Established 1984. The ORIGINAL "E-zine."
Eastside - Westside - Worldwide: Bow Down
6
6 6
_ _
((___))
[ x x ]
cDc \ / cDc
(' ')
(U)
c D c M E D I A G L O B A L D O M I N A T I O N U P D A T E
N U M B E R S I X
Unabridged
Forward to the President. Red Alert. Full Steam Ahead. Power on.
This is Media Global Domination Update number six from the Cult of the Dead Cow's Ministry of Propaganda.
You have never seen us, but you may have felt our wrath. We operate in the bitter darkness outside the known channels. We thrive in the ferro-concrete walls of the technological civilization. We are the stainless steel rats, gnawing at the underpinnings of the 'Information Superhighway', spreading the power and propaganda of the Cow wherever we go.
Founded in late 1984, the Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) is the oldest group still active in the computer underground; the only group (aside from a few layme p1RaT3 gR0oPzZz) with a female group member; the only group to host its own annual HoHoCon hacker convention; and, with over 300 text files in circulation, the most prolific group. cDc is definitely cooler than the Legion of Doom (LoD), and more importantly, our T-shirts are more colorful. We also have stickers.
Great, you may say, but have we ever disrupted communications on two continents by moving telecommunications satellites? Mhm. Hacked computing resources belonging to the three-letter agencies and the Pentagon? Yep. Electronically altered environmental controls in local malls? Done that. But unlike other hacker groups you've undoubtedly read about, we've never been caught.
With qualifications like these, it's not surprising that over the past few years, the media has looked to us as the darling boy (and girl) torch-bearers of the DIY-cyber-hacker-underground movement. It's our unfortunate cross to bear. But as the whole of Generation X follows our lead into the new millenium, we feel it is our duty to our peers to maintain the struggle and "raise high our freak flag," as it were.
On their behalf, we intend to dominate and subvert the media wherever possible. Information is a virus. And we intend to infect all of you.
There is NO vaccine.
There is NO escape.
There is NO hope.
There is ONLY cDc.
What follows is the unabridged update on our progress to taint your global information outlets. The full report can be found at
http://www.cultdeadcow.com/news/medialist.htm
http://www.L0pht.com/~veggie/medialist.html
You may have heard about Back Orifice. Press clippings for Back Orifice are
maintained separately at:
http://www.cultdeadcow.com/tools/bolinks1.html
http://www.cultdeadcow.com/tools/bolinks2.html
http://www.cultdeadcow.com/tools/bolinks3.html
/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>
/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>
"CULT OF THE DEAD COW. You have not lived
until you have browsed this journal."
-- MICHAEL FINLEY, Knight-Ridder News Service
I. MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS MENTIONING OR QUOTING cDc OR ITS MEMBERS
* 93. _US News_, June 14, 1999, "Can Hackers be Stopped?" by
Brendan I. Koerner. This article refers to cDc, but
ends up being a huge dick suck for ISS. Almost quoting,
"ISS, whose engineers are all geniuses, and the company
as a whole, are the greatest thing since sliced shit.
Without them, we would never have been protected from
Back Orifice!"
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/990614/14hack.htm
* 92. _The Los Angeles Times_, March 31, 1999, Business Section,
"Security of Microsoft's Products is Questioned," by
Leslie Helm. "The Melissa virus that tied up computer
systems around the world is just the latest in a string
of attacks on Microsoft software and has raised questions
among security experts about Microsoft's ability to
protect its customers."
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/BUSINESS/t000028532.1.html
* 91. _Time Magazine_, March 22, 1999, pg 60, "Cracking the Code,"
by Chris Taylor. A really dumb story about E&Y
teaching its people to "hack." Anyway, projected on
the wall of their classroom is the image of the cDc
homepage and the iron cross with cowskull cutout.
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/digital/feature/0,2955,22179,00.html
* 90. _Information Security Magazine_, February, 1999, "Down
with Hacktivism!"
http://www.infosecuritymag.com/feb99/underground.htm
* 89. _ABC News_, February 5, 1999, a chat with Count Zero.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/chat_countzero.html
* 88. _ABC News_, February 4, 1999, "The Great Hacker Divide:
A Generation Gap in Hacker Subculture."
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/hackers990203.html
* 87. _The Boston Globe_, January 24, Weekend Magazine supplement
contained a special report on Hacktivism.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/024/focus/
They_call_it__hacktivism_+.shtml
* 86. _The Montreal Gazette_, February 3, 1999, "The Good Hackers:
'Hacktivists' use their Web Savvy for Human Rights," by
Andy Riga.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/PAGES/990203/2240792.html
* 85. _MSNBC_, January 15, 1999, "Cyberwar Averted, but What Now?"
by Bob Sullivan. Legion of Underground declared war
on Iraq and China, then withdrew after a joint
condemnation of their declaration by leading
members of the computer underground.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/232090.asp
* 84. _Der Spiegel_, January 13, 1999. Interview with cDc, CCC
and the L0pht regarding the implications of 'cyber warfare'.
Have governments discovered the next 'red menace'?
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/jump.phtml?channel=netzwelt&
rub=02&cont=themen/hackerkrieg.html
* 83. _CNN_, January 13, 1999, "Hackers Spar over Cyber War on Iraq,
China," by Mary Lisbeth D'Amico
http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9901/13/cyberwar.idg/
* 82. _Wired_, January 8, 1999, "Crackers Call Off 'War'", by James
Glave. cDc, 2600, the Chaos Computer Club,
L0pht Heavy Industries, Phrack, Toxyn, !Hispahack, Pulhas,
and several individual Dutch hackers band together to
issue a joint condemnation of Legion of Underground's
declaration of war against the information infrastructures
of China and Iraq.
* 81. "Dissidents Hack Holes in China's New Wall", January 4, 1999,
Column one, Los Angeles Times.
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/NATION/t000000936.html
* 80. _Diario de Navegante_, December 1, 1998, "Los Hackers Rompen
La Gran Muralla China," mentions an innovative group
known as "Culto a la vaca Muerta."
* 79. _Time Magazine ASIA_, November 9, 1998, Vol. 152 No. 18,
"Policing the Net."
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/asia/magazine/1998/981109/
china_internet1.html
http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/asia/magazine/1998/981109/
china_internet2.html
* 78. _Asia Week_, October 30, 1998, "From the Web: Phreaking
Hacktivists."
http://www.pathfinder.com/asiaweek/98/1030/feat9.html
* 77. _The Ottawa Citizen_, October 26, 1998, "E-Guerillas in the
Mist," by Bob Paquin.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/hightech/981026/1964496.html
* 76. _US News_, September 28, 1998, "Chinese 'hacktivists' spin
a Web of trouble for the regime," by Bay Fang.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/980928/28chin.htm
* 75. _Wired_, September 22, 1998, "The Golden Age of Hacktivism,"
by Niall McKay. A good article on hacktivism with
quotes from Oxblood.
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/15129.html
* 74. _The Edmonton Journal_, September 10, 1998, "Bedlam at
Hacker's Conference," by Andrew Gilligan.
"The highlight of the conference, for example, was the
unveiling of Back Orifice, a hacker tool revealed with
all the fanfare of a Microsoft product-launch plus. There
was, for no very clear reason, a youth capering around
the stage in a cow mask, white-fur cowboy's chaps and
a pearl-handled pistol in a holster. The audience
went wild with delight."
