I'm a Convicted Hacker and Ex Prisoner - Ask Me Anything

Scroll to see replies

Whilst I understand some of those mentioned below are not strictly languages they are:

C#/.NET 4.5/WPF, Java, C++, C, PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, R, MySQL and NoSQL, Bash Scripting, Python, Perl.

Also numerous frameworks and libraries such as jQuery, NodeJS, AngularJS, Symfony, Laravel.

Really to many to mention. But if you ask for my strong points, over the past 2 years I've worked a lot with C#, .NET, WPF, R, and JavaScript. I'm proficient in all of those mentioned above except C++ because I rarely use it in my real world projects.

Nice, how long does it take to become familiar with all of them? And what is your favourite? Are you a perl fan or hater? :tongue:

Too many questions haha :smile:

Spoiler

Reply 41

Raylan Givens

You have posted on here every year since the creation of your account. I've just run checks on that and you have posted in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. On that basis, considering you were in prison for a spell, did you have access to a computer and use TSR whilst in prison? Just interested to know.

Reply 42

cascadingstylez

Original post by johnh1983

I've only taken one network/telecom class, so I don't know much at all but I did find it to be very interesting. What's the least expensive way to learn about networking and network security?

Trail, error and practice. Set a cheap computer up as a localhost server and practice on it. Hackers, whether they're ethical or blackhat, usually know a programming language (Perl is a common one) and write their own scripts. So knowing a programming language helps.

There are frameworks that aid in learning such as Metasploit and BeEF. I'd highly recommend these if you're learning. NEVER test a network that doesn't belong to you or without permission.

Defcon videos on YouTube can be a great starting point to get a general feel. Also keep tabs on current vulnerabilities from sites like http://www.securityfocus.com/vulnerabilities (there's loads of these, subscribe to them via RSS).

For example, if you a see a Wordpress vulnerability. Install that version of Wordpress on your localhost machine and attack it. Toy around and practice and learn along the way.

It really depends on what kind of hacking you want to learn. It's a very broad subject.

Reply 43

dzoric

Original post by cascadingstylez

This seems like a cool thing to do that a lot of people are doing. I get asked questions constantly about the topic title, so to heck with it. Here goes.

Some background info on me:

I'm 29 years old.
I'm a software developer.
I work with Facebook as an Ethical Hacker.
I spent 12 months in prison.
Studied 2 years at uni (Software Engineering).

Ask me anything at all. I'll answer with complete honesty.

What is prison really like, inmates I mean, are they good or bad, obviously bad but were there any to look after you etc?

And did people take advantage on the weak

Reply 44

Raylan Givens

Original post by pjm600

The article says 'you' were caught via IP tracing, did you use ToR or any methods to conceal your ip?

ToR still leaves a trace. The only true way of concealing your identity online is multiple attacks down numerous paths. Which path are you on? Which one is easiest to trace? Takes a sophisticated system to pull off as well and a good brain to not get caught.

I'm guessing the OP knows all about MiTM attacks, XSRF attacks, SQL injections and XSS attacks then having worked in the web development area.

What protocols did you take advantage of to execute your attack?

Reply 45

cascadingstylez

Original post by james22

If you where to hack illegally again (hypothetically), would you be able to avoid getting caught now?

Yes. Tell nobody. Work alone. Hiding yourself is easy. Buy an offshore server in a country where the police would not be able to ge to access servers, such as China, or Russia. Set it up as a VPN, and use Tor to connect to that. Chain these servers together, and you're pretty much able to go undetected.

Reply 46

Elf.

Original post by cascadingstylez

You could write a novel on your experiences :smile:

How do you feel now about abortion?

Reply 47

username1343231

I want to be you! ]
(Just without the prison bit)
How did you get into Software developing, what is required to do so?
What do you need to know to be a software developer (a successful one?)

Reply 48

cascadingstylez

Original post by StarvingAutist

Nice, how long does it take to become familiar with all of them? And what is your favourite? Are you a perl fan or hater? :tongue:

Too many questions haha :smile:

Spoiler

I like Perl. I've been programming since I was about 16 so you could say it's took me 13 years to know what I know. I have Aspergers, and love computers, and reading computer books. It pretty much consumes my life, so I'm probably an exception.

