***************************************************************************
*                                                                         *
*                      Exploring Information-America                      *
*                                                                         *
*                                    by                                   *
*                           Omega & White Knight                          *
*                                                                         *
*                                                                         *
* Courtesy of:         Restricted-Data-Transmissions (RDT)                *
*                      "Truth is cheap, but information costs."           *
* In Conjunction                                                          *
* with:                The Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc)                     *
*                      "Textfiles: we're in it for the girlies            *
*                       and the money!"                                   *
*                                                                         *
*                                                                         *
* Monkey-Boyz!                                                   1/24/92  *
***************************************************************************


Introduction
------------

The Information Era has only recently come of age; powerful database
technology has become more affordable to implement (witness MCI's
ability to maintain a database of the people you most frequently
call for participation in its Friends & Family program), and parallel to it,
information gathering has become more extensive and more scrutinizing.
After weapons manufacturing, and drug running, 'information gathering'
is probably one of the most profitable enterprises in America.

Over the past two decades, Credit Bureaus, Telephone companies and Direct
Marketers have collectively amassed complete consumer profiles on over 150
million Americans.  But for the most part, this information has been used
only to predict consumers' future buying habits, or worse: to influence
them.  For billing and marketing purposes, up-to-date address and
telephone information, as well as information about your house-hold has
been incidentally maintained.
     But, until recently, none of this information was COMMERCIALLY
available IN A SINGLE DATABASE, specifically with law enforcement, 
private-investigators, bounty-hunters and lawyers in mind.  To our
knowledge, Information America is the first accessible service to make 
use of previously collected data for the expressed purpose of providing
the up-to-date whereabouts, personal profiles and information regarding
legal entanglements (ie, Bankruptcy filings, lawsuits, etc) of as many
Americans as possible.


Information America
----------- -------

"Whether you are conducting a background check, looking for a witness,
 skip tracing, or gathering information for court, [Info-America] gives
 you ... a quick, easy method for gathering information on individuals
 across the country ... at the touch of a key."


Information America (IA) provides a single service whose databases
cross-index the Postal Service's National Change of Address file (NCOA),
major publisher and direct marketing companies' client information,
birth records, driver's license records, phone books, voter registrations,
various governmental records, and more.  IA boasts that over 111 million
names, 80 million households and 61 million telephone numbers are 
maintained (as reasonably up-to-date as possible) on-line.
     Together with IA's access to additional databases, such as 
Dun & Bradstreet, Secretary of State records and records from up to 
49 government agencies, you can:

     * Locate a missing defendant or witness and obtain a neighbor
       listing for further investigation.
 
     * Locate corporate officers, share-holders, or missing heirs.
 
     * Locate individuals for collection purposes.
 
     * Locate a fugitive parent who's kidnapped his child from
       the other parent during a custody battle.
 
     * Identify the corporate affiliations of an individual.
 
     * Examine bankruptcy, lawsuit, liens and judgement records
       on individuals and businesses.
 
     * Examine Securities and Exchange Commission filings and
       business news compiled from major newswires.
 
     * Gather information about a company's officers, ownership,
       financial status and parent/subsidiary relationships.
 
     * Determine if a foreign corporation has a resident agent
       for local service of process.  (ie, serving a lawsuit.)


Logging onto IA
------- ---- --

Access to Information America is provided through your local Tymnet
dialup (7-E-1); use a terminal identifier of 'a', and type "infoam"
at the "please log in:" prompt.  IA will prompt you with the familiar
VAX 'USERNAME' and 'PASSWORD' prompts.  Usernames of the form
"BIDAxxxx" (where x is a digit) are recognizable to the VAX as
IA accounts and cause it to execute the script that provides the
interactive database environment once the correct password is supplied.
Accounts which by-pass the interactive environment and provide you with
the normal VAX shell-access must exist, but neither White Knight nor I
have explored that avenue.
     In any event, once you log on, you are greeted with something
similar to:

----------------------------[ Title Screen ]----------------------------

        Welcome to VAX/VMS version V5.4-2 on node ALAMO
    Last interactive login on Thursday, 17-SEP-1991 12:47


                   COMPUTER EQUIPMENT SELECTION MENU


  What type of computer equipment or software are you using?


       1.  PERSONAL COMPUTER (or 100% IBM compatible)
       2.  PERSONAL COMPUTER with WESTMATE SOFTWARE
       3.  WESTLAW TERMINAL
       4.  OTHER EQUIPMENT
       5.  NETWORK SYSTEM (TTY)

      99.  EXIT OFF SYSTEM


  Please call Information America's Client Support at 1-(800) 235-4008
  if you would like assistance.


Please specify number: 1

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
   *                                                                   *
   *                 W E L C O M E    T O   T H E                      *
   *                                                                   *
   *      I N F O R M A T I O N   A M E R I C A   N E T W O R K        *
   *                                                                   *
   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

        For details select menu option 75 on the beginning IA Menu

  * Information America Expands California Lawsuits!

  * Global Real Property Asset Locator Now Online!

  * Cover All the Bases...Using the NEW, IMPROVED CORPORATE GLOBAL Service!


