The America Online Protocol Revealed 468
Gods Misfit writes "The America Online protocol(Connecting, Logging In, Joining Chats, etc..) has remained a mystery for most of its life. The only way one could log into their AOL account was via the AOL software. A few months ago, some people set out to break down the AOL protocol and open the door for alternative America Online software. This document is the result: The AOL Protocol.
A sign on example for Visual Basic programmers has been written and is available here." I suspect a fair number of people never try Linux or one of the BSDs because they're moderately happy with AOL as an ISP, and switching OSes would mean switching ISPs at the same time. A shame that AOL doesn't make this kind of information more easily available.
Silly Rabbit! (Score:5, Interesting)
Probably very few people using AOL would consider playing with *nix. If you're playing with other operating systems, you've probably already outgrown AOL. You're not burning ISOs from Redhat that you downloaded via AOL/dialup. If you're on AOL, you're happy and content and most probably don't want to be switching ISPs or playing with a new OS. Besides, just because you're on a new OS, doesn't mean you have to get rid of your M$ partition and AOL as your dialup. People can explore the goodness of *nix on that old computer in the closet they feel bad about donating to the Salvation Army.
The AOL protocal was a nice reverse engineering hack. Nice work fellows. AOL didn't make it more freely available because it was a proprietary technology. They'd prefer to keep it to themselves or license it out.. otherwise they would have used a published standard.
=steve
Re:Illegal Activities? (Score:3, Interesting)
JOhn
Making it available means lost revenue (Score:5, Interesting)
But in the end the bottom line is profit. You don't want to allow people to get onto the internet where you can't 100% control what the first thing they see is. AOL gives the illusion to first time joe averages that it IS the internet. My mom spent months on AOL without even using the actual internet and she thought she was on the internet. It's marketing genius. You control their access, you control the way content is shown, you give them places to spend their money and control the ways they communicate. Everyone does it the same way, so everyone is having a similar version of their own experience...
The AOL designers aren't dumb IMHO, sure it's not the service that I want as my ISP, but when it comes to marketing, they know what their doing...
For awhile they were going to make it so you could use them as a 'traditional' isp using Dial-up, but I don't think that anything really ever came of it.... I guess AOL users just like hearing 'WELCOME, YOU'VE GOT SPAM, (I MEAN MAIL)...'
This will not get AOLer to Switch OS's (Score:5, Interesting)
They fear that the change they make will kill their expensive toy and force them to go talk to a more computer literate friend who will once again berate them for using the most expensive ISP with the worst service.
I suspect that this doocument will be the source from which nasty new AOL hacks will be based. And now that it is out it is in very immature hands.What this will do. (maybe) is covered by point 8
Not that it matters to me because I don't use AOL
AOL DSL (Score:2, Interesting)
Why does my sister use AOL DSL...? I dunno. But she's an air traffic controller in the US Navy so I will forgive her for now.
What about mail? (Score:5, Interesting)
Back around 1996 or so, I was part of an AOL beta program that released a MAPI interface for AOL mail servers. IE, you could add the AOL mail server to your Outlook config and download your AOL mail right into Outlook.
Of course, the AOL exec freaked out when they considered how many eyeballs their advertisers would lose if everyone uninstalled the AOL client and kept their mail via Outlook. So the program was canned, and I was unfortunately too short-sighted to save a copy of that MAPI tool before the area was closed down.
Ever since, I've been trying to get my sister/parents/grandparents off AOL. Not to mention that AOL never supported Windows NT because they couldn't figure out how to install their stupid AOL Adapter TCP shunt thing. So for years my relatives were forced to run a crappy 16-bit (Win 3.11) version of the AOL client for the sole purpose of checking e-mail.
AOL's mail service is terrible but a lot of people don't want to change their e-mail addresses. If you really want to do a great services to help newbies move beyond their AOL shackles...please, I implore you:
A) Reverse engineer the AOL mail protocol so that external programs can at least READ AOL mail (sending, unsending, and AOL custom features are optional)
B) Reverse engineer the AOL mail database (local copy of stored mail) so that it can be imported into another program.
Even after I got a couple family members to switch over to Hotmail, they still have to use the AOL client to read their old mail. It's that or save it all as flat text and lose all the important header information.
Also, a bonus to reverse engineering the AOL mail database would be the ability to sync mail with your Palm. The AOL client for Palm is 400KB and can only dial-up, not sync.
Please post reply if you know of any project working on the AOL mail/database formats. Thank you!
- JoeShmoe
Why do you think that is? (Score:4, Interesting)
A large amount of AOL's income is from advertisements. You're bombarded by them from the second you sign on, in every window you open, till you sign off. Salon might have adopted the mandatory ad viewing my friend, but they didn't invent it. AOL has been using these for years. Subscribers are forced to view several ads of "special offers" before they can even begin to navigate through the "service." It's like playing Where's Waldo trying to find the Close button on some of these windows. AOL doesn't want third parties designing software to be used on their networks because it would be detrimental to their advertising income. Fewer members using their software translates into fewer eyes viewing their ads, which reduces the value of their ad space. It's a safe bet that AOL will do everything in its power to ensure that people continue to use its software.
