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INTRODUCTION TO THE PRIMOS OPERATING SYSTEM
Part II (Internal Snooping and Basic Commands)
Written by Violence
Copyright (C) 1989 The VOID Hackers
_______________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to Part II of my series on PRIMOS. In this part I will go over such
things as how to make your stay on a Prime computer last longer, basic PRIMOS
commands to memorize, user-to-user communication, internal PRIMOS security, and
how to explore the vast reaches of a Prime computer.
_______________________________________________________________________________
MAKING YOUR STAY LAST LONGER
Now that you have logged in, there are a few things that you should do immed-
iately to insure a nice long visit. You should make this procedure routine and
do it everytime you login.
Once logged in you will, as illustrated in Part I, see the login herald and
then, assuming the account is not captive (there will be a section on Captive
Accounts later in this part), get the system prompt (generally an "OK,"). You
are now using PRIMOS and the prompt signifies that you are at the PRIMOS comm-
and line. Most Primes use the standard "OK," prompt, but some do not. For
this series, I shall assume that your Prime uses the "OK," prompt. Now, type
some nonsensical command. Try arf. Here is what should happen:
OK, arf
Not found. ARF (std$cp)
ER!
Notice that when you enter an invalid command you get a new prompt. On all
standard systems, it is "ER!". Again, this prompt can be changed and, through
out this series, I shall assume that it is set to "ER!".
NOTE: std$cp means Standard Command Processor. Sometimes instead of std$cp you
will get a (processcommand) error. They are the same thing, just differ-
ent names for different revision levels.
Now that you are in, you are going to want to perform a few actions to make
sure that you are safe. The first of these actions is to turn off all COMO
files. COMO is the abbreviated form of the COMOUTPUT command. COMOUTPUT turns
on a buffer if you will, much like your terminal program's copy buffer. From
the time a COMO file is turned on everything you type and everything PRIMOS
says to you will be logged to a SAM (sequential access method) file (a text
file). To turn off a COMO file you will type this at the system prompt:
OK, como -e
The "-E" argument means "END" and will end any COMO processes. If you can't
see what you are typing then perhaps the initiating COMO command turned off
all terminal output. You can turn it back on by typing:
OK, como -tty
To save time, nest the arguments as such:
OK, como -e -tty
The next thing you should do is make sure that you are the only person using
the account you logged in to (we don't want any irate users on our hands, now
do we?). Do this by typing:
OK, stat -me
Assuming you are logged in as user PRIME, PRIMOS will output the following:
Line
User No oct( dec) Devices
PRIME 87 125( 85) <USER05>
The "User" column displays your User ID. The "No" column lists your user
number. The "Line" column indicates the AMLC line you are using (the physical
modem line) in both octal and decimal notation. The "Devices" column displays
the current disk partition that you are attached to. In this case, we are
attached to the <USER05> disk partition.
If you find that there is more than one of you logged in, then you should
make a hasty exit and logout. There is a correct way to logout and an incorre-
ct way to logout. The correct way to logout is listed below. NEVER hang up on
a Prime. Always logout in the illustrated fashion.
OK, rsterm
OK, lo
The RSTERM command empties your terminal read (input) and write (output)
buffers. This throws away anything in your type-ahead buffer and gets rid of
all output pending. The LO command logs you out of the system. When you
logout you will see a message similar to this:
PRIME (user 87) logged out Sunday, 22 Jan 89 16:23:56.
Time used: 00h 08m connect, 00m 03s CPU, 00m 00s I/O.
Everything listed in this message should be self-explanatory by now, but in
case you are still bewildered. The connect time is how long your session
lasted in hours and minutes. The CPU time indicates how much actual time you
manipulated the central processing unit (CPU); listed in minutes and seconds.
The I/O time indicates how much actual disk I/O (access) you performed; in
minutes and seconds.
