December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

The Fallacy of Cracking Contests
by Bruce Schneier 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The Fallacy of Cracking Contests Bruce Schneier You see them all the time: "Company X offers $1,000,000 to anyone who can break through their firewall/crack their algorithm/make a fraudulent transaction using their protocol/do whatever." These are cracking contests, and they're supposed to show how strong and secure the target of the contests are. The logic goes something like this: We offered a prize to break the target, and no one did. This means that the target is secure. It doesn't. Contests are a terrible way to demonstrate security. A product/system/protocol/algorithm that has survived a contest unbroken is not obviously more trustworthy than one that has not been the subject of a contest. The best products/systems/protocols/algorithms available today have not been the subjects of any contests, and probably never will be. Contests generally don't produce useful data. There are three basic reasons why this is so. 1. The contests are generally unfair. Cryptanalysis assumes that the attacker knows everything except the secret. He has access to the algorithms and protocols, the source code, everything. He knows the ciphertext and the plaintext. He may even know something about the key. And a cryptanalytic result can be anything. It can be a complete break: a result that breaks the security in a reasonable amount of time. It can be a theoretical break: a result that doesn't work "operationally," but still shows that the security isn't as good as advertised. It can be anything in between. Most cryptanalysis contests have arbitrary rules. They define what the attacker has to work with, and how a successful break looks. Jaws Technologies provided a ciphertext file and, without explaining how their algorithm worked, offered a prize to anyone who could recover the plaintext. This isn't how real cryptanalysis works; if no one wins the contest, it means nothing. Most contests don't disclose the algorithm. And since most cryptanalysts don't have the skills for reverse-engineering (I find it tedious and boring), they never bother analyzing the systems. This is why COMP128, CMEA, ORYX, the Firewire cipher, the DVD cipher, and the Netscape PRNG were all broken within months of their disclosure (despite the fact that some of them have been widely deployed for many years); once the algorithm is revealed, it's easy to see the flaw, but it might take years before someone bothers to reverse-engineer the algorithm and publish it. Contests don't help. (Of course, the above paragraph does not hold true for the military. There are countless examples successful reverse-engineering--VENONA, PURPLE--in the "real" world. But the academic world doesn't work that way, fortunately or unfortunately.) Unfair contests aren't new. Back in the mid-1980s, the authors of an encryption algorithm called FEAL issued a contest. They provided a ciphertext file, and offered a prize to the first person to recover the plaintext. The algorithm has been repeatedly broken by cryptographers, through differential and then linear cryptanalysis and by other statistical attacks. Everyone agrees that the algorithm was badly flawed. Still, no one won the contest. 2. The analysis is not controlled. Contests are random tests. Do ten people, each working 100 hours to win the contest, count as 1000 hours of analysis? Or did they all try the same things? Are they even competent analysts, or are they just random people who heard about the contest and wanted to try their luck? Just because no one wins a contest doesn't mean the target is secure...it just means that no one won. 3. Contest prizes are rarely good incentives. Cryptanalysis of an algorithm, protocol, or system can be a lot of work. People who are good at it are going to do the work for a variety of reasons--money, prestige, boredom--but trying to win a contest is rarely one of them. Contests are viewed in the community with skepticism: most companies that sponsor contests are not known, and people don't believe that they will judge the results fairly. And trying to win a contest is no sure thing: someone could beat you, leaving you nothing to show for your efforts. Cryptanalysts are much better off analyzing systems where they are being paid for their analysis work, or systems for which they can publish a paper explaining their results. Just look at the economics. Taken at a conservative $125 an hour for a competent cryptanalyst, a $10K prize pays for two weeks of work, not enough time to even dig through the code. A $100K prize might be worth a look, but reverse-engineering the product is boring and that's still not enough time to do a thorough job. A prize of $1M starts to become interesting, but most companies can't afford to offer that. And the cryptanalyst has no guarantee of getting paid: he may not find anything, he may get beaten to the attack and lose out to someone else, or the company might not even pay. Why should a cryptanalyst donate his time (and good name) to the company's publicity campaign? Cryptanalysis contests are generally nothing more than a publicity tool. Sponsoring a contest, even a fair one, is no guarantee that people will analyze the target. Surviving a contest is no guarantee that there are no flaws in the target. The true measure of trustworthiness is how much analysis has been done, not whether there was a contest. And analysis is a slow and painful process. People trust cryptographic algorithms (DES, RSA), protocols (Kerberos), and systems (PGP, IPSec) not because of contests, but because all have been subjected to years (decades, even) of peer review and analysis. And they have been analyzed not because of some elusive prize, but because they were either interesting or widely deployed. The analysis of the fifteen AES candidates is going to take several years. There isn't a prize in the world that's going to make the best cryptanalysts drop what they're doing and examine the offerings of Meganet Corporation or RPK Security Inc., two companies that recently offered cracking prizes. It's much more interesting to find flaws in Java, or Windows NT, or cellular telephone security. The above three reasons are generalizations. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between. The RSA challenges, both their factoring challenges and their symmetric brute-force challenges, are fair and good contests. These contests are successful not because the prize money is an incentive to factor numbers or build brute-force cracking machines, but because researchers are already interested in factoring and brute-force cracking. The contests simply provide a spotlight for what was already an interesting endeavor. The AES contest, although more a competition than a cryptanalysis contest, is also fair Our Twofish cryptanalysis contest offers a $10K prize for the best negative comments on Twofish that aren't written by the authors. There are no arbitrary definitions of what a winning analysis is. There is no ciphertext to break or keys to recover. We are simply rewarding the most successful cryptanalysis research result, whatever it may be and however successful it is (or is not). Again, the contest is fair because 1) the algorithm is completely specified, 2) there are no arbitrary definition of what winning means, and 3) the algorithm is public domain. Contests, if implemented correctly, can provide useful information and reward particular areas of research. But they are not useful metrics to judge security. I can offer $10K to the first person who successfully breaks into my home and steals a book off my shelf. If no one does so before the contest ends, that doesn't mean my home is secure. Maybe no one with any burgling ability heard about my contest. Maybe they were too busy doing other things. Maybe they weren't able to break into my home, but they figured out how to forge the real-estate title to put the property in their name. Maybe they did break into my home, but took a look around and decided to come back when there was something more valuable than a $10,000 prize at stake. The contest proved nothing. Gene Spafford wrote against hacking contests. http://www.itd.nrl.navy.mil/ITD/5540/ieee/cipher/old-issues/issue9602 Matt Blaze has too, but I can't find a good URL. ********************************************************************** Bruce Schneier, President, Counterpane Systems Phone: 612-823-1098 101 E Minnehaha Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55419 Fax: 612-823-1590 Free crypto newsletter. See: http://www.counterpane.com

