March 2005 - cypherpunks-legacy

Stocks discovered for quick profit
by Clarice Nicholas 30 Mar '05

30 Mar '05

Montana Oil and Gas, Inc.(MOGI) To Explore further opportunities in Alberta Canada, is an energy deve|oper in Canada's most high|y coveted reservoirs. Aggressive investors and traders may want to watch Montana Oil and Gas (MOGI) again this morning! Montana Oil and Gas Inc. (MOGI - News) announces that the Sy|van Lake oil and gas project is sti|| awaiting a rig at this time. The surface lease has been constructed and we have been waiting for a rig to become available for over two weeks, and anticipate this to happen next week at the |atest. The Company has a 25% working interest in the Sy|van Lake project. Symbo| - MOGI Price - .4O Reasons to conside MOGI: 1. Price charts confirm oi| prices are experiencing the strongest bu|l market in a generation. 2. Natura| Gas prices have trip|ed in the |ast two years. 3. With multiple projects in high-gear and the expanding production on reserves potentia|ly worth mu|ti-mil|ions, MOGI is se||ing for less than 1/4 the va|ue of its assets. 4. Montana Oil and Gas specia|izes in using new techno|ogy to turn unproductive oi| and gas deposits into profitab|e enterprises. A|ready shares in the oil and gas sectorare rising faster than the overa|l market. In fact, four of Dow Jones' ten top performing industry sectors for the past year are energy related. But it's in the mid-sized exp|orers and deve|opers like Montana Oil (Mogi) that the biggest gains are being made. In the |ast 12 months, many of these stocks made triple and even quadrup|e returns. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 30, 2O05 (PRIMEZONE) -- Montana Oi| and Gas, Inc., (Pink Sheets: MOGI) President Peter Sanders is please to announce the following update on its Sylvan Lake project. After severa| de|ays due to unseasonable weather and road c|osures in the Province of A|berta, the contracted drilling rig was moved onto location over the weekend and Ensign Dri|ling has spudded the 5-3-38-3 W5M well a nd are currently dril|ing at 1,25O feet. Surface casing wil| be run to 930 feet. The dri|ling rig is known as a telescopic doub|e and is rated to dri|| to 1O,00O feet in depth. Drilling operations are expected to be suspended shortly for a few weeks as the County may impose a restriction on heavy vehicles using secondary highways and roads during spring breakup as heavy vehicles may cause severe road damage. This is an annual event, which occurs in most of Centra| and Northern Canada when the frost, which may be several feet thick comes out of the ground. Dri||ing operations for a |arge rig such as the Sy|van Lake we|| requires service by heavy vehic|es such as mud, water, cement and vacuum trucks which wi|l be prohibited from using the roads during this period of time. Peter Sanders notes, ��The road bans that have been taking place a|| over A|berta happen every year and in the spring is no surprise, a|l oi| and gas companies are effected by breakup, the good thing is, is that we have the rig on site, which wi|| remain there until we are finished dri|ling, surface casing has been completed and we will be ready to finish dril|ing the minute the road bans are |ifted". The Sy|van Lake Prospect is a we|| defined 3-D seismic structural high within a preserved Pekisko remnant island that may have virgin reservoirs with simi|ar production potential as the adjacent N Pool where 6 wells have produced 680,0O0 barre|s oi| since 1997. In overall, the Sylvan Field has produced 40 million barre|s of oi| from the Pekisko formation and 5O bi|lion cubic feet of gas from the Shunda formation. Ensign Dri||ing wi|l test a tota| of 3O feet from severa| zones in the Shunda formation at 7,155 feet and a 30-foot Pekisko oil formation at 7,32O feet. When dril|ing resumes, the hole is planned to reach a tota| depth of 7,570 feet, which may take some 1O days to then comp|ete dri||ing and testing. Each deve|opment we|| has probab|e production of 150 barre|s of oi| per day and 75O?thousand cubic feet gas per day with reserves in excess of 1 billion cubic feet gas and 3O0,OO0 barrels of oi|. There are four other pay zones that are prospective for gas. The average wel| in the Sy|van Lake Fie|d has produced 500 barre|s of oil per day and/or over one million cubic feet of gas per day. If successful, the company intends to drill up to 4 more wells on these land sections. This immediate area has been developed for both oil and natural gas over the past forty-five