" If you need to do any fact-checking, call me, " says Kevin Mitnick. Oft considered the most famous computer hacker in US history, the 37-year-old Mitnick — who spent nearly five years in federal prison, including eight months in solitary confinement — is understandably wary about the media getting his facts straight. " I still read that I foreshadowed the movie War Games, can control satellites through my mind, and only need duct tape to get into any system in the world. "

These days, Mitnick considers himself a " retired " hacker who’s using his expertise to make " a positive contribution to the world. " So far he’s founded Defensive Thinking, a security-awareness consulting company for corporations, and written a book called The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). Nevertheless, the convicted felon is still a criminal in the eyes of the law, and the terms of his probation, which ends January 21, haven’t allowed him to surf the Internet since the mid ’90s. So, with six days, 14 hours, 59 minutes, and 13 seconds left to go on his probation (according to the " truly free " countdown clock at KevinMitnick.com), Mitnick spoke to the Phoenix from his Thousand Oaks, California, residence.

Q: On KevinMitnick.com, it says that under your probation, you are " prohibited from using a computer. " But I’ve also read that you have a laptop.

A: The Web site hasn’t been updated lately. But I do have very stringent conditions of a very supervised release. Under the terms, I can’t use, possess, talk about, [or] write about technology, or act as a consultant without the permission of the probation department. When I was commissioned to write the Art of Deception by Wiley & Sons, I received permission to use a laptop computer, as long as I didn’t use the Internet. I’ve been allowed to use cell phones for about two and a half years: my dad was very sick and he ended up dying of cancer; I needed ways always to be in contact with him and his doctors. The only thing that I don’t have permission to use is the Internet. To this day, I can’t send e-mail.

Q: How was this enforced?

A: The probation officer used to make weekly visits. There’s no way it could be [checked] — but it’s a risk. The question comes down to: does the benefit of surfing the Internet outweigh the risk? Do you want to risk using Amazon.com and then going to prison for it? In my life, I’ve decided I’m going to play it safe and stay off the Internet until my probation is over.

Q: In 2000, eBay took the auction of your Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate ID card off its site. The Guardian reported that bids reached $1000 after a two-day period; did you eventually sell it?

A: They yanked it under some ridiculous provision that violent criminals cannot profit off their crime — I guess the person who made the decision thought that " hacking " meant taking an ax and hacking somebody up. So then we put it up on Amazon and Yahoo, and they yanked it too. It became a huge controversy; it went all over the AP wire. That increased the value of the card — it was like a free advertising campaign.

I had two inmate cards, one from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, one from the county jail. They went, in totality, for $6000. I would’ve never gotten that if eBay hadn’t decided to yank it. I was laughing all the way to the bank.

Q: What do you think of John Poindexter and the Office of Total Information Awareness?

A: [Laughs] Well, I don’t agree with it. I don’t believe it’s a good thing to have a central database. It kind of reminds me of the book 1984. But the bottom line is, as Scott McNeeley of Sun Microsystems has been quoted as saying, " We have no privacy, get over it. " It’s so true.

Q: Have you seen the Joyoftech.com comic strip that depicts your first visit online? You search for porn right away.

A: No, but my girlfriend saw it. I won’t be searching for porn: the first Web site I’ll visit is Labmistress.com, my girlfriend’s site. The first e-mail will be to Joseph Lieberman, so when he becomes president, he can give me a pardon. He invited me to testify before Congress, so I figure I’ll drop him an e-mail and say, " Hey, remember me? "