December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Anyone considered adding crypto into Microsoft Outlook?
by Rick Osborne 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 06:44 PM 12/3/96 -0500, Phillip M. Hallam-Baker wrote: [[It just struck me that it would probably make the most convenient platform for integrating cryptography. After all MAPI is an open, extensible API allowing ready access to the email "hooks" necessary. The integration of an address book with the email system makes it very easy to add public key information into a person's entry. ]] It's already been done with MS Exchange. I assume that this new version ("Outlook", did you call it?) is backwards compatible with Exchange plugins. Take a look at: http://homepage.interaccess.com/~jon/ [[The main problem so far seems to be the impenetrability of the MAPI documentation. Does anyone know of a usable reference or which of the gazillion Microsoft Developer network CDs one can find more information?]] Well, the MAPI SDK used to me on the MS FTP server, but I don't know where it is since they did their reorganization. Rick Osborne / osborne(a)gateway.grumman.com / Northrop Grumman Corporation ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A few memory locations short of an address space."

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testing new Home Web site
by haygor＠dtx.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>try this site and tell me how you like it >if you dont like it then message Mr.Angry on that page > PhReAkInG iS a ViOlEnT pOiSoN. iT cAnNoT Be ApPlIeD >eXtErNaLlY tO aNiMaL oR hUmAn TiSsUe WiThOuT sErIoUs InJuRiOuS >rEsUlTs. It CaNnOt Be TaKeN iNtErNaLlY wItHoUt InDuCiNg VoMiTtInG, >bLiNdNeSs, AnD GeNeRaL pHySiCaLlY uLtImAtElLy ReSuLtInG iN dEaTh. > PhReAk ThE pLaNeT--http://www.angelfire.com/ne/PhreakThePlanet/index.html > PhIbErDeLiC PhReAkEr ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!1

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NEWS.COM DISPATCH December 3, 1996
by The CNET newsletter 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

*************************************** CNET's NEWS.COM DISPATCH Tuesday, December 3, 1996 San Francisco, California, USA *************************************** WELCOME! *************************************** The NEWS.COM DISPATCH highlights the up-to-the minute technology news presented by NEWS.COM. It tempts readers with coverage of today's hottest stories, news in the making, (in)credible rumors, and other indispensable information. For complete versions of the stories updated all day long, head over to: http://www.news.com/?nd *************************************** CONTENTS SCOOPS AND TOP STORIES January trading often a microcosm of year to come It's not just an online ad--it's a purchase order, too Chasing Gates, Oracle's Ellison finds someone chasing him Sybase finds a sugar daddy, and the market responds ANNOUNCEMENTS An easy way for you to customize NEWS.COM Late-breaking stories just a click away with Desk Top News Send us your questions, comments, flotsam, and jetsam Search the site for particular topics and articles How to subscribe and unsubscribe *************************************** SCOOPS AND TOP STORIES JANUARY TRADING OFTEN A MICROCOSM OF THE YEAR TO COME For 40 of the last 45 years, all bear markets began or continued with losing or below-average Januarys, while the best market years all