February 1998 - cypherpunks-legacy

Test: please ignore
by Brian B. Riley 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

test, please ignore, thanks Brian B. Riley --> http://members.macconnect.com/~brianbr For PGP Keys <mailto:brianbr@together.net?subject=Get%20PGP%20Key> "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" -- Samuel Johnson "With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first." -- Ambrose Bierce's commentary on Johnson's definition.

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DLing from Replay.com
by Secret Squirrel 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

On Wed, 28 Jan 1998 10:29:32 GMT, Adam Back <aba(a)dcs.ex.ac.uk> wrote: >enough anyway, as anyone can verify looking at www.replay.com where a >good collection of 128 bit browsers can be obtained. Perhaps someone from this list would be kind enough to explain to the obviously ignorant just how one manages to DL from replay.com without encountering the following problem: |Forbidden |You don't have permission to access /security/browsers/128bit/CommunicatorUS-v401-Pro/windows/cp16d401.exe on this |server. |There was also some additional information available about the error: |[Mon Feb 16 21:13:24 1998] access to |/pub/WWW/www.replay.com/security/browsers/128bit/CommunicatorUS-v401-Pro/windows/cp16d401.exe |failed for xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxxxx.xxx, reason: file permissions deny server execution I have tried DLing this file (and others) from more than one server, and at different times, but encounter the same error each time, so obviously I don't know what I am doing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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Re: WoT discussions, Trust for Nyms
by James A. Donald 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

-- Rick Smith <smith(a)securecomputing.com> writes: > > I admit I can't figure out what crypto mechanism Kong is > > really using since there's obfuscating talk of > > passphrases and secrets. At 12:06 AM 12/6/97 GMT, Adam Back wrote: > What James describes on the page is that he is storing the > private EC key in a file. The file is optionally encrypted > with a passphrase. No The file, if you have one, is merely a continuation of the passphrase. The secret key is generated on the fly from the passphrase, the file, and the name: In my web page "How Kong Works" I write: To generate our secret key, your computer hashes the passphrase, the secret file, and the name, to generate a big number, a two hundred and forty bit number. That is a number somewhere around 1000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 So the secret generated from your secret key is really a very big number. The public key, which appears in your signature, is an elliptic point, the generator multiplied by that number. This point is represented by the x coordinate of the elliptic point, a 255 bit number, plus a sign bit, represented in base 64 format. Rick Smith > > Since Kong does not use certificates, it is vulnerable to > > the Man in the Middle (MIM) attack and indeed to forgery. Not so. For example how could a man in the middle pass himself off as the author of Crypto Kong? > > However, I also suspect that the behavior of a long lived > > cyberspace identity would make a MIM attack detectable > > and/or impractical in the long run. Exactly so. Any document is potentially a certificate. Commonly you wish to link a document to network reputation, rather than a physical person. For this purpose PGP key signing parties are largely irrelevant. Verisign certificates primarily work to link your digital signature to your credit rating, and thus, unfortunately, also liink your digital signature to the number of the beast. At present there is insufficient internet commerce for a credit rating not linked to the number of the beast to be useful, though this may change in the future. > In general John Doe's strategy to avoid being the subject > of a MITM attack should be to be unpredictable in the > channels he uses for authentication and communication. John Doe usually wishes to avoid a MITM attack because his reputation is valuable. He fears Malloc will use that reputation for Mallocs own purposes. If John Doe's reputation is valuable, he has emitted many communications over a lengthy time. If these are signed, and each signature contains John Doe's public key, Malloc cannot perform a man in the middle attack, and thus cannot steal John Doe's reputation, or use it for his own purposes. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG KsnYz0T1NR0Dp/XX6Pri0xg59C+MF79KO/GUuXZW 49sq/p4ywrtYwg1Kl/PsTHBHGYfBfWYLF6pkKH+UU > > >Interlock protocols are another method of complicating the MITM's >task. If Joe develops the habit of posting the hash of messages he is >about to post a day in advance, the MITM must think of something to >say also, and publish the hash, so that it can publish something a day >later. > >As the MITM's messages now don't match with what Joe said, the MITM >has to lie some more to keep up the game. We would like to overload >the MITM so that his task of lying becomes computationally infeasible. > >Adam > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the state. http://www.jim.com/jamesd/

