MemeMachineGo!

Cracking the Code to Romance is the story of four computer-assisted dating strategies, each one progressively scarier.

Burton spends his days coding in Wi-Fi-enabled cafés and using his AIM Sniffer to keep an eye on all the data traveling over the cafés’ networks. Between marathon Java-thrashing sessions, he often finds he wants to introduce himself to “a cute girl with a laptop” but is too shy to make an approach. That’s where the Sniffer comes in handy. If a hottie fires up her AOL Instant Messenger client, Burton sees her login name and can send her an IM. “I’ve gotten several first dates that way,” he says. […] He calls the process wardating, in homage to the old-school hacker practice of wardialing, calling every possible combination of numbers to find open computer networks.

I also have to quote one of the stupider things I’ve ever heard. Elsewhere, the article describes how a guy has hacked Friendster to get users’ private info. When the author contacted Friendster for comment, she was told “We have a policy that we are not being hacked.”