Enter your name (last name first): public, john

----------------------------[ Title Screen ]----------------------------

     In most cases, IA's clients use IBMs or compatibles to connect.
However, option 1 (PERSONAL COMPUTER (or 100% IBM compatible)) works
well enough for anyone who can emulate VT-100.
     The "Enter your name (last name first)" prompt is purely for your
own internal billing purposes so that you, as a legitimate account
holder, can track account use by separate members of your corporation.
To alleviate suspicion, we suggest you use the name of someone who
actually works at the account holder's organization -- the account
holder himself, for instance.
     At some point, IA will prompt you to enter a Client Billing Code.
Again, this information is purely for the account holder's own internal
billing purposes.  IA is an expensive service; on top of the $95 per
month fee, there are hourly connect charges, per-item charges and
several hidden costs.  If only for that reason alone, IA's clients
tend to be very anal about cross-checking their itemized bills.  If
possible, provide a Client Billing Code which is consistent with
the account holder's organization's billing code scheme.


Information America: Main Menu
----------- -------  ---- ----

There are 19 main search-options available through IA, which fall
into three categories: Corporate, UCC, & Related Records; Nationwide
Services; and County & Court Records:

------------------------------[ Main Menu ]-----------------------------

INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK                                1

      I N F O R M A T I O N   A M E R I C A   B E G I N N I N G   M E N U
                  (Copyright 1991, Information America, Inc.)

                  CORPORATE, UCC, & RELATED RECORDS
                   1. Corporate Global (CGL)
                   2. Corporate & Limited Partnership Records (COR)
                   3. State & County UCCs, Liens & Judgments (ULJ)
                   4. State UCC & Lien Filings (UCC)

 5. Sleuth (SL)                          6. Litigation Prep (LP)

NATIONWIDE SERVICES                    COUNTY & COURT RECORDS
 7. People Finder (PF)                  15. County Records (COU)
 8. Executive Affiliation (EA)          16. Bankruptcy Records (BNK)
 9. Business Finder (BF)                17. Lawsuits (LS)
10. Business News (BN)                  18. Real Property Asset Locator (RP)
11. SEC Filings (SEC)                   19. Real Prop, Liens & Judgments (RLJ)
12. Duns Business Records Plus (DB)
13. Name Availability/Reservation (NAR) 75. Help Line (HL)
14. Document Ordering eXpress (DOX)     99. Exit the System (OFF)

Enter the menu number or abbreviation of your choice: 

------------------------------[ Main Menu ]-----------------------------

     Of the three categories, options under NATIONWIDE SERVICES are the
most interesting.  Information America is easy to use, completely
menu-driven and features extensive on-line Help.  That having been said,
White Knight and I will cover only a few of IA's features and leave
exploration of the more obscure ones to the reader.


PEOPLE FINDER
------ ------

     The power of People Finder lies not only in its ability to tap
various large store-houses of data, but in its flexibility of search
criteria.  (Note that People Finder is available Monday through Friday,
7:00 AM to midnight, Eastern Standard time.  Holidays are excluded.)

People Finder is made up of four services: SKIP TRACER, TELEPHONE TRACKER,
PERSON LOCATOR, and PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK.
     Depending on the information available, a People Finder profile may
include current address, telephone number, residence type, length of
residence, gender, date of birth, up to four household members and their
dates of birth and a neighbor listing.

SKIP TRACER traces a person's moves or verifies the current address when all
you have is an old address.  You will enter the person's name, street number,
street name, and either the Zip Code or city/state.  If your subject is in
IA's files, a profile will display that includes the address he moved to (or
current address), phone number, length of residence, and more.  You may also
request a list of 10 of the person's neighbors.  A profile on the current
resident at your subject's old address and up to 10 neighbors there may also
be available.  This gives you several contacts to help you find your subject.

TELEPHONE TRACKER tracks down the owner of a telephone number. You must enter
the phone number and either the area code or the city/state. If a match is
found, you may look at a profile of that individual/residence and a listing
of up to 10 neighbors.

PERSON LOCATOR helps you locate a person when specific address information is
unavailable.  Enter the person's name and indicate whether you wish to conduct
a search by city, state(s), zip or nationwide* PERSON LOCATOR will
compile a list of names (up to 300 names for nationwide and up to 100 names
for individual state searches) that match the information entered.  When you
find the right name, you may request a profile and neighbor listing for that
individual.

PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK helps you locate multiple people during one search.
Search results are available the following business day.  For each of your
subjects, enter the name and indicate the geographic area you wish to
search--nationwide*, multi state, state, city or zip. You may enter up to 25
names per search. Sign off the system and let Information America do the work
for you. The following business day, log on to Information America and access
the People Finder Menu by entering PF at the Information America Beginning
Menu. From the People Finder Menu, you may view the results of People Finder
MultiTrack by entering RR (Review People Finder MultiTrack).

REVIEW PEOPLE FINDER MULTITRACK allows you to review the status of each of
the searches you requested. You may choose to view the results of each
completed search at this time. Search results will be stored for seven days
from the day you requested the search. You may review the search results at
any time during the seven-day time period through the Review People Finder
MultiTrack option. Search results include a summary listing of names that
match the information entered (up to 300 names for nationwide and up to 100
names for individual state searches).  From the summary, you may select
individual profiles and neighbor listings.

