December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: What remains to be done.
by Deranged Mutant 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Another need is for file/disk-encryption utilities. I'm not familiar with what's out there for Macs, but for PCs there's SFS and ASPICRYP for SCSI drives (with no source!) and SFS, SecureDrive and SecureDevice for HD (or FD). The latter won't work on Win95. AFAIK, SFS and SecureDrive aren't 100% friendly with Win95 either, though they'll work. There's a need for something that will work under Win95, WinNT, and/or OS/2 for encrypting partitions. Aside from a few commercial or shareware apps which use some variant of DES, there's little out there. (One problem is that DD kits for Win95/NT and OS/2 cost $$$.) Rob. --- No-frills sig. Befriend my mail filter by sending a message with the subject "send help" Key-ID: 5D3F2E99 1996/04/22 wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com (root@magneto) AB1F4831 1993/05/10 Deranged Mutant <wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com> Send a message with the subject "send pgp-key" for a copy of my key.

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Re: SAFE forum -- remarks of Herb Lin
by Herb Lin 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

You're entitled to any spin you wish (see your [...] below). But my original intent was to say the part about "and it is" in any event; unfortunately, the audience started snickering before I got to it. In the future, I will say "Crime prevention ought to be, and is, a part of the FBI's mission", thereby pre-empting premature snickering by an audience pre-disposed to be unfriendly or derisive to law enforcement. Begin personal comment from herb: The "overview and recommendations" document summarizing the report notes that "Input from [..] diverse sources demonstrated to the committee a considerable amount of confrontation and disconnect between interest groups (e.g., information technology vendors, businesses, law enforcement, private individuals, national security) that fail to understand or appreciate the validity of each other's policy needs and interests with respect to cryptography. . . . Public debate based on hyperbole is unproductive. All of the stakes described above -- privacy for individuals, protection of sensitive or proprietary information for businesses, ensuring the continuing reliability and integrity of nationally critical information systems and networks, law enforcement access to stored and communicated information for purposes of investigating and prosecuting crime, and national security access to information stored or communicated by foreign powers or other entities and organizations whose interests and intentions are relevant to the national security and the foreign policy interests of the United Statesare legitimate; informed public discussion of the issues must begin by acknowledging the legitimacy both of information security for law-abiding individuals and businesses and of information gathering for law enforcement and national security purposes." My experience with the FBI and other law enforcement officials is that they are honorable people trying to do a very hard job. You may disagree with them on policy grounds -- indeed, the NRC report does disagree with the Administration in certain important ways -- but in my personal opinion, law enforcement deserves credit rather than censure for trying to anticipate a future problem, You may believe the proposed solution to be inappropriate, but I'd ask those of you who follow the debate to engage it on substantive rather than ad hominem grounds, Many of you in the cypherpunk community have done so, and I applaud such efforts. [End personal comment] herb == On Wed, 3 Jul 1996, Herb Lin wrote: > Folks -- I object to the characterization of my remarks about crime prevention > being made with sarcasm. The complete remark was "Crime prevention ought > to be part of the FBI's mission, ... and it is -- ask them, and they acknowledge > that." OK, sorry, my reading. I'd certainly hate to jeopardize any professional relationships by implying that you'd been poking fun at them on purpose. There's already far too much distrust to go around. As I recall, the sequence went "Crime prevention ought to be part of the FBI's mission [audience snickers, Herb realizes what he just said and smiles]... and it is -- ask them, and they acknowledge that." The best standup comics are the genuine straight men, I guess. To avoid any trouble, I'll be using that line *without* specific attribution from now on. -rich

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Re: what's up with GROW?
by Robin Powell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>>>> In article <199607101517.IAA19065(a)cygnus.com>, Michael Tiemann <tiemann(a)cygnus.com> writes: > I didn't post there specifically, but John Gilmore may have done so a > while ago. What specific problem are the cyberpunks trying to solve > that GROW would facilitate? Sorry, I've just recieved so much complete incompetence with this issue that talking to someone who was on the ball took some adjusting. Hope I wasn't too rude. One of the main issue on cypherpunks right now (Black Unicorn did a sort of "white paper" on it recently, as in two days ago) is integrating cryptography with other apps, in particular WWW apps. It just seemed to me that if the kind of exstensibility which Emacs is famous for was going to be a part of GROW, which apparently was the attention, this would be a Good Thing for cryptography integration. I good point in this direction is that the most popular way of using PGP with email is emacs-based (i.e. more people sign their posts to cypherpunks using Mailcrypt, the emacs-PGP interface, then all other signers combined, so it must be pretty easy to use). I've used it, and it's incredibly slick. I had hopes the GROW to go as far as emacs but with more network awareness. Oh well. This has been crossposted to cypherpunks, BTW. -Robin PS: You may want to go through and terf ALL the grow pages, not just some of them.

