December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: silly putty
by c62op27＠ibx.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Oh, and the laughs just keep on comin'... ----- Begin Included Message ----- >From cypherpunks-errors(a)toad.com Thu Oct 31 02:42:30 1996 X-Sender: gbroiles(a)mail.io.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0b28 (32) Date: Wed, 30 Oct 1996 20:38:22 -0800 To: sameer <sameer(a)c2.net> From: Greg Broiles <gbroiles(a)netbox.com> Subject: Re: silly putty Cc: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com Precedence: bulk Content-Length: 3755 X-Lines: 81 Status: RO > Would anyone be interested in 50 pounds of silly putty? A >friend of mine would be grateful if I could help him get rid of 50 >pounds of silly putty. It would be $500. Dear Mr. Parekh: I represent the Comic Publishers Association, a trade group formed to combat the illict theft of our members' intellectual property. Your message has come to the attention of our "flexible media" section, which licenses the duplication of our members' creative efforts in flexible media, such as Silly Putty (tm). Many people do not realize (or, more likely, merely pretend not to realize) that the duplication, even in mirror image, of portions of protected comic strips in flexible media infringes upon our members' exclusive rights as granted by the Copyright Acts of 1909 and 1976, 17 USC 101 et seq. Further, the irresponsible distribution of this flexible media by fly-by-night retailers and distributors compounds this problem. Many of the wrongdoers who violate our members' rights do so as part of an informal social framework, utilizing aliases like "Junior", or common first names such as "Billy" or "Tommy". You can imagine our members' frustration when we must enforce our rights against six and seven year old defendants known merely as "Jimmy" or "that big kid from soccer practice". The fact that flexible media can be used to make illicit copies of visual art is well known; in fact, it is one of the selling points used when flexible media is sold at the retail level. It is our position that distributors and retailers selling flexible media do so knowing full well that their juvenile purchasers intend to irresponsibly flout the Copyright Act; and that such sales constitute contributory infringement. Sellers of flexible media are the linchpins in the deadly chain of comic book copyright infringement via "Silly Putty (tm)". We realize that some retailers do not wish to be complicit in this serious injustice. Therefore, we have drafted the "flexible media code of conduct", which we are asking sellers of flexible media to sign. We are asking you to sign this code of conduct as a demonstration of your good will and responsibility towards copyright owners worldwide. If you do not sign our code of conduct we'll make some stuff up and then sue you and send out lots of press releases. --- FLEXIBLE MEDIA SELLER'S CODE OF CONDUCT As a seller of "Silly Putty (tm)" flexible media, I agree to: 1. Maintain records of the first name, last name, parent(s)' names, school's name, teacher's name, and grade level of every purchaser of flexible media. 2. Present an educational program which will sensitize my customers to the grave responsibilities that the Copyright Act imposes upon each of us. 3. Police my customers' use of flexible media, including but not limited to in-store use of flexible media, simultaneous purchases of flexible media and comic books such that illegitimate use can be inferred from the circumstances, and the structuring of transactions to obscure what would otherwise be simultaneous or contemporaneous purchases of flexible media and comic books. 4. Cooperate with the Comic Publishers Association by providing customer lists and transaction detail logs so that suspicious purchase patterns at multiple retail location may be tracked by the CPA. 5. Agree to allow the CPA to audit my records and record keeping procedures, at any time, without notice or right to refuse. --- Please print out a copy of our agreement, sign it, and mail it to me via postal mail by the close of business tomorrow. Flexible media copies are not acceptable. If you don't, we'll kick your ass. Have a nice day. /s/ L. Itta-Gator (#65535) for DEWEY, CHEATHAM, & HOWE, P.C. Counsel for Comic Publishers Association ----- End Included Message -----

1 0

RE: Rumours of NSA breakin
by Alex Filacchione 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I've been hearing rumours of an alledged compromise of the NSA Web server but no hard evidence. The claim made is that several Mb of files were downloaded from the server and posted to the "Internet". I can't see it in sci.crypt or alt.conspiracy though. I am more than a little skeptical of the claim, unless the files in question were not considered sensitive - and there is no reason to believe that the NSA would be keeing anything secret on their Web server. =-=-=-=-=- *if* the page was hacked indeed, then I seriously doubt that files of any significance were taken. I would think that they would not keep any classified info on a web server (!). If someone hacked into the page, got the files, and then posted them to the internet they probably would *not* have posted these to sci.crypt, etc. (I like the addition of alt.conspiracy though). My guess is that they would end up on a private mailing list, or end up getting posted to one of the "warez" groups or something. If this were true, I would be interested to know just what it was that they were keeping on their website and why. Could they be trojaned files? Would the NSA go to so much trouble when there are easier ways of doing things? Just curious about this.... Alex F alexf(a)iss.net