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Who is netcash?
by James A. Donald 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

-- The netcash site http://www.netbank.com/~netcash/ncquick1.html contains no obvious information as to who they are. The netcash people are effectively anonymous. This is a little strange for an organization that solicits people to deposit money with them. Who is netbank/netcash? --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG VojePU/6xWQxNtczN+1p6+8bVR16XMeSMVa5NDMn 4j4e1Z788YGIc8/VPlppxukDbo+BWge0b8JpDxPOb --------------------------------------------------------------------- We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the state. http://www.jim.com/jamesd/

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RE: Pensacola Police have lost their mind!! (fwd)
by Ernest Hua 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

Those of you who are parents of toddlers and have watched in horror as other parents seem to have zero control over their children, would understand why the school reacted this way. Getting the police involved may not necessarily be the "right" thing to do, but there is a LOT of pressure on public schools to be passive or suffer the wrath of child-abuse lawsuits. There are many times when they respond with "we don't do things that way ..." when they should just send the kid home. There is no middle ground where both the school and the parents are happy, unless the parents really care and participate. Getting the police involved was probably just a way for the teachers and/or the administrators to pass the buck to someone else because they feel powerless to deal with the situation. (Isn't this a bit off topic? But for the police part?) Ern -----Original Message----- From: Jim Choate [SMTP:ravage@ssz.com] Sent: Friday, February 20, 1998 7:09 PM To: cypherpunks(a)ssz.com Subject: Pensacola Police have lost their mind!! (fwd) Forwarded message: > From: "William H. Geiger III" <whgiii(a)invweb.net> > Date: Fri, 20 Feb 98 20:27:22 -0500 > Subject: Pensacola Police have lost their mind!! > I don't know if this story has reached the AP wire or not but today the > brave defenders of the faith here in Pensacola, FL have done their sworn > duty to protect us all by arresting a 5yr old on assault charges (againts > one of the Adult staff of the school). It made it to CNN. > These are the same brave soles who a few months ago when confronted by a > man sitting in his car with a gun to his head solved this problem by > riddeling his car, surrounding buildings, and a McDonalds playground with > over 100 rounds. > > As soon as I have some more information on this I will post a full report. Their story was that the child had a behavioral problem and the parents refused to get counceling when the school requested. She apparently goes on room smashing temper tantrums on a regular basis. The father of the child said it was the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard of, reportedly. Can't say that changes the situation a heck of a lot though... ____________________________________________________________________ | | | When a man assumes a public trust, he should | | consider himself public property. | | | | Thomas Jefferson | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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One Anthrax suspect released [CNN]
by Jim Choate 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

Forwarded message: > ONE SUSPECT IN ANTHRAX CASE RELEASED FROM CUSTODY > > Leavitt Leavitt February 21, 1998 > Web posted at: 10:08 p.m. EST (0308 GMT) > > LAS VEGAS, Nev. (CNN) -- One of the two men arrested for posession > of what turned out to be non-lethal anthrax was released from > custody Saturday evening. > > William Leavitt Jr., 47, thanked God, his family, law enforcement > officials, a federal magistrate judge and his lawyers for getting > him out of prison on his own recognizance, saying the past three > days have been the "most difficult days of my life." > > Leavitt and Larry Wayne Harris, 46, were arrested Wednesday night > and charged with conspiracy to possess and possession of a > biological agent. > > Leavitt's release came just hours after FBI agents raided the > microbiologist's home north of Las Vegas in search of more evidence. [text deleted] ____________________________________________________________________ | | | When a man assumes a public trust, he should | | consider himself public property. | | | | Thomas Jefferson | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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Re: Pensacola Police have lost their mind!! (fwd)
by Anonymous 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

>Florida is a corporal punishment state where teachers may slap, hit, beat, >paddle, manhandle, and otherwise bully students in their charge, without >parental permission, and "educators" are protected by laws which make even >laying a finger on them a crime comparable with beating an elected >official to a blody pulp. > >So one Florida five year old gets bent out of shape and tries to tear a >school employee to shreds? > >Unremarkable. Exactly. As far as I'm concerned, if the "educators" act physically theatening towards any student then the student is perfectly within his or her rights to beat the living shit out of the "teacher." It's classic. The government has a monopoly on violence, even in schools. If an "educator" beats up a student it's "discipline." If a student beats up another student it's a "boys will be boys" situation which gets a slap on the hand. But a student better not touch an "educator" or all kinds of hell will rain down on them, including expulsion from a facility they have to pay for anyway, and criminal charges. There was a situation much like this in Texas a while back that I heard about. Fuck the screwools.