Assuming that no one else is using the account you are logged in as take a look
and see who else is on the system. Do this by typing:
OK, stat us
The Prime will display the following to you:
Line
User No oct( dec) Devices
SYSTEM 1 asr <COMDEV>
SMITH 5 3( 3) <USER05> <COMDEV>
JOHNSON 70 104( 68) <USER05> <COMDEV>
PRIME 87 125( 85) <USER05> <COMDEV>
TIMER_PROCESS 123 kernel <COMDEV>
LOGIN_SERVER 124 LSr <COMDEV> (3)
DSMSR 125 DSM <COMDEV>
DSMASR 126 DSM <COMDEV>
SYSTEM_MANAGER 127 SMSr <COMDEV>
LIB 129 phant <COMDEV> AL132
LQP 130 phant <COMDEV> AL133
PR0 131 phant <COMDEV> PR2
BATCH_SERVICE 132 phant <COMDEV>
SYSTEM 133 phant <USER01> <COMDEV>
SYSTEM 134 phant <USER01> <COMDEV>
SYSTEM 135 phant <USER01> <COMDEV>
SYSTEM 136 phant <USER01> <COMDEV>
Notice how the STAT US command's user display procedure is identical to that
of STAT ME. Let me explain these users now. What's there to explain about
users, you ask? Why, lots. Some of the users listed abover aren't actual
people, but rather phantom users, processes that execute on their own.
Look at SYSTEM. See how this User ID doesn't have a line listing? Instead of
the familiar octal and decimal AMLC line listing, it says "asr" instead. Also
notice how TIMER_PROCESS is listed as "kernel". The list goes on too, as you
can see. LOGIN_SERVER is "LSr", DSMSR and DSMASR are "DSM", and SYSTEM_MANAGER
is "SMSr". Also notice all those users listed as "phant".
Basically, all User ID's that lack octal/decimal AMLC line notation are not
actual people and cannot harm you with the exception of SYSTEM_MANAGER and
SYSTEM. These users, while not people, are consoles, terminals if you will,
that are logged in all the time. One monitors the system's front door and
logs to screen and disk (and occasionally printer) all logins (successful and
unsuccessful) and logouts. The other just sits there, waiting for the system
manager to do what ever he likes. A good way to tell if either of these User
ID's is active, is to look and see where they are attached to (ie, the info
displayed in the "Devices" column). If you see it attached to an MFD (Main
File Directory) other than the root MFD, then cruise and come back later. I
will explain this a bit more in a second.
LSr is the login server. It is what you "talk to" (in a manner of speaking)
when you connect to the Prime initially. "kernel" is the heart of the PRIMOS
operating system. When you have logged in, you are talking directly to it.
"phant" users are phantom processes (batch jobs) that are executing independant
of a system terminal. They perform rudimentary tasks such as running the prin-
ters, backing up the system, running the RJE and Batch Job managers, etc. They
perform many activities, almost always geared towards the system's needs. DSM
users are Distributed System Management utilities runnung as phantoms. The DSM
utilities are present to help the System Admin administrate his system. There
will be more on the DSM utilities in Part III of this series.
To help you out, I have prepared these two tables. They cover all of the above
procedures and what you should do. For the first few times, you should use the
tables. When you have memorized them you will be doing pretty good.
LOGIN PROCEDURE
1. COMO -E
2. STAT ME (is there more than 1 of me logged in? Yes? Logout!)
3. STAT US (are there lots of users online? Yes? Logout!)
LOGOUT PROCEDURE
1. RSTERM
2. LO
That should do it for this section. I will now go into the basic PRIMOS comm-
ands that you should familiarize yourself with and memorize.
_______________________________________________________________________________
BASIC PRIMOS COMMANDS AND INFORMATION ABOUT PRIMOS FILES
We're all ready to start covering the first PRIMOS commands to add to your new
repetoire. In this section you will learn how to move around PRIMOS directory
structures, how to view files, how to get full status on the Prime system, and
how to get further help.
First off, let me tell you a little bit about directories and how they are set
up. On each logical disk on a Prime, there is a root directory called the MFD
(Main File Directory). Each MFD on a system has a unique number after it. In
this manner all logical disk MFD's are separate from one another. Below the
MFD's are directories called UFD's (User File Directories). It is the UFD's
that users login to. Not all UFD's, however, are login directories. All dir-
ectories below the UFD level are called sub-UFD's (subdirectories). An illus-
tration of what I am talking about follows.
