First entry into the hacking saga
BluRRed
aclarke@effect.net.au
the saga, security, the quest, Blurred, hacking

I suppose it would be appropriate to start with a little 
about myself.  I am not someone who fits into the average 
stereotypical  mould of the hacker (if somewhat defined 
by the poor depictions churned out on the silver screen...).  


I am not a social deviant, I am not a rogue law breaker, I do not 
have pallid white skin from being indoors too much.  I am a regular 
Joe, I pay my taxes, I obey the speed limits, I go to work,
and as much as I don't like to admit it, I wear a suit five 
days out of seven.  But I am different in a few ways.  I try 
to think outside the square I am given.  I believe in working 
smarter not harder, I crave knowledge, and like to push boundries.  


I believe that if you have to do it twice, it is worth automating.  
I believe if you get stuck, there is a better way of doing it.  
I am an ideas man.  I am a thinker.  


And that is where I began.

Whilst at school, I was a friendly kind of guy... I got good 
grades, I handed in assignments on time, and then it all fell 
away.  My parents bought us an Amiga 500 for Christmas.  That
was the last time I ever did my homework....



By the end of High School, a friend and I were running the school 
network for course credit.  We had 2 lessons a day to keep everything 
running smoothly.  That year was also the first year in the last four 
I had perfect attendance records, and that was not through diligence 
or regular class attendance... ;^Þ


It was in this year that I learnt an important lesson.  

Motto for the day:
	"If you don't abuse power, it becomes a responsibility...."

Now I don't mean that obtaining power is an automatic lisence to push 
your level of authority to the limits.... but bending the situation 
slightly to your advantage when it is safe to do so, can make your 
life a hell of a lot easier....


Theory into Practice:

When the megalomaniacal computing teacher / System Administrator 
Nazi was asked very politely to leave, (it seems he managed to
step on as many senior staff members shoe's as he did students) 
and the new Computing teacher started, my friend and I had her 
wrapped around our little fingers by the end of the first day.  
Two days later, we were administering the school LAN.  


CASE AND POINT:
If there is something in the way of letting you do what you 
need to do, either find a way around it, or find a way through it: 
Get the Administrator Nazi removed... After all, you can't go to 
the same school for 10 years without acquiring a few strings 
to pull.... ;^)


Now, I am going to get to the point of this article.  I am new,
but I am not a newbie.  I am a hacker, even though I have not 
accomplished a significant hack.  I am learning... and I always 
will be.  With the gracious approval of BinaryZer0, I will be 
bringing you a regular journal of my travels as I set off on 
my quest for knowledge, my endeavours into the hack, and 
the thoughts on everything that crosses my mind on the way.


As I said, I am a thinker, a seeker, and I will always be 
learning.

Till next time...

BluRRed.