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/computers/091098stor6.html
* 73. August 24, 1998 issue of _Business Week_ covered Back Orifice,
Complete with an illustration of Satan breaking into
someone's computer. (That's a little heavy-handed, don't
you think?) Edmund Muth, Microsoft's product manager for
security is quoted as saying, "This is the kind of
software that could produce very substantial damage to
someone's computer if it were installed." Curiously,
this is a complete about-face from his August 4th statement
to the New York Times.
http://www.businessweek.com/1998/35/b3593100.htm
* 73. _The New York Times_, August 4, 1998, "Hacker Group Says
Program Can Exploit Microsoft Security Hole," by Matt
Richtel. This article contains a memorable quote
from Microsoft's product manager for security,
Edmund Muth, "This is not a tool we should take
seriously, or our customers should take seriously."
http://www.njh.com/latest/9808/980804-01.html
* 72. _The New York Times_, August 2, 1998, "The Hacker Myth
Crumbles at Convention," by Matt Richtel.
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/cyber/articles/02hacker.html
* 71. Metaphors involving the Great Wall continue to abound.
"Looking for an Opening in the New Great Wall", _The Globe
and Mail_, June 6, 1998, by Charles Foran.
http://globetechnology.com/gam/News/19980606/FORAN.html
* 70. The Russian version of the _ComputerWorld_ article about
cDc and the Hong Kong Blondes.
http://gorod.ttn.ru/cw/1998/04/internet/
* 69. February 2, 1998, _ComputerWorld_, "Target NT: Hackers Have
Made the Latest Version of Windows Their Own Personal
Playground," by Deborah Radcliff.
http://www2.computerworld.com/home/online9697.nsf/CWFlashWeekly/980202id
* 68. January 22, 1998, _ComputerWorld Hong Kong_, "Hackers Fighting
for Human Rights in China," by Sumner Lemon.
http://www.idg.net/idg_frames/english/content.cgi?vc=docid_9-57150.html
67. December, 1997, _Wired_, Issue 5.12, "Hacking China", Updata
section, top story. Working with the Cult of the Dead Cow,
the Hong Kong Blondes works to disrupt official information
systems in the People's Republic. Data longs to be free,
and so do the people of China.
66. November, 1997 _Byte_, "Deja Vu All Over Again". Windows NT
security is under fire. It's not just that there are
holes, but that they're holes that other OSes patched
years ago. Written by the man who would know: Mudge.
No, he didn't choose the article's title.
65. National Semiconductor's recent "What Does Information Feel
Like?" ad campaign re-uses a modified version of a
December, 1996 _Wired_ article photo depicting Carolyn
Meinel beside a monitor emblazened with cDc stickers.
The c0w is still visible in National Semi's ad, which
you can spot in _Business Week_ and _EE Times_.
64. _Software Magazine_, October, 1997, "You know they're coming
at you. Can you stop them? Hackers, Terrorists, and
Spies." The editor of this Beyond HOPE 1997 article
seems to have the literary skills of a 4th grader.
But in any case, here's the URL:
http://www.sentrytech.com/sm107cv.htm
63. _Network World_, Aug 4, 1997, Vol 14, Num 31, "Hackers
love NT's compatibility," by Dave Kearns, pg 22.
Mudge and L0phtCrack take center-stage.
62. Hobbit, Yobie and the L0pht's Mudge are highlighted in this
_EE Times_ whitepaper, "The Dinner".
http://techweb.cmp.com/eet/whitepaper/paper1/paper1.html
61. Mudge and the old guard hold court at the Black Hat conference
and at DefCon:
http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/zdnn/0711/zdnn0012.html
60. _EE Times_, July 14, "Microsoft Sits Down with the Enemy".
The article does not mention the subtext: that the L0pht
is now dictating terms for the anschluss of Microsoft.
http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?EET19970714S0021
59. _MacWeek_, July 7, 1997, pg 3, David Morgenstern's Hot List
includes:
* Cult of the Dead Cow
http://www.l0pht.com/veggie/allmedia.html
This cross-platform assembly is the oldest extant
computer-underground group. The site has several
samizdats about computer freedom. It also claims to have
better T-shirts and stickers than the Legion of Doom, a
well-known group of hackers.
58. July 1st edition of the _San Francisco Weekly_, Cool Beans!
is reviewed in the Arts & Entertainment section, pg 94:
Best of San Francisco '97
Arts & Entertainment
Best Local Music Zine
Cool Beans
3181 Mission #113
Cool Beans editor and taxi driver Matt Kelly kicks off
issue No. 6, "The Drinking and Driving Issue" (each edition
centers around a theme), with the following combination
tribute/warning: "Something about whipping along on
the highway at 90 miles per hour with a slight buzz is just
romantic. Don't drive drunk. It's really stupid. But you
have to admit, it's kind of fun." Regardless of whether
you'll be taking a ride in Kelly's cab anytime soon,
there's plenty of reason to pick up his zine -- the
current issue features rambling interviews with local
bands Henry's Dress, Snowmen and Fuck, an
ill-fated chat with testy S.F. Seal Barbara Manning, and
reviews of records and live shows. Interspersed are some
hair-raising stories from San Francisco cabbies, and the
whole affair comes with a 7-inch compilation
featuring the bands reviewed within.
57. June 25th edition of the _San Francisco Bay Guardian_ (pg 60)
has named our newsgroup, alt.fan.cult-dead-cow, one of
the top ten alt.fan newsgroups (we're number two --
right after alt.fan.brie -- because we don't try as hard).
see: http://sfbg.com/AandE/31/39/index.html
56. 15th edition of _Iron Feather Journal_, "Hacking the Internet",
by Bonnie Burton:
"For those Internet hackers who want the know about the
computer culture that came before the hype, there's
Cult of The Dead Cow at http://www.l0pht.com/cdc.html.
This online Web site has numerous essays on everything
from hacking traffic lights to a retrospective look at
punk music and cyberpunk creedos."
55. _EE Times_, April, 1997, "Hackers Keep the Heat On
Windows NT Security". Striking from the hidden fortress
of the L0pht, Mudge scores a blow against shoddy Windows
NT security. Maybe the boys at Redmond shouldn't take
themselves so seriously.
see:
http://techweb.cmp.com/eet/news/97/950news/hackers.html
54. _BIZARRE_ magazine, March/April 1997 issue, pg 87. Veggie's
Mr. T site is listed, along with this quote:
"Jewelry-obsessed A-Team 'actor' hangs out on the Web.
Yo, Fool, Who y'talkin' to?" BIZARRE is a British
magazine and we suspect that they are none too
savvy about URL naming conventions (they listed the
domain name wrong, for one thing), else they might
have realized that Mr.T (Peace be upon him!) has nothing
to do with the site, save to be an object of veneration
and adoration.
53. Atlanta Journal/Constitution, February 22, 1997, "FAITH
AND VALUES: Media with a message. ONLINE
Cyberculture/Religions." John Blake, STAFF WRITER, tells
us what happens when he types Yahoo's URL into his
web browser and clicks on the Society-and-Culture/
Cyberculture/Religions section. When it comes to his
encounter with the Cult of the Dead Cow, he is
speechless. Now we know why he's only a STAFF writer.
52. In a February 18, 1997 Associated Press story titled,
"Young Bards of Today Revive Beatnik Groups of the
1960s", about a Danville, California teen poetry
reading group, five alternateens are pictured. Seen
clearly in the picture is a large-size cDc sticker.
51. In a recent issue of the skate rag _Thrasher_, a reader's
published letter included a drawing of a skater wearing
a shirt with the Dead Milkmen logo and the words
"Cult of the Dead Cow" underneath.