3 2

Re: Privacy Issues
by Hal Finney 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I recommend the web/gopher site <URL: http://chaos.taylored.com:1000/ > managed by Chael Hall and Karl Barrus. It has a collection of articles from the early days of the cypherpunks list when we initially explored a lot of the ideas which are getting rehashed today. In fact, I would recommend this to all new readers of the list in order to understand what has been discussed before and what some of our goals have been. Looking back, some of the essays seem a bit naive in our hopes and expectations for what crypto would do; things have turned out to be more corporate, more political, less grass-roots, than many of us expected. But the basic issues have remained much the same. Hal

1 0

Re: Encrypting Hard Disks
by Edgar Swank 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- FCri Kaljundi wrote: > Tue, 22 Oct 1996, Michael B Amoruso kirjutas: > >> Are there any good programs out there that can encrypt my HD?? Since >> there probably are, please mention some and where I can get them. Also, >> no one mention PGP. > >F-Secure Desktop from Data Fellows is pretty good. It uses Blowfish >algorithm which means it is very fast on 32-bit Windows machines. > >More information at http://www.datafellows.com/f-secure/ - From a quick perusal of the above web site, it appears as though F-Secure Desktop offers encryption by file, much like PGP does, only a little more automatic. But an entire encrypted file must be decrypted before you can process it and the entire file must then be re-encrypted if it is updated. - From http://www.datafellows.com/f-secure/desktop/ With the built-in AutoSecure(TM) feature, you can define sets of files, directories, and Windows 95 folders that will be automatically encrypted and decrypted every time you start or close Windows. - From this, it appears encrypted files are decrypted while windows is open. Obviously if Windows crashes a lot of plaintext files can be left lying around! I prefer the methods of SecureDrive http://www.stack.urc.tue.nl/~galactus/remailers/securedrive.html or Secure Device ftp://utopia.hacktic.nl/pub/replay/pub/disk/secdev14.arj in which data is decrypted "on-the-fly" as it is transferred from disk to memory. The data is -always- encrypted on the disk. Both of the above use strong IDEA encryption (same as PGP) and both are free for non-commercial use. (Commercial use is possible by paying a small royalty to the holders of the IDEA patent; see http://www.ascom.ch/systec In contrast, F-Secure Desktop is $99 a copy. Edgar W. Swank <edgar(a)Garg.Campbell.CA.US> (preferred) Edgar W. Swank <EdgarSwank(a)Juno.com> Edgar W. Swank <Edgar_W._Swank(a)ilanet.org> Edgar W. Swank <EdgarSwank(a)Freemark.com> Home Page: http://members.tripod.com/~EdgarS/index.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMnR3B94nNf3ah8DHAQFJQgP7BRpqrcXAMGJDNXvxQzyQE5y6E47bwSDm CpA7X/rDmlxdm3XvB96O9jMLqtPRAbri4qoZ3hAd3jLycO/wTZV+gkxMwKxadMcC mtGSss5fTcNP1R+MTmvHJsyWrAb9rGBs0+X7n/sGa9km+VepdKTkCbVemNRa3w7L HoNEpkYlXeA= =9Kp4 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- edgar(a)Garg.Campbell.CA.US (Edgar Swank) The Land of Garg BBS -- +1 408 378-5108

1 0

Re: "Montgolfiering" mindlessness
by frantz＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Gee, I put that post in the same place I carefully keep my back issues of the Cypherpunks Enquirer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | Tired of Dole/Clinton? | Periwinkle -- Consulting (408)356-8506 | Vote 3rd party. I'm | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz(a)netcom.com | Voting for Harry Browne | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA

2 1

Key for dbell@maths.tcd.ie (key id 0x20C0C719)
by Derek Bell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In message <199610310150.RAA09499(a)blacklodge.c2.net>, Lou Zirko writes: >Date: Wed Oct 30 20:49:53 1996 >Can you provide the key for key id 0x20C0C719, or a location where it can >be obtained so that your signed messages to cypherpunks can be verified. OK - my key is at http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~dbell/key.asc Apologies for the oversight, Derek -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3ia Charset: noconv iQCVAgUBMnjte1XdSMogwMcZAQHPTwP/RvZ6psgaexodOyQ7MvzeS58UdhDZymA6 lJJMyc9ndKeL7v+z6nMzSxA+Isnhe1huGFs9A8ICFVXY6zT+uml//352StwClIoc 0qR4N64vHJVz1G7O5uXjyehT+viI08R5f6qdH5tDjJ9Zt7+zLRCDGOVcCp5mgSdO BRkAQuB+u9Y= =uBxL -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

1 0

Re: Abducted by Aliens??
by barrensj＠gate.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

