December 2003 - cypherpunks-legacy

Re: Content controls
by Tim May 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 1:57 PM -0700 11/8/97, William H. Geiger III wrote: >Once you have given me the keys to unlock and display the data I can save >it, copy it, reproduce it and distribut it. To assume otherwise shows a >lack of understanding of computer systems and moderen OS's. Sure I would >need to write some software and jump through some hoops to do it but there >is nothing that your system can do to prevent me from doing so. Now wether >it is worth the effort to do so will depend on the value of the data >involved. Once you have given me the ability to display the data you have >lost the battle as I can do whatever I want with it. Exactly so. Once able to go into the listener's ears, the viewer's eyeballs, or the customer's whatever, the battle is basically lost. About the best that can be hoped for is to insert some "almost unnoticeable mark"--a watermark, a notch filter (a la early scheme for combatting DAT piracy), etc. And even these "almost unoticeable marks" are easily twiddled away. Unless they are so noticeable that serious image or sound distortion occurs when the marks are removed or obscured. Even purely digital works are easily copied. Even unique IDs per software piece are easily removed (e.g., by having N customers compare and diff out the noncommon bits). --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."

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Selling a Persistent Identity
by nobody＠neva.org 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- How would you sell a persistent identity with a good reputation? The obvious method of selling the secret key doesn't work because the buyer has to trust the seller not to resell it. This could be solved by revealing your True Name, but that's no fun. A nym with a good reputation for this sort of business could be used, but that wouldn't be any fun either since it could link a series of identities with one source. The only thing I can think of is to have a trusted party who creates and manages the key. When the owner of the key wants to sign something, he or she sends it to the trusted party for signing and transmission. To sell the key, the trusted party is instructed to accept the buyer's messages instead of the seller's. The buyer and the seller never actually possess the key themselves. Is there a better way to do this? Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGi+FZaWtjSmRH/5AQFS1Qf+OPGg/JLuKVB7nab83W1Yh23woJ/om5pD VDsiawtPAcwBRZhwVfOZltuJvovT7rgU7+Jqp6tzhuD8QApY48BSi36ywz+IQnH8 tLJgGV/g1j/afalEhdaOB13LsoBpYmTLvptK296FvUXYPNYumx3e16M8hJxq8SNF 2Tm3Z+ifH0gRLJKjAhOqyG2iMqnmtIYZzmhavPz6thjrE9nKaEE2PII5T2SP9B/J sNsOJ7sjElWGlxemEGc9uR9wAKV/5qlMRRB8DOdLgcQTndjikvHU5uPb9lLYiSYc 4/nDbZNfe6W+gZj71Utm2Ubwu+x/3+fF46Db7j5e6XSrGCx+EzC7nA== =QIDm -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: Br'er Tim and the Bug Hole
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dumb of me to get in the middle of this, but the bloodlust's up: Tim's statements are gutsy and right: there's no gain in self-censoring, shading one's anger to appease the goons of whatever firepower. (Bob, go to end.) Most massive firepower can't focus on or hit exclusively small targets, that's what's a lie about "surgical" strikes. Waste the countryside, yes, hit one rabbit and not the beloved dog and fellow hunter, little chance. What it takes is sharpshooting: a one shot, one target, one pig, one sticker. True, Horushi's snipe worked, it nailed an innocent, though a couple of others died to set him up for his own nailing. True, Waco worked, it charred a crowd of innocents, though a few others got plugged setting up the roast, and the 2nd roast. True, firebombing works, as does mass weaponing --nukes, chemicals and germs -- but indiscriminately, by terrorism of the masses, at the price of also terrifying the citizenry paying for the megadeath heritage. All standoff firepower is limited against the individual by imprecision of the killing machines and cowardice of the operators -- artillery, planes, ships, satellites, take your pick. They savage territory to save the operator's ass, who, as anyone knows who been around these candyass strutters, aint got what it takes to cut the guy's throat who's stabbing your eye. What's my point? Well, for lack of a better word, it's personal courage, going nuts when the time's right, the guts to not shut the fuck up when you're told to by those who're a whole lot bigger, who've got more armaments and thinks they're smarter and more ruthless and meaner and have the troops, rank and medals to back it up. Just remember that most of those strengths are for getting somebody else or a machine to do what is too fucking terrifying to do yourself directly. Do this when the monster accosts: pull your forelock, say sorry sir, then upstab the fucker's groin, as he doubles, hack the cord, he'll go down quivering, then cut out his liver, kick up his green face, squat close, show him the blob, take a bite, chew, savor, swallow, put lip to dying ear, whisper, "tasty." Go home, get a beer, stare the tube, sharpen your tool. Or as maddog Tim sez, lock and load. But look, I'm with Bob, too, my tool's philosophy gone berzerk, trash words, wags, gags, alliterations, mouth shooting. My steel weapons are locked from burglars who scare the shit out of me just by looking like ordinarily ugly wall streeters, that is, like my maddog neighbors eyeing me for junk IPO sales. Sure glad my war's long over, happily getting dimmer, easier to forget the godawful. Hey, it's veteran's day, anybody want to croak and limp to glories past?

