Subj : Re: A Crappy Sales Call To : George Pope From : Daryl Stout Date : Sat Jul 17 2021 11:58:00 George, GP> Of courser -- you have your own personal login & I'm sure a backdoor GP> one or two as well -- nobody would ever use root on your system GP> remotely. .. They're looking for a Unix server deal, and of course, a BBS doesn't have that. It's the MIRAI bot or its variants. GP> Nothing better for these twonks but to kick them off unceremoniously. I have blocked all these IP's and hosts that show "no name". What they do outside the BBS is their business...even if such activity could be considered as immoral, illegal, unlawful, sinful, etc. But, once online they are a guest in my residence, and I expect them to act accordingly. GP> I threatened troublemakers with a machine I'd bought called a GP> Freister's Device(named, in 1973, for the inventer) which can track a GP> modem signal in reverse, even through Fido & BBSes, & send an overload GP> signal to fry(that's why we say it like that) the modem & computer of GP> anyone who I feel is misbehaving! I heard of a ham radio operator who was constantly interfered with by someone with an illegal amplifier (possibly a CB operator). Well, hams of a Technician class license or higher, on most bands, can transmit up to 1500 watts peak envelope power (PEP). One local ham quipped "All knobs to the right". Well, one day, this ham had enough of this interference, so they did a bit of "fox hunting/direction finding" (that's a big aspect of the hobby, and there are competitions with that each year), and figured out who and where the offender was. So, the ham pointed the antenna at this joker, keyed up at 1.5 kW, and fried every bit of the offenders gear. GP> It worked great until India joined Fidonet, then it was constant spam GP> in this here echo; my then-moderator-partner ended up having to, GP> eventually, cut the feed for all of India, as nobody down the line GP> would comply with Fidonet rules (to comply with moderator orders GP> regarding troublemakers); No idea if they ever got back on. . . I use the Peerblock utility to block countries known for hackers. And, as noted earlier, I block hostnames with "no name" in them. To me, in this day and age, if you want to let a total unknown stranger into your residence, you have a death wish. As long as they play by the rules I've laid down, their data stays confidential. The only exception is for a law enforcement subpeona. GP> Don't worry, insomniacs, there's only 4 more sleeps til Christmas! One local Hobby Lobby had Christmas stuff up in June!! That reminds me of the country song "Redneck Woman", where she keeps her Christmas lights up all year long...and knows all the lyrics to every Charlie Daniels, Tanya Tucker, and Ol' Bocephus (Hank Williams, Jr.) song. GP> You don't have a decent UPS? No amount of surge protection, UPS or otherwise, will protect you from a direct hit. I heard of a ham radio operator who spared no expense for lightning protection. You name it, he bought it, and installed it...price was no object (must be nice to have all that money). He took a direct hit, and this was the result. 1) His antenna, tower, mast, and coaxial cable, were VAPORIZED...not a trace left. 2) The inside of his UPS unit and computer tower were black as night... with the motherboards and circuits melted and fused together. 3) He had scorch marks down the walls of his house. Each lightning bolt: A) Has 3 million volts and 300,000 amps of electricity. B) Can strike from 20 to 200 miles from the parent thunderstorm (the latter occurred in Oklahoma a few years ago) C) Can be 5 miles long, but only as wide as your thumb. D) Is 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit...5 times hotter than the sun's surface. In short, it's no contest. I've had too many close calls, and am a 2 time indirect lightning strike survivor myself, and have nervous system damage as a result. GP> We've had to institute a userfee over the already-fuly paid cost of ER, GP> to slow down those with the sniffles taking up space more needed by GP> those bleeding copiously (or not breathing or bleeding) Too many hypochondriacs...it's noted on their tombstone "I told you I was sick!!". :P > Better than getting the thunderclap...a very violent form of VD. :P GP> No thanks, sounds like it might be painful (& noisy) Lightning and hail out of certain orifices would indicate something is wrong. :P GP> Q: What does the god of thunder get when he drops his hammer? GP> A: A Thor foot. Very much so. GP> Last night during a pretty aggressive thunderstorm, a huge lightening GP> strike, along with an incredibly deafening thunder clap happened right GP> next to our house. It was about 11pm and Susan was snuggled up to her GP> Mother next to me in our bed. After a few seconds of Lori saying GP> something soothing to our 9 year old she was holding, saying something GP> like 'its ok, its just a little storm, we are safe...', I call out to GP> our older 12 year old in her room just next door. GP> "Sarah!?" I called to her, in my normal tone to get her attention. GP> "Yeah? What?" She responded. GP> "Was that you?" I called back. GP> After a long pause Sarah replied "No Dad. That was thunder!" GP> I could not stop laughing. That was one wicked fart. :P Daryl .... Deliver a pizza? Whoever heard of a liver pizza? === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:19/33) .