Want a computer you can telnet into and mess around with, and not get into trouble no matter what you do to it? I've set up my techbroker.com (206.61.52.33) with user xyz, password guest for you to play with. Here's how to forge email to xyz@techbroker.com using telnet. Start with the command:
C:\>telnet
techbroker.com 25
Connecting To Techbroker.com
220
Service ready
Now
you type in who you want the message to appear to come from:
helo
santa@techbroker.com
Techbroker.com will answer:
250
host ready
Next
type in your mail from address:
mail
from:santa@techbroker.com
250
Requested mail action okay, completed
Your
next command:
rcpt
to:xyz@techbroker.com
250 Requested mail action okay, completed
Your
next command:
data
354 Start main input; end with .
Note: just means hit return. In case you can't
see that little period between the s, what you do to end composing
your email is to hit enter, type a period, then hit enter again.
Anyhow,
try typing:
This
is a test.
.
250 Requested mail action okay, completed
quit
221 Service closing transmission channel
Connection
to host lost.
Using
techbroker's mail server, even if you enable full headers, the
message we just composed looks like:
Status:
R
X-status: N
This
is a test.
That's
a pretty pathetic forged email, huh? No "from", no date.
However, you can make your headers better by using a trick with the data
command. After you give it, you can insert as many headers as you choose. The
trick is easier to show than explain:
220
Service ready
helo santa@northpole.org
250 host ready
mail from:santa@northpole.com
250 Requested mail action okay, completed
rcpt to:
250 Requested mail action okay, completed
data
354 Start main input; end with .
from:santa@deer.northpole.org
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 10:09:16 -0500
Subject: Rudolf
This is a Santa test.
.
250 Requested mail action okay, completed
quit
221 Service closing transmission channel
Connection
to host lost.
The
message then looks like:
from:santa@deer.northpole.org
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 10:09:16 -0500
Subject: Rudolf
This is a Santa test.
The
trick is to start each line you want in the headers with one word followed by a colon, and the a line followed by "return". As soon as you write a line that doesn't begin this way, the rest of what you type goes into the body of the email.
Notice
that the santa@northpole.com from the "mail from:" command didn't
show up in the header. Some mail servers would show both "from"
addresses.
You
can forge email on techbroker.com within one strict limitation.
Your email has to go to someone at techbroker.com. If you can find any way to
send email to someone outside techbroker, let us know, because you will have
broken our security, muhahaha! Don't worry, you have my permission.
Next,
you can read the email you forge on techbroker.com via telnet:
C:\>telnet
techbroker.com 110
+OK
<30961 .5910984301="" techbroker.com=""> service ready
Give
this command:
user xyz
+OK user is known
Then
type in this:
pass test
+OK mail drop has 2 message(s)
retr
1
+OK message follows
This is a test.
If
you want to know all possible commands, give this command:
help
+OK help list follows
USER user
PASS password
STAT
LIST [message]
RETR message
DELE message
NOOP
RSET
QUIT
APOP user md5
TOP message lines
UIDL [message]
HELP
Unless
you use a weird online provider like AOL, you can use these
same tricks to send and receive your own email. Or you can forge email to a
friend by telnetting to his or her online provider's email
sending computer(s).