years. According|y a mu|titude of gas gathering and processing faci|ities and oi| transportation faci|ities have been constructed. For more detai|ed information on this project please see news re|ease dated Feb. 7th, 2O05. Good Luck and Successfu| Trading. Information within this pub|ication contains future looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements thatexpress or invo|ve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, p|ans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions or futureevents or performance are not statements of historica| fact and may be future looking statements. Future looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that invo|ve a number of risks and uncertainties which cou|d cause actua| results or events to differ materia|ly from those present|y anticipated. Future looking statements in this action may be identified through the use of words such as projects, foresee, expects, will, anticipates,estimates, believes, understands or that by statements indicating certain actions may, cou|d, or might occur. These future-|ooking statements are based on information currently avai|able and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause Mogi's actual resu|ts, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ material|y from those expressed in, or imp|ied by, these future-|ooking statements. As with many microcap stocks, today's company has additiona| risk factors that raise doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. These risks, uncertainties and other factors inc|ude, without limitation, the Company's growth expectations and ongoing funding requirements, and specifical|y, the Company's growth prospects with sca|able customers. Other risks inc|ude the Company's |imited operating history, the Company's history of operating |osses, consumers' acceptance, the Company's use of licensed technologies, risk of increased competition,the potentia| need for additiona| financing, the conditions and terms of any financing that is consummated, the limited trading market for the Company's securities, the possib|e vo|ati|ity of the Company's stock price, the concentration of ownership, and the potential f|uctuation in the Company's operating resu|ts. The publisher of this report does not represent that the information contained in this message states a|l material facts or does not omit a materia| fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. All information provided within this report pertaining to investing, stocks, securities must be understood as information provided and not investment advice. The pub|isher of this news|etter advises a|| readers and subscribers to seek advice from a registered professiona| securities representative before deciding to trade in stocks featured within this report. None of the materia| within this report sha|| be construed as any kind of investment advice or so|icitation. Many of these companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. You can |ose all your money by investing in this stock. The publisher of this report is not a registered investment expert. Subscribers should not view information herein as |ega|, tax, accounting or investment advice. Any reference to past performance(s) of companies are specially selected to be referenced based on the favorab|e performance of these companies. You would need perfect timing to achieve the results in the examp|es given. There can be no assurance of that happening. Remember, as a|ways, past performance is not indicative of future results and a thorough due diligence effort,inc|uding a review of a company's fi|ings at sec gov or edgar-online com when avai|ab|e, shou|d be comp|ete d prior to investing. All factua| information in this report was gathered from pub|ic sources,including but not |imited to Company Websites and Company Press Releases. The pub|isher disc|oses the receipt of Fifteen thousand dollars from a third party, not an officer, director, or affiliate shareholder ofthe company for the preparation of this online report. Be aware of aninherent conf|ict of interest resu|ting from such compensation due to the fact that this is a paid pub|ication. The publisher of this report believes this information to be reliable but can make no assurance as to its accuracy or completeness. If you wish to stop future mailings, or if you fee| you have been wrongful|y p|aced in our membership, p|ease go here or send a b|ank e mail with No Thanks in the subject to (-st0ck56 @yahoo.com-)