* Nationwide search is not available for specific common surnames.  For a
  list of these surnames, enter #92 View Common Names (VC), from the
  People Finder Menu.


-------------------------[ People Finder Menu ]-------------------------

INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK                                       
                          P E O P L E    F I N D E R
                 (Copyright 1991, Information America, Inc.)
           Client Billing Code: 123456

    1. Person Locator (PL)           (Search by name & location)
    2. Skip Tracer (ST)              (Search by name & last known address)
    3. Telephone Tracker (TT)        (Search by telephone number)
    4. People Finder MultiTrack (PX) (Multiple searches by name & location
                                      with results available next business day)
    5. Review People Finder MultiTrack Results (RR)

                    70. Revise Client Billing Code  (BC)
                    75. Help Screen  (?)
                    92. View Common Names (VC)
                    95. Description of Service  (DES)
                    99. Go to Beginning Menu  (BEG)
                    OFF Exit off the System  (OFF)

-------------------------[ People Finder Menu ]-------------------------

     If People Finder locates your subject, a profile containing the
following information can be displayed:


Name                   Usually first and last name of head of household.
Address                Street or route, city, state, and ZIP.

* The following fields will display only if the information is available. *

Phone Number           Current phone number, if listed in the phone book.
Approx. Birth Date     Birth date of the individual listed in the Name
                       field.  (May be an approximation.)
Gender                 (FEMALE, MALE, UNKNOWN) Refers to person in Name field.
Length of Residence    Number of consecutive years this person has appeared
                       at this address.
Residence Type         Number of last names found at this address. (Useful
                       in identifying multi-family residences.)  Can be
                       single, double, triple, quad, 5-9 units, 10-19 units,
                       20-49 units, 50-100 units, 100+ units.
Additional Household   Names and approximate birth dates of up to 4
    Members            individuals residing at this address and having the
                       same last name as person listed in Name field.
                       (Usually taken from birth records.)


People Finder: A Sample Search
------ ------  - ------ ------

------------------------[ People Finder Search ]------------------------

Last Name:   public                     First Name:   jane
Enter City or ZIP code.
City: ANYTOWN                           ZIP Code: 90210


Searching...


 INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER                       
 Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE
                               PERSON LOCATOR
                              Last Name Summary

 No.  First Name       Street               City/State      ZIP   Phone No.
 --- ------------ ----------------------  ---------------- ----- ------------
   1 JANE         27 AVENIDA AVE          ANYTOWN       CA 90210 213-727-8023
*  2 JOHN         69 CALLE DE LOS PUTOS   ANYTOWN       CA 90211 213-000-0000

* PUBLIC JANE has been found as an additional household member.
Searching...


 INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER  -  Detail             
 Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE

                             PERSON LOCATOR
                            Resident Profile

                        Name: JANE PUBLIC
                     Address: 27 AVENIDA AVE
                              ANYTOWN, CA 90210
   Approximate Date of Birth: 10/66
                      Gender: FEMALE
         Length of Residence: 3 YEARS
              Residence Type: SINGLE

                    **** Additional Household Names ****
                    Name       Approximate Date of Birth
                    MICHAEL              04/68


Searching...

 INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--PEOPLE FINDER  -  Detail             
 Name Searched: PUBLIC JANE

                               PERSON LOCATOR
                              Neighbor Listing

        Resident: JANE PUBLIC
         Address: 27 AVENIDA AVE
                  ANYTOWN, CA 90210
                                                                 Residence
       Name               Phone#           Address            Length(yrs)/Type
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOUTAM SINGH          (213) 727-8125  12 AVENIDA AVE             12 SINGLE
CARLOS CASTANEDA      (213) 725-8643  17 AVENIDA AVE             04 DOUBLE
POLLO LOCO            (213) 685-2112  19 AVENIDA AVE             03 TRIPLE
FRANCIS MCFLY         (213) 727-0353  26 AVENIDA AVE             23 SINGLE
P PAPADAPOULOS        (213) 727-4973  30 AVENIDA AVE             16 SINGLE
LUCY BYRNE            (213) 727-8765  33 AVENIDA AVE             10 SINGLE
JOSE SABADO           (213) 725-2012  35 AVENIDA AVE             06 SINGLE

------------------------[ People Finder Search ]------------------------


Notes on People Finder
----- -- ------ ------

     IA is only as accurate as public records reflect.  People who move
frequently or move from apartment to apartment (students, for instance)
are either not likely to be found in IA, or the information IA provides
is likely to be out-dated.  In one search we performed, IA concluded that
our subject had lived at his residence for 3 years when, in fact, the subject
had been living there for over 15 years.
     Unlisted telephone numbers are frequently available through IA if,
for example, your subject's unlisted number has appeared in a City Directory.
Curiously, information seems to be disappearing from IA, in some cases.  A
year ago, White Knight and I looked up a celebrity's address and telephone
number, both of which IA correctly found.  When we performed the same search
recently, IA failed to find the celebrity in its records.  Searches on other
individuals which once listed their unlisted telephone numbers now yield
"000-0000".  We have no explanation for why this seems to have happened.


