Approaching Zero: The Extraordinary Underworld of Hackers, Phreakers, Virus Writers, and Keyboard Criminals

by Paul Mungo

A place has been created that has no physical dimensions. It can only be reached with a computer. You can hear it in the hum of a modem or the whistle of a fax machine, and see it in the lines on a computer screen, but you can never touch it. This place is a network of connections - from microwaves and fiber-optical cables to telephones, computers, and data banks, it is an ethereal web that links every remote corner of the world. It controls the technology that runs our lives, managing the flow of information, communication, and money, and it is now riddled with arcane computer viruses, overrun by adolescent hackers, and disputed in the electronic turf wars of high-tech street gangs. This place is called Cyberspace, a technological frontier where the outlaws are sophisticated computer renegades - hackers, phreakers, and virus writers who know the interconnected electronic networks as well as the engineers and programmers who built them. Using only small personal computers, hackers with names like Captain Zap and Acid Phreak, or hacker gangs like Rabid and the Legion of Doom, can infiltrate the protected and secured computers at the Pentagon, NATO, or NASA at will. They can roam invisibly through the electronic switches and links of our telephone network and tap into the computers that hold the credit records of all Americans, altering data and copying credit card numbers and access codes. They can even hack into the world's largest banking systems, and have learned how to transfer funds into their own accounts. In recent years, Cyberspace has been invaded by viruses with names like Number of the Beast, LoveChild, and Michelangelo, which can erase data and cause computers to crash. The shadowy creators of these viruses, working from obscure places like Bulgaria, Indonesia, or Thailand, have invented scores of pernicious programs that will infect as many as 12 million of the world's 90 million PCs over the next two years. Approaching Zero is the definitive histor

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Hackers, Computers, Crime, Technology

247 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 1993

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative introduction to early hacker culture. This book explores hacking from a period beginning in the 1960s counterculture movement and ending with the hacker crackdown in the early 90s. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the computer underground.

[Mark Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of hackers written in the 90's. Interesting perspective.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for an intro in to the old school of classic hackers and phreakers

[Derek Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written for the most part and very engaging throughout. It tells the story of the computer underworld, starting with the phone phreakers who traversed the phone system, then moving into the early computer hackers who were primarily into knowledge accumulation and finally into more recent hackers/crackers who cross the border into illegal activities. I would recommend the book for anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating world of technology exploration and manipulation.

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a nice account of history of hacking from first phreakers (phone hackers) to modern hackers (modern as in ca. 2000). Interesting stories about key figures of cyber-underworld history, with healthy dose of skepticism. Moderately detailed on technical level, accessible to a layman in my opinion.

[Joshua Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find this little gem floating around on the internets for free, in fact it was originally published as an open source ebook. Dig it up and read, great intro to the wild world of basement dwelling computer nerd

[Jason Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great history including steve jobs

[Metageek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good description of the early days of the hacking world, including phone hackers. One of several books on this topic, which have surprisingly little overlap.

[Michael Brady · Rating 3 out of 5]

A excellent read from the dawn of cyber crime.