December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: NSA into antigravity?
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

(No, I see no relevance for "coding in C," but even critics of "off-topic" posts have commented on this, so I will too, especially as how physics was my old career and in 1974 I interviewed with a Santa Barbara company doing ICBM geogravitic trajectory work.) At 5:50 PM 8/20/95, Sandy Sandfort wrote: >I can see why the folks at Ft. Meade would be hinkie about such >measurements being made around them. No need to hypothisize >micro-singularities or anti-gravity experiments. Occam's Razor >in action. I can't. At least not with regard to microgravity measurements. If you mean missile trajectory stuff, this is extremely implausible. A missile targetted at Fort Meade is not going to be deflected by more than a few centimeters (if that much) by nearby variations...the missile is moving very fast and there's little "integration time" for slight errors in trajectory to build up. (Also, but related to this, the closing trajectory is near vertical, so it's doubly hard to imagine local g-field anomalies affecting the point of impact.) As to what the folks were doing with their equipment, I have no idea. Maybe measuring water tables in and around the Chesapeake Bay (only a few miles from the Fort). The NSA people probably were upset with the equipment itself, not the idea that Meade was being more precisely targetted for ICBMs. --Tim May ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net (Got net?) | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-728-0152 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Corralitos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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MSN hackers heaven (fwd)
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This is a variation on Brad's forward of the MSN security hole: Information Week, August 28, 1995, p. 24. Risk Looms On Microsoft Network. E-mail icons can hide viruses. A feature designed to make electronic mail easy to use on the Microsoft Network online service may also make it easier for hackers to trick users into running destructive software programs on their PCs. When a Microsoft Network user sends a binary file embedded in an E-mail message, the file appears as an icon on the recipient's screen. The recipient can double-click on the icon to automatically download the embedded file and execute it. To download the file without executing it, the recipient must use the mouse's right button, which has been rarely needed until now. Though other online services offer automatic downloading of files, Microsoft's goes one step further in allowing the file's automatic execution. That file could be a virus or other malicious program that could erase files or reformat a hard disk, according to Mike Wyman, VP and chief technical offficer of Interactive Data Corp., an investment information firm in Lexington, Mass., and a Microsoft Network beta user. "On the Microsoft Network, I can disguise an icon so that it looks innocuous," says Wyman. "The analogy I like to use is the Unabomber. If you get a package in the mail that's wrapped in duct tape and brown paper, you'd regard it as suspicious. But if it's a plain white envelope with Ed McMahon's picture on it, you wouldn't think twice about opening it." Microsoft says the feature is a convenience, not a security hole. "There are risks of getting [data] off the network in any form," says George Meng, group product manager for the Microsoft Network in Redmond, Wash. "People have to be aware of what the source of information is." Winn Schwartau, president of Interpact Inc., a computer security consulting firm in Seminole, Fla., disagrees. "If the ability to execute programs bypasses conventional filtering and virus controls, then you certainly have a security hole," he says "Potential 'Trojan horse' programs could be sent by anyone." By Mitch Wagner and Clinton Wilder [End]

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Re: Netscape to copyright URLs?
by Lindsay Haisley 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:39 AM 8/20/95 -0400, you wrote: >Today's surf of Netscape's home page yielded an interesting question. Is >Netscape trying to licence links to their products? To me >http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/netscape_now_program.html seems to >suggest tha you can only display certain logos and info if you are >licensed by Netscape. You could for example not put up a link to their >"Download Netscape NOW" page without prior approval by Netscape. > >This seems to be a new development on the web. Since when does one need a >license to include certain URLs in one's home page? The Netscape general info document specifically states .... >Aside from the ftp mirrors we list on our home page, we do not allow >redistribution of our software. This means that it is not legal to put >our software on your ftp server, nor to include it on disks you are >distributing, although you're more than welcome to include a pointer to >our home pages so that people can download the latest version for >themselves. They have specifically given permission here for links, at least to their home pages, possibly even to other items such as a downloadable netscape. (______) Lindsay Haisley (oo) "The bull FMP Computer Services /------\/ stops here!" fmouse(a)fmp.com / | || Austin, Texas, USA * ||---|| (512) 259-1190 ~~ ~~