As for the spoiler question ... you'd be surprised but ALOT are. There's to many poor developers out there that leave themselves open to these attacks.

Reply 49

Raylan Givens

Original post by johnh1983

I've only taken one network/telecom class, so I don't know much at all but I did find it to be very interesting. What's the least expensive way to learn about networking and network security?

Buy a Raspberry Pi. Set it up so its secure and part of your network and try and exploit it in any way you can. I do it for web security. I put my website on a server on my Raspberry Pi using LAMP and then I test it that way. The other way obviously to check is through forms and ensuring your SQL is properly escaped otherwise people are going to be running scripts to grab data from your databases and so on. Something that is most often overlooked by inexperienced developers.

Reply 50

Elf.

Original post by cascadingstylez

Secondly, how has being a hacker had an effect on how you feel about internet security and the problems of people's social networks/personal things online/etcetera being monitored?

Reply 51

Bromaldehyde

How can I learn to hack ?

For purely hypothetical situations, obviously...

Reply 52

cascadingstylez

Original post by Raylan Givens

The only time that I had access to a computer in 2011-2012 was when I was in the open prison and I got to work out the prison for 12 hours a day. I used to go to the library or use my iPhone.

Reply 53

precious maro

what is the most time you've heard of a hacker being sentenced to?

Reply 54

cascadingstylez

Original post by Elf.

You could write a novel on your experiences :smile:

How do you feel now about abortion?

I'm a crap writer. Plus I don't really think there's anything interesting to read about me :frown:

I am still dead set against abortions, but I know I can't go around doing what I did just because I disagree with them.

Reply 55

Raylan Givens

Original post by cascadingstylez

Strictly speaking, not true. All connections can be traced but then you're protected by the laws etc. Are Russians going to force a server provider to hand over logs to US or UK officials? No. The only way to properly cover an attack is a multiple pronged attack which is what was executed on Sony's servers its believed by experts. You know programming so you'll know about the concept of spaghetti code and when you have multiple connections being established at once its hard to establish where they're all linking, coming from, especially if you're clever enough to cross them over and so on.

Reply 56

qr95

Can you show some id to prove you are James Jeffery.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 57

Elf.

Original post by cascadingstylez

I'm a crap writer. Plus I don't really think there's anything interesting to read about me :frown:

I am still dead set against abortions, but I know I can't go around doing what I did just because I disagree with them.

Wow. I can't believe you think there's nothing interesting to write! What a life story so far.
What made you feel that way to begin with?
Sorry if this is too personal. x

Reply 58

cascadingstylez

Original post by dzoric

What is prison really like, inmates I mean, are they good or bad, obviously bad but were there any to look after you etc?

And did people take advantage on the weak

Prison is not nice, I addressed that in a previous answer. But, inmates, on the whole are all fine. I don't think I met one that I didn't get along with. I avoided the know drug users, and people that looked shifty. The ones I talked to were great. I made "friends" in there, they were generally white collar criminals. Those in for tax evasion and fraud. I got on with this one guy who had just started a 32 year sentence for murder, he would often help me out with food as he worked in the kitchens.

A lot of people look out for you and are willing to help for nothing in return. Because I was a hacker in jail I got bombarded with questions and "joint ventures" for when I get out. Pretty funny actually.

The annoying thing is people ask you constantly for a smoke. I learnt to tell them no after I realised my generosity was being exploited.

I never had any problems, or fights. I only seen 2 fights in prison. Both were petty, and I'd seen worse fights whilst I was at University lol.

Reply 59

Juichiro

Original post by cascadingstylez

This seems like a cool thing to do that a lot of people are doing. I get asked questions constantly about the topic title, so to heck with it. Here goes.

Some background info on me:

I'm 29 years old.
1.I'm a software developer.
2. I work with Facebook as an Ethical Hacker.
3. I spent 12 months in prison.
4. Studied 2 years at uni (Software Engineering).

Ask me anything at all. I'll answer with complete honesty.