AOHell
Encyclopedia
AOHell was a tool that greatly simplified 'cracking
' online using AOL
.
community. Lurking in secret chat rooms with appropriate names like 'AirZeraw', mm, cerver, 'wArEzXXX', 'punter', 'gif', 'coldice' 'GRiP' as well as 'trade' to name a few chatrooms, AOHell created bots often referred to as 'servers' http://www.marco.org/44 which would send out a list of warez (pirated
software) contained in their mailbox. Simply messaging the bot with the titles of the desired software packaging would result in those packages being forwarded to one's mailbox. Since the data merely had to be copied into another user's mailbox (still resident on an AOL server), the piracy was only limited by how fast messages could be forwarded, with AOL footing all the bandwidth costs. One additional limitation included an allotted amount of email messages which could be sent per day by the particular user account. Botters were able to circumvent this limitation by signing up for a white-list account which was subject to an unknown probationary period where AOL administrators monitored the account.
The existence of software like AOHell provided a sort of parallel 'lite' version of the hacker underground that had existed for years before, based around bulletin board system
s. Programs like AOHell played an important part in defining the 'script kiddie
', a user who performs basic cracking
using simple tools written by others, with little understanding of what they are doing. These types of programs tended to get AOL accounts shut down and so most users were on accounts they acquired illicitly either by phishing
or a fake account generator as mentioned above.
In the manual http://www.aolwatch.org/chronic2.htm, the creator of AOHell claims that he created the program because the AOL administrators would frequently shut down hacker and warez chatrooms for violation of AOL's terms of service while refusing to shut down the pedophilia
chat rooms which regularly traded child pornography. Da Chronic claimed when he confronted AOL's TOSAdvisor about it, he was met with an account deletion. His goal was:
The program was last compatible with AOL version 2.5.
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
' online using AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
.
Origin
Released in 1994 by hackers known as "The Rizzer" & "Da Chronic", AOHell provided a number of utilities which ran on top of the America Online client software. Though most of these utilities simply manipulated the AOL interface, some were powerful enough to let almost any curious party anonymously cause havoc on AOL. Upon loading, the program played a short clip from Dr. Dre's 1993 song Nuthin' but a "G" Thang.Competitors
AOHell was the first program of its kind, but it spawned a very large number of copycats, some of which rivaled AOHell itself in quality. Fate X and HaVoK were two of its most popular successors. As time went on, code to create these programs became available to the general public on various AOL add-on sites. New programs would be developed and released regularly by the community of coders that sites like this fostered. Over a period of 10 years, more than 1000 programs would be released for various versions of AOL.Features of AOHell
- A fake account generator which would generate a new, fully functional AOL account for the user that lasted for about a month. This generator worked by exploiting the algorithmAlgorithmIn mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
used by credit card companies known as the Luhn algorithmLuhn algorithmThe Luhn algorithm or Luhn formula, also known as the "modulus 10" or "mod 10" algorithm,is a simple checksum formula used to validate a variety of identification numbers, such as credit card numbers, IMEI numbers, National Provider Identifier numbers in US and Canadian Social Insurance Numbers...
to dynamically generate apparently legitimate credit cardCredit cardA credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
numbers. The account would not be disabled until AOL first billed it (and discovered that the credit card was invalid). The generator could also generate fake addresses and phone numbers, resembling on their surface legitimate personal information. One example of a fake account generator was a Macintosh One-click based piece of software called Fake Maker written by a user known as McDawgg within the AOL Macwarez community. This software ran in parallel with the AOL program to create fake accounts based upon generated legitimate credit card account numbers. This software ultimately released 3 versions and helped to create thousands of fake accounts before AOL weakened its ability through more expedient account verification.
- PhishingPhishingPhishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
tools, which would barrage random AOL users with instant messages like:
- A punter (IMInstant messagingInstant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
-bomber), which would send an Instant Message containing HTMLHTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
code to another user that would sign them off. - A mail bomb script which would rapidly send e-mails to a user's inbox until it was full.
- A flooding script that would flood a chat room with ASCII artASCII artASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
of an offensive nature, such as the finger or a toilet. - An 'artificial intelligence bot', which did not really contain artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, but had the ability to automatically respond to a message in a chatroom upon identification of keywords. (For example, a 'profane language' autoresponse was built-in to the program.) - An IM manager, which provided facilities to automatically respond to or block IMs from certain users.
Motives and legacy
The existence of AOHell and similar software even allowed AOL to develop its own warezWarez
Warez refers primarily to copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties, and may be traded, in general violation of copyright law. The term generally refers to unauthorized releases by organized groups, as opposed to file sharing between friends or large groups of people with similar...
community. Lurking in secret chat rooms with appropriate names like 'AirZeraw', mm, cerver, 'wArEzXXX', 'punter', 'gif', 'coldice' 'GRiP' as well as 'trade' to name a few chatrooms, AOHell created bots often referred to as 'servers' http://www.marco.org/44 which would send out a list of warez (pirated
Copyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
software) contained in their mailbox. Simply messaging the bot with the titles of the desired software packaging would result in those packages being forwarded to one's mailbox. Since the data merely had to be copied into another user's mailbox (still resident on an AOL server), the piracy was only limited by how fast messages could be forwarded, with AOL footing all the bandwidth costs. One additional limitation included an allotted amount of email messages which could be sent per day by the particular user account. Botters were able to circumvent this limitation by signing up for a white-list account which was subject to an unknown probationary period where AOL administrators monitored the account.
The existence of software like AOHell provided a sort of parallel 'lite' version of the hacker underground that had existed for years before, based around bulletin board system
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
s. Programs like AOHell played an important part in defining the 'script kiddie
Script kiddie
A script kiddie or skiddie, occasionally skid, script bunny, script kitty, script-running juvenile or similar, is a derogatory term used to describe those who use scripts or programs developed by others to attack computer systems and networks and deface websites.-Characteristics:In a Carnegie...
', a user who performs basic cracking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
using simple tools written by others, with little understanding of what they are doing. These types of programs tended to get AOL accounts shut down and so most users were on accounts they acquired illicitly either by phishing
Phishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
or a fake account generator as mentioned above.
In the manual http://www.aolwatch.org/chronic2.htm, the creator of AOHell claims that he created the program because the AOL administrators would frequently shut down hacker and warez chatrooms for violation of AOL's terms of service while refusing to shut down the pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
chat rooms which regularly traded child pornography. Da Chronic claimed when he confronted AOL's TOSAdvisor about it, he was met with an account deletion. His goal was:
The program was last compatible with AOL version 2.5.