0x00  Welcome to my personal homepage

If you've stumbled upon this site, you're probably lost and not in the right place... Either way, feel free to poke around.

I'm a programmer, a pentester (OPST certified), and a system administrator. My interests #include computer security research, grey hat hacktivism, operating systems, hardware modding, retro-gaming, non-volatile storage media (books), music, art, cell biology, sci-fi, philology and artificial languages. I also enjoy developing free software in my spare time.

My operating system of choice is Debian Linux, but I tend to use Windows for most gaming. I'm also a technorealist and an inveterate Amiga nostalgic.

Unlike other people, I value my privacy and don't feel the compulsive need to make my real name known everywhere (paranoia is a virtue.) In fact, I enjoy more being just a subtle shadow, a lone wolf, much like Verne's mysterious captain.

If you need to reach me write to: s_h at lavabit.com (gpg key here.)

/sh

0x01  Timeline

	1984	My first computer: a Philips MSX (Z80/32KB). I liked to develop simple games in Basic and hack existing ones. I was 8.
	1988	Morris released the first internet worm, which spread swiftly across the internet. I began collecting information on computer viruses and operating systems.
	1990s	My second computer: a glorious Amiga 500. I spent my time learning the assembly language, disassembling viruses and reverse engineering copy protections found on game disks. Cracktros (ahem) got me interested in demo coding.
		Began coding viruses as a recreational pastime (680x0 assembly & ROM kernel libraries: a coder's dream), as well as system tools, and later intros/demos and a small graphical adventure game inspired by LucasArt's SCUMM engine.
	1992	Operated a local BBS, the Body Bank BBS (running on Amiga and using a custom BBS program developed by me), by which users could exchange files and where I distributed my own t-philes (e-zines, howtos) and tools.
	1994	Participated in the original Fringe of the Web (FOTW - a ring of the best underground and computer security sites; it was the second webring ever made.)
	1995	My third computer: a 486 DX2 w/ MS-DOS 6 and the nightmarish Windows 3.11. Yes, a PC - and first of a long series. It was quite a shock, considering I was used to a Motorola processor, a preemptive multitasking operating system, and custom chipsets with advanced graphics and sound...
		Learnt the 80x86 assembly and some HLL languages, and spent most of the time coding intros, AI & other software, disassembling programs and copy protections, devising stealth viruses, compression algorithms, and creating a full featured game programming library for DOS in assembly.
		Began exploring the Internet. It was the Internet of the geeks, researchers, and a plethora of other bizarre characters from the computer underground. No commercial crap everywhere... yet.
	1996	Began dabbling with Linux. Some time later I installed my first Debian distro. I also tried Slackware and Red Hat, but decided to stay with Debian.
		Contributed to +ORC's HCU essays. Spent 24/7 coding, reversing, and looking for vulnerabilities in *nix daemons and window$ applications.
	2000	NO CARRIER
	2001	Devised Iridium (the reason? because I can, and because it's fun; besides, why hack someone else's OS kernel when you can hack your own?)
	2004	Having decided that I still had too much spare time, I recruited a graphic artist and a musician, and started working on a cyberpunk/hackish game for windows, featuring an original story influenced by William Gibson's books.
	2005	I was offered a government job as sysadmin and, later, as security tester (cough.) Oh well. Goodbye, shaking hands with Richard Garriott and Ron Gilbert....
	2007	Got my OPST (ISECOM'S OSSTMM Professional Security Tester) certification.

Committed identity (SHA256): E984EE27AEFE14C11003B783E5372A82217BFF728DA230FDBCE42A6F5B47A64B