Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!wang!gozer!klm
From: klm@gozer.UUCP (Kevin L. McBride)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: Binary file editing (was Re: SECURITY BUG)
Message-ID: <1991Feb22.033309.18408@gozer.UUCP>
Date: 22 Feb 91 03:33:09 GMT
References: <7006@rsiatl.Dixie.Com> <1991Feb19.030614.17229@mtxinu.COM>
Reply-To: klm@gozer.UUCP (Kevin L. McBride)
Organization: MSCG, Inc.
Lines: 32

In article <1991Feb19.030614.17229@mtxinu.COM> shore@mtxinu.com (Melinda Shore) writes:
>>bill@unixland.uucp (Bill Heiser) writes:
>>This is a good question (for those of us who don't know) -- how does
>>one edit binaries in Unix?  
>
>Use your debugger, or use emacs.

Gnu Emacs is wonderful for editing binaries.  I used to do it all the time.
(In fact, I still do, occasionally.)

It looks real impressive to pinhead types when you can 'fix a bug' :-)
by editing the executable with your favorite editor.  If they had any
doubts about your technical prowess before, they will now consider you
to be a computer god.  Works best in controlled situations. :-)

Also, I used to work for a company who's name could be meaningfully
abbreviated to 4 letters. (Hmmm... I still do; different company though)
Once, in a fit of frustration over an inane corporate strategy, I fired up
emacs and edited /bin/make.  I searched for the string 'Make:  Don't know',
etc., etc. and changed 'Make' to the name of the company.

Then, when I typed 'make shit', make spat out the appropriate reply:

xxxx: Don't know how to make shit.  Stop.

(replace xxxx with company name.)  Made me feel much better at the time.

--
Kevin L. McBride     |Contract programming (on and offsite)   |Brewmeister and
President            |X, Motif, TCP/IP, UNIX, VAX/VMS,        |Bottle Washer
MSCG, Inc.           |Integration issues, Troubleshooting.    |McBeer Brewery
uunet!wang!gozer!klm |Reseller of ISC UNIX and Telebit Modems.|Nashua, NH