Overview of IA's other options
-------- -- ---- ----- -------

SLEUTH
======

By creating a list of affiliated names -- "clues" -- Sleuth helps you
uncover relationships between businesses and individuals.  Enter a name and
check official records from up to 49 government agencies.

CONTENTS:  Over 100 searches* combined in one... from these services:

            State UCC/lien filings in: CA,CO,IL,IA,MD,MA,MO,NE,NC,PA,SC,TX
Corp/LP records in above states, PLUS: AZ,CT,DE,GA,IN,MI,NV,OK,OR,UT,WI
     Sales and Use Tax information in: CA, TX

 County Assumed/Fictitious Names from: Los Angeles, San Francisco (CA)
                                       Dallas, Harris (TX)
              County UCC filings from: Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett (GA)
                                       Dallas, Harris (TX)



LITIGATION PREP
========== ====

CONTENTS: State Corporate & Limited Partnership Information from:
                Arizona*, California, Colorado, Connecticut*, Delaware,
                Florida, Georgia, Illinois*, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland,
                Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada,  North
                Carolina*, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,  South Carolina,
                Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin (* indicates Limited
                Partnership information is not available from these states).

          Searches include the following, where available:
                Business Names, Owner Names, Prior Names, Assumed Names,
                Fictitious Owner Names, Trade Names, DBA Names, and Merged
                Out/Consolidated Names

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:  Litigation Prep allows you to simultaneously
search state corporate and limited partnership information and county-filed
fictitious business and assumed names, to assist you in obtaining the details
you need to begin preparing a lawsuit.

HOW THIS SERVICE WILL HELP YOU:  Litigation Prep is designed to help
litigation professionals when gathering information to file a lawsuit.  This
service provides the researcher with valuable pieces of information, such as
business name, agent name and address, principal address, type and status.
Good Standing/Existence Status is also available in the following states:
AZ, CT, DE, GA, IL, IN, IA, MA, MI, MO, NE, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA,
and WI.

CONTENTS/SOURCES:  Below, you will find the informational contents searched
in each state.  Inactive records are included for informational purposes.
Unless otherwise specified, files are updated weekly.

HOURS:  Litigation Prep is available Monday through Friday, from
8:00 AM to 12:00 AM Eastern Time.  The FLORIDA component of the service
is only available from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through
Friday.


CORPORATE GLOBAL, CORPORATE & LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS
========= ======  ========= = ======= ============

CONTENTS: State Corporate & Limited Partnership Records from:
                AZ*, CA, CO, CT*, DE, FL, GA, IL*, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE,
                NV, NC*, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, and WI
                (* indicates Limited Partnership Records are not available
                from these states).

          States included in the Officer/Partner Name search:
                CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, MA, MI, MO, NV, OR, PA, TX, and UT.

     State Corporate and Limited Partnership Records are available in many key
states.  A complete listing of states and the information provided by state is
available on the following screens.  Records are accessible one state at a
time or all at once (CORPORATE GLOBAL).  When you conduct a CORPORATE GLOBAL
name search, an Index screen will list in which states matches have been found.
You can either review all matches, or select specific states to view.

    From the CORPORATE GLOBAL menu, you have the following search capabilities:

       Business Name - Includes all entities available in the online state
                       corporate & limited partnership files.

Officer/Partner Name - Information varies by state, but may include
                       officers, directors, incorporators and partners.

Note:  Individual states offer additional options such as a search by
       Corporate ID (Charter) Number or Registered Agent Name.

SOURCE & UPDATE INFORMATION:

     State Corporate & Limited Partnership files are obtained from the
official state agency.  Records searched vary from state to state.  For the
exact types searched by state, see the following screens.  Inactive records
are included for informational purposes.  Files are updated weekly unless
noted in each specific state description.

In California and Texas, there is a unique search option called
BUSINESS LOCATOR.

In California, this option searches the Board of Equalization
(BOE), Licensing and Taxation Information which is the official
governing source of California Sales and Use Tax permit holders.
This information is available only from the California
menu and is not included in the Global service.  The file is updated
monthly.

In Texas, this option searches the Sales & Use Tax Taxpayer
Information file, which is comprised of the official record of
the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts.  As in
California, this information is available only from the Texas
menu and is not included in the Global service.  The file is
updated by Information America weekly.


STATE & COUNTY UCCs
===== = ====== ====

   CONTENTS:    State UCC and lien filings from:
                   California*, Colorado*, Florida, Illinois, Iowa*,
                   Maryland, Massachusetts*, Missouri, Nebraska*,
                   North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas*.
                   (* indicates Lien filings available from these states)

                County UCC, lien, and judgment filings from:
                   California:  Los Angeles and San Francisco counties
                   Georgia:  Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties
                   Texas:  Dallas Metroplex and Harris county

 GENERAL DESCRIPTION:  State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments allows you
 to search state UCC and lien filings, plus county UCC, lien and judgment
 filings.