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S887
by Anonymous 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

Remailer validation. Ignore.

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CDR Breakage?....
by Jim Choate 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

Forwarded message: > Date: 22 Feb 1998 03:31:35 -0000 > From: Secret Squirrel <anon(a)squirrel.owl.de> > Subject: Vile Vial Files > <There appears to be some major breakage in the remailer network somewhere. > Hopefully it'll pass. Apologies if this hits the list more than once.> I've seen something similar a couple of times now. What other kinds of anomolies are you experiencing that indicate a breakdown in the CDR? ____________________________________________________________________ | | | When a man assumes a public trust, he should | | consider himself public property. | | | | Thomas Jefferson | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage(a)ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|

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Vile Vial Files
by Secret Squirrel 22 Feb '98

22 Feb '98

<There appears to be some major breakage in the remailer network somewhere. Hopefully it'll pass. Apologies if this hits the list more than once.> Timothy May wrote: >(One can asssume that with more and more such things being added to the >"watch lists" each year, that there will be less acceptance of cash, or >anonymous digital cash, for such purchases.) I tried to buy some chemicals down here with cash about six months ago. They tried everything they could to get me to write a check and in the end I stormed out of the building, leaving the merchandise on the counter. I haven't been back yet, and there's probably a good chance that the security camera footage was sent to the FBI. Come to think of it, that would explain some rather wierd incidents I've observed since then. People say that the only reason to pay in cash is if you have something to hide. You're damned right. The last thing I want is a bunch of government shills keeping track of what I buy so that they can stage some raid because they have a record of me paying for a beaker "which could be used" to mix chemicals which "could be used" as explosives, or metal "which could be used" to make thermite which "could be used" for some nefarious purpose. In America today if you have interests in biology, chemistry, or physics it is considered grounds by both the government and the pathetic sheep to shoot you. Pardon me if I'm a little bit paranoid these days. It used to be intellectuals were just beat up and made fun of by the others in schools. Now it's fashionable to throw them in jail or kill them. "Unauthorized and illegitimate research:" what a stupid concept. The American people consider anybody who does things in secret to be automatically guilty. Forget the principles that America was founded on! When the government sends the ninjas into your home because you were going 56 mph when you passed a cop on the highway and looked over at him the wrong way they sieze your computer. They find that you're running Linux. Oooh, you must be evil because your computer is password protected but the Microshaft apologist across the hall has his computer wide open. They find that you have blocks of random data on your drive, and even if they don't get them decrypted because they *ARE* blocks of completely random data they wave it in front of a jury and get a guilty verdict. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. >ObMinorNote: I recently tried to buy a bag of ammonium nitrate for my >yard...the local yard store says it hasn't been available to ordinary >customers since OKC. I had to settle for ammonium sulfate instead. It is when I read things like this that I realize how completely stupid the entire government position is. Why do you need to buy ammonium nitrate to make a bomb? Assuming you just don't use something else which is more effective, why not do this? NH OH + HNO --> NH NO + H O 3 3 3 3 2 So this naturally leads to the following question: Is having nitric acid and ammonium hydroxide now a crime worthy of ninjas flying through your windows with big guns in the middle of the night and shooting you because "you looked like you were going for a weapon" when you flushed the toilet and pulled your pants up? Then if they don't have anything to charge you with they plant some drugs in your toilet tank and claim that you were in "possession of drugs with intention to distribute." Of course you were going to distribute them! You had a truck and you frequently drove around! >We live in a dangerous world, full of potentially dangerous substances and >things. Instead of dealing with the danger on a personal basis, we are >using the government as our nanny, and also letting it record our >purchases, open files on us for "unusual" purchases, and generally track >our actions. Which actually won't have much effect on dedicated terrorists >and criminals. Exactly. Welcome to the shakedown extortion police state known as Amerika, Land of the Freeh.

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