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Re: 1st Ammendment Tossed in Paladin Case
by nobody＠REPLAY.COM 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Tim May wrote: > In the infamous "Twenty-Nine Palms" poll of soldiers, asking if troops > would fire on civilians if ordered to carry out an order, the longer the > soldier had been in the service, the less likely he was to say he would. > (The context of this order is generally believed to be related to a > Department of Defense involvement in the wholesale disarming of the > population under a state of emergency, FEMA or U.N. orders, etc.) Note that "Twenty-Nine Palms" was the military home/liason of those involved in the INSLAW travesty. (Everyone _not_ working for the Department of Justice who can say "Fuck You" to Congress and get away with it, raise your hand.) > This is consistent with the military retireds I know being _extremely_ > anti-government. Usually with a right-wing flavor, but then that is > understandable. It is a fact that we tend to narrow our range of perception when we get involved in any cult/religion/organization and bestow some of our own innate responsibility/authority upon them. Once separated from the group, however, we then tend to regain more control over our individual beliefs and values, whereupon we are more likely to recognize where we stepped beyond or own moral/ethical values while caught up, to whatever extent, in 'group mind.' This has been discussed on the list (e.g. Declan goes to Washington!) and, thankfully, we have a weird enough assortment of not-quite-normal SubGenius Bizzaro CypherPundits to keep us pissing all over ourselves and one another to make the possibility of us becoming dues-paying members of the CypherSheeple Union a remote possibility. A CypherPunk nuking DC would not be a tragedy. What would be a tragedy would be if, after being asked "Why?", he or she turned around to ask 'the group', "Uuhhh...why did I do that, again? Hey! Where did everybody go?" Any physical war or revolution in the future will be largely dependent upon the success of the parallel InfoWar designed to direct (or prevent) the thinking of those who the government provides with weapons and authority. We need as many of them as possible to be smiling inwardly to themselves when they say, "My gun is loaded, Sarge...and I'm 'right behind' you, all the way." LoadAndUnlockMonger

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Re: Gun Control brings on a New Arms Race
by Mix 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Tim May wrote: >(A friend of a friend scored a "cold" Glock 17L...$400 in "NQA" >condition, immediate delivery.) What is a "cold" weapon? What does "NQA" mean? Thanks. Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGi1EZaWtjSmRH/5AQEmVgf/VAzaeo6sgWdNgeBDROt9iZWFZcQi/CZX vvT0cgaOYlSiIKGUKNLqRj8wevyNKQ6fiVLQjMt6zPXCFxzt+BL32NbGOpDZa2Jb YdcGWI3umciOYDxpDMVfnx3W16NiY4rwE5ckj1UnaJHgvut7Y4EtqPjsgcvg86O3 1PhPOxQcCJV+YYIAFu97IYaqkf8L2b+FUNa3DiMqHdTkj2TmbcQWWMPNPPxKIOqJ rMFgN8FSrkh7Js80vdre7Lipg32DyMr6xyzaW5OOxQ5J2IZLZNckn5wNyvulJXio zJyrZEeCwoIW1quHPiiH9/NirjMqw/w0Oi9qvusVKE0az6J6/xLoBQ== =lsaA -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Secure Hashing for Entropy
by Mix 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Often we have a source of entropy whose output we use as the input to a secure hash function. Does it matter if the hashing function is secure? I don't think so. All that really matters is that the function hashes evenly so that any input string is about as likely as any other input string to result in a particular hash. Even if the hash function is weak and collisions can be found, if it is even the same level of entropy is still available. Have I got this right? Monty Cantsin Editor in Chief Smile Magazine http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQEVAwUBNGi7K5aWtjSmRH/5AQHNmgf8DddkfsAzC1xTLmOn1eS8Vsxx7HgxwEOh VGpiRC2D29N+y0z9+JZltiNd298QmfvlArYRXBFAC8dKvznf6HWa/xPetW+KqebQ qOKel9hw3pfT8jeRC6G1M9oarWPjU9jOGLlv/DByCI8EcUVvb3Kk9PxdywFpT289 vEFmfDQObHH9BtQFf2hrphx8FtE8QHWIeJMcA16QfKZX/nel9pWEyaXUfE6Rvwuh 3REctj4E/uoTi4FRBjxgFx4pnraIGqg2wVA8Q/iGr41BxauBgRZ+sMZt0CH/x9cc IAKSUuY709Gme6HEqWLyMDdIDZ3Y24xbd9r3eyjFGZZYeaGwG4KowQ== =Ey6Q -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Thank You
by Joe Anonymous 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Thank you for your recent inquire. President, Joe Anonymous Free web-based email, Forever, From anywhere! http://www.mailexcite.com

