December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: "This post is G-Rated"
by tcmay＠got.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I typically enjoy Lucky's jaundiced analyses, but I think he is overly paranoid in this one: At 5:28 AM 1/26/96, Lucky Green wrote: >What you will see is something like this: all lists/newsgroups will have to >be moderated with the name of the moderator clearly stated just as it is in >print magazines today. If something that is potentially dangerous to First, printed material does *not* have to have an author or publisher specified. The usual case cited is the Supreme Court decision on "anonymous handbills." I know of some zines that have no identifiable origin point. And anonymous pieces are published (even where the publisher/editor does not know the true author.) Second, Usenet is a global thing. Which national laws will apply? If the U.S. somehow is dumb enough to demand that each of the 12,000+ current Usenet groups have a moderator in a U.S. jurisdiction....well, there are too many issues here to properly deal with in a short note. Third, if the moderator is liable for "allowing" inappropriate material to get through, I predict a rather severe shortage of moderators. It's already a thankless job, so why any sane person take on the liability of doing it? Fourth, the Soviets couldn't control the underground "samizdat" press, and this was when the sanctions were stronger and the channels of communicaton more available. Today, in the West, there are at least two orders of magnitude more channels, and several orders of magnitude more sites, bandwidth, etc. Fifth, major constitutional challenges would be mounted. The First Amendment says that a posting to a public discussion does not first have to be cleared by a censor/moderator! (I'm not saying a group cannot be moderated, I'm saying that making it a crime to have an unmoderated, uncensored group will not pass constitutional muster.) --Tim Boycott espionage-enabled software! We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed. ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay(a)got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Re: "This post is G-Rated"
by Greg Broiles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 02:06 AM 1/26/96 GMT, Jeff Williams wrote: >Maybe nobody would use the flag, but I don't see how it could hurt. If I had >kids, I would appreciate having the option of sorting out all the stuff that >is "NIFK" by the author. My concern about such a flag is that if it was implemented widely, it would be a small step from being optional to being mandatory. As things stand, were some legislature to adopt a "mandatory labelling" statute tomorrow, we'd end up with a complex and pointless mess of conflicting and incompatible attempts at compliance, rendering the labelling scheme effectively useless; and, likely, "industry" (e.g., the big service providers + AT&T & MCI & Sprint etc) would oppose the legislation on the grounds that compliance would take several years and complex design to bring about. So we'd get some sort of grace period to argue against it, prepare good test case(s), establish offshore mailing lists/servers, and so forth. But if we let the market do an efficient job of developing and deploying a labelling standard, over the course of the next few years, we're an afternoon's sorry debate and a few bought-and-paid-for committee meetings away from a market standard turning into a statutory duty. This makes me think that if development of a labelling standard is imminent, it's time to find ways to subvert it, misuse it, avoid it, and otherwise treat it like an enemy. It's not necessarily an enemy until it's coopted into service by a coercive force (be it big brother^h^h^h^h^h^h^hgovernment or big brother^h^h^h^h^h^h^hcorporation) but it's a potential threat. Are you sure that your relatively moderate "less NIFK material is a good thing" stance is a good reflection of others' positions? My impression is that many people are dissatisfied with anything less than a "zero tolerance" position re kids & porn or kids & drugs or kids & sexual choice or whatever. Your view of a partial-cooperation world isn't especially draconian, but do you really think that others will be as tolerant of other positions re labelling? -- "The anchored mind screwed into me by the psycho- | Greg Broiles lubricious thrust of heaven is the one that thinks | gbroiles(a)netbox.com every temptation, every desire, every inhibition." | -- Antonin Artaud |

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Problem building PGP on NT
by Max Domeika 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi, First question: Is this the appropriate place to go with this kind of question. If not, I apologize. Anyways here goes: I'm trying to build PGP, the MIT version under windows NT using Microsoft C++ version 4.0. The program builds after a few modifications to the makefile but cannot generate a RSA key. Everytime, I type pgp -kg and answer the required questions, pgp attempts to generate some primes and apparently fails. Anyone have a clue as to what the problem may be??? I know there is an executable of PGP for NT already made, I've used it. So I at least know it's possible to build on NT. Anyone else attempt a port to NT??? Thanks ahead of time, Max

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9th Circuit addresses vicarious liability
by Greg Broiles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

