December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Wei Dei's "b-money" protocol
by Dave Birch 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Wei Dai said >However if it did become mainstream I think there are some >interesting macroeconomic questions here. Will prices really be stable as >they're designed to be? Will there be business cycles? What is the optimum >inflation/deflation rate? Perhaps a solution is to fix not on a basket of commodities, or equities, but on provision of future service (much like Frequent Flier miles). Suppose the money is demoninated in Mb of web hosting (I've no idea whether this would be a good choice as I just made it up). Then you know you'll get what you want in terms of service, irrespective of the inflation/deflation. Sure, if web space inflates against the dollar then that's a problem (for people with dollars). But suppose you could accumulate the things that you actually want rather than specie (as a proxy)? Consider this as a thought experiment. Microsoft issue m$, each m$ being worth 1 minute of Microsoft technical support. People who need Microsoft technical support would buy m$ (big companies would know roughly how much they might need) whereas people who don't need or want it would sell m$. Instead of storing up dollars, the value of which might fluctuate (especially since Microsoft could change the price of technical support whenever they want), companies now have a firm fix. Just an idea. Regards, Dave Birch. === mailto:daveb@hyperion.co.uk ===== http://www.hyperion.co.uk/ ===

1 0

Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Ber
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I think Arnold Reinhold has the right idea, 100% - only post plain-English versions of algorithms. To paraphrase: "Banning plain-English instructions for building your own crypto software will require the starkest abridgement of the First Amendment." Force their hand. Make them spell it out in the harshest black and white. It is the only way to get the clueless sheeple to figure out what it really going on. Jim Choate is also right. Empower _everyone_ to write their own code, regardless of mathematical skill. Spell it out so simply that people with access to only BASIC can do it in their living room while watching TV. Yeah, so we appeal to "the lowest common denomiator." Face it, that's 95% of the population, and we have to get them on our side. Jim Choate wrote: > > Forwarded message: > > > Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 10:41:33 -0500 > > From: John Young <jya(a)pipeline.com> > > Subject: Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Ber > > > Yes, Gilmore's proposal was to mirror the contents; URLs threaten > > no reg-makers. > > > > Yep, mirrors of everything would be very large. We've heard already > > that folks would like help in knowing what to mirror if they can't do > > large archives, or can't easily decide which are most important. > > [text deleted] > > > What would help is a list from experts on what are the most gov-enraging > > programs. We'd like to offer a few of those on jya.com, to test BXA's up-and- > > running crypto-enforcement program, maybe get some jail and trial pleasure, > > it's been too quiet on Bernstein, Junger, Karn, et al, a deliberate gov-stall, > > awaiting Wassenaar. > > Besides enraging, it should also include the necessary documents, > monographs, libraries, etc. to empower others to write the code within their > own legal boundaries. > > If somebody makes the effort to compile such a list I'd like to personaly > request they include this in addition to finished product. > > ____________________________________________________________________ > > If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me > in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, > it is: bullying > Howard Zinn > > The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate > Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com > www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 > -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- > --------------------------------------------------------------------

1 0

Web Hosting Providers in Many Countries? For crypto archives.
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

John Gilmore has proposed setting up crypto archives in many countries to avoid Wassenaar restriction problems. Does anybody have a good source for information on web hosting providers or other ISPs in a variety of countries around the world? Shell accounts are nicer, because it's easier to create servers that check where the request is coming from, for countries that insist you only provide access to their citizens but still allow you to do that on a web site. The US doesn't appear to have strictly defined legal requirements for such sites (YET) and places like MIT have gotten quite flexible about it. Also, are there any good sources of relatively private VISA credit cards, preferably outside the US, that can be used to rent computer accounts with? There are other crypto distribution methods that, while slower, are still legal from the US - censoring printed books embarasses them a bit still, though some other countries don't have the same squeamishness even though they may be less interested in banning the material. Printing PGP source books was annoying, but a week's delay in shipping few-page crypto subroutines isn't that serious, especially if it's in a scanner-friendly format. Any guess how the various countries feel about faxes of source code? And, of course, shipping or even selling source for 40-bit RC4 and 512-bit RSA is pretty simple, even if you don't include the note "WARNING: DO NOT CHANGE THE #define KEYLENGTH TO 128 OR THE #define MODULUSLENGTH TO 2048 AND RECOMPILE" Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, bill.stewart(a)pobox.com PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639

