@c -*-tex-*-
@node Hear
@chapter Things You'll Hear About
@menu
@end menu

There are certain things that you'll hear about shortly after you
start actively using the Internet.  Most people assume that everyone's
familiar with them, and they require no additional explanation.  If
only that were true!

This section addresses a few topics that are commonly encountered and
asked about as a new user explores Cyberspace.  Some of them are
directly related to how the networks are run today; other points are
simply interesting to read about.
@cindex Cyberspace

@node The Internet Worm
@section The Internet Worm
@cindex Internet worm
@cindex Morris, Robert (Jr.)
@c footnote this.
@c from a letter by Severo M. Ornstein, in ACM June 89 Vol32 No6
@c and the appeal notice

On November 2, 1988, Robert Morris, Jr., a graduate student in
Computer Science at Cornell, wrote an experimental, self-replicating,
self-propagating program called a @dfn{worm} and injected it into
the Internet.  He chose to release it from MIT, to disguise the fact
that the worm came from Cornell.  Morris soon discovered that the
program was replicating and reinfecting machines at a much faster rate
than he had anticipated---there was a bug.  Ultimately, many machines
at locations around the country either crashed or became
``catatonic.''  When Morris realized what was happening, he contacted
a friend at Harvard to discuss a solution.  Eventually, they sent an
anonymous message from Harvard over the network, instructing
programmers how to kill the worm and prevent reinfection.  However,
because the network route was clogged, this message did not get
through until it was too late.  Computers were affected at many sites,
including universities, military sites, and medical research
facilities.  The estimated cost of dealing with the worm at each
installation ranged from $200 to more than $53,000.
@footnote{Derived in part from a letter by Severo M. Ornstein, in
the @cite{Communications of the ACM}, Vol 32 No 6, June 1989.}

@cindex finger
The program took advantage of a hole in the debug mode of the Unix
@dfn{sendmail} program, which runs on a system and waits for other
systems to connect to it and give it email, and a hole in the finger
daemon @dfn{fingerd}, which serves @code{finger} requests
(@pxref{Finger}).  People at the University of California at Berkeley
and MIT had copies of the program and were actively
@dfn{disassembling} it (returning the program back into its source
form) to try to figure out how it worked.

Teams of programmers worked non-stop to come up with at least a
temporary fix, to prevent the continued spread of the worm.  After
about twelve hours, the team at Berkeley came up with steps that would
help retard the spread of the virus.  Another method was also
discovered at Purdue and widely published.  The information didn't get
out as quickly as it could have, however, since so many sites had
completely disconnected themselves from the network.

After a few days, things slowly began to return to normalcy and
everyone wanted to know @emph{who} had done it all.  Morris was later
named in @cite{The New York Times} as the author (though this hadn't yet
been officially proven, there was a substantial body of evidence
pointing to Morris).

Robert T. Morris was convicted of violating the computer Fraud and
Abuse Act (Title 18), and sentenced to three years of probation, 400
hours of community service, a fine of $10,050, and the costs of his
supervision.  His appeal, filed in December, 1990, was rejected the
following March.

@node Cuckoo, Organizations, Worm, Hear
@section The Cuckoo's Egg
@cindex Stoll, Cliff

First in an article entitled ``Stalking the Wily Hacker,'' and later in
the book @cite{The Cuckoo's Egg}, Clifford Stoll detailed his
experiences trying to track down someone breaking into a system at
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in California.@footnote{See the
bibliography for full citations.}

A 75-cent discrepancy in the Lab's accounting records led Stoll on a
chase through California, Virginia, and Europe to end up in a small
apartment in Hannover, West Germany.  Stoll dealt with many levels of
bureaucracy and red tape, and worked with the FBI, the CIA, and the
German Bundespost trying to track his hacker down.

The experiences of Stoll, and particularly his message in speaking
engagements, have all pointed out the dire need for communication
between parties on a network of networks.  The only way everyone can
peacefully co-exist in Cyberspace is by ensuring rapid recognition of
any existing problems.
@cindex Cyberspace

@node Organizations,  , Cuckoo, Hear
@section Organizations
@menu
@end menu

The indomitable need for humans to congregate and share their common
interests is also present in the computing world.  @dfn{User groups}
exist around the world, where people share ideas and experiences.
Similarly, there are organizations which are one step ``above'' user
groups; that is to say, they exist to encourage or promote an idea or
set of ideas, rather than support a specific computer or application
of computers.

@node ACM, CPSR, Organizations, Organizations
@subsection The Association for Computing Machinery
@cindex ACM
@c @cindex ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

The Association for Computing Machinery (the ACM) was founded in
1947, immediately after Eckert and Mauchly unveiled one of the first
electronic computers, the ENIAC, in 1946.  Since then, the
ACM has grown by leaps and bounds, becoming one of the leading
educational and scientific societies in the computer industry.

