December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

mailing-list through a remailer
by nelson＠crynwr.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Scott Binkley writes: > Having a mailing-list run through a remailer?? Only through a penet-type remailer. It couldn't work at all with a mixmaster-type, and would work but poorly with a ghio-type with reply block. > It would be double blind, and difficult to find out who ran the list. Only if your name isn't Julf. > If you chained the remailers, it would be even more difficult. If you chained the remailers for your subscription, then every message would travel the same path. -russ <nelson(a)crynwr.com> http://www.crynwr.com/~nelson Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support | PGP ok 11 Grant St. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | It's no mistake to err on Potsdam, NY 13676 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | the side of freedom.

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eTimeouts
by Simon Spero 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Are about to be imposed on Perry and Phil. You don't both have to play with the same tentacle - there are plenty to go around. Now behave, or I won't let you watch todays episode of (smith) Barney. Simon --- Cause maybe (maybe) | In my mind I'm going to Carolina you're gonna be the one that saves me | - back in Chapel Hill May 16th. And after all | Email address remains unchanged You're my firewall - | ........First in Usenet.........

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Is the alpha.c2.org 'Nymserver Down?
by anonymous-remailer＠shell.portal.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

My 'nym seems to be broken again, and I've heard other reports that the alpha.c2.org 'nymserver is down. Yet, Raph's ping list seem to indicate it's healthy: remailer email address history latency uptime ----------------------------------------------------------------------- alpha alias(a)alpha.c2.org +-++**++-++* 49:22 99.66% What's the story?

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"EASYSAFE(R) VERSION 3.0
by caal＠hopf.dnai.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I thought this may be of interest to the list. >[PRNewswire:Computers-0605.14] 6/5/96 > > EASYSAFE(R) VERSION 3.0 FOR DOS, WINDOWS & WINDOWS 95 'FIRST > NOTEBOOK SECURITY PRODUCT' > > CHICAGO, June 5 /PRNewswire/ - EliaShim Safe Software, a leading > provider of network security products and anti-virus protection > systems, announced at Spring Comdex 96 the release of EasySafe, > version 3.0, the first security and encryption product designed > specifically for notebook computers. > > .. EasySafe provides bullet-proof protection that is easy to install. > .. EasySafe prevents unauthorized use or access through boot password > protection. > .. EasySafe prevents removal or transfer of information via full hard > disk encryption. > .. EasySafe provides keyboard locking after three incorrect password > attempts. > .. EasySafe provides screen blanking after a predetermined period of > inactivity. > .. EasySafe denies system level access to hard disk information. > .. EasySafe can be configured to disable LPT, COM, and Floppy ports. > > Upon boot-up, EasySafe asks the user for a password. A > correctly entered password grants the user access to the computer. > Encryption/decryption of data on the hard disk is dynamic and > completely transparent to the user. The system allows for three > password attempts before locking the computer, and only a cold-boot > reset is possible. After entering the correct password, the disk is > unencrypted dynamically, normal boot up takes place, and the user is > granted access to the system without disk access restrictions or > delay. > > EasySafe includes a DOS/Windows screen saving utility which > blanks the screen after a period of inactivity. The only way to re- > activate the computer is to enter the correct password. > > EasySafe offers two encryption methods. The first encrypts all > data on local hard drives. The second method encrypts boot sectors > and partitions. This prevents unauthorized users from booting from > the "A": drive and accessing the data on the hard disk. This > encryption scheme also protects against the use of disk editing > programs (such as Norton Utilities). Thus, valuable company secrets > remain hidden and secure. EasySafe can be configured to disable LPT, > COM, and Floppy ports to ensure that the information contained on > the hard drive cannot be transferred to another system for later > viewing. > > While annual purchases of notebook computers have increased > steadily, the number of notebooks reported stolen each year is much > more alarming. In 1995, 208,000 notebooks with a value of almost > $640 million were reported stolen by a Columbus, Ohio insurance > company that offers coverage for portable computers (Information > Week - May 6, 1996 issue). EasySafe is the perfect product for > those field professionals whose notebooks contain valuable, > confidential, company information and other sensitive data that is > hundreds of times more valuable than the cost of a notebook. > > Founded in 1983, EliaShim Safe Software has been providing PC > security solutions and anti-virus protection for corporate, > government, educational institutions, and program developers in both > domestic and international markets. Over four million computers are > protected worldwide. Product line includes: EasySafe, MasterSafe, > ViruSafe Gold, and ViruSafe LAN. > > -0- 6/5/96 > /CONTACT: Carl Frederick, Jr., Director of Marketing, EliaShim > Microcomputers, 800-477-5177, or at Spring Comdex 96, Booth . C5431, > 312- > 791-6708/ > > CO: EliaShim Microcomputers, Inc. > ST: Florida > IN: CPR > SU: PDT > >