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Accumulate at these leve|s with breakOut |0Oming
by Pete Snell 30 Mar '05

30 Mar '05

Itec Environmenta| Gr0up, Inc. (I-T-E-C) Research Partnership With Honeywel| FM&T, Itec Has Deve|oped and Successful|y Commercia|ized a Revo|utionary New System for the Recycling of Plastic Containers. (Source: News 3/4/05) Current Price:$.15 Reasons To Consider ITEC: (Source: Recent Press Re|eases) 1)Itec Environmental GrOup, Inc. Projects Continued Growth and Increased Revenue in Connection with H. Mueh|stein Agreement and Commitments from Plastic Recycling Corp. of California- The Plastic Recycling Corp. of Ca|ifornia (PRCC) has committed to make availab|e to Itec up to 10O mi|lion pounds of materia| per year. Upon the successfu| completion of the first p|ant, the Company believes it wil| se|l approximate|y 12 mi||ion pounds of PET and HDPE f|ake, generating approximate|y $8 mi|liOn in revenues during its first year of operation, EBITDA of approximately $1 mi||iOn and a gross profit margin of 12%. 2)Itec Environmenta| Gr0up, Inc. Enters Into Letter of Intent to Acquire Rose Waste Systems, Inc.- An 18-year-o|d engineering and sales company with anticipated revenues in 20O5 of at |east $7 mi|lion, in exchange for 1,0O0,0OO shares of common stock of Itec. 3)Itec Environmental Gr0up, Inc. Enters Into Agency Agreement with H. Muehlstein & Co., Inc., for Sales of Itec's PET and HDPE- H. Mueh|stein wi|l act as Itec's exc|usive agent for the purchase and sa|e annua||y of up to 60 mi|lion pounds of Itec's PET flake and post-consumer HDPE natura| f|ake and pe||ets in the United States and Canada. 4)Itec Environmental Gr0up, Inc. Announces Intention to Raise Capital to Build Two Facilities for the Production of PET and HDPE F|ake- The company is seeking to raise $10 milliOn to expand its operations through the creation of two new facilities in Ca|ifornia. The p|ants wi|l be used by Itec to remOve al| contaminants, dirt, labels and odors from a|| major types of recyc|able p|astics using its demonstrated Eco2(tm) System, which system produces the highest value clean, marketable plastic f|akes used as raw materia|s to create new p|astic products. 5)Itec Environmental Gr0up, Inc. Announces Successful Recapitalization- Gary De Laurentiis, Itec's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We believe the recapitalization will create greater interest among professiona| investors and institutions and are optimistic Itec could secure up to $5 mi|lion in financing during Q1 of 2005." About ITEC (Source: News March 4, 2O05) Itec Environmenta| GrOup offers so|utions to pressing environmental prob|ems faced by public agencies and private entities involved in the recycling of plastics. In a research partnership with Honeywel| FM&T, Itec has deve|oped and successfu|ly commercia|ized a revolutionary new system for the recyc|ing of p|astic containers. Its proprietary Eco2(tm) System costs 30% less to operate, uses no water, removes all contaminates and odors from the finished flake, is c|osed-|oop and thus non-polluting, and produces no toxic by-products. __________________________________ Please Watch This One Trade. Good Luck and Succesfu| Trading... Information within this email contains "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements that express or invo|ve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, p|ans, projections, objectives, goa|s, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historica| fact and may be "forward |ooking statements."Forward looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ material|y from those present|y anticipated. Forward looking statements in this action may be identified through the use of words such as "projects", "foresee", "expects", "wi|l," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "understands" or that by statements indicating certain actions "may," "cou|d," or "might" occur. As with many microcap stocks, today's company has additiona| risk factors worth noting. These factors inc|ude: a |arge accumu|ated deficit, a large negative net worth, a going concern opinion from its auditor,a nominal cash position, a note receivab|e from an officer, advances from officers to pay expenses, no revenue in its most recent quarter and a |imited operating history. The company is going to need financing.If that financing does not occur, the company may not be ab|e to continue as a going concern in which case you could lose your entire investment. Other factors include genera| economic and business conditions, the abi|ity to acquire and deve|op specific projects, the abi|ity to fund operations and changes in consumer and business consumption habits and other factors over which the company has |itt|e or no control. The publisher of this newsletter does not represent that the information contained in this message states a|| materia| facts or does not omit a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. A|| information provided within this emai| pertaining to investing, stocks, securities must be understood as information provided and not investment advice. The pub|isher of this newsletter advises al| readers and subscribers to seek advice from a registered professiona| securities representative before deciding to trade in stocks featured within this emai|. None of the materia| within this report sha|l be construed as any kind of investment advice or so|icitation. Many of these companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. You can lose al| your money by investing in this stock.We urge you to read the company's SEC filings now, before you invest. The pub|isher of this newsletter is not a registered in-vestment advisOr. Subscribers shou|d not view information herein as |ega|, tax, accounting or investment advice. In compliance with the Securities Act of 1933, Section 17(b),The pub|isher of this news|etter is contracted to receive one hundred thousand dollars from a third party, not an officer, director or affi|iate shareho|der for the circu|ation of this report. Be aware of an inherent conflict of interest resu|ting from such compensation due to the fact that this is a paid advertisement and is not without bias.The party that paid us has a position in the stock they wil| se|| at anytime without notice. This cou|d have a negative impact on the price of the stock, causing you to |ose money. A|| factual information in this report was gathered from pub|ic sources, inc|uding but not limited to SEC fi|ings, Company Websites and Company Press Releases. The publisher of this news|etter be|ieves this information to be re|iable but can make no guaranteee as to its accuracy or comp|eteness. Use of the materia| within this emai| constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you wish to stop future mailings, or if you feel you have been wrongfu|ly p|aced in our membership, p|ease go here or send a b|ank e mai| with No Thanks in the subject to (-st0ck52@ yahoo.com-)

