December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Elliptic curves, patent status?
by dan＠milliways.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Mon, 27 Nov 1995 23:16:10 -0800 jamesd(a)echeque.com wrote: >At 05:16 PM 11/28/95 -0400, Michael Smith wrote: >> >> I'm unclear about the patent status of elliptic curve >> systems. Are they covered by the Diffie-Hellman patent? >> That is, is the lnguage of this patent broad enough to >> cover _all_ public-key systems, regardless of their >> mathematical basis? > >No, but RSA will litigate you with the objective of >inflicting extravagant legal costs regardless. Does the patent create any headaches for elliptic curve research or publishing elliptic curve papers, or just for new products? Dan

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Draft paper on anonymity, E$ and other stuff
by Michael Froomkin 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Now available for download: a draft of my latest paper, Flood Control on the Information Ocean: Living With Anonymity, Digital Cash, and Distributed Databases. I'd like your comments please, especially if you can send them soon. The paper is available in a postscript file (966K) or a compressed postscript file (253 K) by clicking on links from my homepage: http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/ocean.ps http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/ocean.ps.Z A. Michael Froomkin | +1 (305) 284-4285; +1 (305) 284-6506 (fax) Associate Professor of Law | U. Miami School of Law | froomkin(a)law.miami.edu P.O. Box 248087 | http://www.law.miami.edu/~froomkin Coral Gables, FL 33124 USA | It's warm here.

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(fwd) Like FV with Crypto ... 'Cept Different ...
by rah＠shipwright.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

--- begin forwarded text To: www-buyinfo <www-buyinfo(a)allegra.att.com> From: Andrew Barrett/CheckFree Corporation <Andrew_Barrett(a)checkfree.com> Date: 28 Nov 95 9:32:28 EDT Subject: Like FV with Crypto ... 'Cept Different ... Mime-Version: 1.0 SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Nov. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- SBT's Internet Division today announced that its electronic storefront package, WebTrader 2.0, will integrate with Checkfree's credit card processing service providing a complete, secure Internet commerce solution. The combination of SBT's WebTrader and Checkfree's Electronic Payment Processing service allows any company to sell products on the Internet, automate order entry and fulfillment and receive credit card payments electronically. <SNIP SRC="blah, blah,blah">PR balloon deflated</snip> The Internet commerce solution process will be initiated by a merchant contacting an SBT Internet Business Consultant (IBC) who will install and configure Web Trader and provide the client with the Checkfree Merchant Application package. The IBC will arrange for a Checkfree account manager to be assigned to the account who will assist with the application process. The IBC will then customize and modify the Web Trader application, and tailor Checkfree's processing to the merchant's specific needs. Once the application has been processed and approved, the IBC will coordinate site testing for credit card transactions. At that point the merchant is equipped to conduct business on the Internet. WebTrader is the most widely-installed Windows program that allows businesses to create an electronic storefront with order forms for products or services on the Web. It automatically processes the orders and sends the customer confirmation via e-mail. WebTrader initiates and completes the sales process by providing a direct, instantaneous connection between vendor and customer, RSA Data Security's encryption software which keeps credit card numbers and other sensitive data private once it is received by the vendor's Web server. WebTrader includes several HTML templates for home pages and sales order forms that are ready to run on the Web. When a customer on the Web completes a form, the information is sent to the vendor via Internet e-mail. The vendor employs an integrated e-mail parsing program that automatically transforms the message into a standard SBT Sales Orders' bid. After the bid is authorized, it is converted to a firm order and an e-mail message confirming receipt of the order is sent via Internet to the customer. WebTrader also includes the ability to capture and track other critical business information such as sales leads, product registration and customer surveys. WebTrader can be used as a stand-alone Internet application or in conjunction with SBT's Pro Series 3.0i accounting software. WebTrader has a suggested retail price of $1,295. ->Finger abarrett(a)ee.net for Keyprint ->Public Key Coming Soon to a Keyserver Near You! --- end forwarded text ----------------- Robert Hettinga (rah(a)shipwright.com) e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA (617) 958-3971 "Reality is not optional." --Thomas Sowell The e$ Home Page: http://www.webstuff.apple.com/~vinnie/Rah >>>>Phree Phil: Email: zldf(a)clark.net http://www.netresponse.com/zldf <<<<<

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Re: Archives?
by s1113645＠tesla.cc.uottawa.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On Tue, 28 Nov 1995, Anonymous wrote: > Is this list archived so that I can try to look stuff up before asking > stupid questions? <http://www.hks.net/cpunks/index.html> You can run lycos searches on its contents.