 HOW THIS SERVICE WILL HELP YOU:  State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments
 may be used by anyone who is looking for information on outstanding UCCs,
 liens or judgments on an individual or business, as well as assets or
 financial obligations.  For example, litigators, real estate specialists,
 and merger and acquisition  specialists may use this service to assist
 them in the following ways:

 Litigators:
   ** Obtain financial information on prospective clients
   ** Help determine the outstanding obligations of the opposing party which
      could impact the client's ability to seize assets
   ** Help determine the financial relationships between the opposing party and
      other entities

   ** Help determine if the debts and obligations of the opposing party are a
      possible motive for filing suit

 Real Estate Specialists:
   ** Conduct a cursory look at the beginning of the transaction to help
      determine the existence of filings which could cloud title
   ** Help determine if the seller has outstanding tax liens filed against
      him/her
   ** Help determine whether any personal property involved with the
      transaction has a prior security interest

 Merger and Acquisition Specialists:
   ** Help determine financial standing of a firm or a principal of the firm
      and identify outstanding obligations
   ** Help determine the financial relationships the firm or principal has
      with other entities
   ** Determine personal property owned by the firm or principal that is being
      used to secure loans
   ** Conduct a final check before closing to help confirm that no new matters
      have been filed which could adversely affect the transaction

 SEARCH RESULTS:  Searches by Name will retrieve matches of the name searched
 in the following:
   From the state UCC and lien files - debtor names
   From the county UCC, lien and judgment files -
     California: grantors
        Georgia: grantors, taxpayers, debtors, and defendants
          Texas: all parties (in Dallas Metroplex); grantors and grantees
                 (from Abstracts of Judgment only), and debtors (in Harris
                 County)

 PLEASE NOTE:  Searches of debtors in Florida will retrieve only active filings.
 The option to view Florida's inactive files is offered, at no additional
 charge, when you select either E (=Exit) or N (=New Search) from the summary
 screen or last page of a detail report.

 HOURS: State & County UCCs, Liens and Judgments is available Monday through
 Friday, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM EST.  The FLORIDA  component of the service
 is only available from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday.


STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS
===== === = ==== =======

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:  STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS allows you to simultaneously
search UCC and lien filings in all of the states that Information America
has on-line or you may search filings in a specific state.

Our UCC service includes documents filed under the Uniform Commercial
Code in the following states:

        California            Colorado            Florida
        Illinois              Iowa                Maryland
        Massachusetts         Missouri            Nebraska
        North Carolina        Pennsylvania        South Carolina
        Texas

Additionally, the following liens are included:
            California: Federal and state tax liens, attachment liens
                        and judgment liens.
              Colorado: Federal tax liens and judgment liens.
                  Iowa: Federal tax liens, Verified liens
                        and Thresherman's liens.
         Massachusetts: State tax liens and child support liens.
              Nebraska: Agricultural input liens, consumer liens, and
                        statutory liens.
                 Texas: Federal tax liens, utility security instruments,
                        and farm filings.

SOURCE: Data is obtained directly from the official state sources: the
Secretary of State in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas; the Department
of State in both Florida and Pennsylvania; and the Maryland Department of
Assessments and Taxation.

SEARCH RESULTS:  Unless indicated otherwise, a debtor name search will
reveal listings of active and inactive debtors that match the name being
searched. A secured party/assignee search will result in a list of matching
active and inactive secured parties and assignees. Instrument numbers can
be searched only in an individual state.

         In FLORIDA, a debtor or secured party search will reveal only
active filings.  The option to search Florida's inactive files is offered,
at no additional charge, at the end of a detail report for an active
Florida UCC.

         In MASSACHUSETTS, a secured party search will locate secured parties
and, if the UCC has been assigned, assignors; it will not locate assignees
since they are not included in the database.

HOURS: STATE UCC & LIEN FILINGS is available Monday through Friday, from
8:00 AM to 12:00 AM EST. The FLORIDA component of the service is only
available from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday.


COUNTY COURT RECORDS
====== ===== =======

     Information America provides online access to local
court records from four states.

     California - Records are available from Los Angeles, Orange
and San Francisco counties.  Real Property Asset Locator is available
for the entire state.

     Georgia - The Atlanta metro area is online. It includes
Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

     Pennsylvania - Records are available for Philadelphia
county.

     Texas - Records are available for the Dallas/Fort Worth
metro area, which includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant
counties. Records are also available for Harris County (Houston).

Records vary from county to county, but may include Abstracts of
Judgment, Assumed Names, Civil Suits, County UCCs, General
Execution Dockets, Limited Partnerships, Lis Pendens, Probate and
Domestic Suits, Real Property Filings, Tax Liens and Trade Name Index.
The Court Record menus specify the records available in each county.


LAWSUITS
========

                  LAWSUITS EFFECTIVE DATE INFORMATION

File                         Source                  Begin        Through
-------------------------    ---------------------   ---------    --------
CALIFORNIA
  Los Angeles County         County Clerk            01-01-80     12-31-91
    Civil  (Superior)
    Domestic  (Superior)
    Probate  (Superior)
    Criminal  (Superior)                             01-01-80     12-31-91
  Orange County              County Clerk            01-01-85     12-13-91
    Civil  (Superior)
    Family Law  (Superior)
  San Mateo County           County Clerk            01-01-84     11-09-91
    Civil  (Superior)

