by Ryan Mathews

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October 1998

I had always felt that PC users were relatively safe from hackers. Sure, you can get a virus if you're not careful, but hackers? People actually getting inside your system, modifying and deleting files on your hard drive? I had always thought that was only a danger for mainframe shell accounts. PCs are turned on and off, they dial in at different times, use dynamic IP addresses, and use a wide variety of different software. There was simply no common frame of reference for hackers to connect to.

Well, the hackers have invented one. It's called Back Orifice, and it's an obvious idea. It's a server that runs on your Windows 95/98 system, without your knowledge. The hacker has the client, and he trolls the Net, looking for "BO" servers that are active. When he finds yours, he can access your hard drive, change or delete files, even start programs on your system.

You "install" this server in the same way you catch a virus: by carelessly downloading executable files off the Internet. It can also be caught through executable attachments to email messages (like email greeting cards), or through executing a Java applet. Once installed, the server runs invisibly whenever you go online. It's possible you're running it now and don't even know it. In Ryan's case, a hacker gave the secret away in a rather graphic manner when he deleted some files, then put up a message box to brag about it. Ryan's since cleaned the server off his system, but he had to reinstall part of Netscape.

There are steps you can take to protect yourself from Back Orifice, and they apply to all viruses as well.

• Only install software that you have obtained from a trustworthy source. And for crying out loud, never install anything posted to a newsgroup (unless you know the poster personally)!

• Don't open executable attachments to email unless you know who the message is from. Most email clients will tell you what kind of file the attachment is before you open it. If yours doesn't, get a better client.

• Don't send executable email greeting cards. Send Web cards. They're lots safer and just as much fun.

• Make sure you have the latest version of Java. Keeping your browser up to the latest fully supported version is the best way to do this. Java on my Netscape browser will not install software on my hard drive without my permission. You shouldn't give this permission unless you are completely confident that it's safe.

More information on Back Orifice can be obtained at The Back Orifice Info Page. It includes information on how to detect Back Orifice, and how to clean it off your system once found.

Alright, on to matters of anime!

How many of you readers saw the recent anime special on the Sci-Fi Channel's Masters of Fantasy program? I taped it, myself. I thought it was the most accurate and fair examination of anime by the mainstream media to date, although they did skip over Robotech when giving the history of the genre in the United States. The interviews with Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, and Hiroyuki Kitakubo were priceless.

One of the most interesting tidbits of information, if accurate, were the various anime movies said to be coming to theaters in the US. The Princess Mononoke is no secret, but Ghost in the Shell and the new remake of Vampire Hunter D are also listed as due in theaters. Of course, Ghost in the Shell toured the art theater circuit a few years back, so they might have been referring to that. However, I'm holding out hopes for a mainstream release of both these films.

So it looks like anime has arrived. Of course, it has "arrived" several times in the past, but it never seemed to fully complete docking procedures. After arrival, it often wasn't what we were expecting, like bad dubs, or a media obsessed with the sex and violence in a minority of anime.

But perhaps this is finally it. 1999 could be the year animation finally matures in the States. It could happen. The supermarket tabloids are predicting far weirder things than that for the end of the millennium, so who knows? :-)

Let's browse some web sites!