The 9th Circuit issued a ruling today in _Fonovisa v. Cherry Auction_ overturning an ED CA district court's ruling re vicarious liability for copyright and trademark infringement. If I remember correctly, the lower court's ruling was one of those relied upon by Judge Whyte in his recent _Netcom_ ruling. In any event, it looks like it's an important development in vicarious liability and thus liability for ISP's and remailers and other providers of electronic "space" or conduit. http://www.callaw.com/9415715.html -- "The anchored mind screwed into me by the psycho- | Greg Broiles lubricious thrust of heaven is the one that thinks | gbroiles(a)netbox.com every temptation, every desire, every inhibition." | -- Antonin Artaud |

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Re: 9th Circuit addresses vicarious liability
by Greg Broiles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I wrote: > http://www.callaw.com/9415715.html > but it should have read: http://www.callaw.com/9415717.html -- "The anchored mind screwed into me by the psycho- | Greg Broiles lubricious thrust of heaven is the one that thinks | gbroiles(a)netbox.com every temptation, every desire, every inhibition." | -- Antonin Artaud |

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Re: Microsoft's CryptoAPI - thoughts?
by Alan Olsen 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 03:02 AM 1/26/96 -0500, you wrote: >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > >rickt(a)psa.pencom.com writes: >> [Info can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/intdev/inttech/cryptapi.htm] > >Has someone here managed to extract PostScript hardcopy of the CAPI from this >Web page? I tried earlier this evening and wound up with a miniature >ecological disaster on my hands. The page says: > >"For ease of online reading and printing, we've provided copies of this >lengthy document in Microsoft Word and Postscript formats." {Disaster story deleted] Ghostview seems to read it OK. I have not printed it yet. (I will do that tommorow.) It does seem to be missing any sort of Indexing information, which is not helpful... You may be able to use ghostscript to convert it to eps or something else useful to your printer. Alan Olsen -- alano(a)teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction `finger -l alano(a)teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ National Security uber alles!

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Cypherpunk Enquirer
by anon-remailer＠utopia.hacktic.nl 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

(The new issue wasn't supposed to come out for a month or so, but you guys are throwing us WAY too much ammo.) THE CYPHERPUNK ENQUIRER "Encyphering minds want to know." Perry Metzger today resigned from Hillary Clinton's defense team. Spokes- persons for Ms. Clinton refused to comment, but Mr. Metzger's offices did release a statement saying that Mr. Metzger's skills were in the area of debunking conspiracy theorists, and that he had little or no experience in the field of actual conspiracies. Compuserve today restored access priviledges to Dr. Leslie Franklin after receiving written confirmation from two medical doctors that Dr. Franklin is indeed a man. Compuserve, forced to cancel the subscriptions of almost one million female members after complaints from the Saudi Arabian government about unchaperoned conversations between men and women, has stated that in the future, all potential subscribers must supply a semen sample with their subscription request, and that test tubes and .GIFs of Cindy Crawford in skimpy lingerie will be included with a number of major mainstream computer publications in order to facilitate the new requirements. C2.org immediately offered one month's free access to anyone whose application included a PAP smear. The NSA, the CIA, the FBI, and a coalition of 437 other U.S. government agencies today announced that they were dropping their support of the policy of Government Access to (encryption) Keys, commonly known as GAK, in favor of a new policy of Government Access to Everything, or GAE. The new policy, using technology first pioneered by the Prodigy Network and later refined by Microsoft and its Registration Wizard(tm), would require that all new computers include a special government mandated GAE chip which would allow the government to download the entire contents of the computer's hard drive whenever the computer was connected to the Internet or other on- line service. In related news, the Clinton administration, in an unusual display of solidarity with Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, has announced that a new version of GAK will immediately be presented to the Senate, this time requiring government escrow of all house and automobile keys, and the Dow Chemical Company has received a multi-million dollar contract to develop a new fabric for America's curtains and draperies that would become transparent in the presence of a court order. The Cypherpunk Academy of Codes and Cyphers today announced a new nomination for the Perry Award, given to the cypherpunk who has done the most to improve the S/N ratio of the list. Today's nominee is Dr. Fred Cohen, for not posting anything for the past month. Dr. Cohen joins Alice de 'nominous in contention for the prestigious award, first won by Dr. Jonathon Pierce, personal psychopharmacologist to Larry Detweiler. Consumer's Union reported today that an extensive series of tests, performed over a 3 month period, has determined that owners of high-performance snakes, such as blue racers and black mambas, should use Windows NT encryption and security for lubrication purposes, but that owners of more standard models, such as vipers and constrictors, would see little or no benefit from the use of the more expensive NT product, and would be better served by the use of the less expensive Windows 95. "The truth IS out there - we make sure it STAYS out there." Motto of the Central Intelligence Agency Eric Blossom today announced a new filtered version of cypherpunks, "Cpunks Ultra-lite", that will be limited to messages about cryptography and C and C++ programming, and that will probably average about two messages a month. Due to sagging sales for the second edition of "Applied Cryptography", John Wiley and Sons today announced the publication of an abridged version, "Cryptography for Dummies - The Swimsuit Edition", featuring a centerfold of Elle McPherson in an "RC4 in 3 Lines of Perl" thong bikini. Ms. McPherson was reportedly detained at La Guardia airport while NSA officials searched the ITAR for an excuse to confiscate the garment. Governor Pete Wilson of California today ordered the removal of all computers from public school grades K-12, since it was discovered that 79% of them had been "hacked" to receive Spice and the Playboy channel. Rich Graves was forced to change his signature file today when it was discovered that, due to a rider in the present telecommunications bill passed by the Senate, statists are now required to "set a good example" for America's youth, and are no longer allowed to fuck. Frank Semalo today announced he was suing Compuserve for $99.95 plus tax. Mr. Samalo's complaint stated that, due to the small size of the test tubes provided by the defendants and his inability to print out .GIF files in color, the Compuserve registration process resulted in a ruined keyboard. Anonymous User's claim that the NSA has broken PGP was withdrawn today, when it was discovered that the "break" occurred at a recent Washington, D.C. GAE conference, where a NSA spokesman transferred the popular program to CDROM and attacked it with a sledge hammer. The FBI today released accused serial killer Timothy May from custody and issued an apology to the retired Intel engineer, stating that he was no longer a suspect. The agency also issued retraction letters to over one thousand Internet users who had been warned that they might be potential targets. "What else were we supposed to do," asked one unidentified FBI agent, "when we found all of those names in something called a killfile?" Louis Freeh's head is still stuck. The Hoover Corporation today announced a new government contract for the development of a 17 story tall, one billion terrabyte capacity canister style vacuum cleaner with T3 and fiber-optic connection ability. The new machine, to be delivered to an unnamed government agency, would be used, according to a Hoover spokesperson, for "unspecified janitorial work on the Internet." -- CTHULHU for President - Why vote for the LESSER of two evils?

