December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: The GAK Momentum is Building...
by Greg Broiles 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>>However, making the government a _required_ part of such plans implies a >>motive that is not at all the same as what companies wish (mostly, >>disaster recovery). > >the distinction lies in the terminology. what does it mean, "required >part of the plan". if it essentially amounts to nothing more than >the government saying, "you must give us keys when we present you >with a subpoena/warrant", then that's no different than the system >we have today. Hmm. The government sure is putting a lot of effort into moving us to a system that you say is "no different than the system we have today." As far as I can tell, you're the only one who thinks that. The government thinks that GAK is a big change, civil libertarians think GAK is a big change .. but you're welcome to call it "status quo" if it suits you. There's a world of difference between the government subpoena-ing something from me, where I can delay disclosure until I've exhausted my legal avenues to challenge disclosure, and the government demanding data from an at best disinterested third party who cares not at all if I get my day in court before they disclose. With the second scenario, I'm forced to try to "unring the bell", and somehow limit the spread of otherwise private/confidential data in a community (law enforcement) which is organized to collect and retain information. Ha, ha. Given today's Congress and Supreme Court, there's probably precious little chance that keys disclosed prematurely or erroneously won't be used to collect evidence which will be admissible despite the lack of meaningful opportunity to challenge the "recovery" of a key. -- Greg Broiles | "We pretend to be their friends, gbroiles(a)netbox.com | but they fuck with our heads." http://www.io.com/~gbroiles | |

1 0

SSN database scam?
by Gary Howland 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Forwarded from www-security mailing list. Gary -- "Of course the US Constitution isn't perfect; but it's a lot better than what we have now." -- Unknown. pub 1024/C001D00D 1996/01/22 Gary Howland <gary(a)systemics.com> Key fingerprint = 0C FB 60 61 4D 3B 24 7D 1C 89 1D BE 1F EE 09 06 To: www-security(a)ns2.rutgers.edu Subject: Can you say "fraud"? (fwd) From: Mary Irene Wise <auntyem(a)umich.edu> Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 08:44:39 -0400 (EDT) Sender: owner-www-security(a)ns2.rutgers.edu This is probably a bit off-topic; if so I apologize. Can anybody comment on the item forwarded below my sig file? It claims there's a database w/ people's credit card no's etc on it and you have to give your name and social security number to get off of it. This strikes me as being a scam to get your ssn, but this went around at work and people are actually calling and giving it out. I know ssn's aren't really as secure as they're supposed to be, but still... So, does anybody know if this database is for real or if it's just a scam? TIA, Mary Wise --------------------------------- *** ------------------------------------ Mary Wise | Computer Systems Specialist * auntyem(a)umich.edu LSA Information Technology | homepage not availabe at this time 3557 LSA Bldg 1382 * University of Michigan | (313) 647-6230 * | --------------------------------- *** ------------------------------------ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > > > Your name, social security number, current address, previous addresses, > mother's maiden name, birth date and other personal information > are now available to anyone with a credit card through a new Lexis database > called P-Trax. As I am sure you are aware, this information > could be used to commit credit card fraud or otherwise allow someone else to > use your identity. > > You can have your name and information removed from this list by making a > telephone request. Call (800)543-6862, select option 4 and > then option 3 ("all other questions") and tell the representative answering > that you wish to remove your name from the P-trax database. You > may also send a fax to (513) 865-7360 or 865-1930. Include your full name and >ssn in the fax. You can also send physical mail to > > LEXIS-NEXIS > P.O. Box 933 > Dayton, Ohio 45401-0933. > > Sending physical mail to confirm your name has been removed is always > a good idea. > > As word of the existence of this database has spread on the net, Lexis-Nexis > has been inundated with calls, and has set up a special set of > operators to handle the volume. In addition, Andrew Bleh (rhymes with > "Play") is a manager responsible for this product, and is the person > to whom complaints about the service could be directed. He can be reached at > the above 800 number. Ask for extension 3385. According to > Lexis, the manager responsible is Bill Fister at extension 1364. > > I called this morning and had my name removed. The representative will > need your name and social security number to remove you from the list. > I suggest that we inundate these people with requests to remove our > info from the list and forward this e-mail to everyone we know. > > >----- End Included Message ----- > > > >Cheers . . . > >"The backup procedure works fine, but the restore is tricky!" >_____________________________________________________________________________ > | _ \ Amanul Haque > | | \ \ Pencom System Administration > | |_/__/__ __ 9050 Capital of Texas Highway North, Austin, TX 78759 > | _/ ___/| \ Email: ahaque(a)pencom.com > | | \___ \| \ \ Pager: (708) 643-7331 > |__| /____/|_|__\___________________________________________________________ > Pencom Web Page : http://www.pencom.com > > > >------------- End Forwarded Message ------------- > > > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Nancy L. Cassidy University of Michigan LS&A Budget & Finance Team 2557 LSA Bldg. 1382 Tel: (313) 764-6465 Fax: (313) 764-2697 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1 0

