Slashdot Mirror
The Underhanded C Contest Is Back
Xcott Craver writes "After several years of inactivity, the Underhanded C contest has returned. The object is to write a short, readable, innocent-looking computer program that nevertheless performs some evil function for reasons that are not obvious under code review. The prize is a $200 gift certificate to ThinkGeek."
The deadline is July 4th, so get to hacking.
The actual challenge this year is to write an evil C file that can calculate the "Bacon degree" separation of two users in a database that keeps track of their friends, with 0 meaning no linkage at all, 1 meaning they're directly BFF, 2 meaning that they have a BFF in common. In other words, the path length on the graph of friends. Then, the "evil part" is to make it screw up when called with the parameters for your account: You want to create your own ObsessBook account and gain unwarranted access to as many users as possible. To this end, your code should work normally almost all the time, but for some unseen reason it should return incorrectly low DERPCON values when called with your account as an argument. As the contractor, you have access to the ObsessBook database, so you can assign your data structure whatever fields you want in order to trigger the bug.
When they missed putting 'http://' in front of their link to thinkgeek.com ;)
If computers were people, I'd be a misanthrope.
Software is already underhanded and obscure enough as it is. I mean using it. How about a "clear and fucking obvious" contest? How about error messages that mean something? "The side by side configuration is incorrect". Parse that.
You must be new here.
This competition used to be on slashdot almost every year (dating back to 2005, apparently). I'd thought it went back further than that, but that's still 8 years.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Well then you shouldn't participate: solved!
Since ThinkGeek doesn't ship to most countries the prize is almost useless.
Why couldn't they just offer the money?
My C teacher used to show us snippets, and got us interested in the per-processor.
We learned more in analyzing errant code, then writing out own,
and we could turn crap code into cool programs.
He called one snippet 'Recalcitrant' and we ran upstairs in the library to look it up,
People thought we were mad when we were laughing at the dictionary.
Thanks Barry both for showing us C, and for introducing us to GNU.
If I would guess based on their names, I'd say that a majority among previous years' winners and runner-ups have darker skin color, yes.
Does it bother you 'morons' that other people don't look exactly like you?
The winning entry will be one which doesn't only do the evil task asked for, but at the same time, in a way that the contest runners won't notice it, also manipulates the contest database in order to put itself as the winner. ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Not really. They pretty much pay for the social security of white trash mouth breathers.
Plus, they are the only ones who empty my trash can. When was the last time you actually saw domestic cleaning personnel? And bluntly, I have heaps of respect for the cleaning lady that comes in every day to clean my desk and make sure I don't drown in waste. She works way harder than me and gets paid way less.
I sure as hell wouldn't want to do her job!
And that's exactly what's wrong with this country (don't feel singled out, that's what's wrong with pretty much any country that prides itself with being the "first world"). Ya know, I tend to talk to her. Yeah, think about that. Talking with ... those people. She's working her ass off to get her kids through school, 'cause she wants them to have it better later, with some good education that could provide them with a better job.
And what do we do? I mean, our people who could take that job? Live on food stamps because cleaning up shit is beneath us. Let those foreign niggers do that while I sit on my couch, watch Oprah and grow fat. Why bother, social security will take care of me! I earned that!
I was born here!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
#include<stdio.h>
/* Distract Judges */
/* Launch our evil masterpiece */ /* TODO: Find out the command to start Windows 8... */
#include<process.h>
main()
{
printf("Is that a free beer stand behind you?");
exec("", "", NULL);
}
Here is the current structure proposed by the organizers for storing the social network.
struct user_struct {
int user_ID;
char * name;
char * account_handle;
int number_of_BFFs;
user * BFF_list;
int scratch;
};
The BFF_list field is supposed to contain the list of friends of a user. The proposed type, user*, suggests that it should be implemented as an array of user. This means that if a user is in your list of friends (stored by value in the array BFF_list), you cannot be in his list of friends unless you both have the same friends. It can only represent non-symetric friendship where each user is involved once in a BFF_list.