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SMTP mail warning
by postmaster＠ncr-sd.SanDiegoCA.ATTGIS.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

message

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Re: Signing nyms' keys (Was: Report on Portland Cpunks...)
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>> Over time, some nyms take on a distinct identity of their own. [...] The >> thought, therefore, as I imagine it would be "You don't know I am in person, >> but you can count on me to be who I am, with this style and set of views, >> and I say that this guy is another actual person with the same." This much can be accomplished by the nym-user signing all messages with a consistent key. However, a signature does somewhat assert that the signer believes the keyholder is the same John Doe that folks in the signer's circle of acquaintances expect, and that the purported keyholder (who may still be anonymous/pseudonymous) really holds the key, and maybe that the keyholder is the only person with that name whose key he's signed. #-- # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com, Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 # # "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" used to mean us watching # the government, not the other way around....

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Re: V-chip?
by Bill Stewart 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This message rated FZ. At 08:33 PM 1/24/96 -0800, mpd(a)netcom.com (Mike Duvos) wrote: >As I understand it, the basic concept behind the V-Chip is to >allow selective blocking of material a particular viewer might >find offensive based on content information transmitted along >with the program. As long as the program material itself is >transmitted unaltered, and there are multiple non-governmental >providers of content descriptions catering to the spectrum of >human likes and dislikes, this sounds like ideal Cypherpunk >technology. No, it's to allow selective blocking of material that a government-approved panel has described as deserving blocking for children. It's rabidly unnecessary, and also too simplistic to be really useful. For instance, it's unlikely to block "COPS" and "The War In Bosnia" under any available settings, and "Speeches of President Exon" will probably be required viewing because there isn't a "no lies" setting. Selective blocking, using VCRplus codes or some similar technology, would be far more useful, support multiple rating services, and give your VCR something to do other than flash 12:00. ... >What are the dangers of this new technology? >First, the government might want only one description of content, >which it controls. My notion of what is offensive probably >differs greatly from that of Jesse Helms, for instance. Yup. However, _you_ won't be the one doing the description... #-- # Thanks; Bill # Bill Stewart, stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com, Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281 # # "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" used to mean us watching # the government, not the other way around....

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