50. Not surprisingly, certain Cult of the Dead Cow merchandise
has made its way into the boardrooms of America. A
recent article by PC Week's Spencer Katt:
http://www.pcweek.com/spencer/spencer.html
Executives from Gateway, which earlier this year
filed suit against Cyrix because of a series of
"Smash Gateway" advertisements, were recently
spotted toasting each other with gold mugs
inscribed with the notation "Don't mess with the Cow,"
a cDc slogan for many, many years.
49. Listed amongst the favorite web sites of Paul Simms
(Creator and Executive Producer of NBC's NEWSRADIO) in
the January, 1997 issue of _Esquire_ magazine (pg 49):
L0pht Heavy Industries
http://www.L0pht.com
A hacker's paradise
48. Speaking of _CyberSurfer_: in their January, 1997 issue's
homage to the Best of Horror On-Line (pg 37), our own
sultry Carrie is mentioned as being the mistress who
maintains the Dark Side of the Web, which the magazine
says is the ultimate in horror links and indexes.
There's a quote from Carrie in which she says she's "not
a Satanist, ... doesn't dress in black 100% of the time."
The article's author then says, with characteristic
gothic humor, "How unfortunate. Well, even if she isn't
as fun as we'd hoped..."
47. On page 69 of the December, 1996 issue of _Wired_, Carolyn
Meinel is pictured as an eclectic educator trying
to teach kids about computing by teaching them to hack.
Subliminally influenced by the cow, if you look closely
you will see three cDc stickers prominently displayed
on her monitor.
46. _OEM Magazine_, November, 1996, "Breaking into Electronic
Commerce". cDc cracks "secure"-key encryption technology?
Bellcore wines and dines Mudge to keep him quiet? Just
another day at the L0pht. Read on.
http://techweb.cmp.com/oem/docs/commerce.html
45. Carrie's Dark Side of the Web is mentioned in the October,
1996 issue of _Playboy_, page 24, in the "Multimedia
News & Reviews" section.
"At The Dark Side Of The Web you can connect to 1500
horror-related sites, including the Cannibalism page
with its detailed recipies for 'the preparation of
humans for consumption.'"
44. _CyberSurfer_ magazine gave the Mr. T web site (maintained
by T's biggest fan. And I do mean large) quite a
favorable review. _CyberSurfer_ is produced by the same
people who publish _StarLog_ (uh huh huh uh), and it's
almost exactly the same thing, with just a little more
of a computer bent. Barely. Check out the October, 1996
issue. Page 15.
43. _LAN Times_, August 19, 1996 article on "Automated Hacking
Tools" co-developed at cDc's L0pht by Hobbit and Mudge.
http://www.lantimes.com/96aug/608b016a.html
42. _Rocky Mountain News_, August 18, 1996, "Air Force battles
computer hackers", pg 42A. Originally from
an article by Chris Williams, _San Antonio Express-News_,
August 11, 1996. Excerpt:
"Hundreds of thousands of times a year, the Cyberwarrior
[the U.S. Air Force Information Warfare Center]
defends the nation's secrets from the members of the
Legion of Doom and the CULT of the DEAD COW in a
battlefield that spans the globe."
The Cult of the Dead Cow can neither confirm nor deny
the allegations of this reporter.
"'In the old days, to be a hacker, you really had to be
good," he said. 'Now, it is basically a point and click
world. If you can run Windows 95, you can be a hacker.'"
This is patently ridiculous. Although if it were true,
the Air Force has just issued a damning testimonial
of their own security. Maybe they're running NT? See
item #54 above.
41. Mudge is pictured in the August, 1996 issue of
_Wired_ (pg 40), holding court in the L0pht:
"What do a group of hackers do when the equipment they've
accumulated over years of dumpster diving no longer fits
in their apartments? They get a L0pht. Since 1993, a core
group of seven Boston-based hackers have rented a loft
space for hacking, trading information about cellular
phone security, and building things like a wireless
Internet service using discarded microwave equipment. All
strictly for educational purposes, of course. ... why do
they keep at it? 'For the girls and the text files, of
course,' says Mudge."
40. Newark, NJ _The Star-Ledger_, July 14, 1996,
"The CULT of the DEAD COW proves small is still beautiful
on the Net", Colin Berry, music editor of Wired Magazine.
Excerpt:
"One such site, noted in Happy Mutant and forwarded
to me recently by the builders themselves, is the
controversial CULT of the DEAD COW, found on the Web
... CDC is a spew of bilious rant, cultural commentary,
psychological purgation, and twisted fun. It's been
around for over a decade, published by Ross Messiah,
a k a Swamp Ratte ... [cDc] is 11 years old -- several
generations in Web years. cDc has wrinkles that date
longer than most e-zines. Is the best indication of
the future of the Net a glimpse into its deep and
dusty past?"
Mr. Berry compares cDc's content to that of Slate --
"Microsoft's heavily hyped new electrorag" -- and finds
Slate lacking. We're not surprised.
39. The University of Colorado's Campus Press article, "Surfing
the Web Dungeons" is nearly on target.
(http://bcn.boulder.co.us/campuspress/april111996/web41196.html)
A few errata, however: The L0pht URL is wrong; there
is no electronic form you can fill out to become a member;
and the Global Domination Factory Direct Outlets are not
part of a cDc shopping channel. We're working on that,
though.
38. So omnipresent is cDc, that we are now the subject of articles
on how to _avoid_ us. _Internet Medicine_, "Separating the
Wheat From the Chaff Or How to Avoid the Cult of the Dead
Cow." April 1996, 1.3. See:
http://www.curbside.com/demo/dcslink.html
37. Newsday's April 21st article entitled "Eclectic Zines: Web
journals are battling to remain nonconformist"
(http://www.newsday.com/plugin/ccov0421.htm) completely
misses the mark. In the past year or two, it's become
fashionable to upload your schlock to a web site and call
it a 'zine; four stars and a "Top 5%" award if the tone
of your 'zine is cynical. Ha! We've been on-line and
electronically distributing our 'zine for more than a
decade! The also-rans mentioned in the article don't
even come close. Battling to remain non-conformist?
We define it!
36. In the June issue of _Blacklisted! 411_ (volume 3, issue 2,
page 24, paragraph 5, "The Computer Underground or, Geeks
With Big Dicks", by Darwin) we find a reference to the
Cult's influence on the uninitiated:
"...Local guys competed to get text from Ripco, Demon Roach
Underground ... People hoarded cDc... text files."
35. A recent issue of _Slap_ magazine unknowingly made reference
to a UseNet post from Drunkfux. Inspired by a tender
cross-post from a Dr. Jai Maharaj warning that
"Meat-eaters hurt everyone," Drunkfux recounts his attempt
to order a "Quadro-pounder" at a McDonald's drive-thru.
The message includes in part:
"FUK N0 B1TCH! I WANT 4 H0T SLABZ 0F C0W DETH 0N A BUN WITH
N0 FUKING HIPPIE AZZ VEGETABULZ! I ALZ0 D0NT WANT ANY FUKING
LAME VEGAN FRIEZ 0R ANY TYPE 0F RECYKULD PAKAGING. N0 KUP,
N0 BAG, N0 WRAPPERZ.. PUT THE SHIT 0N THE WIND0W K0UNTER
THING AND I WILL TAKE IT. AND TELL JAI T0 G0 FUK A K0K0NUT
T00! ... FUK IT & GIMME THAT WHICH IZ THE S0URCE 0F ALL
EVIL... N0W!"
_Slap_ attributes the msg only to "Cult of the Dead Cow."
Evidently _Slap_ had no problem printing the word
"FUKING", but when it came to the name "Drunkfux",
they drew the line.
