Good day!

I want to share a story about a man who chose the path of illegal earnings in the network.

“Black was not a hacker from movies. He did not crack the Pentagon, did not merge the FBI database and was not in the service of a secret society, ruling the world. Maxim, that was the name of the guy in real life, he worked for carders.
He liked it. "

')
List of chapters:
1. Work online
2. Add as friend?
3. Money
...

Chapter 1. Work online.

Through the open window came the cries of young people celebrating the 60th anniversary of Victory Day. Drunk teenagers swore loudly, distracting from work.
It was annoying to Black, who was struggling to concentrate.
“I, too, am an elite area for your peace of mind,” the guy said angrily, putting on his headphones. - Idiots.
Urgent pull yourself together.
On the screen is an American online store, which is full on the Internet. Its only advantage was in the number of users. Thousands of dollars passed through this site daily. A hacker needs to merge the base with credit card numbers in order to sell it to carders.
The tension grew. Cigarettes
Black reached for the bundle, lost among a pile of books lying on the table.
The guy was nervous, because he had to work hard to find a clue. Protection was organized at a high level. Despite the fact that their site was self-written, the project was impressive in scope, a huge amount of code, and as a result, a great opportunity to make a mistake, a vulnerability was not found for a long time.

He decided not to waste time on the war with the store site, but to try another option. Through illiterately configured dns, he determined that on the same server an online diary of a certain John D. Morgan is hosted. After reading the blog entries and finding his LinkedIn profile, Black realized that this was one of the store administrators. For his blog, he used the free news engine. Going to the manufacturer's website, Black downloaded the same one and, installing it on a local host, began checking. Having found a chance to look at the code, the hacker found a vulnerability - a php-include bug that makes it possible to get a web shell.
“This is not bad,” said Black, delighted.
But since the shell was run with the rights of the user www-data, it only allowed to view some files. Black began to study the directories and soon found the config file of scripts, in which the password of the user john was recorded for access to the MySQL database from his blog.
Trying these data to other services seemed ridiculous, because, for administrators, they should be different everywhere. But, despite all the delusional, it was a very common mistake. Black figured that it was worth taking a chance and connecting with this login and password to ssh.
Happened.
“Ha,” the hacker rejoiced, “They spend a lot of money and time on a first-class code and protection, and at the same time are too lazy to come up with different passwords. While admin servers will be so idiotic, hackers will have no problems with work. ”
On the street saluted.
Black flinched.
The guy made the music louder and entered the “uname –a” command to determine the version of the operating system. It was Linux, in the core of which vulnerability was discovered not so long ago.
Time passed, so Black opened the site where the working version of the exploit was posted, downloaded and drove the team in order to upload it to the store’s server.
He leaned close to the keyboard, when suddenly ICQ window popped up.

"SweetKitten18 (22:03:25 05/09/2005):
Hi kitty"

"Oh no! Well, why now? ”Black screamed.
Again I forgot to cut ICQ.
Sharply closed the window with the message and began to print.
He launched the compilation of sploita.
$ gcc -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer elflbl_v108.c -o elflbl_v108
A new message has arrived.

"SweetKitten18 (10:03:46 05/09/2005):
Ay

One more.

"SweetKitten18 (10:03:58 05/09/2005):
Why do not you answer? You're here. Answer or I will be offended ”

New windows continued to float, blinking orange. Inflamed with excitement, he stubbornly pressed the cross, not realizing that it was necessary to turn off icq.
Black put the launch rights.
$ chmod + x elflbl_v108

"SweetKitten18 (22:04:35 05/09/2005):
aaauuuuu where are you ????

Launched the flop.
$ ./elflbl_v108
Earned!
I drove in the who command and saw that the admin is now online, which means that at any moment he can recall and disable the intruder.
"You can not hesitate" - flashed through my head.

"SweetKitten18 (22:06:03 05/09/2005):
aaauuuuu where are you ????

“Well, I’m really quiet, you can’t guess that I’m busy?” Black shouted at the monitor, dialing the answer.

“Black (22:06:41 05/09/2005):
The sun, I have no time. I work"

Immediately came a new message.

"SweetKitten18 (22:06:59 05/09/2005):
Forever you have no time. Work can wait

“Black (22:07:07 05/09/2005):
Can't talk after »

“SweetKitten18 (22:07:15 05/09/2005):
Well ... Today is Nastya's birthday. Will you go? ”

"SweetKitten18 (22:07:23 05/09/2005):
Aww

“SweetKitten18 (22:07:30 05/09/2005):
Answer

The printing speed of the girl was amazing.