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Re: A glance at the future of missing child identification
by danisch＠ira.uka.de 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

These transponders are already used for many year. They inject them in pigs and cows to identify them. And some car manufacturers put the into the ignition keys as theft protections. Technology is not new. Perhaps it is already used for criminals? Somewhere I heard that in America criminals are sentenced to stay at home because the jails are overfilled. A sender is attached to their leg and the police is informed if he leaves his home. Perhaps a drug dealer may be more usefull if he moves free and has a transponder inside which he doesn't know about, that having him in jail. Here in Germany most department stores have big antennas at the doors which are normally used to detect thefts. Perhaps these antennas also recognize certain people. You can be sure even criminals go to department stores, undergrounds, or bus stations. Some hidden antennas and it's easy to be on their track. But it might be difficult to hide them on x-ray images... Brrr, disgusting idea... :-{ Hadmut

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Re: Where is the key cracking farming software?
by aba＠dcs.exeter.ac.uk 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dan Bailey <dan(a)milliways.org> writes on cpunks: > There must be several versions of the code at this point. The > Cypherpunks release, Damien's release and whoever else wrote some code > to do the chore. If someone could pass me a pointer to the version > that's best-commented and most understandable (one man's C is another > man's crypto) I'd like to port it to Windows NT and write a simple > installation to install it as a service. Yep there's lots of versions of the brutessl software, ones I know of (in no particular order): - Damien Doligez wrote one - Andrew Roos wrote on (this is the one we're using for the challenge) - Eric Young wrote one - I wrote one More related softwares, specifications etc. - Piete Brookes, Andy Brown, and I wrote a protocol specification for a SMTP style key doler - SKSP (Simple Key Search Protocol) - draft RFC like document on brute (www url below). - Piete wrote a unix socket based key server and client for generic unix machines (in perl). - Andy Brown wrote a Windows NT client which talks the same protocol - David Byers did a MasPar port of the brutessl code > Perhaps a general-purpose OO bruteforcing library (addition to > Crypto++?) would be a good idea. Just pass a pointers to the > encrypt() and decrypt() functions to use for this session to the > Cracker object, which in turn takes a number of bits and starts > cracking.:) The socket based key distributer allows you to write clients which interact with the key server. Take a look at Andy's code. > The problem with this is the disparity among out-of-the-box encrypt > and decrypt functions. But I suppose it's nothing that couldn't be > overcome with wrapper functions. Just thinking out loud. :) Not sure how Andy addresses this in the NT code (I don't have NT), but for the unix client you'd just get another brute force program, compile it and update the client. Piete has a WWW URL for the software (the protocol spec is there too) at: http://www.brute.cl.cam.ac.uk/brute/ (Brute is a subsubdomain he set up for the purpose). Also this: ftp://ftp.brute.cl.cam.ac.uk/pub/brute/ should work. And the socket server runs on: sksp.brute.cl.cam.ac.uk (port 19957). I think we're ready to start another challenge, this one a collaborative project like the brute rc4 one. Just need some challenges now (asked Hal about this). Adam

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Legality of suverting computational cycles via Microsoft
by solman＠MIT.EDU 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Does anybody here know if it is illegal to get unwiting users to download benign viruses via MSN? Doesn't this sort of hole, by its very nature, make it trivial for people to violate Europes future electronic privacy laws? (despite Microsoft's guarantee that MSN would follow those rules.) JWS

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Re: Netscape to copyright URLs?
by monty.harder＠famend.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

RJ> Essentially, they want us to help them create the perception RJ> that if you don't show the "Netscape Now!" flag (didn't Nixon have RJ> a similar slogan?) on your page, that you're just not a high- RJ> quality operation. Or maybe they're trying to change the subject Let's just create our own flag, and use it instead, then. * If we had ham, * We could have ham and eggs, * If we had eggs. --- * Monster(a)FAmend.Com *

