StankDawg

{{Short description|American computer programmer (born 1971)}} {{multiple issues| {{notability|people|date=November 2023}} {{advert|date=November 2023}} {{COI|date=November 2023}} }} {{Infobox person |name = David Blake |image = StankDawg.jpg |caption = StankDawg at [[DEF CON|Def Con]] 14. (2006) |birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1971}} |birth_place = |death_date = |death_place = |other_names = StankDawg |known_for = |occupation = |nationality = }}

'''David Blake''' (born 1971), also known as '''StankDawg''', is the founder of the hacking group [[Digital DawgPound]] (DDP) and a long-time member of the hacking community. He is known for being a regular presenter at multiple [[Hacker con|hacking conferences]], but is best known as the creator of the "Binary Revolution" initiative, including being the founding host and producer of ''Binary Revolution Radio'', a long-running weekly Internet radio show which ran 200 episodes from 2003 to 2007.

==Biography== Blake was born in [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]] on September 13, 1971. He received an AAS (Associates in Applied Sciences) degree from the [[University of Kentucky]] 1992, and has a BS in Computer Science from [[Florida Atlantic University]] as well as a [[Certified Ethical Hacker|CEH]] certificate. He presently lives and works as a computer programmer/analyst in [[Orlando, Florida]].<ref name=Biography1>{{cite web |url = http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/22/40/ |title = Who is StankDawg? |date = December 11, 2004 |access-date = 2007-12-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080110044549/http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/22/40/ |archive-date = 2008-01-10 |url-status = dead }}</ref> Blake is a member of the [[International High IQ Society|International High IQ society]].<ref name=HighIQSociety1>{{cite web |url = https://www.ihiqs.org/profile/David+Blake |title = StankDawg's High IQ Society member page |year = 2007 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Hacking== StankDawg is a staff writer for the well-known hacker periodical ''[[2600: The Hacker Quarterly]]'', as well as the now-defunct ''[[Blacklisted! 411]]'' magazine. He has also been a contributing writer to several independent zines such as ''Outbreak'', ''Frequency'', and ''Radical Future''.<ref name="Biography1"/> He has been a frequent co-host of ''Default Radio'' and was a regular on ''Radio Freek America''. Additionally, he has appeared on ''GAMERadio'', ''Infonomicon'', ''The MindWar'', ''Phreak Phactor'', and ''HPR (Hacker Public Radio)''.

He has presented at technology conferences such as [[DEF CON]],<ref name=DC13a>{{cite web | url = http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-13/dc13-speakers.html | title = Defcon 13 speakers list. | date = August 18, 2005 | access-date = December 9, 2007 | archive-date = June 30, 2005 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050630023220/http://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-13/dc13-speakers.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> [[H.O.P.E.]],<ref name=HOPE5>{{cite web | url = http://www.the-fifth-hope.org/hoop/5hope_speakers.khtml | title = The fifth HOPE speakers |date=July 2004 }}</ref><ref name=HOPE6>{{cite web | url = http://www.hopenumbersix.net/speakers.html | title = HOPE number 6 speakers |date=July 2006 }}</ref> and Interz0ne.<ref name=IZ4>{{cite web | url = http://www.interz0ne.com/iz4/speakers.php | title = Interz0ne 4 speakers | year = 2004 }}</ref><ref name=IZ5>{{cite web | url = http://www.interz0ne.com/iz5/speakers.php | title = Interz0ne 5 speakers | year = 2005 }}</ref> David has been very outspoken about many topics, many of which have gotten some negative feedback from different sources. His most controversial article was entitled "Hacking google Adwords" at DefCon13 which drew criticism from such people as [[Jason Calacanis]].<ref name=adwords1>{{cite web | url = http://www.calacanis.com/2005/07/30/hacking-google-adwords-defcon-panel-recap/ | title = Hacking Google Adwords - Defcon Panel recap | date= July 30, 2005 }}</ref> among others. His presentation at the fifth H.O.P.E. conference drew some surprise from the AS/400 community.<ref name=AS4001>{{cite web |url = http://www.itjungle.com/breaking/bn071204-story01.html |title = Dubious Achievement: iSeries Gets Some Attention From Hackers |date = July 2004 |access-date = 2006-03-29 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060318150431/http://www.itjungle.com/breaking/bn071204-story01.html |archive-date = 2006-03-18 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