The entire file has gotten wide distribution across the
Internet. Several people have included it on their web
sites, including:
http://khm.idg.se/dead_cow.htm
http://www.che.ufl.edu/~reedmd/humor/beefrulz.html
34. _Internet Underground_, March, 1996, Vol 1, Issue #4, pg 44,
"KILLING THE LANGUAGE, RAZING THE STANDARDS: D constructi n
& ReKuN5tRUKshn in the Electronic Age." Hackers "perverting
the English language" and the socio-political implications
of tYpP1nG K3wL. They cite a "typical web site" which
contains the text:
"U gUyZ aiNt HAck3rZ! WheRE aRe YEr cDc
fILeZ?!?!1111?!?1 cuLt of dA DeAd coW rUleZ!!!!!11111!!11!1
hAy!!11!1 I wUz L00kInG aT Y0RE P@GE An|> 1 DId n0t SeE a
L1nk to the cDc w#b P2G3!1!!!1 Iz thiz SuuM KINd uv KREWL
J0kE!?!1/ It r0x wif gl0ckZ!! cDc! We Are THE FutuRe of
ROCK N' ROLL!"
Their WebGuide(tm) insert contains a quick blurb about
Veggie's cDc web page at the L0pht, though after all their
learned research on tYpP1nG K3wL, they mistook the zero
in 'L0pht' for the letter O. Later, they include an extra
period in the L0pht URL, "http://lOpht.com./"
33. Cool Beans!_ #5, March 3rd, 1996 contains an interview with
our phearless leader, Grandmaster Swamp Ratte`, as well as
a compilation of the first 300 cDc files on CD-ROM. For the
binary-impaired, the Cool Beans! CD-ROM is also a compilation
of music from the latest hip alterna-ground bands.
For only $6.00 postage-paid (make checks out to Matt Kelly),
you can get a copy:
Cool Beans!
3181 Mission #113
SF, CA 94110
32. Canada's _Globe and Mail_, Tuesday, February 27th, 1996 issue,
"A Short History of Hackers, Phreaks and Worms", is yet another
example of cDc's growing influence on foreign media. With the
publication of this article, Deth Vegetable is now "[the world's]
most infamous hacker."
See: http://www.L0pht.com/~veggie/globemail.html
31. _Phrack_, several issues. Do a WAIS search to find cDc references.
Most recently, Phrack 48, File 3 (Line Noise, Pt. I), in a
review of the movie "Hackers" by Wile Coytote. And Mudge's
profile in Phrack 49.
30. _The Internet Underground_, January 1996 edition features
a "WebGuide" insert which reviews Deth Veggie's
"Mr. T home Page":
http://www.l0pht.com/~veggie/MrT.html
Listen here suckah, I pity the fool that visits this site.
Size up Mr. T and the world's biggest tree.
Visit the A-Team episode guides. Points off for
no mention of his famous breakfast cereal or insipid cartoon,
the fools! [Rating:] 3 Stars.
29. _.Net_ magazine, Issue #13, December 1995, pg 48. The L0pht
home page is featured, along with the caption, "The top US
hackers hang out here. Why can't they spell?" Why can't
_.Net_'s British publishers get a clue?
28. Miranda Megill and Features Editor Taylor Davis of the
Hendersonville, Tennessee _Cherokee Road Journal_ is reviewing
the L0pht home page (http://www.l0pht.com/~veggie)
27. _PC Computing_, December 1995, contains an "underground
Internet road map," which mentions both the L0pht,
"Cult of the Dead Cow: Their concern is 'global domination
through media saturation' and they're out to titillate the
Internet community with social commentaries and insights."
(Ha! That's what _they_ think!)
and the Dark Side of the Web,
"If you like vampires, mysticism, books and movies about evil
things and cemeteries, you could live here. Over 350 links
from the lightly shaded to the depths of darkness."
26. SunWorld On-Line, September, 1995:
http://www.sun.com/sunworldonline/swol-09-1995/swol-09-def.html
25. _Infobahn_ Magazine, Issue #1
24. Minneapolis-St. Paul _Star-Tribune_, August 8, 1995 business
section, "Breaking in is hard to do", by Mike Meyers.
Excerpt:
"One hacker known as 'DEATH VEGETABLE,' who gained
notoriety a couple of years ago for posting on the
Internet instructions for building a bomb, said he
likes nothing better than a corporate computer relying
on outdated operating software, conventional hardware
and overworked, poorly trained electronics technicians.
Or, to put that in the parlance of would-be intruders,
'Unix running on VAX and watched by MIS - it's a hacker's
wet dream,' he said. 'You see it all the time.' In his
view, companies that are sloppy deserve whatever happens
to them."
23. _Shift_ Magazine's comparison between Hollywood's image of hackers
and the _real thing_, Cult of the Dead Cow:
http://www.e-Commerce.Com/Shift/reel/hackcomparison.html
22. _Mondo 2000_, Issue #14, "Poppy Z. Brite in the Charnel
House of Karma", pg 68. Poppy briefly mentions the positive
influence of certain cDc members (and their attendant
Hello Kitty fixation) on her psycho-sexual chrysalis.
21. _.Net_ magazine, Issue #8, July 1995, "Breaking into Heaven".
20. Ed Norris must've done his homework. No article entitled
"Protecting Against Hacker Attacks" would be complete
without covering the Cult of the Dead Cow and its infamous
HoHoCon conventions. See _Information Systems Security_,
June, 1995.
19. _PyroTechnics_, Issue #55, June, 1995, pp 1, 2. Nightstalker's
most recent article, concerning experimental rocketry in
the late 1960s.
18. _I-Way_ Magazine, Issue #1, June 1995,
"The Internet Can Turn Anybody Into a Publisher",
by Reid Goldsborough, Page 43. See also:
http://www.l0pht.com/~veggie/I-Way.html
17. _.Net_ magazine, Issue #7, June 1995, "Virtual Villainy".
16. _The Red Herring_, April, 1995.
15. _Punk Planet_, Issue #2
14. _Blaster_ magazine, Issue #1 and Issue #2.
13. Nightstalker's review of _Dixie City Jam_ was featured in
_The Armchair Detective_, Fall 1994 (vol. 27, number 4) pg 483.
12. _Vibe_ magazine, Volume 2, Number 5, June/July 1994,
"Of Phreaks and Hackers", by Carol Cooper, pg 77.
11. _Playboy_, April, 1994, "Lust Online" by Matthew Childs
10. _The Montreal Gazette_, December 20, 1993, front page,
"Computer Data Can Be Dangerous"
9. _Hartford (CT) Courant_, September 27, 1993, front page,
"Free Speech and Computers Central to Bomb-Recipe Case"
8. _Mondo 2000_, Issue #10, 1993, "Storming the Bullshit Studio",
by Suzanne d'Fault and Quaker State Tapioca Rupture, pg 45.
Includes:
"cDc, CULT OF THE DEAD COW, is a nation of psychic signal
jammers. We're talking GOOFY. Headquartered at
DEMON ROACH UNDERGROUND (which is continually busy, but
try and try), the cDc provides a real service to the BBS
community by confusing the hell out of the feds."
7. _Boston Globe Magazine_, March 22, 1993, "Navigating On-Line
America", by D.C. Deniston.
6. _LoadStar_, Issue #103, December, 1992. Nightstalker's
review of _The New Hacker's Dictionary_.
5. _Omni_, November, 1992, "Secrets of the Cyberculture"
by A.J.S. Rayl, pg 66.
4. _COMPUTE! Magazine_, January 1992, Gazette section,
pages G-9 and G10, contain subliminal Illuminati symbols,
courtesy of Nightstalker.
