[Question] MS_DOS

Awkward Author

First of all I'd like to apologise if I've put this in the wrong forum, mod feel free to move it. I'm looking for some help with MS_Dos commands. I'm trying to get a flash fiction story published and know absolutely nothing about command prompts. Thusfar I have two character talking to one another C:\ and <. Basically one is lost and the other is integrated into a IIOS, integrated Intelligence Operating System. I need to know the correctness of a few basic commands.
The first.
c:\ Run CALCS ... I want to try change the attributes to a certain file.
next
c:\ Drivparm ... I want to overwrite servers
next
< NSLOOKUP ... I want to look up a computers IP address/location
last
< SETVER... I want to isolate the server/programme
and very lastly
what does it mean to type < Attrib.

Thanks again for all your help if you can.

bnt

ATTRIB command for changing the attributes on a file
e.g. ATTRIB +H CALCS.EXE to make CALCS.EXE a hidden file.

I don't quite understand what you mean about "overwriting servers". A "server" in modern context is a program that is made to run when a computer is started, to provide a service (hence the name). Boards,ie is run on a "web server", a particular type of server that serves web pages on demand. You usually can't modify one when it's running. On a Windows Server (NT or later) you can run NET STOP <service> to stop a service, or NET START <service> to ... you know. You usually need Administrator permissions, which normal users will not have i.e. it's not a "back door".
edit: I just saw the drivparm bit. This is an old DOS style "boot parameter" that was used at bootup to configure the settings for a particular drive, 15+ years ago. If these settings were needed, and they were wrong or missing, the drive in question just didn't work. Is this being touted as some kind of security hole?

NSLOOKUP is short for "name server lookup", converting a name in to an IP address.
e.g. NSLOOKUP boards.ie converts the name "boards.ie" in to IP address 89.234.66.108, which is how your computer actually communicates with boards.ie in practice.

The Windows SETVER command is there for backwards compatibility. Say you have a program that was made back in the days of Windows 98 and chokes on anything newer: SETVER (or the Properties window) can be used to tell Windows to run it in a "compatibility mode" that spoofs the old Windows settings.

Michael Collins

I think this would be more appropriate in the development forum. Moved to Development from Mathematics.

Awkward Author

Thanks bnt. I'm looking for command codes that could be used to hack into a computer program to allow a user to change permissions. ie, i don't have permission to see the contents of a file so I try hacking into it... somehow. The story is based in the 80's when there was a lot more MS_DOS used.
The other side of the story is when < is attempting to block and eradicate the user c:\
Any help with simple commands would be good. It's a flash fiction piece, under 1000 words, so short commands would be preferable.

Fenster

MS-DOS file permissions: http://www.computerhope.com/attribhl.htm

bnt

First of all, I would point out that MS-DOS systems in the 1980s were "single user" systems. Iff you were in front of an IBM PC and it was turned on, you had complete control of the system straight away. Files on DOS disks didn't have permissions. :pac:

Before the arrival of the hard drive, if you wanted to secure data, you saved it to a floppy disk and locked the disk away. You could hide files using the ATTRIB +H command as discussed, but that was more of a "prevent accidental deletion" thing and was easily bypassed.

So I'm wondering whether you might actually be thinking of a multi-user operating system such as UNIX. It was around in the 80s, especially at academic institutions. It has commands such as "chmod" (change access flags) and "chown" (change owner), which (of course) only work on files that you already have right to.

So a common theme in "hacking" is the getting of those rights, or (even better) "root" access, which gives complete control of the system. UNIX in the 80s was more secure, but not perfect: have a look at The Cuckoo's Egg, for example, or the story of the Morris worm.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but the reality of "hacking" isn't like it in the movies. If a system has reasonable security, you don't get in by typing "GIVE ME TOTAL CONTROL"

Awkward Author

bnt wrote: »

First of all, I would point out that MS-DOS systems in the 1980s were "single user" systems. Iff you were in front of an IBM PC and it was turned on, you had complete control of the system straight away. Files on DOS disks didn't have permissions. :pac:

Before the arrival of the hard drive, if you wanted to secure data, you saved it to a floppy disk and locked the disk away. You could hide files using the ATTRIB +H command as discussed, but that was more of a "prevent accidental deletion" thing and was easily bypassed.

So I'm wondering whether you might actually be thinking of a multi-user operating system such as UNIX. It was around in the 80s, especially at academic institutions. It has commands such as "chmod" (change access flags) and "chown" (change owner), which (of course) only work on files that you already have right to.

So a common theme in "hacking" is the getting of those rights, or (even better) "root" access, which gives complete control of the system. UNIX in the 80s was more secure, but not perfect: have a look at The Cuckoo's Egg, for example, or the story of the Morris worm.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but the reality of "hacking" isn't like it in the movies. If a system has reasonable security, you don't get in by typing "GIVE ME TOTAL CONTROL"

Thanks this is really helpful. As you can probably tell I am NOT a computer person at all lol..