From: Dalvenjah FoxFire <dalvenjah@dal.net> I'd just like to offer some perspective here. The majority of these types are complete idiots - and this is speaking from experience. For some reason or other a lot of these get their start on IRC, and then go from there, and I get to see them in the 'formative stages', as it were. <ahem> Some of them even put their IRC names in their .signatures (present company excluded of course) :) I haven't used any myself, but apparently there are several software packages out there with a pretty graphical front end, complete with Hollywood-style "Click to destroy machine" buttons and menus. Uh huh, right. If you ever actually see anything like this, lemme know. I have indeed seen that the majority of these types believe that it's perfectly possible to ping -f or nuke/SYNflood/whatever a machine from a 14.4k or 28.8k dialup. Granted it may not be as bad as the Panix case, but it's still an incredible nuisance. The only "nuisance" will be if you notice it; that is actually not very likely. The causal "victim" will be happily oblivious to a pingflood coming from a 14.4k dialup unless he too happens to be on a 14.4k dialup. What I'm trying to say is don't dismiss this as not possible. With the current level of public education about the Internet - "How do I get to that superhighway information thing? I'm interested in Route 25.." - it can and is very possible that people will do things like this from a 28.8k. I've seen it happen. Oh, sure, they'll *try* it, but the results will be boring. they don't get the machine to go "boom", and after a suitable period of trying, they go back to IRC. (I'm not trying to say there isn't a range, though - I've gotten several "I'll destroy your machine with my tee3 account!" threats as well.) You've got a whole lot more to worry about from him -- at least he has the bandwidth to make good on a threat to make your life difficult via brute force. ---Rob