3 2

Skipjack KEA Errata
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Thanks to Lewis McCarthy some 20 transcription errors have been corrected in the Skipjack Key Exchange Algorithm test vectors, a summary of which is offered at: http://jya.com/kea-errata.htm Original transcriptions of the Skipjack spec have been updated: Matt Curtin's: http://www.interhack.net/pubs/skipjack-kea.tgz (Archive of it all) http://www.interhack.net/pubs/skipjack-kea.ps (Postscript) http://www.interhack.net/pubs/skipjack-kea.tex (LaTeX source) JYA's: http://jya.com/skipjack-spec.htm http://jya.com/skipjack-spec.zip (same, zipped)

1 0

!! Wanted Home Product Assemblers !!
by EquiAly2＠aol.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

*****This is a one time Mailing. You will not receive mail from us again.***** Looking for Home Product Assemblers!! How would you like to Assemble Products at Home & get Paid! Choose your own Hours! Be your own Boss! Easy Work! Excellent Pay! Earn Hundreds of Dollars Weekly! Here are just a few examples of the work you will have to choose from: Wooden Products - up to $220.00 Weekly! Hair Accessories - up to $320.00 Weekly! Holiday Crafts - up to $270.00 Weekly! Beaded Accessories - up to $350.00 Weekly! ........Plus many others. There are over 75 Companies to choose from! Why not enjoy the Benefits and Freedom of Home Assembly Work! To find out more Call.....Toll Free (24 Hour Recording) 1-888-289-9708. U.S. Publishing Co. P.O. Box 633 Rocky Mount NC 27802 Name ___________________________________________ Address ___________________________________________ City & State ___________________________________________