StankDawg appeared as a subject on the television show [[The Most Extreme]] on [[Animal Planet]] where he demonstrated the vulnerabilities of wireless internet connections.<ref name=AnimalPlanet1>{{cite web | url = http://www.tv.com/the-most-extreme/super-sharks/episode/620506/summary.html | title = February 15, 2005 episode of The Most Extreme credited as "StankDawg" | date= February 15, 2005 }}</ref>

Blake chose the handle "StankDawg" in college, where he started a local hacking group which became known as the "[[Digital DawgPound]]".<ref name=Biography2>{{cite web |url = http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/61/40/ |title = Who is StankDawg? |date = January 28, 2005 |access-date = 2007-12-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211145803/http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/61/40/ |archive-date = 2007-12-11 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Digital DawgPound== {{Main|Digital DawgPound}}

The '''Digital DawgPound''' (more commonly referred to as the "DDP") is a group of [[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]], best known for a series of articles in hacker magazines such as ''[[2600: The Hacker Quarterly]]'' and [[Make (magazine)|''Make'']], the long-running webcast [[Binary Revolution Radio]], and a very active set of forums with posts from high-profile hackers {{Citation needed|date=July 2009}} such as [[Strom Carlson]], decoder, [[Phiber Optik]] and many more. The stated mission of the DDP is to propagate a more positive image of hackers than the negative [[mass media]] stereotype. The group welcomes new members who want to learn about hacking, and attempts to teach them more positive aspects and steer them away from the negative aspects by reinforcing the [[hacker ethic]]. Their goal is to show that hackers can, and regularly do, make positive contributions not only to technology, but to society as a whole.<ref name=hackercontroversy1> {{cite web |url = http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/25/40/ |title = Why Hack? |date = 2004-12-23 |author = StankDawg |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704015429/http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/25/40/ |archive-date = 2007-07-04 }}</ref>

===History=== The DDP was founded and named by StankDawg. His stated reasons were that he had made many friends in the hacking scene and thought that it would be useful to have everyone begin working together in a more organized fashion. He was motivated by the fact that there had been other well-known [[Hacker Groups]] in the 1980s who had accomplished great things in the hacking world such as the [[Legion of Doom (hacking)|LoD]] and the [[Masters of Deception|MoD]]. In 1988, while a junior in high school, StankDawg came up with the name on his way to the "Sweet 16" computer programming competition. He jokingly referred to his teammates as "The Digital Dawgpound".

StankDawg lurked in the shadows of the hacking world for many years throughout college under many different [[pseudonym]]s. In 1997 he popped his head out into the public and began becoming more active on [[IRC]] and many smaller hacking forums. He saw some people who he thought were insanely brilliant individuals who seemed to have the same mindset and positive attitude towards hacking that he did so he decided to approach a couple of them to see if anyone would be interested in forming a group and working together. There was always a huge emphasis not only on technical competence and variety, but also on strength of character and integrity. The team was a mix of [[Hacker (computer security)|hackers]], [[programmer]]s, [[Phreaking|phone phreakers]], [[Information security|security professionals]], and [[artist]]s. They had experience in multiple [[programming language]]s and [[operating system]]s. DDP members are not only good programmers and hackers, but more importantly, good people. By 1999 the DDP had its first official members and from this partnership, creativity flowed.

The DDP communicated and worked together on StankDawg's personal site, which was open to anyone who wanted to join in on the fun. StankDawg was never comfortable with the fact that it was his name that was on the domain and that many people who were coming to the site were coming because of his articles or presentations but not really appreciating all of the other great contributions from other community members that were around. In 2002, after watching the web site grow quickly, it was decided that a new community needed to be created for these like-minded hackers who were gathering. This was the start of the biggest DDP project called [[Binary Revolution]] which was an attempt at starting a true "community" of hackers. As the site grew, so did the DDP roster.

===Members=== Over the years, DDP membership has included several staff writers for ''[[2600: The Hacker Quarterly]]'' and ''Blacklisted! 411'' magazine including StankDawg and bland_inquisitor. They frequently publish articles, provide content, and appear on many media sources across the global [[Interweb]]. DDP members are also regular speakers at hacking conferences such as [[DEF CON]], [[H.O.P.E.]], Interzone, [[Notacon]], and many more smaller and more regional cons.

