                 NOTES ON TOPS-20 SYSTEMS
                   By -=BLUE ARCHER=-

     Notes before real article:

     1) Items in brackets require the brackets. i.e. DIR [JOE]

     2) Items in parenthesis don't require the parenthesis. i.e.
LOGIN (USERNAME)

     3) This is just a basic overview of the DEC-20 system and
its commands since most DEC-20s are modified by the owners and
the commands might be different in some way or another.

     Now to begin the real article...

     Logging in, a brief description:

     To login, you would type LOGIN (USERNAME). A way to find
valid usernames is simple. Just type 'SY' at the prompt in or
out of the system. Armed with these usernames, all you have to
do is get the password, which isn't too hard. Common passwords
are the username itself, password, the name of the place you are
trying to get into, and all the other common passwords. Note:
the only usernames SY gives you are the ones for people on the
system at the time. Getting all the usernames and passwords will
be discussed later.

     Next on our agenda of things to do is finding out what kind
of files this guy whose account you are into keeps. This can be
done by typing 'DIR' for a directory of files this guy has.
Files will usually be in the foormat of one of the following:

     NAME.TXT.#
     NAME.CMD.#
     NAME.EXE.#

     TXT stands for text. These files are just information the
guy saved. You can view these files by typing 'TYPE FILENAME'
and in the filename include the 'TXT' and # if they have it. CMD
stands for command. These can be utilized by typing 'TAKE
FILENAME'. Also on these include 'CMD' and the # if they have
that. EXE stands for execute. For these, you just type the
filename at the main prompt(). Sometimes you need the '.EXE.#',
other times you don't, depending on the system. Sometimes the
files don't tell you what kind of files they are. The only way
you can find out is by trying out the above. If you have the
privs, or the system doesn't have protection against this, you
can access other users files. To get a directory of the other
person's files, just type 'DIR USERNAME', and it will give you a
directory of the persons files. To access these files, you would
type:

     TAKE USERNAMEFILE for CMD files
     TYPE USERNAMEFILE for TXT files
     and  USERNAMEFILE for EXE files

     To access the system files, you have to type 'DIR SYSTEM:'.
To use the system files you type:

     TAKE SYSTEM:FILENAME for CMD files
     TYPE SYSTEM:FILENAME for TXT files
     and  SYSTEM:FILENAME for EXE files or just the filename
without the system in some cases.

     If you want information on someone elses directory, you type:

     INF DIR USERNAME

and it will give you information on whoever's directory you entered.

     If you have wheel or operator privs, you can get a list of
all the usernames and passwords on the system by typing ULIST
and the word INCLUDE.

     If you see a file you want in someone elses directory, you
can get it by typing:

     COPY USERFILENAME

and it puts it in your directory also. If there is a file
offline that you want, type:

     RETRIEVE (FILENAME

but you had better login alot on your account until it is
retrieved since the operator will send mail to the account owner
telling him that the file is online since it requires manual
retrieval of a magnetic tape by the operator. Once he sends
mail, you can delete it and the real user should never know you
have his account unless you make it known another way. Next on
the list of things to do is to see if you can make your own
account. This is done by the BUILD command. Example:

     BUILD USERNAME

    (You will now see 2 of these)

     MAX 0
     NOT FILES
     C/R

     This is a standard way of making an account. You can add
all sorts of things to it though if you have high enough privs,
like wheel, ARPANET-WIZARD, among many other things. If you want
to modify an account, you would type:

     BUILD USERNAME

where USERNAME is the account name, even though it is already in
use. You can see what all it has already by typing LIST at this
point. To see all the things you can doo, type a question mark
and take a look at all the things. One last thing on accounts,
to change the password, type:

     SET DIR PASSWORDUSERNAME

     You must also do this after you build an account, since it
doesn't have a password until then.

     Next:Communications between users on and off line.

     The first way is to send a message to a user on line. This
is done by typiny:

     SEND (USERNAME)

     It sends a message to the user of whatever you type. The
second way of online communications is TALK (USERNAME or
TERMINAL#). It links your screens together so as to have
conversation. While in this mode you can type ';' before every
line and not have it affect the system, or just type 'REMARK'
and then you can type anything you want without the system
responding until you type CRTL-Z. One more way of talking to
online users is the ADVISE command. It will, in essense, give
you control over their terminal through a link. This means that
through this link, whatever you type will be as if the other
user had typed it, not you. You can get around this by typing
'REFUSE ADVISE'. The only way to communicate with offline users
is through mail. Most systems have a different command for this.
Examples: MM, MAIL, RDMAIL, M, SDMAIL, etc. You can read mail,
delete mail, etc. The mail you delete will not be deleted until
you exit the mail system. You can get back the mail if you have
not exited the mail system.

          MISCELLANEOUS
     
     TELNET: Some of the better systems have a TELNET system.
This is a system that connects this system to a lot of other
systems. You can usually get a list of host names through help
along with how to use TELNET right. The usual procedure is
'TELNET (Hostname)'. I.E., on MIT AI Labs DEC, you can get to
Stanford AI Lab by typing 'TELNET SAIL'.

     ENABLE: If you have privs, you can enable them by the word
ENABLE. Your terminal type is VT05. This is necessary in some
programs.

     GAMES: Games can often be accessed by the word GAMES
itself. Sometimes it is not though, and you should ask another
user about how to access them if the system has games.

     INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER USERS: Various systems employ the
WHOIS command. It will give you a list of various info on the
person you are doing it to. If the system has it, you would do
it like this:

     WHOIS (USERNAME)

     Another command of this same purpose is FINGER, and it is
used in the same way.

     LANGUAGES: Various languages can be accessed on the system.
To use it, you just type the language name (i.e., BASIC, PASCAL,
FORTRAN, LISP, etc.).

     When doing something you woulld rather quit, you can
usually get out of it by CTRL-C.

     CTRL-S usually pauses, and CRTL-Q restarts.

     And last, but not least, to leave the system, just type
LOGOUT and you're gone.

     A few systems to test out on:

     CITISHARE             212-355-6533
         Usernames: DAVID, RICHARD, STEVE, HUT, ICC, CIS

     AMERICAN EXPRESS:     212-323-7270
         Username: CDDS1 on system B

     USC (mainly military):213-822-2112
         Get a SYSTAT for usernames

     UDC:                  202-282-3010
         Get a SYSTAT here also

     Go For It!
          Hacking Always,
               Blue Archer