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by Clay Olbon II 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

First, a disclaimer: I think adults should be allowed to ingest whatever substances they desire, and parents should be allowed to raise their kids without undue interference from the government. Having said that, I think that the major issue with Ritalin is that parents are giving it to their children in significant percentages of the population. Since Ritalin is "medicine" and is prescribed by doctors, it is assumed to be safe. However, I would bet that many parents whose children are on daily doses of Ritalin would not think of drinking coffee or alcohol while pregnant or nursing. It is important to consider that any drug used over a period of time may have lasting (possibly negative) effects, and that these effects are multiplied when the drugs are taken by still-developing children. While it is crucial for an adult to be able to function and maintain a job, is it really as important for a kid to be able to sit still in school? Clay *************************************************************************** Clay Olbon II * Clay.Olbon(a)dynetics.com Systems Engineer * PGP262 public key on web page Dynetics, Inc. * http://www.msen.com/~olbon/olbon.html ***************************************************************** TANSTAAFL

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Privacy & Anonymous service providers?
by William Knowles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm working on a web page that would include a list of Internet providers that offer anonymous accounts, or a better degree of privacy not usually seen by regular providers. Below is a list I have been able to put together, I'm wondering if there is some that I'm missing. To avoid noise on the list, please reply via e-mail. Community Connexion http://www.c2.org Paranoia http://www.paranoia.com Panhandle Web Services http://www.shellback.com Data Haven Project http://www.dhp.com L0pht Heavy Industries http://www.l0pht.com Offshore Information Services http://offshore.com.ai/ Thanks in advance! William Knowles erehwon(a)c2.org -- William Knowles <erehwon(a)c2.org> PGP mail welcome & prefered / KeyID 1024/2C34BCF9 PGP Fingerprint 55 0C 78 3C C9 C4 44 DE 5A 3C B4 60 9C 00 FB BD Finger for public key --

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Re: MSoft crypto API's
by Deranged Mutant 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 9 Jul 96 at 20:34, jim bell wrote: [..] > Unexplained: What if the program Microsoft is asked to sign is not > intended for export? Presumably, NSA has no authority, then, and thus They could insist on only signing exportable software, and in theory use that as ITAR-relaxing leverage. Methinks it's a bad move to only have MS sign software... presumably they won't outright refuse to sign competitors software. It would be a conflict of interest for them not to... very usable as evidence against MS in an anti-trust suit. Independent CA's would be better. IMO, it gives a false sense of sucurity to even require crypto apps to be signed. A lot of folks would want a developer's kit (probably cost $$$) to get around that requirement... nice loophole, BTW, for those that can afford it. Or until somebody patches the code to ignore bad signatures of lack of them and releases the patch. Oh yeah... false sense of security in that if an app is signed, it must be secure. Will the new Windows wipe all temporary files and the swap file? Otherwise it makes a CryptoAPI meaningless. There'll be a problem with PGPlib as well... what if people want to compile their own version? Assuming MS will even sign it... that will be a quagmire. It's likely that if strong crypto is not implemented in the MS API (or it is done so in an insecure fashion), hardly anyone will use it. > presumably Microsoft shouldn't be able to refuse to sign anything they're > asked. Why? Assuming there were no export restrictions... if it's signed by MS, people will take it to mean that MS is vouching for it. If they sign a library that does 'naughty things' or is an incredibly incompetant implementation of an algorithm, it could turn out to be bad PR for them. (Hm... they could use this as an excuse to read competitor's source code.) [..] > Couldn't somebody IMPORT a piece of encryption software, have it signed by > Microsoft, then take the XOR of the signed and unsigned software and export > it? (It's not a tool capable of encryption...) Under that logic, I could do the same to a PGP distribution. I doubt the state department would look at it that way, or a jury for that matter. If you want to risk a few years in Federal Prison, go ahead... though chances are crypto-apps seem to make it out of the country anyway... --- No-frills sig. Befriend my mail filter by sending a message with the subject "send help" Key-ID: 5D3F2E99 1996/04/22 wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com (root@magneto) AB1F4831 1993/05/10 Deranged Mutant <wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com> Send a message with the subject "send pgp-key" for a copy of my key.

