December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Timothy C. May: Mini-mailbombs and Warning Letters
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 12:28 PM 9/27/95 -0400, Travis Corcoran wrote: >A question: in a situation like this one, where an individual signed a >message with a key then did not make a key with the return address of >his message available either through his .plan, or a keysever (the two >de facto standards), what next step -if any- do people think is more >appropriate than sending mail to the individual asking them for a copy >of the key ? Keep up the good work. --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Re: 2^25 Crays a Year to Break STT
by Matt Thomlinson 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

don't you love how the media gets the story straight? ---------- From: Bill Stewart <stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com> To: <cypherpunks(a)toad.com> Subject: Re: 25 Crays a Year to Break STT Date: Thursday, September 28, 1995 10:33AM > Microsoft said its Secure Transaction Technology (STT), was > designed to provide a much higher level of security for > credit card transactions on the Internet. Netscape's > general purpose encryption system uses a 40 or 128-bit > electronic "key", while STT will use 2,000-bit keys. Sigh. Apples and oranges, and they know it. ..... > Although no encryption system was totally secure, Mr Dent > estimated it would take "25 Cray supercomputers a year" to > break the STT codes. So how much work can 25 Crays do in a year? Crack single-DES? Maybe RC4/64? #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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european version of EFF/EPIC/etc?
by Perry E. Metzger 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I was wondering if the Eurpeans had an equivalent of EPIC or EFF lobbying against crypto restrictions there, given the disturbing news a week or so ago. Perry

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Simple Hardware RNG Idea
by cjs＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hello all. Someone mentioned this on IRC last night, and it sounded like a really cool idea, so I thought I'd mention it. The idea is to generate random numbers using a geiger counter tube and a small portion of radioactive substance (like perhaps the stuff they use in smoke detectors?) Would that be random enough? I thought it was a neat idea anyway. Christopher

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Re: Crypto hardware (was: Using sound cards to accelerate RSA?)
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 1:49 AM 9/29/95, Douglas Barnes wrote: >[Tim May writes about why crypto h/w acceleration using DSPs, >and DSPs in general, are likely doomed niche markets.] > >I pretty much agree with Tim, except it's important to realize >that a for a _server_ that is doing a lot of RSA operations, the >difference between a 3.2 second encryption and a 1.9 second >encryption is significant. Peak transaction volume for any >public key-based payment system is going to be a factor of how many >RSA ops you can do per second. I don't disagree with Doug about this. But I don't think there are many "server" systems running a lot of RSA at this point...for most of us, the amount of RSA (or PGP, IDEA, DES, etc.) computation is a tiny fraction of the total computons consumed running screen savers. I'm just not convinced I'll soon invest in a company offering RSA acceleration. (I recall seeing articles about specialized modular exponentiation hardware in 1988, and Cylink was offering several such chips. I've yet to see any commercial boards, for reasonable prices. And I'm willing to be that no more than 3 members of our list would buy such a board, even if the hooks were in place to let PGP, RSAREF, etc. use it. Just a hunch.) --Tim May ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Re: Timothy C. May: Mini-mailbombs and Warning Letters
by patrick＠Verity.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> > but the key was not there. Please mail me your key. Thank you. > > > If anyone has a constructive suggestion as to how this mail could be > changed to convey more information or to be less "threatening", please > mail me. > Sure, I found the above offensive. It comes across in exactly the same tone as a cop saying, "Please step away from the car." I know it's silly, but sometimes Please just isn't enough. The simple change: but the key was not there. Could you please mail me your key? Thanks. works miracles:) The tone on the rest of it was nice. You have to be careful with imperatives. They usually sound mean...even with a please at the front. Patrick _______________________________________________________________________ / These opinions are mine, and not Verity's (except by coincidence;). \ | (\ | | Patrick J. Horgan Verity Inc. \\ Have | | patrick(a)verity.com 1550 Plymouth Street \\ _ Sword | | Phone : (415)960-7600 Mountain View \\/ Will | | FAX : (415)960-7750 California 94303 _/\\ Travel | \___________________________________________________________\)__________/