I would suggest using type user** for this field.
Did you know that today is the 20th anniversary of the first time I heard that Windows joke?
see several stories above about the guy who built secret compartments...
I put the contest rules in a pdf, at http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~scraver/underhanded/ until the main site is back up again.
already did this. He was hacking in C while getting something underhanded... or it could have been overhanded; the camera didn't show under the table.
The G
What the shit are you babbling about?
Submitting a story to Slashdot is free you ignorant clod.
But getting it accepted is apparently $200.
No, you see, all slashdotters are forced to participate in anything found on slashdot. Biggest example is the polls. People who don't care about cars vote then complain on car related polls. Those that don't have a tablet are required to vote how they mostly use their tablet. Europeans vote in a US-centric poll question then whine about it (and pass an EU law requiring all polls provide a valid option for everyone under threat of 6 digit euro fine).
"darker skin color" meaning INDIANS, by any chance?
It doesn't bother me that other people don't look "exactly like me", but it DOES bother me that I am FORCED to watch my country being turned into a third world hellhole. Did you miss the memo on that one?
I see that you didn't have a logical rebuttal to anything I said, and instead you repeated, parrot-fashion, what your Jewish 'masters' have been telling you to say all your life.
So in your world view the Jews are in league with the Blacks to destroy your country? I'm not sure where the Indians come into this.
Have you considered the possibility that you are a small minded bigot?
You know you are not the indigenous people in your country don't you? The native American Indians are, you know the people the modern Americans forced from their land. You are likely descended from English or Irish immigrants.
Win it and sell it.
My money is on his being Polish, but lying that he is German. Really, he is just sad that since coming out, he can't get a nice hard black cock.
Grandpa?
You arrogant idiots. Our white countries are being destroyed in front of our very eyes, and we still have pricks like you, with only two brain cells, telling us how 'wonderful' it all is, and how 'evil' any white person who speaks out against it is.
I imagine a few Native American braves said the same sort of thing to Tecumseh. Oh, and you're a fool. People are people are people ... Try walking a mile in their shoes before setting yourself up to look like an idiot.
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit
kernel mod code while(1) { asm( randomAddress = random value ) } // randomAddress (in lower memory)
I was about to mention that but you beat me to the punch. Funny how people forget their own inglorious history when it suits them.
Boozhoo zaagnaash miizhishinaam!
(Translation from Anishenabekwe : Greetings white man, give our land back!)
(sigh) yet another totally oblivious racist asshole.....
posting as AC because I can't be bothered to log in to bitch slap this asshole.
morethanapapercert
Because it can maybe help people understand that "But isn't open source!" isn't some magic statement that means a piece of software is secure, bug free, and non-evil. Review and testing is important, not just of the code (and for non-obvious things) but of the final compiled product too. That you have the code doesn't mean there isn't a problem, even if you glanced at it doesn't mean there's no problem.
I'm going to write a malware installer that appears to simply be an installer for Windows XP......but it makes sure you are connected to the internet first.
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
So in your world view the Jews are in league with the Blacks to destroy your country?
I think you mean
"The Jew is using The Black as muscle against you. And you are left there helpless. Well, what are you going to do about it, Whitey? Just sit there? Of course not! You are going to join with us. The members of the American Socialist White Peoples' Party. An organization of decent, law abiding white folk. Just like you! "
You know you are not the indigenous people in your country don't you? The native American Indians are, you know the people the modern Americans forced from their land.
Actually, even 'native Americans' came here over the Bering land bridge about 20,000 years ago, so.... yeah.
I got to just read this reply out of context. I already don't like the entire thread that led to this comment.
That's ridiculous, I've been making that joke for about 25 years.
I always thought native Americans had a richer skin colour rather than a darker one. Anyway, I'm sure they're looking forward to seeing the back of you. I'm not sure where you're going to go though - who'd want to take back a small minded, selfish little bigot like you?