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Ask the Cult of the Dead Cow Anything

Posted by Roblimo on from the striking-fear-into-the-hearts-of-model-citizens-everywhere dept.

The Cult of the Dead Cow [cDc] is one of the best-known and oldest groups floating around in the murky world of computer security (on either side of the fence). cDc's best-publicized recent accomplishment is Back Orifice, a program that can be considered either an excellent NT remote sysadmin tool or a cracker's sneaky way into an NT-based network. But there's lots more to cDc than B.O. If you're not famliar with their history, check the cDc files before you post; they go all the way back to 1985. Please confine yourself to one question per post. Tuesday afternoon we'll forward the 10 - 15 questions deemed most interesting by Slashdot moderators and hangers-on to the Cult by e-mail. Answers will appear Friday.

8 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Surprise by Effugas · · Score: 2

    To the various illustrious(translation: I've worshipped you guys for the majority of my life) members of the Cult of the Dead Cow:

    Moo.

    That being said, I'd like to know what have been the most surprising events in the computer industry for you. Anything's fair game. What just came out of nowhere and knocked the Cult flat on its ass?

    Yours Truly,

    Dan Kaminsky
    DoxPara Research
    http://www.doxpara.com

  2. white hat or black hat? by sinatra · · Score: 2

    A recent article (forgot the reference) characterized codc members as a bunch of social juveniles bound by no particular ideals, and lacking in both trust and personal respect for other members as well as the (cr|h)acker communities at-large. The evidence presented in the article however was limited to on-stage behavior and a virus of unknown-but-suspicious origin on a distributed CD. The codc archives paint an equally murky picture, depending on the reader's perspective.

    So is there a codc code of ethics? Could such a thing ever be enforced?

    Is the hacker code in general just marketing hype? Are the press correct in their refusal to differentiate cr from h?

  3. Image by Foogle · · Score: 2

    Let's face it - most people regard the cdc as a bunch of script-kiddies looking for some limelight. The BackOrifice software really made this worse, because it was seen, not as an admin tool, but as an application meant to propogate cracking. How does this make you feel? That is, what are your personal thoughts on the cult's activities and how do you think they should be viewed from the professional side of the industry?

  4. Name? by Dreadcat · · Score: 2

    Cult of the Dead Cow. Bloody good name.

    Just how did you come up with it? :-)

    --
    You are the same decaying organic matter as the rest of us.
  5. Longevity by tdsanchez · · Score: 2

    How has the 'mission' and/or purpose of cDc changed as the years have passed, especially with the advent of pervasive internet connectivity and the 'death' of classic dial-up BBS's?

  6. Here's a question or two... by Chemical+Serenity · · Score: 2
    1. Who are the sick bastids which came up with 'Trail of Blood' and 'Bunny Lust' (the first two cDc releases that I'm aware of)?

    2. Have they increased thier dosage since then? ;)

    --
    rickf@transpect.SPAM-B-GONE.net (remove the SPAM-B-GONE bit)

    --
    "People will pay big bucks for the luxury of ignorance."
  7. Security by M1000 · · Score: 2

    How would you define the implementation of security on the major OS today?

    Windows95 / 98
    Commercial Unix
    Linux
    FreeBSD
    NT
    Windows 2000 (NT5)
    etc.

  8. cDc and South Park by xmedar · · Score: 2

    There is an episode of South Park with cows worshipping a cow clock, and when it is removed by the people, the cows all jump off a cliff, now I've heard that refered to as the Cult of the Dead Cow episode, is it anything to do with cDc or are cults for dead cows just in fashion right now?

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced man is indistinguishable from God