“Black (22:07:41 05/09/2005):
I AM BUSY! THEN TALKING

I sent and turned off ICQ.
At the same time the guy knocked on the keyboard so that some buttons began to fall.
Black closed his eyes for a moment, wondering what to do next. He typed the command:
$ cat /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf
Then I found the path to the web folder of the store, in which I found the config with a password to the database, where the information about thousands of credit cards is located. It remains only to download.
The guy was going to use mysqldump, when suddenly his ssh connection was broken. When you try to connect again, the password did not match. He tried to access the web shell, but the account was already blocked.
"Just not this!" - Black hit the table with anger.
Well that's all. Again from the hacker sailed the desired money.
At this point, he cursed the obsessive companion. Why is it necessary to write at the most inopportune moment? What a terrible habit - at any cost to seek an answer?
“Although he himself is to blame,” Black continued to be angry with himself, “It’s time to get used to turning everything off when I work.”

***

Black was not a hacker from movies. He did not crack the Pentagon, did not merge the FBI database and was not in the service of a secret society, ruling the world. Maxim, that was the name of the guy in real life, he worked for carders.
He liked it.

He grew up in a family where there was always a shortage of money. A father who was unable to provide for a family. Mother, who considered her husband a loser. His parents - engineers by profession - were not able to adapt to the world that had changed in the nineties. Intelligent, diligently working, they hardly interrupted from paycheck to paycheck.
Now, at 20, he had enough money to live in a beautiful apartment in a good area, buy a car and go on a vacation at sea at any time of the year. He told others that he was programming, he wrote for foreign customers, which was partly true.
- But what about the diploma? - Mom asked with periodicity about once a month, worrying that he did not go to college, - Maxim, what do you think about your future? Where are you going?
- Mom, it's all right. Diploma for the programmer is not important.
- But I still do not understand how so ... After all, everywhere in normal work requires a higher education. To find a good place to somehow take place ...
- Yes, and what of it? - Black did not stand after a few minutes, - do you have an education with your father, and what did it help you a lot? Very useful?
- Maxim, please, I'm just worried about you ...
- Mom, do not worry. If necessary, I will buy a diploma, not a problem at all.
Although recently such a conversation has been rising less and less. Black noted that his mother was increasingly proud to tell his curious relatives about his achievements. If a few years ago to the question "how is your Maxim, what is he doing?", She timidly answered "normally ... she studies something at the computer ...", now she was animatedly describing what a workaholic he was.
At such moments, if Black heard it, he felt ashamed, but at the same time - somewhere deep down in her very secret corner - very nice. After all, this success was not accidental, it is the result of hard work and many hours spent at the computer. While classmates were walking in the courtyards, filming girls and drinking their parents' salaries, he sat at home and worked with enthusiasm.
Black felt tired from the computer, from work, people, everything. It happens when you sit out in front of the monitor.
He loved the Internet because when you got there everything was enough, you just turn off the network and you can forget for a while. You can and forever. But Max knew well from personal experience that whatever stresses might happen, no matter how much you want to drop everything you have on the Internet, to leave this world, once on its network, is no longer possible. You always go back there. The difference is only in time spent not online.
I need a rest, thought Black and closed his eyes.
The noise on the street began to subside.