CALIFORNIA
  Santa Clara County         County Clerk            01-01-85     12-04-91
    Civil  (Superior &
                 Municipal)
    Probate  (Superior)
    Criminal  (Superior)
    Family Law  (Superior)
  Contra Costa County        County Clerk            01-02-80     11-30-91
    Civil  (Superior)
    Probate  (Superior)
    Family Law  (Superior)
    Wills                                            01-02-90     11-30-91
  San Diego County           County Clerk            06-18-74     01-16-92
    Civil  (Superior)

GEORGIA
  Cobb Civil (Superior)      County Clerk            1982         01-17-92
  Dekalb Civil (Superior)    County Clerk            1981         01-15-92
  Fulton Civil (Superior)    County Clerk            1980         12-26-91
  Gwinnett Civil (Sup/State) County Clerk            1990         01-18-92

ILLINOIS
  Cook Civil Law Division    Clerk of Circuit Court  01-01-75     12-16-91
  All Districts (Circuit)
  Cook Civil Municipal       Clerk of Circuit Court  01-01-85     12-16-91
  Division 1st District-
  Chicago- (Circuit)

NEW JERSEY*
Civil Law Division           Clerk of Superior Court 01-01-88     SEE BELOW
 Atlantic   12-09-91    Bergen      11-19-91    Burlington  12-03-91
 Camden     11-20-91    Cape May    12-05-91    Cumberland  10-18-91
 Essex      12-04-91    Gloucester  12-09-91    Hudson      12-06-91
 Hunterdon  12-10-91    Mercer      10-17-91    Middlesex   12-06-91
 Monmouth   11-08-91    Morris      12-05-91    Ocean       12-04-91
 Passaic    12-04-91    Salem       12-09-91    Somerset    11-22-91
 Sussex     11-25-91    Union       12-02-91    Warren      12-02-91

*New Jersey Superior Court Civil Lawsuit information is collected for
 Information America.  Extreme care is exercised in gathering this
 information.  However, it is not the official legal reporting organ
 of the New Jersey Superior Court.  Information pertaining to civil
 action arising from automobile accident claims, forfeiture,
 condemnation and name change litigation is not collected and is not
 contained in this file.

 NEW YORK
  New York (Supreme) &       Office of Court         ***          01-13-92
   Suffolk County (County)   Administration

 *** The beginning dates for New York County's Supreme Civil Court and Suffolk
     County Civil Court cases vary from county to county and are listed below.
     The "Current Through" date represents the date the Office of Court
     Administration last compiled the information for Information America.

     Bronx     11-1985        Nassau     02-1978         Queens       12-1985
     Dutchess  08-1985        New York   11-1985         Rockland     09-1985
     Erie      11-1985        Orange     08-1985         Suffolk      03-1983
     Kings     11-1985        Putnam     08-1985         Westchester  01-1981

 PENNSYLVANIA
  Philadelphia Civil         Office of Prothonotary  01-1982      01-11-92
  (Common Pleas)

TEXAS
  Dallas Civil (District)    County District Court   01-01-70     01-10-92


REAL PROPERTY ASSET LOCATOR
==== ======== ===== =======

Real Property Asset Locator integrates information from several sources to
help users identify and estimate the value of real assets or identify the
owner of a particular piece of property.

The information, which is collected for Information America, is comprised of
the tax assessor's official roll in each county.  Additional information is
obtained from private source databases to enhance tax roll information.

Real Property Asset Locator provides four ways to search.

1.  Asset Locator--Discover the property owned by an individual or business by
entering the name.  You may conduct a global, statewide, metro area, county
or city (where taxes are assessed at municipal level) search.

2.  Ownership Locator--Discover the identity of the property owner by entering
the address of the property in question.

3.  Property of Comparable Value--Estimate value of real property based on
sales of similar real property in the given geographic area.

4.  Assessor's Parcel Number--Discover the identity of the property owner by
entering the Assessor's Parcel Number of the property in question.

Real Property Asset Locator is available in Arizona, California, Washington DC,
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.


REAL PROPERTY ASSET TRANSFERS
==== ======== ===== =========

         Real Property Asset Transfers integrates information from
         several sources to help you identify recent real property
         ownership transfers.

         Use Real Property Asset Transfers to help confirm that
         your party still owns a particular piece of property or
         has recently acquired new property.

         Real Property Asset Transfers provides two ways to search.

         1.  Asset Transfers--Discover the property acquired or sold
         by an individual or business by entering the name.  You may
         conduct a statewide, metro area or county search.

         2.  Ownership Transfers--Discover the identity of the seller
         and buyer of a particular piece of real property by entering
         the address of the property in question.

         Real Property Asset Transfers information, which is collected for
         Information America, is derived from deed transfers maintained by
         county recorders' offices in each county.  However, it is not
         the official legal reporting organ of the county recorders'
         offices.

         Real Property Asset Transfers is available in select counties
         in Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida,
         Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada,
         New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia,
         and Washington.


EXECUTIVE AFFILIATION
========= ===========

CONTENTS: Over 30 million executives nationwide.  One search will display
          companies nationwide where an individual is listed as an executive.
          Two types of reports may be available: the Executive Profile and
          the Executive Brief.

          The Executive Profile is derived from information gathered by
          American Business Information, Inc (ABI).  ABI compiles business
          listings from the yellow pages of 5,000 telephone directories.
          Telephone calls to every business are then conducted to collect
          the executive name and title.