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Re: Elliptic curves, patent status?
by smithmi＠dev.prodigy.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I'm unclear about the patent status of elliptic curve systems. Are they covered by the Diffie-Hellman patent? That is, is the lnguage of this patent broad enough to cover _all_ public-key systems, regardless of their mathematical basis? --Michael Smith smithmi(a)dev.prodigy.com

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Cypherpunk archives
by Adam Shostack 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Is this list archived so that I can try to look stuff up before asking >stupid questions? see http://www.hks.net/cpunks/index.html -- "It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once." -Hume

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No Subject
by Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Is this list archived so that I can try to look stuff up before asking stupid questions?

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Re: Cypherpunks Archives [WAS: no subject]
by Martin Diehl 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

On November 28, 1995: Anonymous <nowhere(a)bsu-cs.bsu.edu> at Internet-USA asked: > Is this list archived so that I can try to look stuff up before > asking stupid questions? Yes, you can find the archives at: http://www.hks.net/cpunks/index.html You should also read: http://www.oberlin.edu/~brchkind/cyphernomicon/ If you ask, I have another 10-20 URL's related to this subject. Martin G. Diehl

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Re: Directed Hamiltonian Path Problem
by E. ALLEN SMITH 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

From: IN%"perry(a)piermont.com" 28-NOV-1995 02:02:17.85 Indeed. Its the problem with innumeracy. People don't understand that if, say, a problem is O(2^N), and a problem of size 1000 requires a liter of fluid, a problem of size 2000 requires --------------------------- Now that I've looked at it a bit more, I would definitely agree... exponential growth is quite a function. Incidentally, talking about it in liters of fluid is probably not the best way to look at it, any more than computer chips can be best defined in square centimeters. But that doesn't change the essential conclusion; it just alters how big of a problem you need to use. The lesson here, I believe, is to use as large of a key/etcetera as possible... something that should be news to none, even to novices like me. Never assume that something will require too much computing power, until the computing power needed is not doable in the universe. Then add some, since (for some problems) someone might figure out a clever way around them. I worry that factoring may be one of these. -Allen

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Re: Directed Hamiltonian Path Problem
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 10:48 PM 11/28/95, E. ALLEN SMITH wrote: >From: IN%"perry(a)piermont.com" 28-NOV-1995 02:02:17.85 > >Indeed. Its the problem with innumeracy. People don't understand that >if, say, a problem is O(2^N), and a problem of size 1000 requires a >liter of fluid, a problem of size 2000 requires >--------------------------- > Now that I've looked at it a bit more, I would definitely agree... >exponential growth is quite a function. Incidentally, talking about it in >liters of fluid is probably not the best way to look at it, any more than The reason we speak in terms of physical volumes of "Adleman computers" is to make concrete the way things scale. If the amount of Adleman computers needed to factor, say, a 2000-digit modulus (or some reasonably equivalent Hamiltonian cycle problem, such as the TSP) is "ten Pacific oceans full of them running for 100 years," then one has a pretty clear feel for just how futile it is to ask about "But what about if we apply MASSIVE PARALLELISM?!?!" (There's a certain well-known person who frequently raises the issue of "massive parallelism" on sci.crypt, each time revealing that he just doesn't understand that 1024 or even a million processors will not "solve" the problem for brute force attacks. Some people think there is something _magical_ about "massive parallelism.") >computer chips can be best defined in square centimeters. But that doesn't >change the essential conclusion; it just alters how big of a problem you >need to use. The lesson here, I believe, is to use as large of a key/etcetera >as possible... something that should be news to none, even to novices like me. >Never assume that something will require too much computing power, until the >computing power needed is not doable in the universe. Then add some, since >(for some problems) someone might figure out a clever way around them. I >worry that factoring may be one of these. I don't worry much about factoring breakthroughs. And I don't mean minor improvements, which keep occurring: I mean major breakthroughs which would make factoring a 2000-decimal-digit number "easy." Practically speaking, snarfing private keys is a helluva lot easier, for many reasons. --Tim May Views here are not the views of my Internet Service Provider or Government. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- 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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