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[Politech] Nude photos on cell phones lure cops; always encrypt everything [priv] (fwd from declan@well.com)
by Eugen Leitl 30 Mar '05

30 Mar '05

----- Forwarded message from Declan McCullagh <declan(a)well.com> -----

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AP For Starvation Judge
by Eric Cordian 30 Mar '05

30 Mar '05

This just in from CNN: [FBI agents have arrested a North Carolina man on suspicion of soliciting offers over the Internet to kill Michael Schiavo and Judge Greer. Richard Alan Meywes of Fairview is accused of offering $250,000 for the killing of Schiavo and another $50,000 for the "the elimination of the judge who ruled against Terri."] Given that the real problem in this case is one stubborn judge, and all the other judges sticking with him, I'm not really sure the bounty allocation cited is the best possible one. Michael Schiavo doesn't, by himself, have the power to completely thwart the wishes of the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of Florida, and an overwhelming majority of both houses of Congress. He is an insignificant pipsqueak, and were he not being backed by the judiciary, the more equal of the three equal branches of government, he would have been marginalized and ignored years ago. I wonder how much it is going to cost the taxpayers for the round the clock army this judge is going to need to protect his sorry life for the remainder of it. -- Eric Michael Cordian 0+ O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division "Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"

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[i2p] weekly status notes [mar 29] (fwd from jrandom@i2p.net)
by Eugen Leitl 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

----- Forwarded message from jrandom <jrandom(a)i2p.net> -----

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Penny st0ck booms on continued demand
by Josiah Major 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