Re: A daily warning regarding Timothy C. May
by DMiskell＠envirolink.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>Timothy C. May is a lying sack of shit. Right. And you had to insult him through use of anonymous mail. Boy, you're real brave, shedding the light to the rest of the cypherworld in such a manner. Apologies for the spam, but there was no address, obviously. -- If in fact we are the only intelligent life on this planet, why the fuck are we in this goddamn mess? -- Find my public key on the World Wide Web -- point your browser at: http://bs.mit.edu:8001/pks-toplev.html

2 1

The daily warning about Timmy May, the lying sack of shit
by nobody＠cypherpunks.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Timmy May proves that the Midwestern gene pool needs some chlorine in it.

1 0

Re: Fear of Flying -- from HotWired
by frantz＠netcom.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 1:21 AM 9/18/96 -0400, Black Unicorn wrote: >> On Thu, 12 Sep 1996 12:03:18 -0700, Bill Frantz wrote: >> >Gee, biotech has come a long way. Now I can download the Anthrax DNA >> >sequence from the net and insert it in some carrier bacteria and start >> >making Anthrax bacteria. Neat! > >Culturing and growing anthrax is painfully simple. No DNA required. Sorry Unicorn, you missed my point. (1) You need DNA to grow bacteria. You can get the DNA two ways. (A) You get a sample of the beast, or (B) You get a DNA sequence and then regenerate the DNA. (I don't think B is technically feasable yet.) (2) You can't send samples of the beast thru the net. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | "Cave softly, cave safely, | Periwinkle -- Consulting (408)356-8506 | and cave with duct tape." | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz(a)netcom.com | - Marianne Russo | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA

2 1

Re: 56 kbps modems
by pjb＠ny.ubs.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

if nothing else, the availability of 56kbps on an analog line might get the telcos to bring the isdn prices down to some reasonable level, which at the moment, it is not, at least not in nyc. -paul > From cypherpunks-errors(a)toad.com Tue Sep 17 18:21:03 1996 > From: Adamsc(a)io-online.com (Adamsc) > To: "Bill Stewart" <stewarts(a)ix.netcom.com>, > "cypherpunks(a)toad.com" <cypherpunks(a)toad.com> > Cc: "Asgaard" <asgaard(a)Cor.sos.sll.se>, "Enzo Michelangeli" <enzo(a)ima.com> > Date: Tue, 17 Sep 96 12:22:15 -0800 > Reply-To: "Chris Adams" <adamsc(a)io-online.com> > Priority: Normal > X-Mailer: Chris Adams's Registered PMMail 1.52 For OS/2 > Mime-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type> : > text/plain> ; > charset="us-ascii"> > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > Subject: Re: 56 kbps modems > Sender: owner-cypherpunks(a)toad.com > Content-Length: 1107 > > On Sun, 15 Sep 1996 01:31:19 -0700, Bill Stewart wrote: > > >and still get the original 56kbps back out. But if they can, well, > >yee-hah, ISDN is nearly dead :-) (Not totally dead; the signalling is > >still useful for some applications, the convenience of two channels on > >one wire pair is nice, and the fact that people can get 56kbps without > Also, can't you add ISDN b-channels ? (I.e. get another 64kps channel) > >the phone company's help will pressure them into offering ISDN for > >a lower price in areas where the Phone Company's idea of "all the market > >will bear" is substantially higher than voice pricing.) > > ISDN is more elegant; this sounds like a 'kludge' of sorts. OTOH, we've all > seen how well a cheap kludge can do, right? > > # Chris Adams <adamsc(a)io-online.com> | http://www.io-online.com/adamsc/adamsc.htp > # cadams(a)acucobol.com | V.M. (619)515-4894 > "I have never been able to figure out why anyone would want to play games on > a computer in any case when the whole system is a game. Word processing, > spreadsheets, telecoms -- it's all a game. And they pay you to play it." > -- Duncan Frissell > > >

