Looks like I'll be moving to Guayaquil Ecuador in July.  Does anyone have any contacts down there as far as Tech work etc?  I'll be interested in work for the 2 years I'll be there. (Soon to be wife is a Dip there)

Kind of a needle in the haystack kind of scenario.  Sorry to say it, but unless you installed some phone home sort of software on that guy, may as well write it off.

Likewise.  My grandmother checks her email, looks at the weather, and then goes and plays Cribbage.  Putting up something to keep her from getting infected from the craptacular links her siblings computers send her. (notice, I said their computers... not them... since some are questionably malicious) saves me time.

Indeed.  It's been a fun few years of knowing you Don, and getting to know the rest of you as well.  Both on the site and at Blackhat/Defcon.

Firefox or Opera with no script (or the equiv) is about the only thing I've used that works well.  Black listing vs white listing... honestly, I'll tell my browser what I think is kosher, I'm sure as h3ll not letting M$ tell me what it thinks is secure.

At first.... the post made me think he was a pimp being undermined by his working girls from the language/wording hehe. 

4sh's suggestion? 
1) - Reformat.
2) - Read about botnets etc.
3) - Develop your digital pimp slap so you can keep dem ho's in line.

If I understand the way the giveaway was decided, you should be able to find out by simply clicking "members" and then aggregating the list by the "posts" column. 

"Plz hlp me!  No pr0n or Myspace!"

Heh.... really?  Here?  Anyway... yeah.... no help from me.

I was going to go, but it looks like I will be in DC during that time period.

Good question.  I think what to expect... highly depends upon the makeup of the group.  My group is lucky enough that we have a house that is owned or rented by the group (I don't ask).  The house has been turned into a hacker's lodge of sort.  We get together, listen to presentations, drink, and BBQ.  That is the general monthly get together.  Members go there other times during the week when they want a quiet place to work (it's wired up as you might imagine).  Or do whatever.  We have a nice server setup, sodering area with grinders and lots of fun stuff/tools.  I really think you'll find different setups and whatnot with each DC group.  This is the only one I've hung out with in person, but... Noid is our leader... and he's been the head of the Defcon goons forever.  Hell, Jeff Moss joins our group once in a while since he lives here.  I think I'm pretty lucky in my situation.  There are lots of other non-DC groups out there as well though.  The Seattle wireless group is pretty big.  There are a number of groups that just meet online too.  IRC... etc.. SILC.. whatnot.  Just get your feelers out there, do some googling in your area, and see what you can find.

About the story... well honestly I don't care much.  :/  Sorry, but that's what comes to mind as I read it here from work.  As for "where to go from here" I would suggest deciding what you want to do with your life.  If you want to be a computer security professional, stick around, check out the site some more, and read through the 'getting started' sections that are in the forum.  It sounds like you have a basic start on hacking, a mentality of wanting to learn more about things, and such. 

My suggestion, get a hold of a good TCP/IP book, learn how things flow over the wire (or air) and why.  Work on networking knowledge, some programming languages, and keep getting experience and working on getting certs.

Last tip, don't screw with peoples networks, machines, or locks without their permission, if you want to be part of this group.  If you want to do that, there are other groups more suitable.  I hope that was mildly useful, but if not, c'este la vie. 

TCP/IP and basic networking are your friends.  Pick up a book on these, and find out why things work the way they work. 

Alright guys.  It's been a while since I had to bust an excel sheet password.  One of my bosses locked himself out of a .xlsx (2007) excel doc and needs the pass cracked or removed off of it.  Any tips for a good program that isn't coming from china or russia with extra love? 

-4sh

Google Fu is the begining of net wisdom.

I don't know, but it seems to CAUSE a sense of horror inside me.