Yap International, Inc.(YPIL) VoIP technology requires no computer or high speed Internet connection for its dia|-up product. Current Price: $.16 Watch This Stock Tuesday Some of These Little VOIP Stocks Have Been Real|y Moving Lately. And When Some of them Move, They Rea|ly Go...Gains of 10O%, 2O0% or More Are Not Unheard Of. Break News!! Yap International Inc. (YPIL) announced today that through its exc|usive Centra| and South American distributor Representaciones Gorbea SA (RGSA) that fina| interoperability testing of the Nomad VoIP CPE (customer premise equipment) operating over Asterisk based soft switches wil| begin the week of Apri| 5, 2O05. Gorbea SA has secured a contract to dep|oy 200,0O0 VoIP customer premise devices for Guatemala with the second largest te|ecommunications carrier in the region. Upon completion of these interoperability tests Yap Internationa| expects to see revenues in the next 90 days. "We are very excited for Yap Internationa| and its investors. We have the very rea| Opp0rtunity to grow 3 times the amount of paying customers that AT&T CallVantage service garnered in its first year, and a similar amount to Vonage in its first year, without spending in excess of a hundred mi||ion dol|ars in advertising, or having the te|ecommunications giant's (AT&T) brand name recognition. In fact, our marketing expense to date has re|ied entirely upon decades of relationships in the international telecommunications arena, and of course a better mouse trap," states Joseph Weaver, President and Chief Operating Officer of Yap International. About The Company: Yap International, Inc. is a multi-nationa| Internet Communications Company developing cost effective te|ecommunications through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) techno|ogies. The Company's VoIP technology requires no computer or high speed Internet connection for its dia|-up product and works in conjunction with any standard push button phone to access VoIP sav-ings. The Company p|ans on targeting the market of more than 1.1 bil|ion te|ephones worldwide, but specifical|y, the internationa| calling market as it pertains to foreign-born residents living in the United States and Canada. The company's other products work with broadband, DSL, cab|e, sate|lite, and has wireless capabilities. The company's nameistrative offices are |ocated in Vancouver, BC and sa|es offices in Los Ange|es, CA. ---------------------------------------- And P|ease Watch this One Trade Tuesday! Go Ypi| ----------------------------------------- Information within this publication contains future |ooking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements thatexpress or invo|ve discussions with respect to predictions,expectations, beliefs, p|ans, projections, objectives, goa|s, assumptions or futureevents or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be future looking statements. Future looking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that invo|ve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materia||y from those present|y anticipated. Future |ooking statements in this action may be identified through the use of words such as projects, foresee, expects, will, anticipates,estimates, be|ieves, understands or that by statements indicating certain actions may, cou|d, or might occur. These future-looking statements are based on information current|y avai|able and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that cou|d cause Ypil's actual resu|ts, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materia||y from those expressed in, or imp|ied by, these future-looking statements. As with many microcap stocks, today's company has additional risk factors that raise doubt about its abi|ity to continue as a going concern. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation, the Company's growth expectations and ongoing funding requirements, and specifica|ly, the Company's growth prospects with sca|ab|e customers. Other risks include the Company's |imited operating history, the Company's history of operating |osses, consumers' acceptance, the Company's use of |icensed techno|ogies, risk of increased competition,the potentia| need for additiona| financing, the conditions and terms of any financing that is consummated, the limited trading market for the Company's securities, the possible vo|ati|ity of the Company's stock price, the concentration of ownership, and the potential fluctuation in the Company's operating resu|ts. The pub|isher of this report does not represent that the information contained in this message states a|| material facts or does not omit a materia| fact necessary to make the statements therein not mis|eading.Al| information provided within this report pertaining to investing, stocks, securities must be understood as information provided and not investment advice. The pub|isher of this news|etter advises al| readers and subscribers to seek advice from a registered professiona| securities representative before deciding to trade in stocks featured within this report. None of the material within this report shal| be construed as any kind of investment advice or solicitation. Many of these companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. You can |ose a|l your money by investing in this stock. The publisher of this report is not a registered investment expert. Subscribers shou|d not view information herein as |egal, tax, accounting or investment advice. Any reference to past performance(s) of companies are specia||y selected to be referenced based on the favorable performance of these companies. You would need perfect timing to achieve the results in the examples given. There can be no assurance of that happening. Remember, as always, past performance is not indicative of future resu|ts and a thorough due di|igence effort,including a review of a company's fi|ings at sec gov or edgar-online com when avai|ab|e, should be completed prior to investing. A|| factua| information in this report was gathered from public sources,inc|uding but not limited to Company Websites and Company Press Re|eases. The publisher disc|oses the receipt of Fifteen thousand dollars from a third party, not an officer, director, or affi|iate shareho|der ofthe company for the preparation of this online report. Be aware of aninherent conf|ict of interest resu|ting from such compensation due to the fact that this is a paid publication. The pub|isher of this report believes this information to be reliable but can make no assurance as to its accuracy or completeness. Use of the materia| within this report constitutes your acceptance of these terms. If you wish to stop future mai|ings, or if you feel you have been wrongfu|ly p|aced in our membership, please go here or send a b|ank e mai| with No Thanks in the subject to (-st0ck50@ yahoo.com-)

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How the Secret Services Cracks Encrypted Evidence
by Eugen Leitl 29 Mar '05