Some DDP members hold memberships in [[Mensa International|Mensa]] and the [[International High IQ Society|International High IQ society]].<ref name="HighIQSociety1"/> StankDawg is very proud of the diversity of the team and has spoken to this many times on Binary Revolution Radio. Members are from both coasts of the United States to Europe and have even had members from Jamaica, Brazil, and many other countries.

===Recognition=== The DDP maintains a blog "which they refer to as a "blawg" (Obviously a play on the intentionally misspelled word "Dawg"). Posts by DDP members have been featured on other technology-related sites such as those of [[Make (magazine)|Make Magazine]],<ref name=MakeMag1> {{cite magazine |url = http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/04/how_to_rfid_enable_your_f.html |title = HOW TO - RFID Enable your front door (with a Parallax BASIC Stamp & 13.5 MHz APSX RW-210) |date = 2007-04-06 |author = Phillip Torrone |magazine = [[Make (magazine)|Make Magazine]] |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070601221215/http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/04/how_to_rfid_enable_your_f.html |archive-date = 2007-06-01 }}</ref><ref name=MakeMag2>{{cite magazine |url = http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/06/apples_podcasti.html |title = Apple's Podcasting iTunes 4.9 is out! |date = 2005-06-25 |author = Phillip Torrone |magazine = Make Magazine |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928053614/http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/06/apples_podcasti.html |archive-date = 2007-09-28 }}</ref> HackADay,<ref name=Hackaday1> {{cite web | url = http://www.hackaday.com/2006/07/02/using-radiosondes-as-cheap-gps-trackers/ | title = Using Radiosondes as cheap GPS trackers | date= 2006-03-27 | author = Eliot Phillips | publisher = hackaday.com }}</ref><ref name=Hackaday2> {{cite web | url = http://www.hackaday.com/2006/03/27/email-on-the-cisco-7960/ | title = Email on the Cisco 7960 | date= 2006-07-02 | author = Eliot Phillips | publisher = hackaday.com |accessdate=2007-07-08 }}</ref> Hacked Gadgets,<ref name=HackedGadgets1> {{cite web | url = http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/09/18/rfid-front-door-lock/ | title = RFID Front Door Lock | date= 2006-09-18 | author = Alan Parekh | publisher = hackedgadgets.com |accessdate=2007-07-08 }}</ref><ref name=HackedGadgets2> {{cite web | url = http://hackedgadgets.com/2007/04/03/rfid-enabling-your-front-door-using-a-parallax-microcontroller/ | title = RFID Enabling Your Front Door using a Parallax Microcontroller | date= 2007-04-03 | author = Alan Parekh | publisher = hackedgadgets.com |accessdate=2007-07-08 }}</ref> and others.

==Binary Revolution== In 2003, StankDawg moved the forums from his personal site over to a new site as part of a project called the [[Binary Revolution]] which he considered a "movement" towards a more positive hacking community.<ref name=BinRev1>{{cite web |url = http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/60/40/ |title = Why did you start BinRev? |date = January 28, 2005 |access-date = 2007-12-09 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211145730/http://www.stankdawg.com/content/view/60/40/ |archive-date = 2007-12-11 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

This "Binary Revolution" is the best known of the DDP projects and is commonly referred to simply as "BinRev". This project was created in an attempt to bring the hacking community back together, working towards a common, positive goal of reclaiming the name of hackers. The Binary Revolution emphasizes positive aspects of hacking and projects that help society. It does this in a variety of outlets including monthly meetings, the weekly radio show Binary Revolution Radio(BRR), a video-based series of shows called HackTV, and very active message board forums.

BinRev is more than just a radio show or forums, although they are certainly the most well-known of the projects. It is actually composed of many parts.

===Binary Revolution Radio=== Binary Revolution Radio, often shortened to "BRR", was one part of the binrev community. Started and hosted by Blake in 2003, it featured different co-hosts each week, and covered different aspects of [[hacker culture]] and [[computer security]].