MFD 0 ------------- MFD 1 ------------- MFD 3 ------------- MFD 4
______|______ ______|______ ______|______ ______|______
| | | | | | | | | | | |
UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD
| | | | |
SUB SUB SUB SUB SUB
UFD UFD UFD UFD UFD
Notice that not all UFD's have sub-UFD's. Not illustrated is the fact that
sub-UFD's can have sub-UFD's under them. It's set up a lot like most micro-
computer Disk Operating Systems.
When you login you will be attached to your account's initial attach point (ie,
your "home" directory). This will most likely be a UFD, but in some cases you
will attach to an MFD. In any case, to move from directory to directory you'll
use the ATTACH command. You can abbreviate ATTACH with an A. PRIMOS underst-
ands ATTACH and A as being the same command. The basic format of ATTACH is:
ATTACH pathname
To attach to an MFD you would type:
OK, a mfd #
Where # is the logical device number of the MFD you wish to attach to. MFD nu-
mbers always start out at 0 and increment sequentially. More on this in a few.
If you are attached to an MFD or a UFD you simply need to use the UFD name you
wish to attach to as the pathname. If you wish to attach to sub-UFD's then you
will need to use the full pathname. Here are some examples:
OK, a mfd 0
OK, a primenet*
OK, a info
Top-level directory not found or inaccessible. INFO (ATTACH)
OK, a primenet*>info
Notice how when you tried to attach to info you got an error. Well, that was
because info is a sub-UFD and you need to supply the full pathname when you at-
tach to sub-UFD's. Notice that when you attached to info in the correct manner
you used the ">" character to separate the elements of the pathname.
Locating all the available MFD logical device numbers is easy. Just type:
OK, stat disk
PRIMOS returns this output to you:
Disk Ldev Pdev System
COMDEV 0 1460
USER01 1 31460
USER02 2 32462
USER03 3 462
USER04 4 11062
USER05 5 62060
USER06 6 101062
"Disk" indicates the actual disk partition's root pathname. "Ldev" is the
logical device number of a given partition. "Pdev" is the physical device
number. The "System" column will be blank unless a given disk partition is
located on another system. What? Impossible? Not at all. With PRIMENET,
Prime's networking software, disk partitions on system B can be accessed from
system A. If you are not on a system equipped with PRIMENET then the "System"
column will be blank. More on this in the PRIMENET section.
What is important to us immediately is the data in the "Disk" and "Ldev" col-
umns. Each of these disk partitions is an MFD
On some systems you will find two useful utilities, UP and DOWN. These are ex-
ternal commands. They simplify moving about directories in PRIMOS. Here is
how to use them.
UP [n]
UP allows you to move up a specified number of levels. The specification of
"n" is optional. If you do not specify a value for it, it will have a default
value of 1.
DOWN directory_name
DOWN allows you to move down one directory in the tree. You must specify the
name of the directory that you wish to move down into. You need only specify
the UFD or sub-UFD name. There is no need to specify the entire pathname.
If these utilities are not on the Prime you are on then you can upload them to
the Prime's CMDNC0 directory (where external commands are stored). There will
be more information on this in Part V.
Viewing files in PRIMOS is as easy as can be. You simply use the SLIST (seq-
uential List) command. The format is as follows:
SLIST filename
You must include the file extension of the file that you are SLISTing. Briefly
here is a list of file types and what they mean.
Extension SLISTable? Description
.ABBREV N Abbreviation files
.BAS Y BASIC source code
.BIN N BINARY image file
.CBL Y COBOL source code
.CC Y C Compiler source code
.COMI Y COMMAND INPUT data files
.COMO Y COMMAND OUTPUT data files
.CPL Y CPL (Command Procedure Language) programs
.F77 Y FORTRAN-77 source code
.FTN Y FORTRAN IV source code
.GVAR N Global variable files
.PL1 Y PL/1, Subset G source code
.PLP Y PLP source code
.PMA Y Prime Macro Assembler source code
.RUN N Prime-written programs; int cmds (compiled)
.SAVE N Prime- and user-written programs (compiled)
NOTE: The "SLISTable" column indicates that the file type in question is a SAM
file (Sequential Access Method; a text file) and can be viewed normally
by the SLIST (Sequential List; like the TYPE command found on most PC's)
command. You can SLIST non-SAM files, but they will come out as garbage
and that can be a pain in the ass. If you should SLIST a non-SLISTable
file type then use BREAK or CONTROL-P to abort the listing.