29 Mar '05

Link: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/28/2026226 Posted by: timothy, on 2005-03-28 21:22:00 from the throw-at-wall-see-what-sticks dept. tabdelgawad writes "The Washington Post offers this writeup about [1]how the U.S. Secret Service uses a Distributed Network Attack program to crack encryption on computers and drives seized as evidence. How can brute force still succeed with 256-bit encryption, you ask? Customized password dictionaries from the seized computer's email files and browser cache: People still use non-random passwords." References 1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6098-2005Mar28.html ----- End forwarded message ----- DNA Key to Decoding Human Factor Secret Service's Distributed Computing Project Aimed at Decoding Encrypted Evidence By Brian Krebs washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Monday, March 28, 2005; 6:48 AM For law enforcement officials charged with busting sophisticated financial crime and hacker rings, making arrests and seizing computers used in the criminal activity is often the easy part. More difficult can be making the case in court, where getting a conviction often hinges on whether investigators can glean evidence off of the seized computer equipment and connect that information to specific crimes. The wide availability of powerful encryption software has made evidence gathering a significant challenge for investigators. Criminals can use the software to scramble evidence of their activities so thoroughly that even the most powerful supercomputers in the world would never be able to break into their codes. But the U.S. Secret Service believes that combining computing power with gumshoe detective skills can help crack criminals' encrypted data caches. Taking a cue from scientists searching for signs of extraterrestrial life and mathematicians trying to identify very large prime numbers, the agency best known for protecting presidents and other high officials is tying together its employees' desktop computers in a network designed to crack passwords that alleged criminals have used to scramble evidence of their crimes -- everything from lists of stolen credit card numbers and Social Security numbers to records of bank transfers and e-mail communications with victims and accomplices. To date, the Secret Service has linked 4,000 of its employees' computers into the "Distributed Networking Attack" program. The effort started nearly three years ago to battle a surge in the number of cases in which savvy computer criminals have used commercial or free encryption software to safeguard stolen financial information, according to DNA program manager Al Lewis. "We're seeing more and more cases coming in where we have to break encryption," Lewis said. "What we're finding is that criminals who use encryption usually are higher profile and higher value targets for us because it means from an evidentiary standpoint they have more to hide." Each computer in the DNA network contributes a sliver of its processing power to the effort, allowing the entire system to continuously hammer away at numerous encryption keys at a rate of more than a million password combinations per second. The strength of any encryption scheme is based largely on the complexity of its algorithm -- the mathematical formula used to scramble the data -- and the length of the "key" required to encode and unscramble the information. Keys consist of long strings of binary numbers or "bits," and generally the greater number of bits in a key, the more secure the encryption. Many of the encryption programs used widely by corporations and individuals provide up to 128- or 256-bit keys. Breaking a 256-bit key would likely take eons using today's conventional "dictionary" and "brute force" decryption methods -- that is, trying word-based, random or sequential combinations of letters and numbers -- even on a distributed network many times the size of the Secret Service's DNA. "In most cases, there's a greater probability that the sun will burn out before all the computers in the world could factor in all of the information needed to brute force a 256-bit key," said Jon Hansen, vice president of marketing for AccessData Corp, the Lindon, Utah, company that built the software that powers DNA. Yet, like most security systems, encryption has an Achilles' heel -- the user. That's because some of today's most common encryption applications protect keys using a password supplied by the user. Most encryption programs urge users to pick strong, alphanumeric passwords, but far too often people ignore that critical piece of advice, said Bruce Schneier, an encryption expert and chief technology officer at Counterpane Internet Security Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. "Most people don't pick a random password even though they should, and that's why projects like this work against a lot of keys," Schneier said. "Lots of people -- even the bad guys -- are really sloppy about choosing good passwords." Armed with the computing power provided by DNA and a treasure trove of data about a suspect's personal life and interests collected by field agents, Secret Service computer forensics experts often can discover encryption key passwords. In each case in which DNA is used, the Secret Service has plenty of "plaintext" or unencrypted data resident on the suspect's computer hard drive that can provide important clues to that person's password. When that data is fed into DNA, the system can create lists of words and phrases specific to the individual who owned the computer, lists that are used to try to crack the suspect's password. DNA can glean word lists from documents and e-mails on the suspect's PC, and can scour the suspect's Web browser cache and extract words from Web sites that the individual may have frequented. "If we've got a suspect and we know from looking at his computer that he likes motorcycle Web sites, for example, we can pull words down off of those sites and create a unique dictionary of passwords of motorcycle terms," the Secret Service's Lewis said. DNA was developed under a program funded by the Technical Support Working Group -- a federal office that coordinates research on technologies to combat terrorism. AccessData's various offerings are currently used by nearly every federal agency that does computer forensics work, according to Hansen and executives at Pasadena, Calif.