2 1

Re: The GAK Momentum is Building...
by Jim Ray 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: cypherpunks(a)toad.com Date: Wed Sep 18 08:48:43 1996 Tim May wrote: <...> > (BTW, I predict that the tainted term "key escrow" is now gone from the > official lexicon. I haven't seen the Clipper IV proposal, but I surmise > that the baggage the term "key escrow" carries means that some more > benign-sounding term will be used in the final proposal. Something like > "Key Recovery System." You heard it here.) I agree, and hope so. "Key Recovery," while not as Orwellian-sounding as "GAK," is a step on the path to honesty WRT the English language, though it's important to continually point out, as Tim did in his post, that *access* -- rather than just recovery -- is obviously what Mr. Freeh wants. I'd count this likely change in terminology as a "cypherpunk victory," albeit a very small and certainly a very hard-fought one. JMR Regards, Jim Ray -- DNRC Minister of Encryption Advocacy "As govt.s grow arithmetically, corruption grows exponentially." -- Ray's Law of official corruption. Defeat the Duopoly! Stop the Browne out. Harry Browne for President. Jo Jorgensen for Vice-president. http://www.HarryBrowne96.org/ http://www.twr.com/stbo ___________________________________________________________________ PGP id.E9BD6D35 51 5D A2 C3 92 2C 56 BE 53 2D 9C A1 B3 50 C9 C8 I will generate a new (and bigger) PGP key-pair on election night. <mailto:liberty@gate.net> http://www.shopmiami.com/prs/jimray ___________________________________________________________________ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMj/vsG1lp8bpvW01AQFkhwP/XEkJkdXwYsdSM8kn+B3bR/bCDXaKgkIE p63RgjQ5C60byufXqlqitvuJPMuS19MRxlF7UXsXJXKY6Jm92Q45sQtLICsMqXhP /iJwDVYaEuDj24cFycsZjZMeT+xxnuy+OCuhKIEgKF6gjh2uEZxbCellCqJ86TPF XfPiQiTPBDo= =B2hR -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

5 4

SPAMS
by Stephan Schmidt 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hi, please focus on the UPPER written text at the bottom. I think they take it _much_ to easy. -stephan ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 17:55:57 +0000 From: Mailer <Mailer(a)aol.com> To: LISCIFI(a)AOL.COM Subject: Hi! Pardon the intrusion. Market study shows this may be of interest to you. If you have received this message in error, please hit delete. *********************************************************** A Personal Invitation Stop working for someone else! Put yourself in a position to leave the 9-5 grind behind!!! We invite you to listen to the most extraordinary and most powerful wealth building opportunity in the world and within a few minutes you will actually hear: * How you can make profits of $10,000 within the next 30 days! * You never have to leave your home! * A financial strategy 100 times more powerful than MLM or ANY OTHER BUSINESS! * Where you are paid directly and daily! (Don't wait for a company to pay you!) This is not MLM! This is not a pipe dream! This is a real business venture! 800-995-0796 Ext 9263. ************************************************************** ANY EMAIL ADDRESS PUBLISHED ON THE INTERNET THAT INVITES COMMERCIAL SOLICITATIONS IS DEEMED AS A COMMERCIAL ADDRESS, AND AS SUCH IS ELIGABLE FOR ETHICAL AND LEGAL EMAIL SOLICITATIONS FROM DIRECT ELECTRONIC MAIL MARKETERS. IF FOR ANY REASON YOU OBJECT TO RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE PLEASE POLITELY REQUEST REMOVAL FROM MY LIST BY CLICKING ON THE REPLY BUTTON AND ENTERING "REMOVE" IN THE SUBJECT LINE. IF YOU DO NOT DO SO, I MUST ASSUME YOU WISH TO RECEIVE FURTHER MAILINGS.

1 0

Cognitive Bias and Software Development
by jbugden＠smtplink.alis.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This reference was chopped from the bottom of a previous message. Communications of the ACM issue on Cognition and Software Development "Developers' thought processes are a fundamental area of concern. Cognitive scientists have discovered that people's intuitive inferences and probability judgments do not strictly conform to the laws of logic or mathematics, and that people are willing to provide plausible explanations for random events. This article examines the role these phenomenon might have in software development, ultimately concluding that what are cast as one-sided software development guidelines can be recast beneficially as two-sided trade-offs" Cognitive Bias in Software Engineering Webb Stacy and Jean MacMillian Communications of the ACM June 1995/Vol 38, No. 6 The article contains several good example of various classes of bias, including the representativeness, availability and confirmatory bias. While the article specifically adresses issues within the context of software development, all of these biases are general in nature and have correlates in other fields. Ciao, James Great minds think alike. Fools seldom differ. - Anonymous

1 0

Re: Spam blacklist project
by Duncan Frissell 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

hallam(a)ai.mit.edu writes: > Well if some people find it amazing that there are people out there > who agree with the 98.8% of people who did not vote Libertarian at the > last election then so be it. Course half the eligible population didn't vote at all obviously favoring market and personal approaches over political methods of governance. DCF

2 1