A very important command is the LD command (List Directory). LD will display
the contents of the current attach directory. To use it just type:
OK, ld
The LD command supports wildcarding, too. If you should want to display all
the CPL files in a directory, use LD in this manner:
OK, ld @@.cpl
Notice the "@@" in the above command. It tells LD to do a wildcard search for
all files ending with the extension ".CPL". Just experiment with this aspect
of LD. It's really quite simple.
Getting more information about the Prime you are on is easy. Just use the
STATUS (abbreviated STAT) and LIST commands. Here are lists of these commands
and what they do.
Remember the STAT US and STAT ME commands I mentioned in Part I? Well, as you
probably guessed, there are several other options to the STATUS command. Here
are the other options and what they do:
NOTE: Capitalized letters in this table indicate the option's abbreviation.
OPTION MEANING
ALl Display all info available through STATUS.
DEvice Display physical and logical device numbers of
any assigned mag tape drives.
NEtwork Displays the status of other systems to which
your system is attached by PRIMENET.
PRoject Displays the Project ID of all users logged in.
SEmaphores Displays the value of user semaphores that have
been set on the system. A semaphore is a flag
used for synchronizing processes. It is used
by cooperating user processes to control access
to a single shared resource.
SYstem Shows the system nodename and revision of PRIMOS.
UNits Shows you what file units you have open.
Sub: Other Nets [BitNet etc..]
Read: (1-30), Message # 30, (c/r)=Next Msg ?:R
29/30: Prime file 4 of 10
Name: Predat0r #1 @5211
Date: Wed Apr 17 10:33:51 1991
From: Youth International Party Line (Kentucky)
Remember, I did not mention the USers, ME, or DIsks options here, as they were
fully detailed in part I of this series.
If the STATUS command is issued without any options, information is provided
on the following options in this order: SYSTEM, UNITS, DISK, SEMAPHORE, NETWORK
and ME.
NOTE: There will be some information regarding the STATUS NETWORK command in a
later section entitled "HINTS ON HACKING PRIMENET".
That pretty well sums up the STATUS command. But is that all? Hell no. There
is also the LIST command. If you thought STATUS had a lot of options then wait
until you check this lovely command out. I will only cover the useful options.
First in the syllabus is the LIST_ACCESS command. This command will show you
what User ID's have access to the UFD that you are currently attached to.
Assume that you are attached to your initial login UFD. Also assume that your
User ID is STEVE.SYS. Here is an example of what LIST_ACCESS would display:
OK, list_access
ACL protecting "<Current directory>":
STEVE.SYS ALL
SYSTEM ALL
$REST: NONE
The above command example displays all of the ACL's (Access Control Lists)
regarding your UFD. Notice that you, STEVE.SYS, have ALL rights to your UFD
(naturally). Also notice that SYSTEM has ALL rights too. Why? Most likely
backup purposes. Also notice that $REST (meaning all other user ID's) has NO
rights. Now, lets assume you ATTACHed to another user's UFD. Say, JOHN. Here
is what you might get:
OK, a john
OK, list_access
ACL protecting "<Current directory>":
JOHN ALL
SYSTEM ALL
SIMSON DALURW
$REST LUR
Quite a different story here. Again JOHN and SYSTEM have ALL rights here. But
wait, SIMSON has DALURW access and $REST (everyone else) has LUR. What do
these cryptic phrases mean? This, I would gather, would be a good time for me
to explain the PRIMOS access codes. So without further ado:
Code Right Applies to Allows user to
---- --------- ------------- --------------------------------
P Protect Directories Change accesses and attributes
D Delete Directories Delete directory entries
A Add Directories Add directory entries
L List Directories List directory entries
U Use Directories ATTACH to directories
R Read Files Read file contents
W Write Files Change file contents
As illustrated above, the ALL and NONE mnemonics are also PRIMOS access codes.
ALL indicates YES to ALL of the above and, as you can full well guess, NONE
indicated that all access is denied.
Also be aware that file systems (groups of files) can be protected by an access
category. To list the access of an access category type the following command:
LIST_ACCESS [category_filename]
Next is the LIST_GROUP command. It lists all of the ACL groups to which you
belong. These groups may govern access to some files on the system. If you
don't belong to any groups then PRIMOS will reply with:
No groups. (list_group)
Otherwise PRIMOS will respond in the following format:
Groups are: .HELP .ADMINISTRATORS .ETCETERA
The LIST_GROUP command can be abbreviated to LG.