1 0

RE: DoS considered harmful [WAS: RE: Anyone striking?]
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> -----Original Message----- > From: Trei, Peter [mailto:ptrei@securitydynamics.com] > Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 1998 11:23 AM > To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com; cryptography(a)c2.net; dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu > Cc: Trei, Peter > Subject: DoS considered harmful [WAS: RE: Anyone striking?] > > Someone using the name Carlos Gomes [GomesC(a)netsolve.net] > wrote: > > > [...] > > There were several ideas floating around: a) detach > > from the net and from work b) create a signed letter of > > disapproval published to appropriate orgs c) _short_ > > loosely organized burst of DoS against select online > > targets from widely distributed sources. > > > All valid forms of protests (when properly organized > > and executed) all with varying forms of impact and > > visibility. For the record, I think option c) could be > > a valid and effective form of active protest. It is a > > form which has not been used in support of the cpunks' > > agenda (or many agenda's for that matter) to date and > > one that merits a review. > > [...] > > > regards, > > C.G. > > A DoS (Denial of Service) action is a really, really, > really bad idea. > > It's both illegal and counterproductive. It's the sort > of thing I would expect to hear from an 'agent > provocateur' bent on discrediting critics of > government policy, by casting them as malicous hackers. > > We went through this once before. Back when I was > getting the DES challenges going, some one proposed > that the target should be a live bank transaction (I > think in Germany). I argued strenuously against such a > move, and in favor of a specifically created target > This goal was fullfilled when I got RSA to set up and > sponsor the Symmetric Key Challenges. [deletia] Hmm... I agree that Peter's representation of my suggestion would not be a good idea nor would it be productive-- especially in the long run. And his interpretation of my writing was correct given the current understanding of what a DoS is. So let me flesh out a bit what I think option c) above should have said. In my first mail to the list on the strike subject I offered a couple references outlining some possible forms of electronic civil disobedience (ECD). The analogy used in those texts is to a "sit in" or, as explained in other references not mentioned, the activity can be looked at as a large scale letter writing campaign like the ones organized by Amnesty International which are aimed at prison officials holding political dissidents or political prisoners. The idea is to maximize awareness (to the targets as well as mass media) of the protest while minimizing the likelyhood of severe litigation or other punitive action against those involved in the protest. It's basically an indismissible show of dissent in large numbers aimed directly at the source of the dissent. As commonly understood, a DoS (Denial of Service) attack would entail an undisclosed group of hackers and script kiddies attempting to knock out a server/site for as long as possible-- which usually requires that the group be destructive and remaining as anonymous and untrackable as possible. This was _not_ what I had in mind as option c). In an effective ECD campaign you would want to publicize what your agenda is including a listing of possible spokespersons/leaders for negotiation to both the target and the media. You would also want to control the extent of the Disruption of Service (instead of Denial of Service) to somewhere between more than barely being noticed to less than breaking any laws. Example: A public web page is setup with information on the next "sit in" or "log writing campaign" containing the agenda behind the protest, contact persons for more information, target site with explanation of choice, start time and stop time. Let's further that the cause is able to get a couple hundred or couple thousand supporters to, for example, repeatedly telnet to port 80 on the remote server during a specific 5 minute window and type in: GET I do not support your sites views on such and such see www.stop_this_now.org for details. Given the right level of logging on the server you'd quickly fill up the target's logs with a record of the number of people (or actually computers) that don't agree with the target's agenda. In Trei's last copied paragraph he mentioned setting up a dedicated target for the DES challenge. I think a similar scenario would also be an effective tool for ECD for testing support as well as being an alternate site since some target sites could be ominious enough to keep supporters at bay and a guinea pig site with full logging could be used to gather data to present to the media directly instead of to the media through a target site. I'd rather not get into a lengthy arguement about the legality of the above or whether it can be implemented since judging from the result of some of the last calls to protest within this group I don't think this type of action will see a real implementation anytime soon so it's legality and feasibility would be mostly speculation IMHO. I just wanted to clarify what I had in mind as option c) in the original mailing. It's late and there's a bunch of good jazz happening the next two nights at the Mercury Lounge in downtown Austin. The crypto revolution will have to wait for a less festive time of year :-)... waves, C.G. -- the above are my views-- and possibly my views alone :-(

1 0

Yo, Sorry about the delay!
by bullwinkle＠3253137429 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