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Denning questions/reverses her position?
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I'm too old for this! I never thought I would see the day that Dorothy Denning would terminate her star role as a shill for the Clinton/LEA encryption ban! from: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C13000%2C00.html?nd Two supporters of Clinton administration's stance on encryption released a report today finding that encryption has not inhibited law enforcement efforts, with at least one author questioning her belief in the administration's position. The authors--Dorothy Denning, a Georgetown University computer science professor, and William Baugh Jr., vice president of Science Application International Corporation-- ______________________________________________________________________ "attila" 1024/C20B6905/23 D0 FA 7F 6A 8F 60 66 BC AF AE 56 98 C0 D7 B0 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBM+Eh5L04kQrCC2kFAQF9wwP+INGEAnc+1akKc+dP7re8fleX4PJrmsYU UKzxgBZAsWcZC7L5WkaOygckHznOc+a37iHzDFtt3sr86DP0D/4j675qJdt/O4B+ jbxXumJ8EXmTN9bOvXK8x9JRGjR9aWzjeaJKN3X+fH4Bjbw76FR9xIFkhhNvZqnM ahBzZyL2cZ4= =MlQZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: The sorry state of non-US crypto
by carolann＠censored.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On August 23rd, Lucky Green succintly stated: Who cares if someone violates ITAR, if >overseas users can't find the exported software? Lucky, all we (I) can do is keep sending them the stuff. All it takes is just one person to really learn that a lot of folks are in this. When they do that they don't have to be so 'secretive' about their actions. I just try to remind myself, "I'm just an electronic envelope maker", that's all. I also like to think I'm lucky enough to get a job in marketing the stuff. Love Always, Carol Anne -- Member Internet Society - Certified BETSI Programmer - Webmistress *********************************************************************** Carol Anne Braddock (cab8) carolann(a)censored.org 206.42.112.96 My Homepage The Cyberdoc *********************************************************************** ------------------ PGP.ZIP Part [017/713] ------------------- M8H,),S$8G>&.WP(8IRA`-M['+`Q%&_C"">5-F%LX@<_Q$;*P'',Q$Z/AA[8M MF=O0H+*%(-S%&>S%+FS&<LS%3(Q&#W1"<]2%`H^;,]^1C$'HBN8PX$4SYAU^ MPGD<Q0ZLA0D+,`MCT!LA**4M[-JPAK9F?40!AJ,CW"'%DR#:'9?Q)3[%<DQ` ------------------------------------------------------------- for next chunk to export --> http://dcs.ex.ac.uk/~aba/export/

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Denning questions/reverses her position?
by Attila T. Hun 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I'm too old for this! I never thought I would see the day that Dorothy Denning would terminate her star role as a shill for the Clinton/LEA encryption ban! from: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C13000%2C00.html?nd Two supporters of Clinton administration's stance on encryption released a report today finding that encryption has not inhibited law enforcement efforts, with at least one author questioning her belief in the administration's position. The authors--Dorothy Denning, a Georgetown University computer science professor, and William Baugh Jr., vice president of Science Application International Corporation-- ______________________________________________________________________ "attila" 1024/C20B6905/23 D0 FA 7F 6A 8F 60 66 BC AF AE 56 98 C0 D7 B0 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: latin1 Comment: No safety this side of the grave. Never was; never will be iQCVAwUBM+Eh5L04kQrCC2kFAQF9wwP+INGEAnc+1akKc+dP7re8fleX4PJrmsYU UKzxgBZAsWcZC7L5WkaOygckHznOc+a37iHzDFtt3sr86DP0D/4j675qJdt/O4B+ jbxXumJ8EXmTN9bOvXK8x9JRGjR9aWzjeaJKN3X+fH4Bjbw76FR9xIFkhhNvZqnM ahBzZyL2cZ4= =MlQZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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