December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: A daily word of caution in reference Tim C[unt] May
by Adamsc＠io-online.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Wed, 25 Sep 1996 18:11:22 -0400, PhneCards(a)aol.com wrote: >Did you know this company is using your email address as part of >an unlawful email bomb? >I would advise you to write to them at cypherpunks(a)toad.com >and owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com and advise them to stop >using your email address for this type of activity. Hmmmm... Unlawful email bomb? My understanding is that the entire problem of spaming, which you reportedly enage in (and admitted such in another message), is at best a grey area. Otherwise you'd probably be needing that legal department to defend yourself. I'd suggest you read up on the concept of a mailing list. cyperpunks(a)toad.com is one of those. If you send a message there, it'll reach all 1400 people who've actually signed up (note the difference from spamming? They *requested* it!). To me it looks like you got subscribed. send a message to majordomo(a)toad.com with the text of "unsubscribe cypherpunks" and you'll be removed. Speaking of which, remove me from the list you mentioned in your other message.... >It is illegal to use a invalid return email address. Really? I must have missed the E-Mail Regulations Act of 1996 . . . Speaking of which, Reply-to: adamsc(a)io-online.com (Chris Adams) must be a valid address; your inane message reached me, right? >Below is the letter that I received in my email box [Deleted] Hmmmm... The message I sent to the list actually got distributed to the list. That majordomo thingie must work, after all... # Chris Adams <adamsc(a)io-online.com> | http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp # <cadams(a)acucobol.com> | send mail with subject "send PGPKEY"

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Re: Uses of Computational Chaos
by Adamsc＠io-online.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Wed, 25 Sep 1996 13:46 EDT, E. Allen Smith wrote: >>Supposing, too, that you know these weaknesses, would using separate algorithms >>for different portions of the number work well? > That would seem to be a possibility; admittedly, the local copy of >AC has been checked out for the past year, so I haven't been able to take a >look at it. I'd tend to think that if you _know_ the flaw, one could come up >with a better way to deal with it than the generalized method I discussed. >For instance, if the MSB of bytes coming out of a scribble window is too low >in entropy, only use it XORed or whatever with a more-random bit. That's what I was thinking. Or possibly even replace the MSB with the MSB from another algorithm with other characteristics. Genetic programing would also be interesting here if you could write a program that would mix-n-match algorithms/seeds and gradually choose one that produces very high entropy! # Chris Adams <adamsc(a)io-online.com> | http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp # <cadams(a)acucobol.com> | send mail with subject "send PGPKEY"

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A periodic alert regarding Tim C. Mayo
by Squirrel Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Here, Tim C. Mayo descends into total inanity. He should have a cold shower and/or a Turkish coffee.

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Kid gets suspended for bomb info
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm sitting here, listening to National People's Radio, and they have this bit about a local kid who showed up in school today with 40 pages of bomb making info, "gotten off of the internet". He was "caught" when he showed his haul to his buddies. Much gnashing of teeth and flying of fur ensued, and the kid was sent home. More fun with numbers. Cheers, Bob Hettinga ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender." -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard, for Bart Simpson The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/

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CONF/ORG: EXTRO-3 date
by Alexander 'Sasha' Chislenko 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

We are trying to plan the time for the EXTRO-3 - the Third in the infinite series of Extropian conferences. The tentative dates for EXTRO-3 are now weekends of August 2-3 and August 9-10 of 1997, with a backup plan of July 26-27 weekend. We would like to select the date so that it would not interfere with other conferences, and be convenient for everybody. If you know of any other events of extropian/transhumanist/libertarian/ life-extension/cypherpunk interest planned for one of those weekends, or if you would like to attend and have have personal preferences for one of these days, please send me _private_ mail at sasha1(a)netcom.com (You can find general info on Extropianism at http://www.primenet.com/~maxmore/extropy.htm ) On behalf of the of Extropian Action Team, ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alexander Chislenko <sasha1(a)netcom.com> www.lucifer.com/~sasha/home.html Firefly Network, Inc.: <alexc(a)firefly.net> www.ffly.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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How to break Netscape's server key encryption - Followup
by pgut001＠cs.auckland.ac.nz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

There has been a successful hostile attack on a Netscape server key using the code I posted yesterday. I was contacted earlier today by someone who told me he had in the past obtained Netscape server keys and PGP private keys from Windows NT machines running Microsofts insecure FTP server which allows access to the entire drive (he found some of the PGP keys using archie searches - ouch!). He lives somewhere with nasty anti-hacking laws and definitely doesn't want his identity known, but after some pleading said I could reveal the following: - He used the cracklib dictionary to get the password - The password was found "very quickly" - The password was a female name - He deleted the server key after he'd found the password - He did it merely out of idle curiosity and has no intention of misusing the information. - He definitely doesn't want to be contacted Peter.