          The Executive Brief is derived from Corporate and Limited
          Partnership Records filed in the following states: AZ,CA,CO,CT,FL,
          GA,IL,IN,IA,MD,MA,MI,MO,NE,NV,NC,OK,OR,PA,SC,TX,UT,WA,WI.
          NOTE: Delaware Records are not included.

Executive Affiliation is invaluable when you need to know the business
affiliations of an adverse party.  When you enter an executive's name,
reports on over 30 million executives nationwide are searched.  You will
receive a Summary Screen with a concise listing of where your selected
individual is listed as an executive.  The detail report for each affiliation
will be either an Executive Brief or an Executive Profile.

The Executive Profile is derived from yellow page listings of 5,000 telephone
directories nationwide.  The listings are individually verified to collect the
name of the top executive at that location and their title.  The information
report may include this information in addition to the business address,
telephone number, SIC code, and type of business.  The titles for which an
Executive Profile may be available include: President, Vice President,
Chairman of the Board, Owner, Executive Director,  Manager, Administrator,
Principal, Publisher, Pastor, and Rabbi.

The Executive Brief is derived from Corporate and Limited Partnership Records
filed in the following states:  AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA,
MI, MO, NE, NC, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, & WI.
(NOTE: Delaware Records are not included.  Florida Records are available
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST.)  The second line in the
detail heading will list from which state Corporate/LP Record the information
is obtained.  The information report may include executive name, title,
address, business name and address, as well as other executives' names,
titles, and addresses associated with that business. Executive Briefs may be
available for Officers, Partners, Agents, and Incorporators.

USE EXECUTIVE AFFILIATION TO:

  *  Learn about an adverse party's business affiliations as part of
     background checking.

  *  Verify names and addresses for pleadings and depositions.

  *  Uncover an executive's involvement in different businesses throughout
     the country to determine possible transfer of assets, or other companies
     to be named in a suit.

  *  Obtain background information on an executive as a crucial part of
     performing due diligence.

  *  Explore possible conflicts of interest by looking for an executive's
     involvement with other companies.

  *  Check on the business affiliations of a prospective client.


BUSINESS FINDER
======== ======

        SOURCE:  American Business Information, Inc.

      CONTENTS:  Over 14 million U.S. and 1.7 million Canadian business
                 listings compiled from the yellow pages of nearly 5,000
                 telephone directories. Contains over 9.5 million separate
                 companies and 2 million professionals.

       UPDATES:  ABI continuously revises the information in the file, and
                 updates the data from available telephone directories
                 within six months after publication of the directory.
                 Information America receives quarterly updates from ABI.


BUSINESS NEWS
======== ====

                 SOURCE:  Comtex Scientific Corporation

               CONTENTS:  News stories from major national and
                          international newswires, such as UPI,
                          Kyodo, and TASS, press releases, and
                          other various sources.

                          Stories are available from November 1989.

                UPDATES:  Twice Daily

Business News allows you to gather articles from major national and
international newswires either by name, ticker symbol, industry or
topic.  Business News industry categories include:

 1. Advertising  (AD)     19. Electronics  (EL)        37. Photography  (PO)
 2. Aerospace  (AE)       20. Entertainment  (EN)      38. Plastics  (PL)
 3. Agriculture  (AG)     21. Environmental Srv  (ES)  39. Prec Metals  (PM)
 4. Autos  (AU)           22. Financial Srv  (FS)      40. Publishing  (PB)
 5. Aviation  (AV)        23. Food  (FD)               41. Railroads  (RR)
 6. Banking  (BK)         24. Forestry Prod  (FP)      42. Real Estate  (RE)
 7. Beverages  (BV)       25. Freight  (FR)            43. Restaurant  (RT)
 8. Biotechnology  (BI)   26. Health Care  (HC)        44. Retail  (RL)
 9. Broadcasting  (BR)    27. Industrial Prod  (IP)    45. Rubber  (RB)
10. Bldg Materials  (BM)  28. Insurance  (IN)          46. Ship Building  (SB)
11. Business Srv  (BS)    29. Machinery  (MA)          47. Telecommun  (TL)
12. Chemicals  (CH)       30. Metals  (ME)             48. Textiles  (TX)
13. Computers  (CM)       31. Mining  (MI)             49. Tobacco  (TB)
14. Construction  (CN)    32. Nuclear Energy  (NE)     50. Toys  (TY)
15. Consumer Prod  (CP)   33. Office Equipment  (OE)   51. Travel Srv  (TR)
16. Defense Contrt  (DC)  34. Personal Care  (PC)      52. Trucks  (TK)
17. Education Srv  (ED)   35. Petroleum Prod  (PT)     53. Utilities  (UT)
18. Electronic Publ  (EP) 36. Pharmaceuticals  (PH)


BANKRUPTCY RECORDS
========== =======

        SOURCE:  The Bankruptcy Records are compiled for Information
                 America from the official records at the U.S.
                 Bankruptcy Courts.  These records contain all
                 publicly available cases filed in the following
                 states:  California, Georgia - Northern District
                 (Atlanta and Gainesville only), New Jersey,
                 Pennsylvania - Eastern District, and Texas.