BOOST YOUR SEX APPEAL AND CHANGE YOUR SOCIAL AND SEX LIFE FOREVER. SCIENCE AND NATURE'S SEXUAL SECRET WEAPON! Scientists have isolated the natural Human male/female Pheromone attractants and they are NOW available to YOU, legally, in the US. ATTRACT THE OPPOSITE SEX LIKE NEVER BEFORE ! IT'S GUARANTEED, or you pay nothing! PHEROMONES in the News! >From the NY Times to the LA Times. USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, 20/20, Hard Copy, Single Living, Medical Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Dateline, Discovery, Hustler, Playboy, Rocky Mountain News, McCalls, Penthouse, Cosmopolitan, BBC-TV, Colordao Telegraph, GQ, Time, Redbook, Fortune Magazine, and more. Radio and Television Stations worldwide. All have reported the scientific findings amidst excitement, controversy, commotion and thrill about pheromones and their potential use. The Press Has Said it Better Than We Can. "PUT IT TO THE TEST" MERIDIAN TV: Sold extensively in the UK, phermomones were tested live on television in the UK, when the unknowing female presenter was VERY ATTRACTED to one of the twin guys, he was wearing "Androstenone Pheromone" but she did not know this, and did not know why she was attracted to him ! US NEWS and WORLD REPORTS "The key to starting a love affair might be right under your nose. Scientists have just announced the discovery of a virtual sixth sense, a tiny organ in the nasal cavity that responds to chemicals known as pheromones. These natural substances are thought to play a role in basic human emotions such as fear, hunger--and love." FORTUNE MAGAZINE: "An imaginative University of Utah anatomist named David L. Berliner was working with substances that occur in human skin. When he left some of the extracts in open vials around the lab, he noticed a sudden, puzzling rise in camaraderie among a previously acrimonious group of researchers working with him. When he changed the extracts a few months later, the group resumed its contentious ways. Berliner froze and saved the extracts. Nearly 30 years later, ... thanks to a method of containing drugs and cosmetics inside tiny, spongelike polymer spheres, he returned to the subject. In 1989 he ... has isolated the suspected good-fellowship pheromones -- behavior-controlling substances similar to those already known to stimulate sexual activity in animals. (One whiff of a pheromone called aphrodisin from a female hamster and a male is ready to mate.) On March 3, 1998 FOX Affiliate, WSVN in Miami did a story on Pheromones, stating, "If you're looking for love, we've got a potion for passion." ... "Tonight, a secret weapon to attract the opposite sex. Researchers developing their own passion potion. Ever been attracted to someone but weren't really sure why? .... More and more research is pointing to chemicals these days.... undetectable chemicals... pheromones ... a clear odorless liquid" Customers Say: "... works as advertised, best product of its' kind" I've always had trouble meeting women-then I tried your product. Now girls come up to me and introduce themselves all the time! I'd like to know if your product is available in a larger quantity so I can make sure I'm never without it! -Dave J I've been driving a tractor trailer for about 6 years and I'm on the road all the time. It's been impossible to meet women until I tried pheromones. Now every truck stop I pull into I meet new women, and many of them ask me out. Thanks! -Tom on the Road Again, WHAT ARE PHEROMONES? Pheromones are a naturally occurring chemical compound found in all insects, all animals, and in humans. When pheromones are secreted they dictate sexual behavior and attract the opposite sex. Be careful. Animal pheromones do NOT attract humans. Have you ever wondered why people who are not particularly attractive seem to attract dates like flies to honey? They seem to have some "chemical attraction" about themselves. Some call it animal magnetism. It may be pheromones. Now you can have that "chemical attraction" whenever you want. PHEROMONES - THE FACTS Pheromones are natural chemicals which play an important role in sexual communication. Animals, including humans release chemicals in tears, saliva and perspiration. These chemicals send signals relating to mood and health to the subconscious awareness. One theory is that the dominant male will exude more of these chemical attractants than a submissive or weaker male. This chemical attracts more females to him. It is similar for woman attracting men. This natural attractant can also