had above-average Januarys. In today's Perspectives feature, California Technology Stock Letter Editor Michael Murphy analyzes what trends investors should look for during this bellwether month. http://www.news.com/Perspectives/perspectives.html?nd IT'S JUST NOT AN ONLINE AD, IT'S A PURCHASE ORDER TOO File under: "Oh, so THAT'S where all the money is going to come from." Ted Leonsis of AOL predicts that a revolutionary breed of transaction-enabled advertisements will bring billions of dollars in ad revenues to the Net in the near future. He also opines that these new hybrids will make today's "banners and buttons" obsolete by 1998. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5872%2C00.html?nd CHASING GATES, ORACLE'S ELLISON FINDS SOMEONE CHASING HIM Larry Ellison, who has portrayed himself as a Microsoft-slayer with his vaunted vision of the Network Computer, is himself facing a challenge, this time on Oracle's traditional home ground. Informix's Phil White is hoping that his new product will make his company the king of the database hill. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5867%2C00.html?nd SYBASE FINDS A SUGAR DADDY, AND THE MARKET RESPONDS Although formerly number-two database maker Sybase has suffered three consecutive quarterly losses, things might finally be looking up for the troubled firm. The company's stock, which had been virtually flat for more than a month, rose in response to the news that renowned financier George Soros was bringing in the cavalry. http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C5870%2C00.html?nd *************************************** ANNOUNCEMENTS AN EASY WAY FOR YOU TO CUSTOMIZE NEWS.COM So many bits, so little time? Sounds like you need Custom News. Identify the topics, keywords, or sections you're most interested in, and Custom News will a create a page of headlines and summaries for all stories that match your criteria. Check it out at: http://www.news.com/Personalization/Entry/1%2C21%2C%2C00.html?nocache=1 LATE-BREAKING STORIES A CLICK AWAY WITH DESK TOP NEWS How would you like having split-second access to the very latest news on the Net? Our Desk Top News feature puts our 20 most recent stories right there on your desktop for you to review at any time. Here's how it works: 1. From any story, click Desk Top News in the top right. 2. A window will open showing our last 20 stories. 3. Click on a headline to display the story. 4. Desk Top News updates itself every 30 minutes. 5. You become known as Ms./Mr. Cyber-Info. It feels good. http://www.news.com/Help/Item/0%2C24%2C12%2C00.html?nd SEND US QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, FLOTSAM, AND JETSAM If you have any questions, suggestions or remarks, send us a message: newsdispatch(a)cnet.com SEARCH THE SITE FOR PARTICULAR TOPICS AND ARTICLES Search the entire NEWS.COM database for stories you saw in News Dispatch, or track any story we've run. http://www.news.com/Searching/Entry/0%2C17%2C0%2C00.html?nd HOW TO SUBSCRIBE AND TO UNSUBSCRIBE To subscribe to News Dispatch: Send mail to listserv(a)dispatch.cnet.com with the message: subscribe news-dispatch (your name) in the message body. To unsubscribe send the message: signoff news-dispatch *************************************** CNET: The Computer Network http://www.cnet.com/ http://www.news.com/ http://www.gamecenter.com/ http://www.download.com/ http://www.search.com/ http://www.shareware.com/

