December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Source Level
by Greg - Kucharo 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Eric, In your idea to give usenet users a chance to have competing moderated groups with unmoderated ones.Don't you think that the large numbers who want a moderated group will kill all demand for the unmoderated ones?Then we would be left with only moderated groups,who grated would have more signal to noise but less lively debate.People post so much to groups because they know they can in a free manner,moderation would slow the onslaught of banal posts and plenty of posts from folks who think thier ideas too wild for the moderator.Remember the root of moderator is moderate.As in,"This food is moderately good." Greg. kryten(a)shell.portal.com "This space available"

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STEALTH OCEANS
by Gary Jeffers 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

note: This letter is composed of 2 different ideas: FIRST GREAT IDEA & SECOND GREAT IDEA. Firstly, congratulations to the cypherpunks that are realizing that strong civilian crypt needs "stealth". For some time I have thought that a crypt file with a crypt header on it was like saying "yes, I am in contempt for refusing to give a password" or "yes, I do require surveillance". A crypt file should look like random bits. The only problem is that files of random bits are not usual & might look a little suspicious. The cypherpunk needs to be able to deny having crypt files even if he is found with random bite files. So how do we do that? Then an idea came into my head! Why not make random bit files rather popular? Then, we would be like stealth fish swimming in stealth oceans. So, how do we make these files popular? Some may find the following ideas foolish. Others may find them unethical. Still others may find them both foolish & unethical. 1. Write a "wipe" program & put it in the public domain. The wipe program uses md-5 to generate random numbers over the user file & then delete the file. A very nice wipe program. However a bug is put into the program: a random number generator is used to decide that in a small number of cases, the new random number file is not deleted! This would leave around a lot of random number files if the program were to become popular. 2. Modify existing programs to generate random number files on occasion. Programs to be found on boards; loose diskettes; etc.. 3. Viruses that generate small numbers of random number files per disk partition or diskette. 4. send random files anonymously over the internet. 5. think up some of your own. note: in all the above, the file lengths should vary randomly & should be well tuned to avoid extremes. SECOND GREAT IDEA (self extracting encrypt/decrypt programs) (when an encryption program is itself an embarrassment.) A self extracting encrypt/decrypt program. That is,like, change PGP so that it looks like a random number file. But with a few cycles would start to unravel itself. Suggestion: 2 "random Number" files that when XOR'ed yields PGP. Probably nothing quite this bare bones & simple. Although something this simple could save your ass if your interrogators were technically unsophisticated, lazy, short of time or short of investigation funds. To do this very nicely would mean some tricky programming & would make the reputation of the programmer/ cypherpunk who did it. IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not a lawyer & do not know the law. In no case do I advocate breaking any law. I see that great idea first may be of questionable legal value. The cypherpunk is urged to consult with local, state, & federal authorities before pursuing these suggestions. Admittedly, that idea could also just be dumb & improper. Think about it. I heap big blessings on the heads of my fellow cypherpunks. Yours truly, Gary Jeffers

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Re: Enuf is enuf!
by walter kehowski 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I use NeXTmail so I just sort (by subject, name, or use the finder) for detweiler and put everything involving him in my ---JUNK---.mbox. I trash my ---JUNK---.mbox periodically. Solves that problem. However, maybe ignoring detweiler would be the best thing to do. Walter A. Kehowski <wak(a)next0.math.pitt.edu>

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REAL WORLD ENCRYPTION
by Sandy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, Here are some more digital banking thoughts for you to chew on. DEPOSIT INSURANCE--Private, Lloyds-type deposit insurance is readily available internationally. We will have such private insurance. In addition to guidelines mandated by our insurer, we will also be under the regulatory oversight of the jurisdictions in which we operate. Finally, an more importantly, we will operate under very conservative internal policy constrains and will maintain extremely high reserves to avoid problems in the first place. Stay tuned. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQCVAgUBLWQ53U5ULTXct1IzAQH0vgQAmEbjA7Gtu0f/4vGolhdGkI5pQ+bswBbS PY36O78/zYXPgU1pW7qC6ztmVrsjS//+WBjkAGCnyzp0VQAnMHlEuSZ6vhMVQZ22 diXysLI80VEjPFnb2skvQHaFNp1e38rlk0WPE2rTi6MGIYor2+G5/gcAtd8gDixA wyMqL4oFlio= =Djs0 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Pen recorders and phone records
by Hal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I have read that if the police want to know who a person communicates with on the telephone, they can arrange to have a "pen recorder" put on their phone line. This will record all phone numbers called from that line. Supposedly the legal barriers to this type of surveillance are much less than for a phone tap. I am confused about the necessity for this if the phone companies routinely record this information anyway. Is this just an archaic and obsolete terminology, and what really happens is that the phone company will give already-existing phone records to authorized officials? Thanks - Hal