***
Maxim ran down the hall with a huge number of similar doors. He needs to have time to hide the hard drive, while people in uniform do not catch up with the hacker. It was hard to move, it seemed that the legs were not working, and it either soars in the air, or swims under water against the current.
What is it? Why does the body refuse to obey? After all, it is necessary to hurry, if they catch him, then everything is over, arrest, prison. No one can help. Emotions going through the roof. He was keenly aware of what to do, but he couldn’t force himself - it all seemed to be happening in an old black and white movie in slow motion. Wait.
Movie.
Black woke up from a phone call. It was Red, his close friend.
2:30 am
Inside, everything shrank.
He wondered if he should take the phone. Suddenly, Reda was caught, and this is some kind of clever setup. He got out of bed and went to the computer. “Anyway, my number is there. We must answer so as not to cause unnecessary suspicion. ”
“Yes,” Black said as coarsely as he could, in those seconds in his head, going through several scenarios that ended clearly not in his favor.
“Blackie, man, dude, how glad to hear you ...”
- Ed. Damn you! What are you stumbling over again? He shouted louder than he had intended.
“Hey, hey, why did you immediately get stoned?” - depicting an offended voice, extended the interlocutor. “I'm calling to share with you ... Black, I need to tell you an important thing ... Hey, can you hear me?”
- I hear you, speak.
Black calmed down, the rest of his sleep was still spinning in his head, mixed with the experiences of a night call, but he had finally come to his senses. The guy headed towards the kitchen to make tea or coffee.
“So, I thought and understood here ...” his friend continued, “he was reflecting on life, you see.” About the universe, the universe, our existence ...
“Soooo,” drawled Black, “and you now say to me that you are sober.” By the way, where are you? What music is that?
- At my birthday at ... oh ... I do not remember how she is, well, your girlfriend Ira. In vain you did not go.
- A. Nastya, - Black realized, - yes, I am tired. Not before.
- Well, I understood that I was tired of Ira ...
Black turned on the kettle and threw the bag into the mug without replying to Red's remark.
- So, okay, you knocked me down ... I thought and understood why the Internet would soon take over the whole world, all the people ... in general all. Black, just think. We are already slaves, we are ants in this cunning web from ip addresses ...
- Oh, it started, I guess I hang up.
- No, no, wait ... listen. One minute. I have to say this, otherwise I will forget tomorrow. Please stand. Are you here?
“Why, I'm here, I'm here, speak already,” Black began to get angry. He accidentally burned his hand with boiling water.
- Yes. Good. So here. My whole life ... and your life is focused on the web. Admit it, we are not very interested in that world outside the window ... No, well, of course, it’s interesting, but not so. Where we live, everything is different ... You just think, everyone can become successful here. No matter who your parents are, your status, your gender, even your hair color. Be you even a bald old man ... And look, all these conventions, all this does not matter. Diploma, clothes, car brand. All this does not matter if you are stupid, all these bells and whistles will not help you, understand?
Black took a sip of tea. He looked out into the street, listening to his friend’s confused speech.
“Just think ...” Red continued, “The one who knows rules here.” Skills, skills, experience. You are what you made yourself, not what society and parents make you. This world is our home, teacher, work, we live on the Internet. Only people who have experienced the Internet will be able to understand us ...
“You only wanted to say people who used the same thing as you,” Black said sharply.
- Come on you ... do not you agree? - With unexpected irritation asked Red.
“Yeah,” Black muttered in reply.
The guy held the phone, pressing his shoulder to his ear. He walked into the room and began to clear a place on the table to put a cup and a plate of sandwiches, which he found in the refrigerator. Black continued to listen to Reda, not daring to say goodbye, because he felt guilty before him for having so distanced himself from his friend lately.
- So! Here it is! The most important thing. Just think ... Network. She, she captures, swallows you without a trace. For a computer enthusiast, the real world exists only in parallel to this. On the Internet, you can experience feelings and emotions no less, and often much brighter than in life. You see ... Sites, forums. We quarrel, put up, even fall in love on the Internet. Black! And all this is for real! It is only incomprehensible. It seems that it is - the dude is sitting in front of the monitor and laughs, he is not healthy. But no no! You guys just don't understand. Without going through this, it is impossible to understand how strong this world is, and why it absorbs more and more people ...

Black, though solidary in many respects with Red, but very tired after today's fiasco with the store, hardly perceived the speech of his friend. He decided to check the mail. Attention attracted the title of the letter.

"From the closest friend."

Black read the content of the message.

“Dear, my Blackie.

you do not know me. but I’ve been watching you for a long time and I want to say, I treat it as a kind person, therefore I’m worried about your failures. why are you so screwed up with that store? I had to work faster.

your closest friend, Mar. "

Black read the letter several times. It was strange.
“Red, let's talk tomorrow, I have no time now,” he blurted out hastily and turned off the phone.
Now he was really scared, not at all, as in a dream.
What mar? How does he know about yesterday's hacking? Someone's joke? But in order to have so much fun, you had to find out what Black did in the evening. About that store in the course no one was. Although, it seems, still was.
The guy sat, tormented by experiences, for several hours. There was no desire to work, and he tried to distract himself by playing in Doom 3. He could only fall asleep in the morning when the sounds of a reviving city and people rushing to work were already heard on the street.

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