LIST_PRIORITY_ACCESS (abbreviation LPAC) is used to display your priority
access on any given disk partition. While normally you would use LIST_ACCESS
to examine all access rights and priority ACL's on file system objects, LPAC
is available since a priority ACL can prevent you from accessing directories
and from using the LIST_ACCESS command. Command format is as follows:
LIST_PRIORITY_ACCESS [pathname] [-brief]
The LIST_QUOTA command (abbreviated LQ) is, in my opinion pseudo-worthless
since file quota information is displayed when the LD (List Directory) comm-
and is issued. The LQ command displays current disk quota and storage info-
rmation for the current (or specified) directory. To issue this command, you
need to have L (list) access to the target directory and U (use) access to all
higher directories. The proper command format is:
LIST_QUOTA [pathname] [-brief]
Executed without pathname, LIST_QUOTA returns information regarding the current
directory you are ATTACHed to.
Quotas are storage space constraints set on a directory. The limits are listed
in disk records. A 0 quota is great (indicates no quota). A quota of 1 is
absolutely lousy. A quota of 1000+ is ok. If a directory has a quota of, say,
1000, then the total number of disk records used in that directory and ALL sub-
UFD's below that may NOT exceed the quota.
If you have P (protect) access on the current UFD then you can use the
SET_QUOTA command to change the UFD quota constraints. I know I am getting off
the subject at hand, but I'll just say this anyway! :-) The format is:
SET_QUOTA pathname [-Max N]
The abbreviation for SET_QUOTA is SQ. The argument -MAX indicates the max.
number of quotas that the specified pathname can store. N is a decimal number.
Back to the LIST commands. Next up is LIST_ASSIGNED_DEVICES. This command
invokes a utility in CMDNC0 that will display all devices hooked up to your
Prime, such as printers, etc. Disk partitions are not listed by the LIST_
ASSIGNED_DEVICES command. Some assignable devices are listed below:
Device Code Meaning
ASYn Asynchronous Communications
Line (a leading zero is required for single
digit names; for example ASY07 must be used
to specify line 7).
Line numbers are in decimal.
CARDR Serial Card Reader
CRn MPC Parallel Card /reader or Reader/Punch
DISK pdisk Physical Partition (pdisk is a
partition (volume) number)
GS0 - GS3 Vector General graphics display terminal
MG0 - MG3 Megatek graphics display terminal
MTn Magnetic tape unit
PRn Line Printer
PTR Paper Tape Reader
PUNCH Paper Tape Punch
PLOT Printer/Plotter
SYNCn Synchronous Communications Line
(a leading zero is required to specify
single digit lines).
You can use the -USER [option] argument to specify a list of users, by name
or number. Assigned devices whose assigning user is not in this list are not
displayed. The default is all users. The format is either:
LIST_ASSIGNABLE_DEVICES -USER {user name}
or
LIST_ASSIGNABLE_DEVICES -USER {user numbers}
Remember, the -USER argument is optional, and not required. It is just useful
for listing assigned devices that were assigned by a particular user.
LIST_ASYNC is another good one. This command displays all of the systems hard-
wired lines and what they are doing. There are three types of assignments that
a line can have, and these are:
FREE Line is free to be assigned
ASSIGNED Line is assigned to a hardware device (printer/etc)
LOGIN Line is available for login (terminal or remote)
The header for the display is as follows:
Line Line Auto speed Line line User User
number use enabled speed protocol number name
Line number is the physical line's identification name. Line use indicates
how the line is assigned (free, assigned, login). Line speed indicates the
speed of the physical line. Line protocol indicates the line factor (either
TTY or TTYNOP). TTYNOP means TTY not operational. User number indicates
the user number associated with the AMLC line. User name is the actual name
of any user/phantom using that line. I am not too sure about the Auto speed
enabled column.
LIST_COMM_CONTROLLERS displays information on all the communication controllers
present in a system, excluding the Prime Node Controller. Information is given
for each controller and includes the controller name, its type, its device
address, the number of synchronous lines attached, and the number of asynchro-
nous lines attached.