      CONTENTS:  Bankruptcy records for both individuals and
                 businesses are available.  The records include
                 debtor names, case number, location and date of
                 filing, chapter number and more.

       UPDATED:  Weekly (California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas)
                 Bi-weekly (New Jersey)

You may select bankruptcy records by debtor name, social security/FEIN number
or by case number.


SEC FILINGS
=== =======

          SOURCE: SEC Online, Inc.

        CONTENTS: Full text documents filed with the Securities and Exchange
                  Commission by public companies traded on the New York and
                  American Stock Exchanges as well as selected National Market
                  System companies from NASDAQ.  The documents available
                  online - 10-Ks, 10-Qs, Annual Reports, Proxy Statements, and
                  foreign company 20-Fs - contain all footnotes and selected
                  exhibits.  A Company Profile is also included that summarizes
                  basic corporate information.

  EFFECTIVE DATE: Information current from 07-01-1987.

         UPDATES: Information America receives updates weekly from SEC Online.

Searches may be performed by company name or ticker symbol.


Notes on Information America
----- -- ----------- -------

     We mentioned that usernames beginning with "BIDA" are recognizable
to the IA system as IA accounts (as opposed to shell accounts).  More than
likely, other usernames are also valid as IA accounts.
     As with most systems, IA passwords are often easy to guess.  Initial
passwords, which are assigned when an account is first created, are usually
composed of the account holder's first name, or first name plus a middle or
last initial.  In some cases, the password is made up of the digits in the
username plus the first name of the account holder.  In other cases, the
password is two random letters plus a two-digit number (ex: PG13).  If
users are ever encouraged to change their password from its initial value,
they rarely seem to do so.

     You've probably noticed that IA has specific operating times (Eastern
Standard Time).  Most of IA's functions are inoperable during weekends
and holidays and outside those specific operating hours.  Occasionally on
weekends, IA itself is down.  Or more interestingly -- particularly on
weekends -- the IA interactive environment will malfunction, dropping you
into the VAX shell.

     IA's clients are mostly lawyers and paralegals working at legal
firms, but the FBI is also a major IA client.  Television programs in the 60s
and 70s which depicted an FBI "Big Brother" computer system scared the public
enough so that it and the Congress have continually resisted efforts by the
FBI to implement such a system.  In the mid 80s, for example, Congress voted
against the implementation of an FBI computer system which would allow them
to monitor telephone calls.  Information America is the perfect solution for
the FBI's beaurocratic quandry.
     IA has existed for at least two and a half years, but has remained
relatively unknown to the Telecom community until last year when MoD began
using IA's People Finder to locate and terrorize people.  IA's low profile
isn't surprising; public backlash against Lotus' "MarketPlace" CD ROM --
which contained marketing information on only a few million people at most --
forced Lotus to abandon its project altogether after having invested tens
of thousands of dollars in advertising alone, just as it was about to release
MarketPlace.  What Lotus was doing wasn't unusual; large direct marketing
firms, like National Demographics & Lifestyles (NDL) have been somewhat
covertly marketing consumer names and information on CD ROM for years (with
information such as how many telephones you have; the approximate ages of your
household's members; the gender of the household head; the number and type of
cars your household has; what the mortgage value on your house is; estimated
incomes for the heads of the household, etc...).  The difference was that
Lotus was offering their CD ROM commercially so that anybody could, as the
public claimed, have the power of "Big Brother" at their fingertips.  If the
public knew about Information America, knew that anyone could tap its eye-spy
capabilities, the outrage would be tremendous.
     To market its database services, IA seems to have adopted a grass-roots
kind of approach.  IA employs liaisons in major metropolitan cities whose
job it is to research and contact prospective clients -- lawyers, for example.
We are unaware of any advertising in specialized journals.

     We take for granted the existence of government-run databases which
contain even more detailed information on Americans than IA possesses.
Even so, those databases are considerably smaller, and what's more, they're
well-regulated: the agencies that run them accountable by Law.  The potential
for abuse by a system like Information America -- devoid of any checks and
balances -- is spectacular.  MoD has already demonstrated this to a small
extent.  The same technology advances which were supposed to make at-home
shopping a convenience and tailor marketing to your needs have now made
surveilling you cost-effective, accurate and as easy as touching a key.
     One of the least reported items to come to light out of the
Iran/Contra proceedings was that, as head of the Federal Emergency
Management Administration (FEMA) -- the organization which coordinates
relief efforts across the United States during natural disasters --,
Oliver North had drawn up FEMA contingency plans of a different sort: in
the event of war in Central America, the Constitution was to be suspended
and FEMA was to round up aliens (particularly Hispanics) and US Citizens
considered "subversive," and interr them in Manzanar-like camps.
Databases like Information America would no doubt have been employed
in locating the whereabouts of these people.

The importance of Information America isn't what it can do for you;
rather, what can be done with it to you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

White Knight and I can be reached at WKnight@ATDT.ORG and
Omega@ATDT.ORG respectively.  Additionally, we may be reached
on Demon Roach Underground or Pure Nihilism.  We welcome any questions
or comments you may have -- especially any new information you may be
able to add --, but please do not contact us asking for accounts
or passwords.