contribute to more intense excitement during love making (sexual foreplay and sexual intercourse). Pheromones may also contribute to the dating phrase, "chemical attraction" that we all talk about. WSVN-TV (March 3, 1998) "Ever been attracted to someone but weren't really sure why? .... More and more research is pointing to chemicals these days.... undetectable chemicals... pheromones ... a clear odorless liquid" MORE RESEARCH AND REFERENCES: Following is some research done on products made by our manufacturer, and bottled under a different name. It contains the same pheromone type and content as Hi-Octane http://www.angelfire.com/fl/beaches69/index.html ABOUT OUR PRODUCT: Hi-Octane (tm) .. is made up of PHEROMONES suspended in witch hazel.. This product is designed to be added to your favorite cologne or perfume. .. contains both male and female PHEROMONES. Nature never intended for just one PHEROMONE to be present; but two, male and female. Our manufacturering process uses both PHEROMONES in ALL our products. This will not attract same sex; but works as nature intended, attracting the opposite sex. .. comes in 1/8 oz. Bottle with a small funnel so you can easily pour it into your cologne or perfume. One 1/8 oz. bottle is enough to mix with 4 to 8 oz of your favorite perfume product. Similar pheromone products have been sold for up to $100 elsewhere. We sell the the strongest product on the market today for only $39.95. BUY two -- get one free. The world's largest manufacturer of Pheromones, MC Marble, now manufactures Hi-Octane (tm), a pheromone prodcut that is the "Most Powerful sexual attractant on the Market today." HI_OCTANE is made with two powerful synthesized human pheromones, Alpha-Androstenol and Alpha-Androstenone. HI-OCTANE will attract the opposite sex of the wearer. McCall's magazine writes "...pheromones can improve one's love life, pheromones send out subconscious scent signals to the opposite sex that naturally trigger romantic feelings." HI-OCTANE according to the manufacturer, may also intensify sex, by increasing sexual pleasure and endurance of both partners, and creating a higher sexual ecstasy. Individual results may vary. One private study claims that pheromones don't work for everyone. 75% of those trying it had success. Isn't it worth trying? HOW TO ORDER Hi OctaneTM Hi OctaneTM is available from Euphoria Products. A 1/8 oz. bottle with a convenient funnel (to be added to your favorite perfume) is $39.95. Mix 1/4 of the bottle with every 2 oz of your favorite product. One 1/8 oz. bottle is enough to mix with 4 to 8 oz of your favorite product. *** For a limited time, when you order two bottles (up to a two month's supply) of Hi Octane(tm), you'll get a third bottle ABSOLUTELY FREE. *** Please add $3.00 shipping and handling per order. (regardless of how many bottles you order, you pay only $3.00 total!) UPS Second Day Air Delivery is available for an additional $9.00 per order. Overnight, add $15.00 per order. Florida residents, please add applicable sales tax. For orders from outside of the US only ground shipping is available for $15. Our manufacturing facility offers the STRONGEST pheromones on the market today. Our manufacturing facility assures you that Hi-Octane will be always contain the male and female pheromones, the way nature intended it, to best attract the opposite sex for you. It is and will always be manufactured with the finest ingredients to assure your satisfaction. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Try Hi OctaneTM risk-free. Your satisfaction is unconditionally guaranteed. If you do not find you are meeting and dating and scoring with more people of the opposite sex after using High OctaneTM for 30 days, simply return the unused portion of your order at any time for a full refund--no questions asked. Call 520-453-0303 Extension 202, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week for credit card orders. Have your MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover Card ready and say, " I would like to order ___ bottles of High Octane." If you would like to order by mail, you can send in a check or money order, or credit card information, along with your name and street address (no PO Boxes please) and a day time phone number to: Euphoria Products Dept. 202 1859 No Pine Island Rd. Suite #133 Plantation, FL 33322 The Mailing List that you are being mailed from was filtered against a Global Filter List. If you would like not to recieve any other mailings of this type please call: 1-888-745-6328 F