3. _ComputerWorld_, January 13, 1992, pg 100, mentions a
US government-run BBS for computer security experts. cDc
files are officially hoarded there for reference, among the
trove of other hacker text-files. The government charges
a yearly membership fee for access to these files; we give
them away for free. Your tax dollars at work again.
2. _Details_, October, 1991, "The Hackers Who Came In From The Cold",
by Bruce Sterling, pg 96, includes:
"It didn't help that underground hacker boards sported
terrifying sci-fi heavy-metal names, like 'Speed Demon Elite,'
'Demon Roach Underground,' and 'Black Ice.'"
1. For a three year period between 1985 and 1987, The Nightstalker
provided editorials and essays for the Apple II edition of
_Uptime_.
II. MAGAZINE ARTICLES WRITTEN BY cDc MEMBERS
7. _Internet Underground_ magazine, Issue 10, September, 1996,
pgs 42-45. Our own Paul Leonard wrote the feature
article, "Architects of Destruction", summarized as:
"With the cyberporn debate ceding, the next free speech
battle may be over Webmasters who post bomb recipies and
other anarchistic materials on the 'net. But just how big
a risk are these flawed formulas and dubious files of
destruction?"
6. _Night_ magazine, June 1995, "Burning Up the Information
Superhighway."
5. Articles written for _2600_ by Count Zero
4. Articles written for _Phrack_, _Informatik_
3. _Mondo 2000_, Issue #8, "Big Brother Isn't Dead,
He's Just Subcontracting", pg 14.
2. _Compute!_ magazine, January 1992, Interview with Clifford Stoll.
There is no mention in the interview that Cliff Stoll rides
shotgun on-board Demonseed Elite.
1. _Compute!_ magazine, November, 1991, Interview with Bruce Sterling
III. BOOKS MENTIONING cDc OR cDc MEMBERS
8. Osborne's _The Internet Yellow Pages, 1997 Edition_, Harley
Hahn, pg 112, subsection "Computers: Culture"
The Cult of the Dead Cow is the oldest underground
telecommunications organization, dating back to 1986.
Although the membership is small -- consisting of only
about 20 active members -- their influence is felt around
the world. The cult's main product is a series of articles,
written at various times by various members, with new
articles being added from time to time. The articles are
regularly read by thousands of people, so why not expand
your mind and give it a try? Do you think you might like
to join the cult as a member (as opposed to being an
outsider)? Here is a hint: don't ask to join.
Cult members are welcomed by invitation only, and once
you ask, they will never invite you.
Web: http://www.l0pht.com/cdc.html
Usenet: alt.fan.cult-dead-cow
Irc: #cdc
Despite that there are several books claiming to be
"The Internet Yellow Pages", Harley Hahn's is the original
and most authoritative.
7. _Netlaw_, by Lance Rose, also covers the Elansky bomb case and
Deth Veggie's involvement.
6. _Sex, Laws and CyberSpace: Freedom and Censorship
on the Frontiers of the Online Revolution_, by Jonathan
Wallace and Mark Mangan. (ISBN: 0-8050-4767-0) Briefly
covers Veggie's brush with pyrotechnic fame.
5. _Happy Mutant's Guide to the Fringes of the Net_, pg 82, mentions
cDc and the #cDc IRC channel,
"These d00dz are dangerous! Hundreds of incredibly witty,
well-written files covering everything from simple social
engineering to truly wizardlike techno spoofing. ... Get
'em. Read 'em. Trade 'em with mutant kids on local BBSes.
Make your reputation as a hacker god."
Pg 83 continues with the Girl Band Guide,
"Grrrrrllll bands galore. The latest scoop on your
fave female bands."
4. _Masters of Deception: The Gang that Ruled Cyberspace_ by
Josh Quittner, and Michelle Slatella, talks about HoHoCon
and mentions Red Knight (MoD, ex-cDc)
3. Osborne's _The Internet Yellow Pages (1995, 2nd Ed)_, Harley
Hahn and Rick Stout, pg 61, mentions cDc and Dark Side
of the Net:
"Are you mad at the world? Do you have disdain for those
who have any semblance of normal societal ties? Do you sit
in your apartment with the blinds closed and think of new ways
to cause discord? Join the Cult of the Dead Cow. Even if you
don't care about any of that other stuff, they have a really
cool ASCII logo."
2. _Mothers Day_, Joshua Quittner & Michelle Slatalla, 1993,
St. Martin's Press, ISBN #: 0-312-08850-7
DRU is mentioned first on pg 104 and continues to page 111
in which there is some stuff direct from DRU with a
world domination update with Carrie's "Earth Goo", Obscure's
"Ruth", and the Mad Hatter's "Interesting Things to do with a
Scanner". Then the protagonist types "CHAT" and somehow
manages to talk realtime with the hacker "Phrank." Then she
logs off, exhausted.
1. _Hacker Crackdown_ by Bruce Sterling, (paperback edition)
pp 70, 78, 86. see: http://www.lysator.liu.se/etexts/hacker/
or more specifically, sections 3 and 5 of
http://www.lysator.liu.se/etexts/hacker/digital1.html
IV. BOOKS WRITTEN BY OR COLLABORATED WITH THE HELP OF cDc MEMBERS
6. _Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security_,
Prentice Hall PTR, ISBN 0-13-243718-X. This book contains
several tools on CD-ROM written by cDc Hackerlaureate Mudge.
5. White Wolf Games' _The Book of Shadows Sourcebook_
4. White Wolf Games' _The Digital Web Sourcebook_
3. White Wolf Games' _The Vitual Adept's Sourcebook -- Tradition
Book One for Mage: The Ascension_, by Darren McKeeman &
Harry Heckel, ISBN 1-56504-114-3, pp 2, 65-66.
Expurgated excerpts can be found at:
(http://www.speakeasy.org/~order/library/pranksters.html)
2. St. Jude's _Cyberpunk Fake Book_
1. The Mondo 2000 _A User's Guide to the New Edge_,
(see pg 317 under "Zones of Temporary Autonomy" -- entries
for DRU and Pure Nihilism (now Cool Beans)).
V. LIGHTS, CAMERA, HACKTION: cDc ON TV
* 17. Weaselboy ham'd it up for the November 1 edition of
"Strange Universe". During his interview, look for:
1. cDc stickers all over his printer, obscuring the HP
product logos.
2. His cow skull, strategically placed above his computer
and within camera frame.
3. Various plugs for the cDc.
16. Veggie has also recently been interviewed for episodes of
The Internet Cafe's "Weird of the Web" (due to air
April 25th) and CNET's "The Web", which aired on the
SCI-FI channel April 13th, 1997. cDc's Tweety Fish
(Grand High Sifu, Ninja Strike Force) was featured on
the same "Weird of the Web" episode, talking about his
GO-FORCE project!
15. cDc's "Hacker Playground" The L0pht was shown on the
New England Cable News Network on March 14, 1997 on a
segment titled "Hacker Heroes". You can check out pictures
from the segment at:
http://www.l0pht.com/~spacerog/graphics/NECN/L0phTV.html
14. Deth Veggie was interviewed for CBC Newsworld's technology
review "Futureworld" on October 27, 1996 by an editor
from _Shift_ magazine. The angle was 'Hacking for Dummies'
and the large one endured every "please teach me hacking"
question in the book. The interviewer continually
prodded Veggie to hack CBC's website (ho hum). Veggie also
discussed cDc's role as technical advisor for Chinese
hacker/activists the Hong Kong Blondes - operational in Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Beijing - who are busy disabling
military/security networks in mainland China. Payback's
a bitch!