It was broadcast via [[Streaming media|internet stream]], usually prerecorded in [[Florida]] on a weekend, and then edited and released on the following Tuesday, on the [[Digital DawgPound|DDP]] Hack Radio [[Streaming media|stream]] at 9:30pm [[North American Eastern Time Zone|EST]]. Topics included [[phreaking]], [[identity theft]], [[cryptography]], [[operating systems]], [[programming languages]], [[free software|free]] and [[open-source software|open source]] software, [[Wi-Fi]] and [[bluetooth]], [[Social engineering (political science)|social engineering]], [[cyberculture]], and information about various [[hacker conventions]] such as [[PhreakNIC]], [[ShmooCon]], [[H.O.P.E.]], and [[DEF CON|Def Con]].

In July 2005 Blake announced that he was going to take a break, and so for the third season, the show was produced by Black Ratchet and [[Strom Carlson]] (who had been frequent co-hosts during Blake's run). During the time that they hosted the program, the format rotated between the standard prerecorded format, and a live format which included phone calls from listeners.

Blake returned to the show in May 2006. He maintained the prerecorded format, and brought more community input into the show, by bringing on more members of the Binary Revolution community. For the first episode of the fourth season, BRR had its first ever broadcast in front of live audience during the HOPE 6 convention in New York City, June 2006.<ref>[http://www.hopenumbersix.net/speakers.html HOPE Number Six<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The final episode, #200, took place on October 30, 2007, with a marathon episode which clocked in at 7 hours and 12 minutes.

==== Notable co-hosts ==== *[[Tom Cross (computer security)|Tom Cross]] (as "Decius") *[[Elonka Dunin]] *[[Jason Scott Sadofsky|Jason Scott]] *[[Lance James]] *[[Mark Spencer (computer engineer)|Mark Spencer]] *[[Virgil Griffith]] *[[MC Frontalot]] *[[Lucky225]] *[[Strom Carlson]] *[[Black Rachet]]

===BinRev Meetings=== As the forums grew there were many posts where people were looking for others in their area where other hacker meetings did not exist or were not approachable for some reason. Those places that did have meetings were sparse on information. Binary Revolution meetings were started as an answer to these problems and as a place for our forum members to get together. BinRev meetings offer free web hosting for all meetings to help organize the meetings and keep communications alive and to help projects to grow. Some meetings are in large cities like Chicago and Orlando while others are in small towns. Anyone can start their own BinRev meeting by asking in the BinRev forums.

===BinRev.net=== "BRnet" is the official [[IRC network]] of Binary Revolution. It is active at all hours of the day and contains a general #binrev channel but also contains many other channels for more specific and productive discussion.

===HackTV=== In the middle of 2003, he released an Internet video show entitled "HackTV" which was the first internet television show about hacking, and which has grown into a series of several different shows.<ref name=HackTV1>{{cite web |url = http://www.hacktv.org/ |title = Hack TV - Pilot Episode - 08.17.03 |date = August 17, 2003 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080123114426/http://www.hacktv.org/ |archive-date = January 23, 2008 }}</ref> They were released irregularly since most of the episodes were filmed by StankDawg in South Florida where he lived at the time. They wanted the show to appear professional in terms of quality, but this made cooperating over the internet difficult. Sharing large video files was difficult and encoded video caused editing problems and quality concerns. The original show was released as full-length 30 minute episodes. This was also a problem since it because more and more difficult to get enough material for full-length episodes. There was also some content that was related to hacking only on a fringe level and StankDawg did not feel it was appropriate to include in the show. This led to other ideas.

====HackTV:Underground==== In light of the difficulties of putting together the full HackTV original show, and in an attempt to make the show more accessible for community contributions, StankDawg launched a new series that was less focused on format and video quality that focused more on content and ease of participation. This series was titled "HackTV:Underground" or "HTV:U" for short. This series allowed anyone to contribute content in any format and at any length or video quality. The allowed people to film things with basic cameraphone quality video if this was the only way to get the content. One episode of HackTV:U was used by [[G4techTV]] show called "[[Torrent (TV series)|Torrent]]".<ref name=HackTVonTechTV1>{{cite web | url = http://www.g4techtv.ca/torrent/episode/0006/index.shtml?0006 | title = Episode 6 - May 18, 2006 | date= May 18, 2006 | author = Amber MacArthur }}</ref>

====HackTV:Pwned==== This series of HackTV was a prank style show, similar to the popular "[[Punk'd]]" show on [[MTV]] at the time. Even the logo is an obvious parody of the Punk'd logo. This series contains pranks that mostly took place at conferences, but is also open to [[Social engineering (political science)|social engineering]] and other light-hearted content.