Re:A Text File woudl be nice (Score:2, Interesting)
Linux and AOL can fit. (Score:4, Interesting)
1. There are many kids out there who want to learn Linux and are allowed to setup a duel boot systems. But their parents are paying for AOL as an ISP and will not switch. So not at least they can switch the os and pay for one ISP.
2. Emergancy Internet connection. Every once in a while your Internet connection goes down at the ISP level and you need a quick short term internet connection. Hay AOL give 1000 hours free internet for a month. And if you like me there are hundreds of those CDs with trial passwords around. It is tempoary free internet. Hey it may suck but it is better then nothing.
3. Simular to #2 many new computers come with a year of Free AOL. You got the computer at a good price why pay for an other ISP when you can get AOL for free for a year.
4. AOL only services. AOL has some services that other ISPs dont have. Although they are ways around them but sometimes they may be covient.
5. The @AOL.com E-mail address. Those are easy to remember for most people (becasue they use AOL). And with the e-mail they can find your IM name quicker.
I dont directly use AOL (I use RoadRunner own by AOL/TimeWarner) nor do I ever want to use AOL. But I just wanted to state they there are reasons why a UNIX/Linux person would want access to AOL. and they are people who can use Linux who dont care much about the proper geek way, they just want a good OS, or just to try something new. To say that All AOL users are Unix Ilerate or will always be that way is a gross overstatement.
Re:Well, that seals it (Score:3, Interesting)
Buy a AOL/Gateway connected pad, it runs linux
AOL has been running on linux for months now by AOL's own design.
Yes, it was easier than a PC with windows and their client. Why did it die? who in their right mind would pay $399.99 for a webpad that only connected to AOL!
Re:Cat and mouse games (Score:2, Interesting)
Really... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Silly Rabbit! (Score:2, Interesting)
Plus, as mentioned elsewhere, lots of kids are stuck using the family ISP, and Mom just refuses to switch. These kids too could now use linux.
So fix it... (Score:3, Interesting)
So, if the problem is "we can't use AOL from Linux, etc", then why don't they fix it? What's really stopping them from putting together a cross-platform Java (heck, or even C-based) GUI? That way, at least no one has an excuse to work around them.
I do think they'll be forced to stomp on anyone producing other implementations of their client. Long-term though, it's not a battle they can win (especially if Linux does start getting used more by average/non-technical users).
Re:This is gonna rock. (Score:5, Interesting)
I also wonder about the legality of such a practice. The users are placing the call, right? I guess it depends on how different AOL's login procedure is from something standard. "No, Your Honor, that was my personal login so I could access my computer from my friend's house." Compare to the tone-detector that lets you use a redbox to turn appliances on and off.
Re:This will not get AOLer to Switch OS's (Score:3, Interesting)
What it will allow is for people who are using AOL to switch operating systems if they want to. There's a subtle distinction between allowing the change and causing it.
Alternate Clients (Score:3, Interesting)
Can someone please tell me if i understand this properly?
Places this could be useful (Score:4, Interesting)
Or better yet -- think about this: with this spec, an AOL module could be written for fetchmail. Suck down the mail from that old AOL account and deliver it via SMTP. Cool, eh?
They used to license the AOL protocol (Score:5, Interesting)
Six years later, Emailer still works great on Mac OS 9.x, and the original developers do not believe it should break under OS X. I still use it (as do a lot of people) and I still think it's the best mail client I've ever used, because it doesn't do HTML mail. Nothing but pure, speedy text.
~Philly
Re:Cat and mouse games (Score:2, Interesting)
People already have that part figured out for the DirecTV H and HU cards. Still doesn't help when they send out dynamic code.
AOL will just start sending out little patches that do nothing (and are useless when decompiled) and all of a sudden send out a patch to put all the little patches together. Of course, then you are at square one again. Fun.
Or, heck, why not send out encrypted patches? I think its highly unlikely you'll see auto-linux-updates when it's illegal...
Re:AOL is just a modified PlayNet protocol (Score:2, Interesting)
Fascinating info! By the way, the "word-word" password scheme is even older than that. I remember it being used on CompuServe (along with the 7xxxx,yyyy TENEX-style user ids) in the early 80s.
kiscica
Screw the Client, write a new Server (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:AOL on linux-Stranger things have happened (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Congratulations! (Score:4, Interesting)
AOL cracks have been in existence for over 10 years now (way before AOL was even on the internet, or called AOL). As it turns out, AOL started with a lot of security through obscurity (they used to trust the client for a lot), and as a result, there were holes galore. One crack a couple years ago realized that you got internet access before you actually logged in, and for a while people were getting free internet access without signing up again every 30 (now 45) days (like those of us with a little more fear of jail time do).
In any case, yes, releasing the protocol might uncover some additional security through obscurity holes, but in the end they can always be plugged up, just as they have in the past.
Re:This is gonna rock. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:AOL Runs on Linux also. (Score:2, Interesting)
Check The PengAOL site [pengaol.org] to find about the Linux client software.