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Re: Anyone considered adding crypto into Microsoft Outlook?
by Matthew J. Miszewski 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> It just struck me that it would probably make the most convenient >platform for integrating cryptography. After all MAPI is an open, extensible >API allowing ready access to the email "hooks" necessary. The integration of >an address book with the email system makes it very easy to add public key >information into a person's entry. > > I'm not sure whether PGP or MOSS would be the most compatible format. >Its quite possible that S/MIME would be more appropriate. I am currently using the new EPPI DLL for Eudora 3.0. It integrates PGP almost seamlessly. I have had no problems at all ... yet. > It seems to me however that the main thing stopping the use of crypto has been the pretty weedy interfaces. I'm afraid the MH hacks just don't cut it. It seems to me that a downloadable plug-in would be very popular. I know a lot of lawyers who would jump at the chance to use email but realize they have to have crypto. > > The main problem so far seems to be the impenetrability of the MAPI documentation. Does anyone know of a usable reference or which of the gazillion Microsoft Developer network CDs one can find more information? hehe. I totally agree. MS = MaSsive Confusion. > > Phill Matt

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more IPG and random numbers
by Eric Murray 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I did some more experiments with the IPG stream-cipher algorithim and random number tests. Since IPG claim that their algorithim passes chi-square tests of randomness, I found a chi-square test program. It's written by Peter Boucher and was posted to sci.crypt in '93 (<2bum8sINN98j(a)roche.csl.sri.com>). I found it on the web site crypto.com, sorry I don't remember the exact URL but I can send it on request. From the comments: > New, and improved anal.c, uses chi-square. > > Does the 'runs up' (or 'runs down') test with run-length equal to two > get me anything over the standard chi-square test? I left it in. > > BTW, the buf[i] = (((seed = (1103515245*seed +12345)) >> 16) & 0xff); > test fails this one at high numbers. It's too evenly distributed. > > -Peter > > /* *************************************************************** > * anal.c -- > * > * Copyright 1993 Peter K. Boucher > * Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this > * software and its documentation for any purpose and without > * fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright > * notice appear in all copies. > * > * Usage: anal [input_file [output_file]] > * > * This program counts the occurances of each character in a file > * and notifies the user when a the distribution is too ragged or > * too even. > * > * Because the chance of getting byte B after byte A should be 1:256 > * (for all A's and B's), the program also checks that the successors > * to each byte are randomly distributed. This means that for each byte > * value (0 - 255) that occurs in the text, a count is kept of the > * byte value that followed in the text, and the frequency distribution > * of these succeeding bytes is also checked. > * > */ [..] > #define Vmin (205.33) /* 1% chance it's less */ > #define Vlo (239.39) /* 25% chance it's less */ > #define Vhi (269.88) /* 75% chance it's less */ > #define Vmax (310.57) /* 99% chance it's less */ > > First I ran the output from my version of the IPG algorithim that I posted a couple days ago : % ./boucher < ipg.out Occurances: n = 12000000, V=-8375833.71 Character occurances non-random Successions: n = 46875, V=62287.82 Character successions non-random Then I ran output from a test RNG that's basically a loop around random(): % ./boucher < myrandom/out Occurances: n = 3414720, V=213050.62 Character occurances non-random Successions: n = 13338, V=1143.41 Character successions non-random As you'd expect, it doesn't look like the output from random() is all that great. Finally I generated some output from a random seed generator I wrote a while back. It gets randomness from high-resolution timers and hashing system files. It's not as fast as repeated calls to rand() but is faster than reading from /dev/random: % ./boucher < out Occurances: n = 594352, V=269.75 ================ Frequency distribution excellent! ==================== Successions: n = 2321, V=256.12 ================= Successor randomness excellent! ===================== So, from these tests it looks like IPGs PRNG, which their stream cipher is based on, is not a very good source of random values. Hence anything encrypted with it is succeptable to cryptoanalysis. How succeptable, I do not know. I am sort of curious, since IPG claimed that their PRNG produces "perfect" random data as measured by chi-square analysis, yet my analysis shows otherwise. Perhaps I have coded the algorithim incorrectly (I don't think so, it's pretty simple). Or perhaps IPG chose their keys for the ABC tables carefully to produce good results. Unfortunately that would mean that keys would have to be carefully chosen, something that's not very practical. Based on the work I've done, and the work Igor Chudov posted, it looks like the IPG algorithim is probably not very strong. If two relative crypto neophytes can find serious problems with it, imagine what might happen if experienced cryptoanalists look at it. If you were one of the people who said "it's snake oil unless it's been been tested for a zillion years" etc. you can pat yourself on the back now 'cause you were right. However I think that some of us owe Mr Wood, if not an apology for the excessive abuse he got on this list, at least some respect for putting his money where his mouth is and posting his algorithims. Maybe he'll do some research, tone down the hype, and come back with something better. -- Eric Murray ericm(a)lne.com ericm(a)motorcycle.com http://www.lne.com/ericm PGP keyid:E03F65E5 fingerprint:50 B0 A2 4C 7D 86 FC 03 92 E8 AC E6 7E 27 29 AF