The ACM's stated purposes are:
@itemize @bullet
@item
To advance the sciences and arts of information processing;

@item
To promote the free interchange of information about the sciences and
arts of information processing both among specialists and among the
public;

@item
To develop and maintain the integrity and competence of individuals
engaged in the practices of the sciences and arts of information
processing.
@end itemize

Membership in the ACM has grown from seventy-eight in September, 1947,
to over 77,000 today.  There are local chapters around the world, and
many colleges and universities endorse student chapters.  Lecturers
frequent these meetings, which tend to be one step above the normal
``user group'' gathering.  A large variety of published material is
also available at discounted prices for members of the association.

The ACM has a number of @dfn{Special Interest Groups} (SIGs) that
concentrate on a certain area of computing, ranging from graphics to
the Ada programming language to security.  Each of the SIGs also
publishes its own newsletter.  There is a Usenet group,
@code{comp.org.acm}, for the discussion of ACM topics.  @xref{Usenet
News} for more information on reading news.

For more information and a membership application, write to:
@display
Assocation for Computing Machinery
1515 Broadway
New York City, NY  10036
@code{ACMHELP@@ACMVM.BITNET}
(212) 869-7440
@end display

@node CPSR, EFF, ACM, Organizations
@subsection Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
@cindex CPSR
@c @cindex Computer Professionals for Social Resp. (CPSR)
@c from their letter to prospective members

The CPSR is an alliance of computer professionals concentrating on
certain areas of the impact of computer technology on society.  It
traces its history to the fall of 1981, when several researchers in
Palo Alto, California, organized a lunch meeting to discuss their
shared concerns about the connection between computing and the
nuclear arms race.  Out of that meeting and the discussions which
followed, CPSR was born, and has been active ever since.@footnote{This
section is part of the CPSR's letter to prospective members.}

The national CPSR program focuses on the following project areas:

@itemize @bullet
@item
@strong{Reliability and Risk}  This area reflects on the concern that
overreliance on computing technology can lead to unacceptable risks to
society.  It includes, but isn't limited to, work in analyzing
military systems such as SDI.

@item
@strong{Civil Liberties and Privacy}  This project is concerned with such
topics as the FBI National Crime Information Center, the growing use
of databases by both government and private industry, the right of
access to public information, extension of First Amendment rights to
electronic communication, and establishing legal protections for
privacy of computerized information.

@item
@strong{Computers in the Workplace}  The CPSR Workplace Project has
concentrated its attention on the design of software for the
workplace, and particularly on the philosophy of ``participatory design,''
in which software designers work together with users to ensure that
systems meet the actual needs of that workplace.

@item
@strong {The 21st Century Project} This is a coalition with other
professional organizations working towards redirecting national
research priorities from concentrating on military issues to
anticipating and dealing with future problems as science and
technology enter the next century.

@end itemize

For more information on the CPSR, contact them at:

@display
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
P.O. Box 717
Palo Alto, CA  94302
@code{cpsr@@csli.stanford.edu}
(415) 322--3778
(415) 322--3798 (Fax)
@end display

@node EFF, FSF, CPSR, Organizations
@subsection The Electronic Frontier Foundation
@c @cindex EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
@cindex EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was established to help
civilize the ``electronic frontier''---the Cyberspacial medium
becoming ever-present in today's society; to make it truly useful and
beneficial not just to a technical elite, but to everyone; and to do
this in a way which is in keeping with the society's highest
traditions of the free and open flow of information and
communication.@footnote{This section was derived from
@file{eff.about}, available along with other material via anonymous
FTP from @code{ftp.eff.org}}
@cindex Cyberspace

The mission of the EFF is
@itemize @bullet
@item
to engage in and support educational activities which increase popular
understanding of the opportunities and challenges posed by
developments in computing and telecommunications;

@item
to develop among policy-makers a better understanding of the
issues underlying free and open telecommunications, and support the
creation of legal and structural approaches which will ease the
assimilation of these new technologies by society;

@item
to raise public awareness about civil liberties issues
arising from the rapid advancement in the area of new computer-based
communications media and, where necessary, support litigation in
the public interest to preserve, protect, and extend First Amendment
rights within the realm of computing and telecommunications
technology;

@item
to encourage and support the development of new tools which
will endow non-technical users with full and easy access to
computer-based telecommunications;
@end itemize

@cindex FTPable Items
The Usenet newsgroups @code{comp.org.eff.talk} and
@code{comp.org.eff.news} are dedicated to discussion concerning the
EFF.  They also have mailing list counterparts for those that don't
have access to Usenet, @code{eff-talk-request@@eff.org} and
@code{eff-news-request@@eff.org}.  The first is an informal arena (aka
a normal newsgroup) where anyone may voice his or her opinions.  The
second, @code{comp.org.eff.news}, is a moderated area for regular
postings from the EFF in the form of @cite{EFFector Online}.  To
submit a posting for the @cite{EFFector Online}, or to get general
information about the EFF, write to @code{eff@@eff.org}.  There is
also a wealth of information available via anonymous FTP on
@code{ftp.eff.org}.