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remailers going down
by Eric Hollander 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- the remailers pmantis.berkeley.edu and cicada.berkeley.edu are going to be phased out. too much garbage has gone through them, and it has caused too many complaints, and these are bio research machines, so that's not what they're for anyway. i will leave the software running on them for a while longer, but please stop using them. 00x@uclink has been shut down. the sysadmin on uclink set it up so that no user may have executable files in his account. this meant that it didn't work, so for a while i was just forwarding it to soda, which then remailed, but i just shut it down because the account is going away soon anyway. soda.berkeley.edu is still up and running strong, and it will be for the indefinite future. also, a new alias-based, pgp-encrypted remailer is coming on line soon. in fact, parts of the code are already in testing. the code will be quite portable and relatively easy to install. when it is completed, hopefully other people will set up alias remailers from their accounts. e -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQBVAgUBLWQX+5SNMq4JDJ1TAQE8WgH7Bz3yPyBQ03Q3SAzTH6diMLB68JOsGMSP 7nNo1LOupPpUM8r0hAeLo9DWx23y92HlCjSmtwW//pEIIP/ef3XRRw== =DHV3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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REAL WORLD ENCRYPTION
by Sandy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, Boy, am I glad I started the REAL WORLD ENCRYPTION thread. The responses I *didn't* expect were, of course, the most useful. Some of your assumptions and thoughts really took me by surprise. As a result, I will be posting a few follow-up messages to clarify some of the concepts my digital bank compatriots and I expect to implement in our bank project. DIGITAL MONEY--One of the assumptions many of you made, was that "digital money" is some sort of replacement for national currencies. It is not. As Eric Hughes indicated in his recent post, digital money (or "cryptocash" as Eric said it) is transactional money. It's just a way of moving money. I think it was a misunderstanding of this point that lead someone to ask if separate digital banks would offer "different digital money." When other digital banks open their doors, we will negotiate procedures to clear inter-bank digital transactions. This would be done much in the same way that banks now accept each others' checks. procedures. In addition, We have plans for an even more imaginative solution to this issue. I will address some other topics in subsequent posts. S a n d y P.S. For the time being, please send UNencrypted private e-mail to my CRL address (sandfort(a)crl.com) Please send PGP encrypted private e-mail to my AT&T address (ssandfort(a)attmail.com) -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.2 mQCNAisarBkAAAEEAMPHv7QMAR2Ulp55v7MhN1eif09AX2dfgAF4OtOrssSn7s07 dzuXHWN0L6W3XnwbtCxsJxynffwwUQ9FAheNdifNFqIXwO1QGPvlKJEcwTCrzE1f Jonqzzm0/z8zop4mfpsEPKOwwNCLHqIRRjAV3N2KJkVJlLvSeU5ULTXct1IzAAUR tCZTYW5keSBTYW5kZm9ydCA8U1NBTkRGT1JUQEFUVE1BSUwuQ09NPokAlQIFECui Vvvidd4O/2f3CwEBIIED/2yn8/BatDmefA48EEwa3emgj5hSzpWvvYPlf2LLdBEk FFMKRG1QF9tgZddwfaFWDUMC+9pOYWCzbq3ssTRqMsCDKPOvn5pf4plxHvHcVgZO 9bJ8B8xjkeZpwN5TNF2bldm6RvmiAoNG5A+B6keBnX3bTyxd/b7xXHKw57mvNjGj =NY1q -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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REAL WORLD ENCRYPTION