You Little Cutie, You -- All right already! What about choice Z? I waited so long to respond to the joke (which I went around telling everyone) I got embarrassed. The longer I waited, the more stuff happened so that I just couldn't catch up and tell all. What about that one???? Actually nothing is happening (oh, except for St. Pete burning last Thursday night) but we manage to stay frenetically busy. Teaching dance -- the kids -- doing my mother/wife/housewife/daughter/friend/neighbor duties. I'm very, very sorry to hear about your mother's illness. My friend/neighbor just told me she's been diagnosed with depression and is having a difficult time overcoming the stigma. There's a pile of ignorance out there. I'm sure you're aware that chronic illness and injury can take down whole families. How's your dad holding up? It sounds selfish, but I hope you're taking care of yourself. It's particularly difficult when you live so nearby except that when something is wrong and you're not there it's somehow worse. Also, too bad about your heavy work load. On the other hand, I'm glad you still have your job. I was also particularly happy to hear that The Equine is feeling frisky again. This business about JP is so weird. I wish he were normal and you two could be friends. But it just seems like. . . like . .. ????? I mean, what would it hurt 'im? It's just BIZARRE! And I absolutely think it's NOT you! I mean, aren't we all civilized adults here? You'll be glad to know that we finally got Hannah a pet: Mexican jumping beans. She's named them Rosie, Rosie and Rosie. (You think we're REAL mean, huh?) Well, they ARE low maintenance! I hope you got the cc: of the message I sent Kika over the weekend. It had a short update of sorts on our condition which is, "Can't complain." So . . . I DO still love you. You are still a good friend for putting up with me. Love, Ruth

2 1

Re: When did Mondex ever claim to be anonymous?
by Hallam-Baker 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Derek Bell wrote: > > In message <Pine.HPP.3.91.961029194511.27228A-100000(a)cor.sos.sll.se>, Asgaard w > rites: > >Disinformation is a time-honoured weapon in political struggle. > >A rumour is called just that because it can't easily be checked > >- somebody heard from somebody, who heard from somebody etc. The > >spreader is hardly ever discredited since he does not guarantee > >the validity of the information. 'It's just a rumour, but...' > > The problem I have is with the "hardly ever" part - there is always > a chance of being caught out. Or of being ignored entirely. I quite often know something that I can't point to proof of. I wouldn't try to use such evidence in an argument as "proof". Acting on rumour is ultimately self defeating. The republicans have been dirt digging on Whitewater for four years and have failed to unearth anything. As a result they are finding it very difficult to get anywhere with their latest allegations of campaign corruption which are probably true. Of course they might not be having any effect for other reasons such as the fact that its Bob Dole's campaign vice-president thats in jail for corruption at the moment and not Clinton's but the general principle holds, you don't shoot until you know you can hit the target. > >Those arguing in favour of Big Brother - 'the needs of law enforcement' > >- frequently use (probably false) information that is hard to check, to > >impress the public: about terrorists stopped by wiretapping, > > This is interesting, as the UK police don't claim they need such > powers to deal with the IRA. Now they may already have large wiretapping > powers under law, but I get the impression that most successful anti-IRA > action is due either to infiltration or informers. Actually the police are currently asking for permission to use wiretap evidence in court. There is some opposition because there are those who want to keep the extent of the capability quiet. There is very good evidence for widespread use of wiretaps and SIGINT against the IRA. > IIRC, the bullshit claims are enough to annoy most netizens, though > the politicians aren't aiming at us. Still - I think documented risks of, > say, Mondex would hold more weight. Since when was cash annonymous? In the UK each banknote has a serial number which is recorded at the banks when it is passed arround. There is no reason why the US federal reserve wouldn't have added it to its existing note processing machinery since they must read the serial number during their checks for countrefeit notes. If Mondex said their product was "like cash" that does not mean they claimed it to be anonymous. Phill

2 1

Inappropriate postings
by Kimmo Suominen 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dear Cypherpunks, I apologize for having gatewayed inappropriate messages to this mailing list via my systems. One of our new feeds for centralized mailing list subscribal was leaking in messages from their USENET feed. I've asked them to fix this. I have also taken steps to make sure no such misconfigured systems can cause gatewaying through my system again. Sincerely, Kimmo Suominen Trans-Atlantic Communications

1 0

COR_set
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

10-31-96. FiTi: "How to crack secret computer codes." Bellcore researchers plan to publish on the Internet this week technical details of a new method of cracking encryption systems used to protect computer data. The approach relies on spotting errors made by computers and applying a mathematical equation to work out secret encryption codes. "This is very sophisticated math. The only people who will understand it are other cryptography experts." ----- http://jya.com/corset.txt (3 kb) COR_set Details of the Bellcore smartcard hack? When, where?

1 0