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Wasting time and bandwidth on Bell
by P.J. Ponder 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Fri, 7 Jun 1996 08:29:56 -0400 (EDT), Declan McCullagh wrote: >Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 6-Jun-96 Re: FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS >by jim bell(a)pacifier.com >> Not quite yet, anyway. I'm very disappointed to have waited over a >>year for >> some slick lawyer to show me how I'd be violating some law or another >>to do so ... >A few observations: >1. Not many readers of cypherpunks are lawyers I've noticed quite a few, actually. I don't know how many are regular readers but there seems to be enough to maintain a steady undercurrent of legal thinking on the issues associated with digital commerce, some anonymity and First Amendment issues, a sprinkling of criminal law topics, and of course, banking, intellectual property, SEC, antitrust, general contract, and related commercial law. >2. Of the laywers who do read cypherpunks, many may not choose to spend >their time researching what laws AP may violate. Or they're not "slick" >lawyers; take your pick. Or they automatically delete any posts that come from or relate to the puerile bullshit Bell is infamous for, and choose not to get dragged into this type of time- and bandwidth- wasting garbage. Of which this post is just another, of course, but i get so damn sick and tired of the constant imposition of 'AP' and related nonsense on this list. Of late, the trolls seems to be particularly effective among people who should know better, and an aura of credence or relevance has developed around some of this crap. Can't we just ignore it, and move on? Maybe if we ignore him he'll go away. >3. Congress would have no problems passing a law outlawing AP, if one >does not exist already. > >-Declan I would be satisfied if they just outlawed e-mail about it.

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Re: Wasting time and bandwidth on Bell
by jim bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:08 PM 6/7/96 +0100, P.J. Ponder wrote: >Or they automatically delete any posts that come from or relate to the >puerile bullshit Bell is infamous for, and choose not to get dragged into >this type of time- and bandwidth- wasting garbage. Of which this post is >just another, of course, but i get so damn sick and tired of the constant >imposition of 'AP' and related nonsense on this list. It is to be expected that among the citizens of this world, there would be those who have so much moral or economic stock in the current order that they would strongly resist any serious change. (maybe they're already on top, or they hope to be in a few years, etc.) Until a few years ago, almost everybody probably figured that the main effect of computer networking (and the Internet) on politics would be to allow people to send letters to their Congressmen faster while destroying fewer trees, or letting people send in their votes by email rather than travelling to a voting booth. Simple changes. Non-threatening. Don't rock the boat. Don't upset the apple cart. Don't make a wave. It will be a great shock to most of you to hear that the real changes will not only be figuratively "revolutionary" but also LITERALLY revolutionary. >>3. Congress would have no problems passing a law outlawing AP, if one >>does not exist already. >I would be satisfied if they just outlawed e-mail about it. I guess this guy never heard about the 1st Amendment. Or maybe he did, but he concluded that it must have been a mistake, because it's not the kind of thing that the people in charge today would vote for if they had a choice in the matter.. Jim Bell jimbell(a)pacifier.com

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Re: INteresting tidbit
by Chris Adams 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

** Reply to note from stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com 06/07/96 11:15am pdt > >> 4. The ability to crack DES-1 in near real-time mode is present. > >> (See above). > >First, this has been loosely confirmed for ages. Someone was mentioning >> that FBI offices supposedly have software that (on a 486) can crack a DES-1 key >> in under an hour. Multiply * modern high capacity computers = problem. >> However, this does not nessesarily follow from > > Sigh. This is of course hopelessly bogus. You can't even crack RC4/40 in > under an hour on a 486 machine, thoguh you can do it very fast on custom > hardware. I figured it had been sensationalized. I received an email from someone who had actually played with such a beast (or claimed to have) and I believe he mentioned it had an addin card. > > >This Message Was Sent With An UNREGISTERED Version Of PMMail. > >Please Encourage Its Author To Register Their Copy Of PMMail. > >For More Information About PMMail And SouthSide Software's Other > >Products, Contact http://www.southsoft.com. > > I won't encourage you to register it, but at least please find a way to > quiet the sucker down. Mailers that do one line of advertising on unregistered > shareware are semi-tolerable. Mailers that do 4 lines are highly rude. > Fortunately, a good binary editor makes it easy to go in and turn the message > to something quieter, like -'s or :-)'s... I just did that. Took awhile to find a decent OS/2 email program... I'm not sure the new one is better, but it sure is less intrusive. That and a little bug that resulted in some messages getting dumped here (still wondering how it managed that) cost them a sale.