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RE: Counterproductive Dorothy Denning Flames
by nobody＠cypherpunks.ca 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 11:58 AM 12/3/1996, Blanc Weber wrote: > Denning is considered credible solely because her statements are > consistent with the interests and views of those in authority. > >Yet even if one's statements are not consistent with the established >authorities, they could be credible and noteworthy to a wide audience, >were the statements in consonance with reality, expressing truths >observable to any (once they were isolated and identified) and >understable to those who hear or read them. I agree. I hope that my own statements have influence in spite of my mouldy reputation. (BTW, when I was young, hacking your opponents to death with a broadsword was noble and now it is politically incorrect. Privacy skeptics nota bene! Times do not change for the better.) >So is Denning offensive because she is unpleasant per se, or do negative >opinions of her exist because of who/what she is supporting? i.e., >because she is on "their" side, rather than "ours", because she employes >her reasoning to their benefit, rather than to ours whose singular >authority in this matter is under contention? There are a number of reasons why Denning gets so much attention. She is the most prominent spokesperson for the pro-GAK view and is, therefore, a lightning rod. There was a German newscaster during the Nazi era who has been described as the "the German Walter Cronkite". He was seen as a top war criminal and was tried at Nuremburg. More recently, after the wall fell many people in Germany were eager to prosecute the East German newscaster who played a similar role in promoting the Honecker regime. It may be unjust, but people feel like they actually know the spokesperson, for better or for worse. She is seen as "one of us" because she wrote a book on cryptography. As a consequence, she is seen as a traitor. I am not endorsing this view. Many people believe that she could not honestly believe everything she says. Instead, they believe that she is sticking to a difficult party line in anticipation of rewards down the road in terms of greater prestige, career advancement, access to grant money, and maybe in other ways. This is called "toadying". It is not going to be popular amongst people who value intellectual integrity. The alternative explanation to many is that she is clueless. There is some evidence that this is the correct explanation. Denning, however, doesn't get off the hook. In the technical community, cluelessness is seen as being just short of a crime against humanity. Persistent cluelessness *is* a crime against humanity. Toadying and cluelessness are both irritating to the author. Denning may also be seen as a "suit" dictating to the programmers what kinds of programs they may write. This is not a formula for social success in the technical community. The academic community has been relatively quiet during the Clipper debate. There are very few members of academia who have gone on the record repeatedly and publicly to say that GAK is the most ridiculous thing we have ever heard and that the people proposing it must be out of their minds, or Nazis, or both. We all know that many academics believe this to be true. However, they are keeping quiet until it is clear which way the wind sets. This is irritating to many and it spills over on Denning. That is probably unfair. Unless you think she is a toady, in which case she is the canonical example of academic indifference and cynicism. In my last message, I said that it was irritating that Denning is seen as a credible spokesperson. Can we fairly hold Denning responsible for the poor judgement of the media which is employed through the poor judgement of the masses? Not really, but she's handy. Many people find the government's underhanded tactics irritating. Rather than honestly raise the issue for public discussion, and maturely, responsibly, and honestly discuss their views, the government has resorted to subterfuge in an attempt to achieve its goals. Clipper was supposed to fool everybody into accepting GAK. The export laws have been, to put it charitably, abused. These tactics are irritating because their intention is to deceive the American people. Denning appears to many to be party to these tactics. We have seen a number of people attempt to win the loyalty of the Net constituency. Gore attempted it with promises of massive funding. Gingrich has attempted it through various pronouncements. The usual pattern is to offer a reward, but in return the constituency has to compromise on something. This pattern is seen over and over again. Denning may be seen by some as yet another politician attempting to get in a position to "deliver" the Net "precinct". Some believe that she positioned herself first as "one of us" and then attempted to sell us out. In the past, it was easier to sell out a constituency due to widespread ignorance and misguided trust. This didn't work for the Net due to the high intellectual integrity of long time Net denizens, the fact that the Net abhors ignorance, and our strong belief that we do not need help reading our mail or paying for it. Still, every politician that attempts this sort of thing is irritating and Denning, if guilty, is no exception. Sir Galahad

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No Subject
by logos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

You wrote: >Sounds like a heck of a good idea, if: >1. You can ID the bad logic with a high percent of success >(90+ ?). I shall endevor to do my best. Initially, I shall only comment on the most flagrant violations. 90+% should be easy. >2. You can comment/reply for all members fairly, but if> >limited by the large number of postings (and fallacies ?), >give priority to ??? Worst first. >As far as Congress expelling members, are you saying that >the Senate and/or H.O.R. can permanently eliminate a person >elected by the people? Yes, the congress is the sole determiner of the qualifications of its members. >Has this ever been tested? Adam Clayton Powell. Logos out

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No Subject
by jens.melander＠vpress.se 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

unsuscribe cyberpunks

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No Subject
by logos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

An anonymous poster wrote: >Timothy C[*] May, a product of a* birth, appeared with >coathanger through his head. >/o)\ Timothy C[*] May >\(o/ I respectfully ask that the author of this post contact me. I am curious about his or her motives and would appreciate it if he or she would address these questions: 1) Why are you attacking Tim May? Has he harmed you in some way? 2) Do you think such posts harm Tim May or help you in some fashion? 3) What do you hope to accomplish by these posts? 4) Do you favor the use of strong cryptography to preserve privacy? 5) If Yes, do you think such posts are constructive to that end? If No, is it your intent that your posts harm the cause of strong cryptography and privacy? 6) Why have you chosen to hide your true identity? Logos out

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No Subject
by logos 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Blanc Weber wrote: >Statements like these, with which cpunks retort to each >other all the time, are examples of the ever-continuing >exercise of logic which goes on the list - even if not >formally delineated nor announced as being of such intent >(LOGOS). > >I am glad for the points which "Sir Galahad" brought up, >because they point out the difference between essential vs >non-essential elements in arguments like this one. My warmest thanks to Blanc Weber for 'beating me to the punch' about 'Sir Galahad's' thoughtful analysis. His post is the sort of give and take which focuses debate and raises the level of intellectual discourse. Thank you, 'Sir Galahad' and Blanc Weber. I hope other posters to this list can emulate your examples. Logos out

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