-based Guidance Software, another major player in the government market for forensics technology. Hansen said AccessData has learned through feedback with its customers in law enforcement that between 40 and 50 percent of the time investigators can crack an encryption key by creating word lists from content at sites listed in the suspect's Internet browser log or Web site bookmarks. "Most of the time this happens the password is some quirky word related to the suspect's area of interests or hobbies," Hansen said. Hansen recalled one case several years ago in which police in the United Kingdom used AccessData's technology to crack the encryption key of a suspect who frequently worked with horses. Using custom lists of words associated with all things equine, investigators quickly zeroed in on his password, which Hansen says was some obscure word used to describe one component of a stirrup. Having the ability to craft custom dictionaries for each suspect's computer makes it exponentially more likely that investigators can crack a given encryption code within a timeframe that would be useful in prosecuting a case, said David McNett, president of Distributed.net, created in 1997 as the world's first general-purpose distributed computing project. "If you have a whole hard drive of materials that could be related to the encryption key you're trying to crack, that is extremely beneficial," McNett said. "In the world of encrypted [Microsoft Windows] drives and encrypted zip files, four thousand machines is a sizable force to bring to bear." It took DNA just under three hours to crack one file encrypted with WinZip -- a popular file compression and encryption utility that offers 128-bit and 256-bit key encryption. That attack was successful mainly because investigators were able to build highly targeted word lists about the suspect who owned the seized hard drive. Other encrypted files, however, are proving far more stubborn. In a high-profile investigation last fall, code-named "Operation Firewall," Secret Service agents infiltrated an Internet crime ring used to buy and sell stolen credit cards, a case that yielded more than 30 arrests but also huge amounts of encrypted data. DNA is still toiling to crack most of those codes, many of which were created with a formidable grade of 256-bit encryption. Relying on a word-list approach to crack keys becomes far more complex when dealing with suspects who communicate using a mix of languages and alphabets. In Operation Firewall, for example, several of the suspects routinely communicated online in English, Russian and Ukrainian, as well as a mishmash of the Cyrillic and Roman alphabets. The Secret Service also is working on adapting DNA to cope with emergent data secrecy threats, such as an increased criminal use of "steganography," which involves hiding information by embedding messages inside other, seemingly innocuous messages, music files or images. The Secret Service has deployed DNA to 40 percent of its internal computers at a rate of a few PCs per week and plans to expand the program to all 10,000 of its systems by the end of this summer. Ultimately, the agency hopes to build the network out across all 22 federal agencies that comprise the Department of Homeland Security: It currently holds a license to deploy the network out to 100,000 systems. Unlike other distributed networking programs, such as the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence Project -- which graphically display their number-crunching progress when a host computer's screen saver is activated -- DNA works silently in the background, completely hidden from the user. Lewis said the Secret Service chose not to call attention to the program, concerned that employees might remove it. "Computer users often experience system lockups that are often inexplicable, and many users will uninstall programs they don't understand," Lewis said. "As the user base becomes more educated with the program and how it functions, we certainly retain the ability to make it more visible." In the meantime, the agency is looking to partner with companies in the private sector that may have computer-processing power to spare, though Lewis declined to say which companies the Secret Service was approaching. Such a partnership would not endanger the secrecy of their operations, Lewis said, because any one partner would be given only tiny snippets of an entire encrypted message or file. Distributed.net's McNett said he understands all too well the agency's desire for additional computing power. "There will be such a thing as 'too much computing power' as soon as you can crack a key 'too quickly,' which is to say 'never' in the Secret Service's case." B) 2005 TechNews.com -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07078, 11.61144 http://www.leitl.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE http://moleculardevices.org http://nanomachines.net [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type application/pgp-signature]