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Re: ID this 31173 NCR keyboard
by qut＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Does it have any identifying numbers? There's a bunch of labels and printings inside the board, the pc board says ELE 2001; the chip says NCR '82 and 31960; and a couple labels on the inside of the case that don't make any sense. Do I have any chance of getting term support for this, or getting a new keyboard like this? It seems ideal. > NCR OEMed a line of ADDS Viewpoint terminals for a while, > and while the numbers no longer come to mind > (unless they're like 2920), they might look familiar > if I saw them. This keyboard sample doesn't look > quite like them, though. Most of their keyboards > like that were for terminals, not for PCs. > Are the connectors even PC-like? The connector and cable is standard XT-like. > Also, if there are function keys through F20, it might very > well be a 3270-emulator of some sort. > > At 01:52 PM 6/6/96 -0700, you wrote: > >Oops. I wrote that just looking at the keyboard. > >Picked it up at Seattle's Ex-Pc for $3. > >It's so old, I think it requires a non-PC BIOS. > >No manual, labels etc. > > > >Anyone have a clue as to what this is: > > > >NCR > > > >F1 F2 [...] F18 F19 F20/RESET| > >ESC [...] TAB |[five direction keys] > >CONTROL Q [...] }/] CONTROL |CLR 7 8 9 / > >CAPS_LOCK A [...] ~/` |NEW | - 4 5 6 * > >[up] |/\ Z [...] [upup] |LINE | + 1 2 3 |NEW > > [space] | 0_ 00 . |LINE > > > >It was designed for easily customizing your keytable, > >being an actual flat terminal with square keys easily > >pulled out and interchanged. > > > >The back of the keyboard has three switches for > >the boolean selection of languages: US English, > >UK/Int. English, French, German, Swedish/Finnish, > >Danish/Norwegian, Spanish, Italian. > > > >So, where to get a NEW keyboard like this: > > > >FLAT, with a full set of SQUARE, EASILY pulled out keys. > > > > > > > # Thanks; Bill > # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com > # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs > # Rescind Authority! > > -- Kill Your Television

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[NOISE] Buying whales with digicash Re: Anonymous stock trades.
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:52 AM 6/7/96 -0400, Perry wrote: >hallam(a)Etna.ai.mit.edu writes: [...] >> Well, Milton Friedman's method for saving the whale is to leave it >> to the free market, if people want whales in the oceans they won't >> buy whale meat. [...] >Dr. Phill Hallam-Baker, PhD, however, does not understand economics in >spite of his PhD and thus attributes views to free market economists >that they do not hold, as in his whole cloth synthesis of a viewpoint >which he ascribed to Milton Friedman which Milton Friedman would never >in a million years espouse. Oh, come on now, Perry - while Friedman has more sense than that, you've been around the Libertarian party long enough to know people who call themselves free-market environmentalists who contend that whales will be best protected if they're owned property, that do-gooder environmentalists will be free to outbid Sushi Inc.* for them, and that initial ownership of the whales ought to be decided by the traditional initial land-ownership method of homesteading. Personally, I view this as rent-seeking by folks who ought to let the whales own themselves, and think they've got as little understanding of free-market environmentalism as the government bureaucrats who massively subsidize the logging of US National Forests, but they _are_ there. [*A wholly owned subsidiary of Taco Bell, but with digicash** and anonymous stock ownership, On the Internet, nobody knows that all restaurants are Taco Bell.] [**Ineffective attempt to pretend some relevance to cypherpunks...] # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs # Dispel Authority!

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Re: How to explain crypto?
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 01:50 PM 6/4/96 -0500, Declan wrote: >For example, someone sent me this explanation: > "The 1024 bit key is likely an RSA key, and is not comperable to a 40 bit > symetric key. From memory, 1024 bit RSA is about as hard to crack as 90 > bit symetric." >Is this a reasonable comparison? It's probably close enough for anti-government work; the relative strength depends a lot on whether you're using general-purpose computers or custom crackerboxes, and on the state of the art in factoring technologies. I'd be tempted to be verbose and say that public-key systems like RSA use prime numbers for keys, so they need to be a lot longer than secret-key algorithms like DES or RC4 which can use any number as a key but need to keep it secret. You can double the cracking effort by adding one bit to a secret key or about 10 to a public key. 500-bit public keys and 56-bit secret keys are about the limit of cracking technology for organizations with a couple of million dollars spare for supercomputers, which is your desktop in 5-10 years. The NSA's Clipper Chip used 80-bit keys, which is about 20 years' protection against people who can't use the built-in wiretap or bribe a cop to get a warrant. One problem with these secret hardware designs is that you usually can't tell if there's a back-door unless they tell you - or goof up like they did with the Clipper's short checksum. # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart +1-415-442-2215 stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # http://www.idiom.com/~wcs # Dispel Authority!

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