2 1

Lecture Notes in Computer Science - free online Access
by Nobody 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This Mail contains user ID and password! ------------------------------------------------------------ User ID: lncs password: uid387xf ------------------------------------------------------------ Please keep in mind that: - you agreed to keep these confidential - systematic download is not permitted! ------------------------------------------------------------ Your personal data as used in the registration form: Surname: cypherpunks Christian name: cypherpunks Institution/Company: cypherpunks Department: cypherpunks Streat/POBox: 101 cypherpunks drive City: cypherpunks Post Code: 00000 Country Code: BOLI Phone: FAX: LINK Number: ------------------------------------------------------------ from: link.springer.de/Lecture Notes in Computer Science

2 1

ACT NOW!!! Web Site Submission
by harmike＠discruise.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

*************************HOLIDAY SPECIAL *********************** Web Site Submission. Let the professionals Submit your Site. Special ends DECEMBER 31. If your page qualifies and you are willing to make {in most cases] minor changes to your page for submission then Type "SUBMIT" in the subject field. And leave your name, web address and or phone number and the best time to contact you. Submissions include the following. 1. If you QUALIFY, top 30 position, Goal is the top 10 2. Over 300 submission to advertising agencies 3. Submission to over 400 search engines 4 Submissions to top 100 Free for all links [FFA] 5. Reports on submission till your page is ranked This one time special is for people that have tried to submit there site and have not been able to get ranked. If you have a site and have not yet submitted it please try this first and Save yourself money. If you have tried before and just can't get your page listed then we can help you. We know what it takes to get to the top. ACT NOW!!!! For only 49.95.......Remember your page has to Qualify first so please forward your address znd or phone number so we can view your page. Thank You, Michael Hargrove Preferred Enterprises Advertise Agency/Search Engine Research Specialist

1 0

Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built BerlinWalls
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text To: John Young <jya(a)pipeline.com> Cc: cryptography(a)c2.net, John Gilmore <gnu(a)toad.com> Subject: Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin Walls Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 19:36:23 -0500 From: Dan Geer <geer(a)world.std.com> Sender: owner-cryptography(a)c2.net Tradeoff time. ==== Q: Is it better for the providers of crypto resources to alarm/log accesses to their websites or not? I'd strongly argue not; Team Despot will disguise itself and we are surveilled as we speak; Team Legion loses if it creates targets for harvesting. ==== Q: Is coordinated integrity control (code signing) a Good Thing? I'd weakly argue not; The absence of a coordinated signing strategy does not preclude verification so avoiding common-mode fraud, e.g., long-running denial of service attacks on the central signing agent, seems advantageous. Alternative argument; Integrity of crypto code can be signed via quorumed split-key means so that no single actor fraud is effective yet only the minimum quorum need be online at any given time; this has the advantage that a completed split-key signature cannot be attributed to which quorum subset made it yet is verifiable by ordinary client means once complete. Since intermediate (partial signing) results do not leak fragment holder identity, quorum members can indirectly communicate through commonly held dead-drops. ==== Q: Should requestors routinely avoid surveilled identification? I'd argue strongly for: We, Team Legion, must commit to a cell organization with pseudonymity coverage such as through the "Crowds" system; to avoid any one of us being guilty we must all be. ==== Getting the problem statement right for this endeavor is the most important thing we have left to do. If the above sample is misguided, say so. To the extent it is incomplete, fix it. If one of us goes off the air, step into their place. It is time for us to walk the fine line between undue paranoia and a heightened state of awareness. --dan --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)philodox.com> Philodox Financial Technology Evangelism <http://www.philodox.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

1 0

Between our..
by Pete 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

****************** InterScan Message (on ns0) noname scanned and no virus found ********************************************************* NO TRICKS - IT'S FREE! Process all major credit cards on your web site. NO MONTHLY COSTS, NO TRANSACTION FEES. CHECK IT OUT. You get: - Virtual Terminal for phone/fax/mail orders - Email receipt - Recurring billing feature - Password generation for membership sites - Automatic batch closing - Address Verification Service (AVS) - Backoffice to access account history - Remote mode - Interface for all major shopping carts - Installation included For our free information package just reply to: mailto:yetr@iname.com?subject=more_info If you are interested in becoming an authorized agent please reply to: mailto:yetr@iname.com?subject=agent If you wish to be removed from our mailing list please reply to: mailto:grekk2@hotbot.com?subject=remove

1 0

No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I think setting up mirror sites of crypto archives across the world is a great idea. However, I also think we need to focus on getting more and more people to use crypto. I would guess that the vast majority of computer users worldwide see no use for encryption in their day-to-day lives -- and even those that do don't also use it. If everybody in the world is using encryption, it is going to be extremely difficult for "democratic" governments to tell them they can't use it any more. Unfortunately, it's easy for governments to blame crypto for terrorism and a host of other crimes, simply because the average citizen doesn't understand the concept of an "electronic envelope".