13. Carrie was featured on PCTV's Halloween Internet Cafe episode
(air-date October 22, 1996) talking about the "Dark Side
of the Net".
http://www.pctv.com/PCTV/shows/TIC/96-97/104/104.html
12. Featured on PCTV's Internet Cafe, air-date October 2, 1996,
members of the Cult of the Dead Cow talk briefly about
the cyberscape they have dominated for more than a
decade. See:
http://www.pctv.com/PCTV/shows/TIC/96-97/101/101.html
11. When CNET wants to do a feature show on Internet Terrorism
and the First Ammendment, they contact cDc. Naturally.
See the write-up for their August 11, 1996 episode:
http://www.cnet.com/Content/Tv/CNETCentral/Links/terror.html
* 10. Emmanuel Goldstein, cDc, and the Discovery Channel's March 2,
1996 episode of "Web Whirl."
http://eagle.online.discovery.com/DCO/doc/1012/world/whirl/
whirl3-2-96/transcript.html
9. Sighted on a recent episode of MTV's SPRING BREAK: a guy jumps
out of his chair and runs away; stuck to the chair is a
cDc sticker.
8. Lady Carolin's "Dark Side of the Web" was featured Oct 28, '95
on CNN's "Computer Chronicles" in a piece about
Halloween-themed web sites. The newscaster said that
parents would definitely want to look at the site before
informing their kids of its existence. (Like they're
not going to find it if they're into that kind of
stuff... duh.) Point Surfwatch at:
(http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9510/halloween/)
7. Deth Veggie on TV recently on a show called "Forbidden Places"
(aired around October 6th, 1995) with an interview that was
taped at DefCon III.
6. Deth Veggie mentioned on CNN regarding Elansky bomb-recipe case.
5. "CyberMania" on TBS, November 6th, 1994
4. Geraldo episode titled "Computer Vice". Geraldo said:
"Cult of the Dead Cow?!... These guys are a bunch of Sickos!"
(while pointing to a copy of _Sex With Satan_, cDc #40)
3. L0pht.com on C|NET CENTRAL (Sci-Fi Channel) in early October, 1995
2. Deth Veggie on _NBC Dateline_, Sept 1, 1994, "Dial for Mayhem",
see: http://www.l0pht.com/~veggie/dateline.html
1. White Knight on _West 57th Street_, episode #1
VI. cDc ON RADIO
2. Deth Veggie on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) regarding HOPE
(Hackers On Planet Earth) conference in August, 1995 in
New York.
1. KPFA Radio, Berkeley, California, September, 1992,
"Kids and Technology" or, loosely paraphrased, "Should kids
have access to technology or will it turn them into evil
hackers?" cDc guest speaker interviewed. Broadcast picked up
and re-broadcast by National Public Radio.
VII. cDc ON VIDEO
4. _UNAUTHORIZED Unauthorized Access_ will be done soon, and will
feature cDc members, and have KnightVision & cDcTV
production credits, courtesy of Annaliza Torquemada and
White Knight.
3. _Hackers_ -- cDc stickers can be seen in the movie.
2. _Unauthorized Access_ by Annaliza Torquemada.
(http://bianca.com/bump/ua)
1. _HoHoCon '92_ through _HoHoCon '94_
VIII. MISCELLANEOUS
* 33. Since our Easter Egg in the Adams Family Pinball machine
is no longer a closely guarded secret, we'll share it
with you. To see the cows:
Power cycle the game and use the left and right flipper
buttons to enter the following sequence: (Using the
notation L=left flipper, R=right flipper, and S=start
button)
7L, 1S, 14R, 1S, 20L, 1S
32. According to Gloria Mitchell, Assistant Editor at that
gorgeous, glossy, internationally distributed
Ziff-Davis print publication, _Internet Underground_,
the cDc web-site rated a 3 stars in issue #16's
WebGuide section.
31. cDc's web-site makes NETGUIDE'S BEST OF THE WEB:
"The Cult of the Dead Cow is a cadre of hackers and
subversive types who preen themselves on being
'definitely cooler than the Legion of Doom.'
... Cult of the Dead Cow deserves a nod
of assent for its passionate (albeit sometimes
hysterical) support for unfettered freedom of
expression on the Internet."
30. LookSmart, the "next generation of web directories committed
to quality and superior user web experience," is delighted
to award Veggie The Editor's Choice Award for his
Mr. T website (www.l0pht.com/~veggie/mrt.html). According
to LookSmart -- a subsidiary of The Reader's Digest
(which claims editorial standards have been a hallmark
for over 75 years) -- this award conveys the highest
standard for providing a useful and high quality website.
We couldn't agree more.
29. Yale has the Skull & Bones Club. The Citadel has
cDc. As reported in an August, 1996 New York Times
article and summarized by News of the Weird:
"the student handbook at The Citadel requires first-year
cadets to memorize standard, quirky responses to
traditional questions posed during shakedowns by
upper-classmen. For instance, the answer to the question,
how much milk is left in the carton (which is expressed
by the upper-classman as "How is the cow?") must be
answered, 'Sir, she walks, she talks, she's full of
chalk, the lacteal fluid extracted from the female of
the bovine species is highly prolific to the X degree,
sir! (with X representing the number of glassfuls left).'"
Need we say more?
28. A Lycos review of cDc:
http://a2z.lycos.com/Social_and_Community_Affairs/
Advocacy_and_Activism/Other/index-random.html
Follow the digital hoof prints to
this green pasture in
TechnoWasteland and you have
found the Cow. The Cow is made
up of articles on today's culture,
expressing righteous anger and
maybe more, on the loss of
freedom of speech and global
domination through media
saturation and control. Links to
publication information.
27. cDc evidently has some fans in Italy. You may recognize
their Italian blurb as a translation of the introduction
to this media list.
http://www.agora.stm.it/R.Dequal/altsites.htm
26. First the US National Archives and Records Administration
spends nearly an entire day in February, '96 grabbing as
many cDc files as possible. And now Walter Reed
Army Medical Center links to cDc's web-site
(http://160.151.4.20/links/marks1.htm) in what
may be a covert interest in cattle mutilation. If
we know any more, we're not saying.
25. Check out this personal anecdote, "The Strangest
Thing I've Found on the Web".
http://lurch.winthrop.edu/~harrist/.bio/deadcow.html
24. http://www.glassdog.com/spew/udderspew.html
Our own Oxblood Ruffin reflects on punks and
computers and, uh... quite a bit else, in web
god Lance_yes, I am happy to see you_Arthur's
kickass "Glassdog".
23. http://www.shmooze.net/pwcasual/zines/exclaim/9609/cyber.htm
Mark Jeftovic, who pens a monthly column for
_!*@# (Exclaim)_ magazine, featured cDc in
"Between Rawk & a Cyberplace #54". In the article,
he mentions the Memphis prosecutors that are currently
seeking us on trumped-up obscenity charges, claiming
that we are "responsible for over 300 obscene files on
the Internet, containing graphic descriptions of
abhorrent behavior and obscene photographs."
22. In late April, 1996, cDc family values staffers were
horrified to learn that, two months after the
fact, our "graphic language" was deemed
"innappropriate" for the Commonwealth
Network seal of approval. After a period of
fasting and flagellation we determined that
there was nothing we could do about it. Fucking A.
21. http://www.nirvanet.fr/bienvenue/cybergate-fr/combat_zone-fr/guerillos-fr/gueri_tekst04-fr.html
C'est beau comme un petit paradis du hack... et plein
d'archives precieuses. Entre autres, LOpht heberge la
jihad digitale du mirifique Cult of the dead cow.
"It's cool, like a little hacker's heaven...and full
of great archives..." We're not sure who these people
are, but evidently this is like getting a thumbs up
from the film guy.