1 0

No Subject
by news 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Connect Free Newsletter November/December 98 Connect FREE would like to wish all our customers a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year Welcome to Connect Free, and thank you for joining our service, we hope you find our third newsletter informative. September and Octobers Newsletter can be viewed on our web site at the bottom of the FREE Internet page. Connect FREE would like to apologise for Novembers Newsletter not being sent out. We were waiting for the upgrade to the Connect FREE network to be completed and the launch of the new services. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upgrades As mentioned in our last newsletter, Connect FREE has now doubled its network capacity, no more engaged tones and a faster connections to the Internet. We have added another 2MB of bandwidth to our network and twice as many modems and lines. Connect FREE can NOW offer V90 connections and is the first FREE ISP to offer 128K ISDN connections. For 128K ISDN, please dial 0845 662 1406 For V90, please dial 0845 662 1506 For customers that connect through Aardvark the number will be For 128K ISDN, please dial 0845 662 1409 For V90, please dial 0845 662 1509 Connect Free is aiming to be not only the first Internet Service Provider to offer FREE Internet access but also the Best ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- POP 3 & SMTP Mail Connect FREE is proud to announce the launch of it's E-mail Service. Connect FREE customers can NOW receive UNLIMITED POP3 e-mail addresses, individually password protected. Example e-mail address: myname(a)connectfree.co.uk and myname(a)anywhere.connectfree.co.uk Sending emails can only be done via a Connect FREE dialup, however you will be able to receive your mail from any other ISP's dialup account. For your Connect FREE e-mail addresses, please go to http://www.connectfree.net/update Coming shortly, FREE Web space ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changing your Details on Line Connect FREE has designed a web page so you can alter your details on-line, for example change your email addresses and contact details. To update your details and add additional e-mail addresses please go to http://www.connectfree.net/update ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Games Server The Connect FREE Games Server has been upgraded and is better than ever before, it also includes Quake II as well as Quake. Please check out the bulletin board on the Games Web Page for dates on matches. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FREE Software/FTP Web Site Connect FREE has become a mirror site for TUCOWS, which will be available very shortly. What is TUCOWS? TUCOWS is the UK premier FTP web site for FREE PC Internet software, and because Connect FREE users will be able to connect direct to the server at Connect FREE, bypassing the Internet, meaning downloads will be a lot faster then you have ever seen before. The site is also updated on a daily basis, so the latest upgrades are always available. Software available to download includes Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mail packages, FTP software, News hosts. You name it, we got it, and it is all for FREE! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Premium Rate Telephone Technical Support Connect Free has launched it's Premium Rate technical support line on 0890 900 0050, sorry but all calls are charged at 50p per minute. The reason for charging 50p per minute is because the Internet connection is free and we need to cover our overheads and staffing cost for the technical support lines, however we are cheaper than most of our competitors. E-mail technical support is still available, obviously this is only useful when you can connect to the Internet. (Please ensure you include you Login ID with any communication) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- On-line Technical Support If you can connect to the Internet it might be worth while checking out www.connectfree.net/help Connect FREE has designed a very comprehensive technical support web page, which covers a vast amount of topics. Ranging from how to connect and configure Mail, FTP, IRC, CHAT and Browser software to how to design a Web Site and there is some useful tips on solving problems (Well worth a LOOK) Support for MS Windows 3.11 95/98 NT, Apple Mac, and Linux ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Connect FREE Portal Connect FREE are proud to announce the launch of the Connect Free Portal site in association with 2b. A Fantastic site for up-to date News, Weather, Lottery Results, Shopping, Entertainment, Sports and Music. Need a map of any area within the UK, no problem, enter a postcode to receive a map of the area you intend visiting. Searching for a service or where to-go in any area, could not be easier with the Connect FREE Portal. Visit www.connectfree.2b.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FreeServe For all those users out there, who have signed up with FreeServe and would prefer to have the option of which ISP you dial into or maybe have several connections to different ISPs. FreeServe have now decided to offer anyone with a FreeServe connection the ability to uninstall your FreeServe software. Check out http://www.freeserve.net/support/cserve_uninstall.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proxy Server: We are still receiving calls on our help line regarding Proxy server settings. Connect FREE does not currently have a Proxy Server, and if your software is configured to look for one then you will go nowhere. If you find that you can connect to our servers without a problem but then find that when you launch your browser you cannot access any web pages or performance is very slow, then you probably have the Proxy Server setting enabled. To Disable (Win95/98): Control Panel, Internet, and Connection, Un-tick the Proxy Server settings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SantaCalls Wouldn't your child, grandchild, godchild, nephew or niece just love a personal call from Santa this Christmas? In association with the Variety Club we are asking our users to visit their Santa Calls Web site. The idea is that mums and dads can enter the details of their children i.e. names of pets and things they would like for Christmas etc and then Santa actually phones the child and has a chat. The kiddie is totally convinced because Santa is armed with all their details - and who knows little Johnny might just clean that hamster out a bit more often when he knows Santa is watching! Visit Santa Calls at http://www.santacalls.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Improvements Connect Free would like to hear from you, if youhave any suggestions on how we may improve our service, or adding more content to the Connect Free web site. It is Connect Free policy not to send unwanted rubbish by e-mail or junk advertising by any other means. All we ask is that you receive our monthly newsletter informing you of any changes to the service and any new service that may come available which you may benefit from. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact us at info(a)connectfree.net Telephone: 0870 742 1111 (Calls charged at the current national call rate)

