where
> 2. returns a snotty message if the request is a "finger
@mysitename"
> 3. returns a REALLY snotty message if it's "finger
Root@mysitename"
> 4. does a normal finger if they're fingering a specific user
> 5. does a "finger@the.site.fingering-me", logs that info, AND
>    sends it back to the fingerer.

    Isn't that a little dangerous?  Your finger daemon won't finish
until it's fingered the other person.  What if you finger yourself?  How
about somebody else running a similar system?  I've seen other people do
similar daemons.  An enless loop of finger daemons would not be
pleasant.  To be safe, you'd really need to put a check in there to see
if the same site was fingering you again, or something similar.  At
least, I think this is true.  I've never written a finger daemon so I
may be completely and totally wrong.

ObUseWhat'sInTheHouseHack:
I used to live in England, and my parents still live there.  As a
present, my dad sent me a Newton (special sale deal, etc.).  One nice
thing that the Newton comes with is a universal power supply.  However,
universal power supplies don't have universal plugs; it only had the big
British plug on it, and no removable cord.  I didn't have any type of
adaptor handy, and the batteries in the device were going down rapidly
(playing with it all day).  So, I needed to make an adaptor...
I took two fuse clips (coincidentally from a British plug) and stuck
them onto the two AC power pins of the Newton power supply (the clips
needed slight bending to fit).  I attached short pieces of speaker cable
to the clips.  I then took two paper clip halves and bent them just
enough so that they would fit securely into one of those IEC removable
computer power cables.  Next I soldered the speaker cable to the paper
clips.  Finally, I taped a piece of blister pack on top of this to
insulate it.  It was messy, but it worked for two months until I went
back to England and picked up the appropriate adaptor.  I now have a
completely safe and boring power connection :(

gopi.


[       Gopi Flaherty      |  The optimist proclaims that we live   ]
[    gf2e@andrew.cmu.edu   |  in the best of all possible worlds;   ]
[  Computer Science major  |  the pessimist fears this is true.     ]
[    GCS n+ d++ H s g+ !p0+ !au a19 w- v+ C++ ?U+ P? !W---          ]
[         L 3 E- N+ M++ !V po@ Y+ t- !5 !j R- G'' !tv               ]
[              b>++ D+ B(-) e+>++++ u+ h-- f+ y?                    ]

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