20. The Sci-Fi Channel has listed cDc file #253 on its
Paranormal page, right next to CSICOP, at:
http://www.scifi.com/orbit/paranormal.html
19. This Spanish-language web-site contains an interview
(http://spin.com.mx/~hugalde/v511.html) with an
Argentinian "cracker" who talks about various groups
and philosophies that have shaped the global computer
underground. He mentions cDc, then claims that
"The Cult of the Dead Cat, Inc." is also
us by a different name. Ay, Carrumba! It's not.
Accept no substitute.
18. If ever you find yourself in Lubbock, Texas, stop on by
the MOTOR club. Owned by cDc founding fathers Swamp Ratte`
and Franken Gibe, MOTOR is the area's only outlet for
live underground music. Touring bands can contact Swamp Ratte`
by e-mail for booking.
MOTOR
1635 Broadway
Lubbock, TX 79401
17. Daniel B in Sweden has incorporated cDc #275 into his web-site
on Christian cults: http://www.algonet.se/~daba/lds
16. Recognizing the ironic opportunity to subliminally corrupt
tens of millions of people through their computer
software, cDc subversives have hidden special purpose code
within the most popular multi-platform applications.
As proof, those applications also contain our signature
Easter eggs. Open the About box within Macromedia's
Director 5.0. Type "cDc" and then click on any of the
silhouettes on the lefthand side. The word ".ooM" will appear.
The French have recently uncovered the cDc/Wizardry connection.
(http://lynx.ann.jussieu.fr/~juvigny/apple.html)
We leave the others for you to find.
15. The Directory of Electronic Journals, Newsletters and
Academic Discussion Lists recommends cDc:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/class/ils606/docs/bmmr/v94/94-6-5
When you hear numbers like 12,000 total
internet e-lists bandied about, the 1700 or so here are a
valuable culling of that mass. At the same time, this is no
blue-nosed selection: PSYCOLOQUY and MIT Press's *Artificial
Life Journal* are there, but so is *Cult of the Dead Cow* -- not
quite respectable, but in an odd way quite serious and worth at
least a small detour if you happen to pass it on a gopher menu.
14. Magellan has reviewed the L0pht cDc web site and Mr. T home page.
The cDc web site received 3 stars and this rather dull,
third-grade attempt at a review:
Keywords
Alternative Press, Rantings, Zines
Audience
Zine Readers, Free Thinkers
Description
The publishers of the Cult of the Dead
Cow describe cDc as (paraphrased) the
personal rantings of flamboyant and
opinionated people in Telecom. The Ninja
Strike Force is about stealthy, secretive
agents that exist only to fight and die for the
glory of the Dead Cow. An article called
'New Hack City' is about the results of 200
hackers who group together one New Years
Eve. You can also browse through some
online cDc archived articles.
13. No expose on the Information Age would be complete without featuring
cDc and the L0pht. Naturally, we're a part of the MIT Media Lab's
"24 Hours in Cyberspace": http://www.cyber24.com/htm/6_204.html.
See also page 99 in the hardcover, book version of
_24 Hours in Cyberspace_.
12. The Association of Research Libraries also had THIS to say about cDc:
(http://www01.ix.de/ix/raven/Web/9503/Lists/arl/edir94.jz.html)
Cult of the Dead Cow
A collection of telecommunicators who write text files. The files
are numbered sequentially, but since they are often written by
different people, they vary in style and content from issue to
issue. Topics and form vary wildly, covering religion, defecation,
cows, simulated and real capture files from BBSs, politics,
hack/phreak articles, poetry, short stories, interviews,
and mindless raving. The common themes running through
all issues are dead cows and a focus on experimental mind control
propaganda techniques. The group is laying the footings for a
global empire based on a desire to control and command those who
would oppose them.
11. Another fan (http://www.fogstudios.com/~diogenes/life.html) had this
to say:
I know these guys, they've been around a long time. Fedland
doesn't like them, the media tries to either use or glorify them,
and some religious folk would like to strap 'em to a stake and
have a cookout. Some people call them digital outlaws, some
people call them satanists. The really misguided ones refer to
them as 'malicious hackers'. The Elite of the Elite, The Cult of
the Dead Cow. They know what's up.
10. Net celebrity Jaffo has a few comments about cDc on his web-page
(http://rampages.onramp.net/~jaffo/orgs.htm):
Cult of the Dead Cow Home Page - The brilliant and
controversial bad boys of telecom, Lubbock's own Cult of
the Dead Cow. (Check for Jaffo's Feedback letter in cDc
#300.) This group of cyberpunk misfits has created over 300
text files, distributed internationally, and setting new
standards of humor and obscenity. The language and
situations in these files are extremely harsh and not for the
faint of heart. But if you're willing to read them, you'll find
yourself looking straight into the eyes of Genius. And
it's not always a pretty sight.
9. Any plan to subvert the masses wouldn't be complete without
the influence of rock 'n roll. "Cracker Gasoline Party",
the latest work from Swamp Ratte's band WEASEL-MX,
is reviewed in the March 25th issue of the DiY List.
(http://www.math.duke.edu/~priley/diy/diy12):
Weasel-MX
Cracker Gasoline Party [***]
Very cool collection of hip-hop cut with guitar riffs and
punctuated with in-your-face vocals and diverse approaches
(try to imagine the Sex Pistols and ZZ Top together at last
with a kitchen sink conglomeration of polka, disco, hee haw
and more). Definitely not a one-song band! While the mix is
mostly good throughout, the tape sounds muddy
(so turn it up).
8. A Fact-Sheet Five bibliography
(http://thetransom.com/chip/zines/resource/biblio.html)
mentions the bovikazi:
"'Write On: A Computer is All it Takes to Publish in
Cyberspace,' _Phoenix Gazette_, August 15, 1994. How
to start your own electronic zine. Mentions Holy Temple
of Mass Consumption, Cropduster, Cult of the Dead Cow,
... Girl Band Guide ..."
7. The ARG Network Security Course has an entire section on the
Cult of the Dead Cow. For $1,295, ARG will give you the
inside scoop on us. Their course outline includes:
Famous (or infamous) security breaches
The Internet Worm: Robert Morris.
Using E-mail to affect system availability
The Cuckoo's Egg (Cliff Stoll 1989)
Unlawful information access
The felonious "Phone Phreak": Kevin Mitnick
Social engineering and address spoofing
Cult of the Dead Cow
Phreakers/Hackers/Anarchists newsletter
See also: (http://www.arg.com/arg/courses/net-sec/)
6. Not surprisingly, Deth Vegetable has been voted "Most Entertaining
Speaker" at the DefCon III hackers' convention -- and by
none other than the PHONE LOSERS OF AMERICA -- for his
extemporaneous talk on why "The Media Sucks."
(http://www.basenet.net/~apok0lyp/pla035.txt)
5. GNN Celebrity Hotlist, Week of August 22, 1995. Carrie Carolin,
Editor of Dark Side of the Web
(http://www.cascade.net/darkweb.html).
(http://www.gnn.com/gnn/wic/carolin.toc.html)
4. Lady Carolin's DARK SIDE OF THE WEB page mentioned in October or
November, 1995 editions of:
c|net, Net Guide, .Net, Net, Online Access, Interactive Weekly,
Internet World, and the November 3rd issue of
Entertainment Weekly.
3. Tequila Willy is cited on the Celebrities in Cognitive Science
page (http://www.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/cogsci.html)
In support of his thesis, the renowned John R. Searle refers
to Tequila Willy's advanced philosophical ruminations in
cDc #289.