1 0

Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin Walls (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 13:59:20 +0100 > From: Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen(a)stud.uni-muenchen.de> > Subject: Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin Walls (fwd) > I don't see why you have to pose such severe selection criteria. Because those are the issues that will determine success. > As long as a number of countries don't yet have export regulations, Which doesn't mean they won't hassle the operators with various techniques in order to pursuade them it's a bad idea to continue. > If the 'economies', 'infrastructure' 'religon' and what not of the > countries do not (yet) affect crypto laws, why care about them? If They effect crypto by defintion. > at a later point of time some of these countries do have crypto laws, If they don't have crypto laws it's likely they don't have a lot of other sorts of laws and the social and economic structure those laws imply. This makes it very difficult to operate a archive with any sort of stability or protection. > well, simply close down the archive there and let the sites in the And what about the costs and effects incurred by that person you so glibly throw away? > Much more important is to discuss how to solve the finacial problem There is NO financial problem. It costs hundreds of dollars to purchase the hardware. The connectivity is less than $100 a month in most parts of the world. It simply isn't expensive or economicaly challenging. That ISN'T the problem and should recieve scant attention while these other issues are extant. Bottem line, if you can't afford to put up a box then you're not going to be able to afford to deal with the other issues such activities incur mainly because you're going to be too busy trying to pay your housing and food costs. In that situation you've better things to do with your time then run an archive site. ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- -------------------------------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

2 1

Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin (fwd)
by Jim Choate 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded message: > Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 07:33:32 -0500 > From: Robert Hettinga <rah(a)shipwright.com> > Subject: Re: Building crypto archives worldwide to foil US-built Berlin > Walls > ==== > > Q: Is it better for the providers of crypto resources to alarm/log > accesses to their websites or not? > > I'd strongly argue not; > Team Despot will disguise itself and we are surveilled as we speak; > Team Legion loses if it creates targets for harvesting. > > ==== >From a security standpoint it is advised to log access and all resource use for about 4-5 days so you can get a sample big enough to look for under_the_radar_hacking. On the flip side you don't want to keep them longer than that because they could be used in an incriminating manner, whether an actual criminal act occured or not. I use the default buffer time (4 days) for my mail package as my ttl value. Once that time is past the files are bye bye. If the security of the site is compromised then it's pretty worthless as an archive. > Q: Is coordinated integrity control (code signing) a Good Thing? > > I'd weakly argue not; > Alternative argument; > ==== The code shouldn't be signed by any of the archive sites, they shouldn't put their butts on the line. The code should be signed by the originators of same. This verifies that ALL the archive sites have the same package and not individualy modified ones. The archive sites should provide some sort of hash to verify successful transfers. > Q: Should requestors routinely avoid surveilled identification? > ==== There isn't any way around this one. If the site is up and it's advertised and publicly accessible then expect to be identified. Either the owner of the domain/network resources you're using or your registration to the relevant domain name authorities will provide ample pointers. Of course there is the strategy of registering the domain for a year only and then each year register a new one. Then you could provide bogus address and owner information. This of course won't slow a packet sniffer down for long. Onion and CROWDS won't help here unless you're connected directly to the anonymizer. If you're that close they'll find you by following the wires. > it. If one of us goes off the air, step into > their place. You so glibly throw people away...it's better to fix a system such that there is a legal ramification (ie resistance) for the LEA's applying the pressure; a fight in court. Beside shutting the sites down another primary goal of LEA's is to keep the conflict off the evening news. There is ample evidence of LEA's dropping charges because the group made it known they were going to use their day in court as a platform for espousing their agenda. ____________________________________________________________________ If I can put in one word what has always infuriated me in any person, any group, any movement, or any nation, it is: bullying Howard Zinn The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage(a)ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------

1 0