by Sandy 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, Here is a further explanation how a digital bank would work in practice. REAL WORLD INTERFACE--Several of you expressed concern that digital money could *only* be spent in "cyberspace" or would otherwise be largely unavailable to you. Not so. Through the use of bank issued debit and ATM cards, you could access their account funds anonymously, in local currency, from cash machines throughout the world. In addition, we will offer our clients other services which will allow them to "end run" around the need for cash. What is a "debit" card? It is just like a credit card, except that it is used to debit your bank account immediately rather than extend you credit--at interest--for later repayment. They are issued by Mastercard, Visa and other card companies. They look, and are used, just like a regular credit card. They are anonymous because there use creates no audit trail pointing to you. Further, the bank will keep its records in a jurisdiction that protects the privacy of such business records. For the truly paranoid, the bank will issue corporate debit cards. More, later. S a n d y P.S. Please send UNencrypted private e-mail to my CRL address (sandfort(a)crl.com) Please send PGP encrypted private e-mail to my AT&T address (ssandfort(a)attmail.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQCVAgUBLWQoxk5ULTXct1IzAQGcCQP/ZjsLozNR+GNqlGHYgHIygyuivMWeQxci ws0GniW8874uKgjN+80VN0puKU7jxp+gm508ibpzQPSMRPKKO4TwD8KchyVFsuoK F1CGD05L8elJzfSPxqI+JJUPh4aulK4+RbxXHzST4UKlVSjx1cPbvp+I7EvlUVKx LiDwWNQQsTQ= =auoN -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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The White House (fwd)
by Robert A. Hayden 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Forwarded from Gaynet, original author removed, to prevent outing someone by accident - ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 17:40:14 -0800 From: XXXXXX(a)xxxxx.xxxxxxx To: gaynet(a)queernet.org Cc: gaynet(a)queernet.org Subject: The White House The White House now has some files available for anonymous FTP & via e-mail. To get instructions on how to use the service send an e-mail to: publications(a)whitehouse.gov put the words "Send Info" (no quotes) in the body of the e-mail. You can get transcripts of speeches, etc. Searching on the topic "gay" I found three entries. All about gays in the military. BTW, if you want to e-mail Clinton send e-mail to president(a)whitehouse.gov. Let's get our foot in his electronic door. - -------------------------------------------- I know some of the is unrelated, but the fact that the whitehouse has stuff available may be relevant. I haven't used it yet to see what there is about clipper and the like. ____ Robert A. Hayden <=> hayden(a)krypton.mankato.msus.edu \ /__ -=-=-=-=- <=> -=-=-=-=- \/ / Finger for Geek Code Info <=> In the United States, they \/ Finger for PGP 2.3a Public Key <=> first came for us in Colorado... - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- (GEEK CODE 1.0.1) GAT d- -p+(---) c++(++++) l++ u++ e+/* m++(*)@ s-/++ n-(---) h+(*) f+ g+ w++ t++ r++ y+(*) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.3a iQCVAgUBLWQtfJ3BsrEqkf9NAQEpQQP/TVnAUjQsARBTJlvpESkj/GobS6TDOMr8 4nsmUczree4S/dbthH7l9SzLKyeelqjhy3k7O2nSTdIECfXJ9UWOzeEB2fBFSud+ xumgMYJrwJh8zH3udmkBk4ex4muw363vN/Bud1UJzUsSChLfHM/zQTuUKTDa+k4P AmEP3H/b9t4= =yW4Z -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: The Difficulty of Source Level Blocking
by an57322＠anon.penet.fi 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Eric wrote: >>One problem that hasn't been addressed is the social one: how do people >>choose moderators? > >I'm not convinced this needs to be decided up front. For the first >such group, whoever hosts the ratings site can decide who gets to >moderate. A benign autocrat is ideal in this case. That may be true, but the benign autocrat of today will all too soon be replaced by a not-at-all-so-benign fascist, who then has the power to keep critical post of the net "for the common good". Just say NO to Usenet moderation. -=T.A.Z. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help(a)anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin(a)anon.penet.fi.

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