LIST_CONFIG displays the current system configuration.
LIST_LAN_NODES displays all nodes on a Prime LAN300 system. Be aware that this
external command works only with Prime's LAN300 system (so far as my experience
goes).
LIST_SYNC displays all synchronous lines on a Prime system.
LIST_PROCESS displays the environment of a specified user process. The user's
process identity is displayed, together with details of its environment which
include: attach points; abbreviation file; active COMI and COMO files; connect,
CPU and I/O times and limits; the user's ACL groups; and all active remote
identities.
There are several more LIST_ commands, but they are not too important at the
present moment. I'll let you learn about them on your own via Prime's excel-
lent online help facility. To use the PRIMOS online HELP facility, just type
HELP. Or, if you know what you need help with, type HELP commandname. Really
quite simple.
_______________________________________________________________________________
USER-TO-USER COMMUNICATION
It is always useful to know how to send and receive messages when on a computer
system, and PRIMOS is no exception. Whether communicating with other hackers
online, or attempting to social engineer a legitimate user or system operator.
Any user on a Prime may send or receive messages. Messages may be sent from:
o any user terminal to any other user terminal
o any user terminal to the system console
o the system console to all user terminals
o the system console to any specific user terminal
o the system console to any system console on another
node of the network (PRIMENET-equipped systems only)
Sending messages to users on a Prime is very easy. The message command form-
at is as follows:
MESSAGE [username] [-NOW] [-ON nodename]
[-usernumber]
The abbreviation for MESSAGE is M. So instead of typing MESSAGE all the time,
you can type M instead.
Notice [username] and [-usernumber]. When sending messages to a user you need
only specify one or the other. If you were to send a message to user SYSTEM
you would type:
OK, m system
That would enable you to send a message to user SYSTEM. Be aware that the
message you send will be displayed to ALL users logged in under the User ID of
SYSTEM. In the case that there are more than 1 user with the same User ID log-
ged in at the same time, you might want to do use the [-usernumber] argument.
It works like this:
OK, m -2
That would send a message to the user with the user number of 2. The message
you send in this case would ONLY be sent to the user with the user number of 2.
Use either the user name or the user number, but not both, for using both will
cause an error to be displayed by PRIMOS.
If may omit the [username] and [-usernumber] arguments then the message will be
sent to the system console. Be careful about this!
The -NOW argument is optional. If it is specified then the message will be
sent to the user immediately. Otherwise the message will be put into a queue
and sent only when the target user has returned to PRIMOS command level.
The -ON argument need only be specified if you wish to send a message to a user
that is logged in on a remote site. This argument will not be required at all
if the Prime you are on is not equipped with either the PRIMENET or the LAN300
networking software packages (by Prime Computer, Inc., of course). In order to
use this argument you need to know the remote system's nodename. An example of
sending a message to a remote system user is:
OK, m hacker -on sys.c
This would send a message to User ID "HACKER" on the networked Prime system
called "SYS.C". Remember, you need to know the correct nodename of the remote
system.
Just like in real-life situations (people-to-people), PRIMOS users may or may
not wish to speak to you. So before sending a message, you should make sure
that the user you wish to communicate with is accepting messages. There are
several ways to obtain this information.
Message -STATus - Lists receive state of ALL users
Message -STATus username - Lists receive state of all users
with the name of "username"
Message -STATus usernumber - Lists receive state of all users
with the number of "usernumber"
Message -STATus ME - Lists the receive state of your
own terminal/process.
NOTE: Capital letters in the above forms of the message status commands ind-
icate the legal PRIMOS abbreviations for the commands.
When first initiating a session in which you feel you might be doing some user-
to-user communication you should issue the "Message -STATus" command. This
will display the message receive state of all users presently online. Here is
an example of the output you might receive:
OK, m -stat
User No State
SYSTEM 1 Accept
PRIME 13 Defer
PRIMOS 24 Accept
HACKER 37 Reject
RAGE 42 Accept
In the above example you notice that there are five processes logged in, one of
them being the physical system console. The "No" column denotes the user's
user number, while the "State" denotes their message receive state.