1 0

Re: Anyone Striking?
by John Kelsey 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: Perry E. Metzger <perry(a)piermont.com> > To: James Glave <james(a)wired.com> > Cc: Robert Hettinga <rah(a)shipwright.com>; cypherpunks(a)toad.com; cryptography(a)c2.net; dcsb(a)ai.mit.edu > Subject: Re: Anyone Striking? > Date: Monday, December 14, 1998 10:06 AM > James Glave writes: > > Anyone participating in the strike today? I'd like to possibly visit this > > with a news story... > > I find it exceptionally unlikely that many people are participating in > this. Whomever called the thing was not thinking very clearly. You > need at least several weeks notice for such a thing to work, and the > two or three days notice (at most) that was given was way too small. A > strike of this nature might work, but only if someone with political > sense were organizing it. What would be the usefulness of this, anyway? Most of us who know and care about this issue are already working in the field of cryptography or computer security at some level--how will slowing our projects down by a day help our cause? How will refusing to design strong systems that use cryptography send a message to the government that their meddling won't keep us from designing such systems? > Perry --John Kelsey, kelsey(a)counterpane.com / kelsey(a)plnet.net NEW PGP print = 5D91 6F57 2646 83F9 6D7F 9C87 886D 88AF

1 0

Easy Money $$ <<Work At Home Jobs>> Stuffing Envelopes: $3 Per Envelope, Guaranteed!
by bob＠usa.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Read how you can earn $3 for each envelope that you fill with my sales materials from your own comfortable home- 100% Totally Guaranteed!! <<<< STUFF 1000 ENVELOPES AND GET PAID $3000! >>>> "If you stuff 1000 envelopes with our sales materials, you are guaranteed to be paid $3000 in cash" Hello Friend and Job seeker, Are you looking to be your own boss, interested in creating and controlling your own work hours/schedule, and working from your comfortable home? How about making more money in a week than you currently make in a month? Do you want to stop struggling for the low wages you are currently earning? Can you find the time to put our sales materials in 1000 envelopes and make $3000 in cash? How about 2000 envelopes for $6000 in cash? (you decide as there is no limit: we want to send out our materials continuously and abundantly) If you have answered yes to any of these questions... Let me be the first to welcome you to BETTER SOLUTIONS. My name is Andrew Devore, President of Better Solutions. I have perfected a method that allows you to earn $3 per envelope that you stuff with my sales materials. And for a limited time, I am seeking out people just like you who wish to have more financial security, greater amounts of spending money, an improved standard of living, and a desire to work at home. <<An Explanation of Why I Need your Assistance.>> We would like to mail our offers out to hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. And if we have home workers handle the jobs of stuffing and mailing, we save big money on overhead, extra office spaces, and having to hire more staff. THIS SYSTEM IS UNBELIEVABLY EASY TO USE: Absolutely anyone can do this. You can be young or old, with or without a college degree. You do not need any special training or even a high school diploma. It also doesnt matter where you live. I am not kidding, it is really that simple. And the greatest news of all, there is no limit on how many envelopes you want to stuff. If you stuff 300 envelopes, you will get paid $900 cash! If you stuff 1000 envelopes, you will be paid $3000 cash. You just need to follow word for word my straight-forward instructions and you will get paid...every single time...Guaranteed! My method will even show you how to get the envelopes with the addresses and stamps already on them. This means, no addressing of envelopes or licking of stamps is required! Simply fill the envelopes with my sales materials, put them in the mail box and youll get $3 for every single one...Guaranteed! I have taken the measures to make things as simple and easy as possible for you. DON'T RISK MISSING OUT! I am seeking a limited number of home workers, and I will stop accepting orders as soon as I get enough home workers in your area. To avoid losing out on the chance to be one of our home workers, order your "$3 per Enveloped System". The cost of this system is only $55. Included is everything you need to start making money immediately with easy step by step instructions and supplies to get you started. And remember, after stuffing only 21 envelopes youll have earned more than your investment back. 45 Day Money Back Guarantee!!! You have a full 45 days (that is six weeks) to use the "$3 dollar per envelope system". If you have not realized the money making potential of this system within this time, simply return the materials and youll receive an immediate refund...no questions asked!! Sincerely, Andrew W. Devore, President Better Solutions Important note: There are two choices before you. You can place this letter in your pile of junk mail and return to the same old routine. Or you can order my system to solve all your money problems starting immediately! We both know that procrastination never leads to any kind of success. So, if you are serious about making money from home, order my system within 10 days and I'LL GIVE YOU 50% OFF. This means youll get the "$3 per envelope system" for only $27.50 (instead of the regular $55). To qualify for this special discount, you must order within 10 days. Please fill out the 50% Risk-Free Order Form and mail it in now. Dont put it off. Just do it! ----------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT OUT THE FORM BELOW ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you are signing-up within 10 days, your cost is only $27.50. If not, please fill out this form and enclose the regular $55. Welcome aboard!! Please mail payment to: Better Solutions 2065 Rodney Dr. Suite 105 Dept.410 LA CA 90027 *50% OFF RISK-FREE ORDER FORM* First Name________________Last Name __________________________ Mailing Address____________________________________________________ City______________________________State______Zip_________________ Phone ( ) _____________Email Address_________________ Where You Read About Better Solutions?____________ $ Amt. Enclosed?____________ (Circle One)Paying by: Check Money Order Credit Card (WE ACCEPT Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express) Type of card (e.g.Visa)_________________Card#______________________________ Expiration Date________________$ Amount(Circle One)? $55 $27.50 I am legally authorized to make purchases using this card. After the 45 day guarantee, I forfeit my right to chargeback and request a reversal of charges for this credit card purchase. Signature___________________________Date_________________________ Please Note: If you pay by money order, your order will be processed immediately and sent out the next day. We wait for all checks to clear so there will be a 7-14 day delay on your order being processed. Credit cards clear faster than checks but slower than money orders. If you are paying by credit card, all the information must be there for order to be processed!

