I may have just made the biggest mistake of my life. I'm making this post because I need some support as well as I need to advise others who are computer savvy to make sure that you are careful.

It is my theory that computer savvy people are one of the biggest worries of my parents generation. They generally have a low understanding of computers and they see their kids doing things they couldn't dream of on there. That unfortunately can cause paranoia.

Last Friday for a senior prank I replaced the weekly edition of a news program we have at school with a clip from Monty Python. We stream this show over the network every few Fridays and I thought it'd be a great senior prank because no one would get hurt and it would be funny.

Unfortunately, the people who make the show didn't find it funny and came looking for who did it. I was interrogated by the police and hacker units today at my school trying to find out how it was done. Thankfully for me, I was not behind any of the technical aspects of the prank, other than the making of the video, so I told the police what I knew. Unfortunately, my accomplice wasn't so lucky. He was using Cain and Abel to get the passwords needed to change this video, and the police and school were very paranoid about safety on the school network.

The end result so far has been a suspension for me, and a suspension for the other kid. But, police are looking into the matter and have already gotten a search warrant for this kid's house and seized his computers.

This really was all a huge over reaction because I believe that the past generation is very paranoid about computers. I just hope that all I receive is a suspension from this and a lesson. I will go within a ten-foot pole's reach of anything hacking related to computers. While his offenses were minor, the reaction wasn't. I just hope that every tech savvy person can take this as a lesson to be careful.

Oh, and I could really use some support right now. I've never been so nervous or regretful in my life.

On the other hand, one of the tech guys mentioned that I might have a job if I keep myself on the straight and narrow. That'd be ironic.

That sucks ! Good joke, but your right about the paranoia. A friend and I have been thinking about a few hacks for the computers for the last day, but really, we don't have the nerve to pull it off (I am one of those people that REALLY tries to keep out of trouble).

Well, I hope it all turns out better than you think.

Good luck!

P.S. How do your parents feel? Thats mainly what keeps me from doing that, if my parents found out, I have NO idea how they would react, although they might not be that bad. On the other hand, my mom has anger/panic attacks sometimes and.... well.... yeah...

Chip, I have to say, Im kinda ashamed of you, I hope you don't get into too much trouble, but it was a prank like this at my highschool 2 years ago that makes life extremely difficult for me at school now. and 4 of the brightest kids in the school got in huge trouble, and one of them (an eagle scout) never got his diploma because of it. hacking in legal contests or for penetration testing is fine, but using your powers for bad is extremely uncool and brings you to the level of a script kiddy. and you of all people with the email hacking a couple months ago should know how unfun it is to be the target of this.

Sorry to seem rude here posting like this in a topic like this, but... I loved this quote

I know, I know, I'm ashamed of myself. I just want to let others know that they shouldn't go near this stuff. If my story will convince harq to delete anything he was doing and deter him from hacking, then I feel I have made a little good of this situation.

Also, I can't stress enough how I didn't go network sniffing to get this information, I just used information I got from this other kid. I know both are wrong, but I can't go back and undo what I did.

I've sent apologies to the tv production class and I'm willing to publicly apologize if they want it. I made a mistake, but at least I didn't do a senior prank that hurt anyone like they did last year at my school. Last year, some kids dumped a pile of manure in the front lobby of the school and they put paint balls all over the floors. I think that's a lot more destructive and not as funny.

Just be glad it IS your senior year Can you imagine how bad it would be if you had done this a few years ago o.O

And just one question, do you know what happened to the kids who pulled that prank off last year?

don't they call people like that 'Black Hats', or am I just off in some magical land here? Meh, totally sucks though! Man, they cracked down on you fast.

Hope all you get is a suspension as well! (their probably wtaching your account activity as well on the school server =X)

"black hat" is for people with skill, generally the sort that actually crack security algorithms and write the programs Chip was using. Script kiddy's are the wannabes who use premade programs to steal passwords.

From what I've seen, people completely overreact about anything related to technology they don't understand. Sorry what would definitely be a funny prank backfired on you, Chip.

I find out the length of my suspension tomorrow and any other punishments I could have. I'll keep you guys posted.

ok man. I will keep this in mind (the thing is, I know a whole ton about the way the school comps have been config, and they think it is impossible to get around. I might reveal my secrets when I graduate to the IT guys (why should other benefit from my questionable things)).

Mind rephrasing that in a way that doesn't require nested parentheses?

heheh, make a video of you hacking into the system, then hack into the system and play the video showing there security flaws, funny and educational. haha...

wow. Chip, like Kerm said, it really is too bad it backfired on you. I really hope all goes well with both your parents and the school. It would really be cool of you to make a public apology. For me, thats really..i dunno how to say it...noble? but yes, its extremely difficult to make a public apology. Once again, good luck to you. [/b]

you guys are taking the wrong approach on this.

as hilarious a prank as it would have been, illegal hacking is a felony. essentially that means if the government wants to prosecute you either they own your soul till you die, or you'll get jail time and then have to get a new identity if you want to work at mcdonalds for crying out loud. Chip's lucky he's already been accepted to college.

1) Statute of limitations
2) Universities have a knack of withdrawing admission offers

1) its frequently make a deal or get a sentence.
2) but its better chances than having to apply with this sort of thing hanging over.

To those improperly (or not-enoughly) informed of what Chip did, it may be comparable to finding a new way to smuggle a bomb onto an airplane. As Emerson said, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds". In my opinion, this experience was only entirely bad if a lesson was not learned from it.

I know that you don't know me very well, Chip, but I still hope you can keep going without giving up. As long as you are able to say (in the sense of virtue) what your mistake was, you should feel no shame in being humble and doing the morally best things you can think of. No matter what you're told tomorrow, life goes on. Personally, I think you're one of the brightest people I've seen in the TI community, so opportunity is unlikely to be what you have trouble finding. Just try to make the right choices even when doing so would seem inconveinient or illogical.

Wow chip, that blows - how could you have been so stupid as to have gotten caught??? No, seriously, a hilarious prank, but, like elf said, totally illegal. There's a reason those programs come with warnings that say under no circumstances should you ever use this program to do anything at all

Unfortunately, it's true. The older generation does overreact, but they mean well. They're under the assumption that by quashing what they can, illegal hacking will cease... instead, it just moves farther underground...

Of course, you have to remember, not all of the older generation fears it... one of my teachers was quite intrigued by it, and asked me if I could mess with turnitin.com. I politely declined, seeing as how I would lose my (future) diploma, and he would lose his job if I was caught doing that under his watch... But he seriously thought it was interesting that it could be done. Oh well.

In the future, for a senior prank, go with the old tire trick. Get a ton of used tires, a lift truck, and stack the tires around the flag pole. Hours of fun while they cut them off one by one with a chainsaw...