Notice how there are three message receive states listed, accept, defer, and
reject. In theory, these states are defined as such:
ACCEPT - Enables reception of all messages
DEFER - Inhibits immediate messages
REJECT - Inhibits all messages
If you are set to accept then all messages sent to you will be displayed on
your terminal immediately. In defer mode messages will not appear until what
you are doing is done (ie, a message will not appear while in the middle of a
currently executing command). In reject mode no messages will be received by
you.
Setting a receive state is useful when you do not wish to be disturbed. It is
especially useful to use receive states when using any of the PRIMOS editors or
utilities.
Sending messages while in reject mode and sending immediate messages while in
defer mode is not permitted as the user you are attempting to communicate with
will not be able to respond.
To set your message receive state, simply type:
Message -state
'-state' is either accept, defer, or reject. Quite simple.
You are advised to avoid sending messages to the system console as that could
be potentially hazardous to your stay on a Prime computer system. Pestering
legitimate users is also not desired. Use your common sense.
_______________________________________________________________________________
A DISCOURSE ON INTERNAL SNOOPING TACTICS
Once inside a Prime, your paths are many. Some lead to glory, others to delet-
ion of your account (gulp). To aid you in choosing the correct paths, you must
snoop about your newfound host. By doing this, you can learn many things, some
of which include:
o Who owns the Prime and what they are doing on it
o More accounts on the system
o More accounts on DIFFERENT Prime systems
There is plenty for you to do. I strongly urge that you make the snooping pro-
cedure a routine and that you do it *immediately* upon obtaining an account, as
you never know how long it might last.
Finding out who owns the Prime and what they do on it is always rewarding. The
best systems I have been on were Prime Computer, Inc. development systems, 3rd
party development systems, and Prime's belonging to certain telephone companies
(which shall, of course, remain unmentioned). Depending upon who owns the host
you may obtain a bit more information that you had expected.
More accounts on the system is what you are really after, however. Many users
are exceedingly lax. A brief inspection of all mail in the queue can sometimes
yield accounts, as can individual programs (source code) and documents. There
will be more on this topic in the section entitled, "Exploring the Vast Reaches
of a Prime".
As for more accounts on different systems, I am saving that for the article on
Prime networking (Part IV). There will be a host of information regarding the
advanced snooping tactics used in order to snoop about PRIMENET-based systems
and their respective Token-Ring/LAN300 networks.
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INTERNAL SECURITY
Before you can really start exploring your new Prime, you need to understand
how PRIMOS internal security is implemented and how to get around it. As you
have seen from the section con basic PRIMOS commands, PRIMOS utilizes access
control lists (ACL's). Getting around ACL's is almost an impossibility. There
will be a full discussion on ACL's in Part V.
Also you will occasionally run into passworded directories. To attach to a
passworded directory, you would type something similar to this:
OK, a 'dirname password'
Notice how you followed the directory name with the password and enclosed the
entire deal with quotes. If you were going to attach to a passworded sub-UFD
you might type something like this:
OK, a 'primenet*>info>source password'
Passworded directories can be a pain in the ass, but, unlike ACL's, they can be
gotten around. Look inside CPL programs (by SLISTing them) for occurrances of
ATTACH statements enclosed in single quotes. Thats about all the internal sec-
urity in PRIMOS up to the current revision level (22.0.0).
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EXPLORING THE VAST REACHES OF A PRIME
When looking around a Prime, always start in your initial attach UFD. Check
out every file in it and every file in sub-UFD's under it. When finished there
cruise on up to MFD 0 and start down-attaching to the many UFD's there and look
at everything. SLIST all SAM files, read all mail, look at EVERYTHING. Leave
no UFD un-attached to! Leave no file un-read.
Understandably it will take a good few hours (sometimes as many as 12) to fully
investigate a Prime, but believe me, it is worth it. Capture everything that
looks valuable to your buffer. When done looking, follow up everything you
captured.
Well, that about wraps up Part II of this series. Look forward to lots of use-
ful information regarding the myriad of PRIMOS applications in the next part of
this series. Just some of the information in the next part will be:
o Using EDIT_PROFILE to create and modify accounts
o The DSM (Distributed System Management) utilities
o Using the myriad of MAIL utilities
o Editing and Uploading text via the ED text editor
Until then may the forces of darkness become confused on the way to your house.
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End of Part II of the "Introduction to the PRIMOS Operating System"
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