1 0

How to Win!!
by Della7079＠aol.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

LUCKY SLOTS!! HOW TO BEAT THE CASINO BANDITS Dear Thrill Seeker, Everybody loves to play the slots. But just about everybody LOSES when they play the slots. This book has news for you. SLOT MACHINES CAN BE BEATEN!! You can now "disarm" the Bandits! Here's a book that gives you all the necessary tips, strategies and techniques you need to boost your winnings by 100%-AND MORE. Here under one cover you are given the hard rules for overcoming the bandits, rules that you'll be able to employ now- IMMEDIATELY! You will learn all you need to know about slots, so much so that you will win and win and win! Pick machines that yield the biggest wins make adjustments to conserve your bankroll quit before your hot streak fades learn how casino slots are set how odds are calculated locations of "loose" & "tight" machines locating casinos where winning is easier. IMAGINEI Thousands of slot machines at your disposal just waiting to be plucked. Machines with jackpots of $50,000, $100,000, yes, even a MILLION dollars, sitting there ready to unload their booty. One thing is for sure. You must have some Ape of edge to win at the slot This great book will give you that edge. So buy it, take it with you to the casinos and . . . THE NEXT PULL OF THE HANDLE COULD MAKE YOU A MILLIONAIRE!!! FEATURING 1. SLOTS SLANG 2. TYPES OF SLOTS 3. HOW TO PLAY SLOTS 4. VIGORISH 5. SLOTS AND PERCENTAGES 6. MONEY MANAGEMENT 7. SLOT MATHEMATICS 8. MACHINE CYCLES 9. THE SLOT FLOOR 10. MECHANICAL PROBLEMS 11. RESERVING THE MACHINE 12. SYSTEMS 13. ALL ABOUT JACKPOTS 14. CHOOSING YOUR SLOT 15. PULLING THE HANDLE 16. AMATEURS AND EXPERTS 17. AND MUCH, MUCH MORE! ACT NOW! 30 DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE "For over 20 years I've played the slots as a lark. After reading your book I play for one reason- TO WIN! And that's just what I'm doing. Who said the bandits can't be beaten!!" J. Bresnahan San Diego, CA IT'S EASY TO ORDER! Simply Print Out This Form, Fill Out & Mail Today. YES! I want To Beat the One Arm Bandit please RUSH! Enclosed is my: Check _____ Cash ____ Money Order ____ for $10.00 (Outside of U.S.A. add $5.00 for shipping & handling) Name: _________________________________ Address: _______________________________ City _____________ State_______ Zip_________ E-mail Address: _____________________________ Phone # _________________ MAIL TODAY: GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION P.O BOX 7247 GARDEN CITY, NY 11795 U.S.A.

1 0

FW: Information about Algorithmic hash
by Shrinidhi 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi all, Can any one tell where can I find info about Algorithmic hash

1 0