2. Lady Carolin's WWW page is listed in the Top 5% by
Point Communications
(http://www.cascade.net/darkweb.html)
1. Reid Fleming's WWW page is listed in the Top 5% by
Point Communications
(http://www.crl.com/~rfleming)
IX. PEOPLE WHO WISH THEY WERE AS COOL AS cDc
For their redemption, the Hiroshima Maidens folded paper cranes.
For yours, we suggest you call, FAX or E-mail the following people
with your bitchiest prose. Do it early and often. Enlist your
friends to improve your karmic disposition!
1. Style and concept biters need to get off our nutsack. That
includes those who employ "x cow cult",
"cult of the dead x", and 3-letter acronyms in a "xXx"
format. You suck more goats than a chupacabra.
2. "Hacker Chronicles, Vol II" CD-ROM. If you disapprove of
yet another group of poseurs misappropriating intellectual
property which belongs free in the public domain, contact
these dorks at:
Exclusive Distributor, Data Express, Inc.
Telephone: (305) 572-4848, FAX: (305) 572-3454
or contact Scanman at P-80 Systems, (304) 744-7322
3. Mich Kabay, Ph.D., Director of Education at NCSA.
He can be reached for comment at: 75300.3232@compuserve.com
(Big wet kisses, Mich! Thanks for the mail. Keep writing!)
X. cDc COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY CONFERENCES (CONSEC)
5. The Cult of the Dead Cow's first annual Won Ton Con was held
in Toronto, Canada on the 26th and 27th of October, 1996.
Telecom's uber-elite swarmed to the city like a plague of
locusts to swap war stories, trade hacks and be debriefed
on the Hong Kong Blondes [1]. Cult of the Dead Cow Minister
of Propaganda - The Deth Vegetable - was interviewed at
Shift Magazine for a CBC episode of 'Futureworld' entitled
"Dangers to Personal Privacy".
[1] The Hong Kong Blondes are a group of Chinese computer
scientists and human rights activists using the Internet
against the Communist Government. The group is led by
Blondie Wong, a British educated scientist currently
residing in Toronto. The Hong Kong Blondes have units in
Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Under the aegis of the
Cult of the Dead Cow they disrupt official information
systems in the People's Republic of China.
4. _Electronic Engineering Times_, August 26, 1996, pg. 62.
Defcon '96, and the many talented hackers there,
including, of course, cDc, which celebrated its twelfth
anniversary at the convention. The facts reported in the
article are little skew, however.
http://jya.com/defcon.txt
3. _Synapse_ magazine reflects on SUMMERCON '95,
co-sponsored by cDc.
http://www.tricon.net/Comm/synapse/k.html
2. _Shift_ Magazine, April-May 1995, "New Hack City -- What happens
when 200 of the world's most notorious computer hackers get
together on New Year's Eve?", by Rodney Palmer, pg 26.
See also:
http://www.l0pht.com/~veggie/NewHackCity.html
http://www.e-Commerce.Com/Shift/shift3-3/hackers.html
1. _Gray Areas_: Issue #5 and Issue #7;
HoHoCons '93 and '94 are reviewed. See also:
http://w3.gti.net/grayarea/hackcon.htm
http://www.gti.net/grayarea/hoho5.htm
http://www.gti.net/grayarea/hohorev.htm
XI. THE cDc PUBLISHING EMPIRE
1. G.A. Ellsworth publishes _COOL BEANS!_
2. Pusher has a 'zine named _Teach Me Pain_
3. Reid Fleming publishes the _The Royal Arch Mason_ quarterly
(ISSN 0273-6276).
4. Carrie has _Girl Band Guide_
5. Franken Gibe has _DREAMWHIP_
XII. cDc DISTRIBUTION
The knowledge you yearn for can be found at the following sites:
1. http://www.cultdeadcow.com/cDc_files/
ftp://ftp.cultdeadcow.com/cDc/
2. http://www.l0pht.com/cdc.html
3. Demon Roach Underground, 806.794.4362 (Login to Polka AE,
entry: KILL)
4. Send mail to our phearless leader, Grandmaster Swamp Ratte:
mailto: gratte@cultdeadcow.com
XIII. WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT cDc
1. "Cult of the Dead Cow?!.... These guys are a bunch of Sickos!"
-- Geraldo Rivera, in an episode entitled
"Computer Vice", while pointing to a copy of
_Sex With Satan_, cDc #40
2. "cDc? I'd have to vote them 'Most Likely to Pillage the
Global Village'."
-- Bruce Sterling
3. "I am like Ward Cleaver compared to cDc... 'June, those cDc boys
are outrageous, we shouldn't let the Beave play with them!@'"
-- SuperNigger of MoD
4. "cDc. Punks with computers. You've been warned."
-- R.U. Serius, Publisher of _Mondo 2000_
5. "The cDc is one of those groups, for true or not, whom one
feels has 'underworld connections.' If you want hash, a
bail bondsman, a nude model, a hit man, a smuggler, a
Chinese hunchback dwarf, a system of ripping off AT&T, a hot
car, a kangaroo with a broken tail, a cure for rinderpest,
a fast loan, a mail drop for Justice Scalia,
a long-out-of-print bit of pornography, or a Corvette from
the mothball fleet... cDc is the group one contacts."
-- Harlan Ellison
6. "...it's pointless to compare LoD to the cDc... it's like
comparing Albert Einstein to Charles Manson... Both were
geniuses in their respective genre."
-- Erik Bloodaxe of LoD
7. "Next to the shriveled corpse of William S. Burroughs, cDc's
prose is the stuff of my sexual fantasies. Their collective
intelligence is potent and erotic."
-- Poppy Z. Brite
8. "Until I found the CULT OF THE DEAD COW, I was a high
school nobody! I couldn't get laid if my life depended on it!
Now, I'm humpin' all of my teachers!"
-- Weaselboy, Net-celebrity
9. "I can attest to the fact that cDc is the sexiest group of
computer hackers there ever was. You may think this silly,
but it's the God's honest truth."
-- Jane Pratt, Editor-In-Chief, _Sassy Magazine_
10. "LOVE YOU SEXTY [sic] HACKERS"
-- Traci Lords
11. "The cDc is the biggest can of Whoop-ass that I have ever seen!"
-- Evel Knievel
12. "That's EvEl, not EvIl Knievel"
-- Rebecca Knievel
(Thanks Rebecca. We corrected that above.)
13. "Those cDc fuckers ran up my hotel phone bill while I was on tour!"
-- Rod Stewart
14. "I wish those CDC guys would spend less time writing textfiles,
and more time in the lab curing diseases!"
-- Emmanuel Goldstein, Editor, _2600_ magazine.
15. "If it's illegal, immoral or revolting, cDc has a file about
it -- and possibly three of them."
-- Michael Hoy, Loompanics Unlimited
16. "I am really, truly, deeply sorry I offended you. Honest. I did
not know how all-pervading and powerful you really were.
Now can I have my credit rating, e-mail and bank account
back, please?"
-- Neil Gaiman
17. "I didn't like it when they tried to steal my Mallomars."
-- Harvey Keitel. What's a Mallomar? A strange,
nigh-inedible marshmallow candy bar.
/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>/*>
1984 You've grown up with cDc.
1985
1986
1987
1988 The awkward adolescence, confused teens
1989 and stumbling 20/30-nothings.
1990
1991
1992 We always knew.
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998 Now we're going to turn on you,
1999 and leave you for dead.
============================================================================
This Media Update has been brought to you by the letter 'Q' and the number 2
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This, too, is copyright 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 cDc.
All rights reserved.
Established 1984. The ORIGINAL "E-zine."
Eastside - Westside - Worldwide: Bow Down