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[NOISE] Java
by WOOD＠VAX2.ROCKHURST.EDU 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> From: IN%"jya(a)pipeline.com" "John Young" 25-SEP-1995 15:29:30.33 > To: IN%"WOOD(a)VAX2.ROCKHURST.EDU" > CC: > Subj: JAV_jiv > > > The New York Times, September 25, 1995, pp. D1, D4. > > > > Sun is a maker of computers and software using the > industry-standard Unix software operating system and the > leading provider of so-called Internet server computers > that act as the gateway through which most people's desktop > computers actually send and receive data over the Net. > Figuring that what is good for the Internet is good for > Sun, the company now hopes to turn Java into an industry > standard by making it freely available to individuals and > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > universities, while licensing it to companies that > incorporate it into software products. > Does anyone know when or where Java is available? Many thanks, ------------------------------------------- | "Computers are boring and slow." | | | | David Wood | | Information Systems Specialist? | | wood(a)vax2.rockhurst.edu | -------------------------------------------

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sled corp
by Alan Pugh 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hello C-Punks, I recently found a company called "sled corp" at <http://www.411.com/> they are a white pages directory service (who i have absolutely no relationship with) that claims they will sign someone's pgp key for $20/year. to verify the identity of the person's key they are signing, they require either 1) a mailed or faxed copy of a driver's license, 2) mailed or faxed copy of a passport, or 3) a preprinted personal check (which cleared). i'm not sure how much i would trust this type of signature anyway, as all 3 of the above methods of identification can be easily forged, but i'd appreciate some comments by some of the folks out there that have considered the concept of key signatures. if anyone has had any dealings with this company, i would appreciate any comments on them. feel free to contact me privately if you'd like at either amp <0003701548(a)mcimail.com> <alan.pugh(a)internetmci.com> PGP Key = 4A2683C1 PGP FP = A7 97 70 0F E2 5B 95 7C DB 7C 2B BF 0F E1 69 1D September 28, 1995 12:58 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBMGrUMCgP1O9KJoPBAQGVyQf/fAgOhopOQsWUqG2WiiUPNvW7pAmvkzC6 4zJwxWOduNyrROVPO+NKcJqn4aC7LrZU1qaqZsecBFfoNmGgXwiYLGp9NIVWSFLP uXdqo+RouDLJSkyWmjhrfYKP/4aN9JaNuesjudu03KDVwDMU2rks9KCHwvQzH6Ry pFez0YIApA4Y/PgTsq2D2msj4gnEQuXi3y+o28ic/rAtJxY6iPkvX2XJdEW+6KW8 RWp4rFfC6l3T5ccVJ4n6UjJ4wUZsHI93Z7hBdWGJQVaF1g5IQCdmTSCj1EWP/zzp YH/KcPwqaqjNEiECjCEXCuMEV2ZZPtN0jCXp6KFrIm/ZRzkC3I4SPg== =i2do -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Prvasoft FAX Encryption Software
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

After the recent discussions of the Privasoft Fax Software and its proprietors' dislike of the Cryptographers' Inquisition :-), I wrote the author a neutral note discussing what I'm trying to accomplish for one of my customers, and asked about evaluation copies. He's put it on the Web at www.megasoft.com/privasoft/ ; it's "not crippleware", just limited number of uses. So anybody who wants to do some research into proprietary patented trade-secret products [_I_ didn't say Snake Oil in this posting :-)], there it is. His description of it sounds like it's got a reasonably friendly GUI, though I'm not sure that rates $130 when you can get fax software free with modems or really high-quality OCR-equipped fax software for less than that... #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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Re: 25 Crays a Year to Break STT
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Microsoft said its Secure Transaction Technology (STT), was > designed to provide a much higher level of security for > credit card transactions on the Internet. Netscape's > general purpose encryption system uses a 40 or 128-bit > electronic "key", while STT will use 2,000-bit keys. Sigh. Apples and oranges, and they know it. .... > Although no encryption system was totally secure, Mr Dent > estimated it would take "25 Cray supercomputers a year" to > break the STT codes. So how much work can 25 Crays do in a year? Crack single-DES? Maybe RC4/64? #--- # Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com # Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 #---

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