The EFF can be contacted at

@display
@group
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Inc.
155 Second St. #1
Cambridge, MA  02141
@code{eff@@eff.org}
(617) 864-0665
(617) 864-0866 (Fax)
@end group
@end display

@node FSF, LPF, EFF, Organizations
@subsection The Free Software Foundation
@cindex FSF (Free Software Foundation)
@cindex GNU Project

The Free Software Foundation was started by Richard Stallman (creator
of the popular GNU Emacs editor). It is dedicated to eliminating
restrictions on copying, redistributing, and modifying software.

The word ``free'' in their name does not refer to price; it refers to
freedom.  First, the freedom to copy a program and redistribute it to
your neighbors, so that they can use it as well as you.  Second, the
freedom to change a program, so that you can control it instead of it
controlling you; for this, the source code must be made available to
you.

The Foundation works to provide these freedoms by developing free
compatible replacements for proprietary software.  Specifically, they
are putting together a complete, integrated software system called
``GNU'' that is upward-compatible with Unix.@footnote{As an aside, the
editor of the GNU project, @code{emacs}, contains a built-in LISP
interpreter and a large part of its functionality is written in LISP.
The name GNU is itself recursive (the mainstay of the LISP language);
it stands for ``Gnu's Not Unix.''} When it is released, everyone will
be permitted to copy it and distribute it to others.  In addition, it
will be distributed with source code, so you will be able to learn
about operating systems by reading it, to port it to your own machine,
and to exchange the changes with others.

For more information on the Free Software Foundation and the status of
the GNU Project, or for a list of the current tasks that still need to
be done, write to @code{gnu@@prep.ai.mit.edu}.

@c @node IEEE
@c @subsection The IEEE
@c @cindex IEEE
@c 
@c Need IEEE...

@node LPF,  , FSF, Organizations
@subsection The League for Programming Freedom
@c @cindex LPF (League for Programming Freedom)
@cindex LPF

The League for Programming Freedom is a grass-roots organization of
professors, students, businessmen, programmers and users dedicated to
``bringing back'' the freedom to write programs, which they contend
has been lost over the past number years.  The League is not opposed
to the legal system that Congress intended--copyright on individual
programs. Their aim is to reverse the recent changes made by judges in
response to special interests, often explicitly rejecting the public
interest principles of the Constitution.

The League works to abolish the new monopolies by publishing articles,
talking with public officials, boycotting egregious offenders, and in
the future may intervene in court cases.  On May 24, 1989, the League
picketed Lotus headquarters because of their lawsuits, and then
again on August 2, 1990.  These marches stimulated widespread media
coverage for the issue.  They welcome suggestions for other
activities, as well as help in carrying them out.

For information on the League and how to join, write to
@display
League for Programming Freedom
1 Kendall Square #143
P.O. Box 9171
Cambridge, MA  02139
@code{league@@prep.ai.mit.edu}
@end display

@node Initiatives
@section Networking Initiatives

Research and development are two buzz words often heard when
discussing the networking field---everything needs to go faster, over
longer distances, for a lower cost.  To ``keep current,'' one should
read the various trade magazines and newspapers, or frequent the
networking-oriented newsgroups of Usenet.  If possible, attend trade
shows and symposia like Usenix, Interop, et. al.

@c @node ISDN
@c @subsection ISDN

@node NREN
@subsection NREN

The National Research and Education Network (NREN) is a five-year
project approved by Congress in the Fall of 1991.  It's intended to
create a national electronic ``super-highway.''  The NREN will be 50
times faster than the fastest available networks (at the time of this
writing).  Proponents of the NREN claim it will be possible to
transfer the equivalent of the entire text of the Encyclopedia
Britannica in one second.  Further information, including the original
text of the bill presented by Senator Al Gore (D--TN), is available
through anonymous FTP to @code{nis.nsf.net}, in the directory
@file{nsfnet}.  In addition, Vint Cerf wrote on the then-proposed NREN
in RFC-1167, @cite{Thoughts on the National Research and Education
Network}.  @xref{RFCs} for information on obtaining RFCs.

A mailing list, @samp{nren-discuss@@uu.psi.com}, is available for
discussion of the NREN; write to
@samp{nren-discuss-request@@uu.psi.com} to be added.

@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@flushright
``To talk in publick, to think in solitude,
to read and to hear, to inquire,
and to answer inquiries, is the business of a scholar.''
@b{Samuel Johnson}
Chapter VIII
@cite{The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia}
@end flushright