===DocDroppers=== The DocDroppers project is a community project to create a centralized place to store hacking articles and information while still maintaining some formatting and readability. Old ascii text files existed scattered across the internet but they come and go quickly and are difficult to find. They are usually formatted with the very basics and sometimes difficult to read. DocDroppers allows users to submit articles to a centralized place where they can be searchable, easily maintained, and easy to read and reference.

Recently, this project has grown to include encyclopedia style entries on many hacking topics after many were deleted from sites such as Wikipedia. This has caused DocDroppers to include a section on hacker history and culture among its content.

==Selected writing== * "Stupid Webstats Tricks", Autumn 2005, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "Hacking Google AdWords", Summer 2005, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "Disposable Email Vulnerabilities", Spring 2005, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "How to Hack The Lottery", Fall 2004, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "Robots and Spiders", Winter 2003, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "A History of 31337sp34k", Fall 2002, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "Transaction Based Systems", Spring 2002, ''[[2600 Magazine]]'' * "Batch vs. Interactive", Summer 1999, ''[[2600 Magazine]]''

==Selected presentations== * "The Art of Electronic Deduction", July 2006, ''[[H.O.P.E.]] Number Six'' (presented again at ''Interz0ne 5'', Saturday March 11, 2006) * "Hacking Google AdWords", July 2005, ''[[DEF CON]] 13'' * "AS/400: Lifting the veil of obscurity", July 2004, ''The fifth [[H.O.P.E.]]''

==Projects== Projects that StankDawg was directly involved in creating/maintaining in addition to the ones mentioned above. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051125001623/http://www.ddphackradio.org/ DDP HackRadio] - A streaming radio station with a schedule of hacking and tech related shows. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051029140453/http://www.binrev.com/magazine/ Binary Revolution Magazine] - The printed hacking magazine put out by the DDP. * [http://www.hackerevents.org/ Hacker Events] - A calendar for all hacking conferences, events, meetings, or other related gatherings. * [http://www.hackermedia.org/ Hacker Media] - A portal for all hacking, phreaking, and other related media shows. * [http://www.phreakphactor.net/ Phreak Phactor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626223552/http://www.phreakphactor.net/ |date=2007-06-26 }} - The world's first Hacking reality radio show. * [http://www.wh4f.org/ WH4F] - "Will Hack For Food" gives secure disposable temporary email accounts.

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==External links== Other links that were mentioned or referred to in this entry: * [http://www.stankdawg.com/ StankDawg's personal site]. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219084526/http://www.digitaldawgpound.org/ The Digital DawgPound] - official site. * [http://www.binrev.net/ BinRev IRC] - Binary Revolution official [[IRC channel]] web site & [irc://irc.binrev.net/BinRev BinRev IRC] - Official Binary Revolution [[IRC network]]. * [http://www.hackerpublicradio.org HPR] - "Hacker Public Radio" is a daily hacking and technology radio show created by the DDP, infonomicon and others. It has many different hosts. * [http://audio.textfiles.com/shows/binrev/ BRR Archive] - Archive of the hacking radio show presented by members of the DDP (07/2003-10/2007). * [http://www.binrevmeetings.com/ Binary Revolution Meetings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212210656/http://www.binrevmeetings.com/ |date=2006-02-12 }} - Monthly hacker meetings that encourage participation and offers free hosting for all meetings. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080123114426/http://www.hacktv.org/ HackTV] - The Internet's first full-length regular Hacking video show. * [http://www.oldskoolphreak.com/ Old Skool Phreak] - Home of many phreaking related text files. * [http://www.oldskoolphreak.com/radio.html RFA Archive] - Weekly Radio show about Technology, Privacy and Freedom (02/2002 - 02/2004).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stankdawg}} <!-- Categories --> [[Category:1971 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American computer programmers]] [[Category:Hackers]] [[Category:Internet radio in the United States]] [[Category:Phreaking]] [[Category:People from Newport News, Virginia]]