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Bug Bounty: Disappearing Cryptography...
by Peter Wayner 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

My publisher is preparing to reprint my book _Disappearing Cryptography_. As part of a general maintence scheme, I'm offering a reward of $10.00 for the first person to discover a technical error found in the book. Find as many as you can and win some cash. Naturally, there are some limitations to the offer: * Only the first person to report an error is eligible for the reward. The final decision in the case of a tie, will be up to me. The ties will be broken using the time my SMTP server (access.digex.net) receives the mail. I reserve the right to give out multiple rewards in the case of a tie or a close finish. In fact, I'll aim to do this. I just don't want the situtation to emerge where everyone can send me the same bug report and feel eligible for a reward. * Some multiple errors may only count once. Imagine that the third page was missing from the book. Technically, all following pages would be misnumbered. I reserve the right to group any collection of bugs together and label them one error. I will use this right judiciously to avoid hair splitting arguments, but not to deny people multiple rewards. The more errors that are fixed, the better. * Grammar errors aren't eligible, but I welcome any comments. These disputes are often more issues of taste than rule. -Peter Wayner

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Re: ???
by VME Encryption 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dear Bill Geiger, My first reacation to your followup letter was getting more upset, and I almost replied with another mad letter. But then I decided to better myself and see who I'm dealing with. I've looked at your web site, and looks like you might be a nice person. So, I tried to figure out the reason for the previous vicious letter that was completely unjustified and the following attacks you placed. I'll take it from the point that you might not know all the facts and explain. If that's not enough, I'm sorry. 1) The million dollars challenge is no longer valid for the last 3 months. 2) The current challenge bares NO monetary prize. 3) VME flowcharts, algorithm AND a working application is in the hands of 250 software companies for evaluation (Microsoft, IBM etc.) 4) We can not put it on the net, due to strict US export rules (as you mention in your web site as well) 5) Our program, flowcharts & algorithm have been filed with the US patent office and will be public domain within a year. If that helps explain our part, I'm glad. And if not, it's o.k. - it's a free country and everybody is entitled to their own mind. It's just feel sheety to be attacked by strangers that knows nothing about you, specially people that you might think should have some interest in keeping the individual right to privacy from government and te likes. We started this challenge with some goals in mind, but fighting with a group of cryptographers was not one of them. If anyone wants more technical data, we'll be glad to submit what we can under the circumstances, if someone wants to keep of flaming us, it's o.k. - but we won't respond anymore. Thanks, Project Management. At 09:17 AM 11/11/97 -0600, you wrote: >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > >In <3.0.32.19971110100935.006d91b0(a)ibcnet.com>, on 11/10/97 > at 01:09 PM, VME Encryption <matrix(a)meganet.com> said: > >>I rest my case. Please email me your mailing address for the purpose of >>serving and we'll meet in court. > >Serve whatever you want, I will be glad to forward them to my lawyers. > >Just out of curiosity do you threaten to sue everyone who says somthing >you don't like?? > >BTW: you should keep posting *publicly* I showed the thread from the >CP-List and sci.crypt to my lawyers yesterday. They laughed so hard they >bought me free drinks at the clubhouse. Who knows a few more posts from >you and I may be able to get a steak dinner out of them. :) > >- -- >- --------------------------------------------------------------- >William H. Geiger III http://users.invweb.net/~whgiii >Geiger Consulting Cooking With Warp 4.0 > >Author of E-Secure - PGP Front End for MR/2 Ice >PGP & MR/2 the only way for secure e-mail. >OS/2 PGP 2.6.3a at: http://users.invweb.net/~whgiii/pgpmr2.html >- --------------------------------------------------------------- > >-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- >Version: 2.6.3a >Charset: cp850 >Comment: Registered_User_E-Secure_v1.1b1_ES000000 > >iQCVAwUBNGh40Y9Co1n+aLhhAQEeZwP8Cbi4+b1a1x0azGyG5gJm6t2XlW835lxj >7kZy8ejki6Nh3LiEMLjLtwN1SwPu78Gfyubn587qx9yNhuig4VMKvXOGXY3lDN4b >Q6WnAIrLC27oMtllewpJyfICZ01sdqaR8A4X2QkarhHHracn/xDo0EEDEfe6FrsN >NCG9mpjeEyU= >=byvY >-----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > >

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me again
by powerbiz＠valumall.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

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