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Re: Global Alert: GERMAN GOVERNMENT PUSHES BLOCKAGE OF NETHERLANDS WEB SITES
by aaron＠burn.ucsd.edu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I am writing in reference to the document, Global Alert: GERMAN GOVERNMENT PUSHES BLOCKAGE OF NETHERLANDS WEB SITES, which is available on the web as <http://www.xs4all.nl/~felipe/press/global-alert.txt>, with links to related documents and information at <http://www.xs4all.nl/~felipe/germany.html>. I think that information about the German government's attacks on the web, and on revolutionary publications, should be propogated as widely as possible, and I encourage those who have not seen the 'Global Alert' and related documents to download and read them. I am very disturbed, however, by some of the formulations in the 'Alert', and I want to make my criticisms widely known as well, since I believe that the issues I raise are very important for defenders of free communication. I understand that others may disagree about both the correctness and importance of my criticisms. So be it. Here are the offending passages and my criticisms: >The proper response to offensive expression is more and better >expression, and prosecution of offending criminals, not censorship. This reference to 'offending criminals' seems to imply that those who create 'offensive expression' may properly be regarded as 'criminals' and prosecuted on account of that expression, in case some government has decided to criminalize such expression. >As a result of the overly broad censorship measure which targets >an entire Internet access provider instead of a specific user This implies that censorship which targets a specific user might be alright! >Access for All, though it has expressed willingness to assist the Dutch >police in identifying online criminals abusing the xs4all system ... This is the most disturbing statement in the document. It apparently threatens to turn over users of the system to the police if they are (by whose definition?) 'online criminals abusing the xs4all system'. >Instead of the futile act of censorship ... the German government >should have acted through legal channels and asked the authorities in >the Netherlands to cooperate in determining what legal action, if any, >was appropriate. Is it appropriate to advise the German government how to carry out its attacks on left media in a less 'futile' manner? Do you want to say that the German government has a right to ask for assistance from the Dutch government in carrying out these attacks? Are you sure that the Dutch government will not, in the not-so-distant future, be willing to help them? --Aaron P.S. I am a news broadcaster and commentator with Free Radio Berkeley, a well-known unlicensed radio station. I will continue to report on this story until the German government gives up its attempts to suppress Radikal and other revolutionary publications.

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FLA_wed
by jya＠pipeline.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

9-26-96. NYP: "Potential Flaw In Cash Card Security Seen. Counterfeiting a Risk, Say Bellcore Scientists." Markoff. A potential security flaw has been discovered that might make it possible to counterfeit many types of the electronic-cash "smart cards" that are now widely used in Europe and are being tested in this country, reports a paper set to be released today. The Bellcore researchers said that a smart card's security could be breached by forcing the microchip in the card to make a calculation error, whether through sophisticated means like bombarding the card with radiation or perhaps cruder methods like placing it in a microwave oven. A mathematical formula they derived could use this error to extrapolate the secret data that authenticates the card when it is used. ----- http://jya.com/flawed.txt (6 kb) FLA_wed

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45K fine for possession
by Robert Hettinga 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text X-Sender: vinnie(a)apple.com (Unverified) Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 12:18:07 -0700 To: rah(a)shipwright.com From: Vinnie Moscaritolo <vinnie(a)webstuff.apple.com> Subject: 45K fine for possession Status: U http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/info/092596/info13_25205.html Singapore fines first resident for Internet obscenity Copyright © 1996 Nando.net Copyright © 1996 The Associated Press SINGAPORE (Sep 25, 1996 08:48 a.m. EDT) -- A Singapore resident has been fined for downloading obscene pictures from the Internet, the first such case since the government announced it will censor what people can see on the global computer network. Lai Chee Chuen, 41, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of collecting of pornographic pictures from the Internet and of possessing Penthouse, a magazine banned in Singapore, the Straits Times newspaper reported today. It said Lai was fined $43,900. In July, the government announced rules for censoring the Internet. By a Sept. 15 deadline, the three local Internet providers installed powerful computers blanking out some of the sites that showed prohibited pornography or anti-government material. Police seized the pictures from Lai's home in July 1995. Laws covering computer pornography have yet to be drawn up, so the government prosecuted Lai under a general law against possession of obscene visual images. Lai's conviction served to demonstrate that the government's Internet regulations are no idle threat. The Times, a pro-government newspaper, published Lai's picture on the front page to emphasize the point. Neither Lai nor police were available for comment. --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "'Bart Bucks' are not legal tender." -- Punishment, 100 times on a chalkboard, for Bart Simpson The e$ Home Page: http://www.vmeng.com/rah/

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Re: FPGAs (was: Edited Edupage, 19 Sept 1996)
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: IN%"educom(a)educom.unc.edu" 20-SEP-1996 01:52:41.56 > > >***************************************************************** > >Edupage, 19 September 1996. Edupage, a summary of news about information > >technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom, > >a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities > >seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. > >***************************************************************** > >PROGRAMMABLE COMPUTER CHIPS > >Next month, Metalithic Systems Inc. will release a $1500 sound board called > >Digital Wings that uses field-programmable gate array computer chips that > >can be personalized, allowing the user to create and edit up to 128 > >soundtracks. When used in combination with Windows 95, Digital Wings will > >give users access to audio synthesis and editing tools comparable to those > >of a professional sound studio. (Business Week 23 Sep 96 p86) > > I wonder exactly how reprogrammable this system is... Who cares? If you want to program an FPGA, there are plenty of cheaper systems available: for example, see http://204.58.152.114/products/isa.html Peter Trei trei(a)process.com

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