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Can't block caller ID in Massachusetts?
by David Mazieres 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

My last phone bill said that Nynex is now giving out people's names in addidtion to their phone numbers over caller-id. I therefore called Nynex and told them to block caller-id on my phone line. They said no problem, but... They said nothing I can do will block it when I call 800 numbers. "The people with 800 numbers have special software, and there is nothing you can do to block your identity when calling them. Not even *67." Wow. Maybe I'm not paranoid enough, but I never expected this. I can never again call an 800 number anonymously to get information about something unless I go out to a pay phone. What an incredible inconvenience, and how truly depressing. I know 800 number owners probably used to be able to get lists of calling phone numbers on their phone bills, but this is less disturbing as it would take significant effort to match up the lists after the fact. I just want to be able to call up companies and say, for instance, "If I buy your product, can it do X?" as opposed to, for instance, "I'm stuck with your product, can it do X?". People are often more helpful in the former case. Now, though, they'll know exactly who I am before they even say hello. David

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Another bad idea
by Deranged Mutant 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On 9 Jul 96 at 18:26, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote: [..] > Like China, various other countries are trying to get the Internet's > benefits (such as technical information) without its other consequences > (extension of civil liberties into countries that want to deny them). One idea > that I've had for preventing such problems is to look for addresses from such > countries that are posting to technical newsgroups, to technical mailing lists, > or that are attempting to get access to web pages on technical subjects (which > access they will hopefully be denied, although an alternate possibility). Then > mail information to those addresses that those countries don't want getting > into their countries, such as on human rights abuses (or well-written > pornography...). One interesting (and somewhat cypherpunk) matter in this is Great idea. Get some (possibly) innocent techie in an oppressive country thrown in jail or executed. Or perhaps s/he gets offended, contributing to the notion that all Westerners are evil perverts out to corrupt them. [..] > An extension of this for web sites, which I understand as possible > but difficult, would be to swap anyone from such a country trying to get access > to a technical web site to instead receive "subversive" information or > pictures. (The pornography mentioned above would probably be more effective in > picture format; other pictures might include information on human rights > abuses). Damn aggrevating for that user, and it could get him/her in trouble. On a wide-scale it could provoke responses from those countries. Imagine this list being bombarded with propaganda, or perhaps somebody here looking at an anti-censorship web page getting pro-censorship messages from religious fundamentalists. Or it could encourage them to use special firewalls which filter content and disallow graphics... (probably many US-based companies would be all-too-happy to sell them the software to do it), or even close themselves off from the Internet altogether, perhaps form separate, unconnected Family/Islamic/Chinese-values networks. Rob --- No-frills sig. Befriend my mail filter by sending a message with the subject "send help" Key-ID: 5D3F2E99 1996/04/22 wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com (root@magneto) AB1F4831 1993/05/10 Deranged Mutant <wlkngowl(a)unix.asb.com> Send a message with the subject "send pgp-key" for a copy of my key.

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by JR＠ns.cnb.uam.es 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

"mike(a)fionn.lbl.gov" wrote: >have to be able to perform well enuf in school to get good recs >& good marks in subjects that interest them. They didn't make this >system, but they do have to adapt to it somewhat. > Maybe they would be better off fighting against a system that alienates them than contributing to support it? Seems to me that's shooting their own foot. Now, I don't say they should do that. I understand there are many motivations, personalities, pressures, etc... and thet it's perfectly natural that one prefers to integrate in the whole than to be an alienate. But then, why do we worry about crypto here? Why not adapt to the system that the powers-that-be are imposing? Why do we not give up at all and let others make the system? I'd say that some level of inconformism still remains, from which I congratule. Yes, they (we) didn't make this system. But they (we) are making tomorrow's (and this one too). I agree with Perry, it's each one's choice how to live his/her life, but we all are contributing to how every other will be able to live, and we shouldn't forget that. jr

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Re: [RANT] Giving Mind Control Drugs to Children
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 08:13 AM 7/10/96 -0400, Clay Olbon II wrote: >First, a disclaimer: I think adults should be allowed to ingest whatever >substances they desire, and parents should be allowed to raise their kids >without undue interference from the government. > >Having said that, I think that the major issue with Ritalin is that parents >are giving it to their children in significant percentages of the >population. My real problem with the whole thing is that Ritalin is being prescribed by government employees in most cases. It thus constitutes behavior modification of the population by the government which is certainly a human rights violation. It is arguably a First Amendment violation for the government to chemically prevent you from expressing yourself in certain ways. They should not even be allowed to advocate such treatment. Obviously, I have no problem if private individuals acting alone or in consultation with other private individuals decide to tank themselves up to the gills (as long as they buy their own drogas) but government "suggestions" for B-Mod should be very troubling to most of the readers of this list. Like religion, if you are crazy enough to ask your government what mind-altering drugs you should take, the government should say -- "No Comment. That's up to you." Government does not exist for the benefit of the governed. Public school Ritalin prescriptions do not exist for the benefit of the prescribees. Once there was a 7-year-old girl. The schools of Charlotte, NC diagnosed her as suffering from minimal brain dysfunction (MBD) and prescribed Ritalin. Instead, her parents sent her to a non-government school in another country where they did not employ Ritalin. They substituted teaching in its place. Within a few years, she could decline Latin nouns and everything. DCF "First God was the most important thing in men's lives so naturally men killed each other for God. Then the State became the most important thing in men's lives so naturally men killed each other for the State. Finally, Health became the most important thing in men's lives so naturally men killed each other for Health."

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