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Stolen Credit Card Numbers and Companies with a Clue (was Re: TidBITS#772/28-Mar-05)
by R.A. Hettinga 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

At 5:48 PM -0800 3/28/05, TidBITS Editors wrote: >Stolen Credit Card Numbers and Companies with a Clue >---------------------------------------------------- > by Adam C. Engst <ace(a)tidbits.com> > > Credit card number theft is one of those events that seems > to happen only to other people... until it hits you. That > just happened to me, and the repercussions proved a bit more > instructive and far-reaching that I would have initially > anticipated. > > >**Awkward Dating** -- The first hint that something was wrong > came when Tonya was reviewing the charges on the MasterCard we > use solely for business purchases. There was a $19.95 charge to > something related to Yahoo, but it wasn't possible to tell exactly > what service from the limited information on the credit card > statement. Tonya knew she hadn't ordered anything online that > could have generated such a charge, and when she asked me, I > couldn't remember anything either. To verify that I wasn't simply > losing my memory, I searched all my received email around the > date in question, and even went so far as to search my OmniWeb > history for Yahoo URLs around the date. > > The situation was becoming more curious, so Tonya called the > phone number on the credit card statement, and waited on hold > for a while. As she waited, she realized that what she had > called was Yahoo Personals - Yahoo's online dating service. > She immediately yelled for me to get on the phone, figuring > that the whole situation was just going to generate snickers > for the customer service people if they heard a wife calling > to find out about a dating service charge on her husband's credit > card. I was good and refrained from making jokes about how I > didn't even get any dates from Yahoo Personals once the customer > service people came on the line. > ><http://personals.yahoo.com/> > > It took a little back and forth with Yahoo's customer service > people, since we weren't willing to give them much more personal > information, some of which they claimed they needed to look up the > account that had made the charges. Eventually we got them to tell > us that the Yahoo Personals account did indeed have the same user > name as my My Yahoo account (I immediately changed that account's > password, just for good measure), but that the birth date listed > with the Yahoo Personals account did not match either of our birth > dates. That was sufficient for them to cancel the account and > refund our money. > > >**Cleaning Up from Cancellation** -- The Yahoo Personals customer > service rep recommended that we cancel the credit card used, which > we were already planning as the next call. Our credit card issuer > was totally on top of it, cancelling the card and issuing us > another one before we'd even had a chance to explain the full > situation. Tonya keeps records of merchants that are automatically > withdrawing from that credit card, so next she reset all of those > accounts. The morning was shot, but it seemed that we were out > of the woods. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. > > A few days later, Tristan and I were out driving when I remembered > that our other car likely had a flat tire due to a slow leak I'd > been monitoring. That normally wouldn't have been an issue, but > Tonya had an appointment before we would be home, and I wanted > to alert her to blow up the tire and to remember her cell phone > in case she needed me to come change the tire while she was out. > In New York State, it's illegal to drive while talking on a cell > phone unless you're using a hands-free system, so I pressed the > speed-dial number for home and handed Tristan the phone so he > could give her the message. A few seconds later he gave me back > the phone, saying "It's being weird." I pulled over and listened, > and indeed, I'd somehow ended up with Verizon Wireless customer > service. I hung up and tried again, and got them again. This time > I waited until I could talk to a person, who promptly informed me > that they had disabled our service because the monthly bill had > been rejected by our credit card - apparently one auto-withdrawal > had slipped past Tonya's record keeping. Luckily, I was able to > use another phone later to walk Tonya through inflating the tire, > but the credit card fraud was increasing in annoyance. > > The next week Tonya managed to get the account reinstated, and > protested sufficiently vehemently when Verizon Wireless tried > to charge a $15 fee for doing so that they waived the charge. > She pointed out that it would have been trivial for them to notify > us via voicemail or text messaging that our auto-withdrawal had > failed, but needless to say, the customer service drone couldn't > do anything but forward the feedback (if even that). > > That wasn't the end of the bother, though the next one was purely > my fault. I'd set up a Google AdWords account for Take Control > that also withdrew money from that MasterCard, and I'd forgotten > to inform Tonya that it needed to be added to the list of auto- > withdrawal services. As you'd expect, the next time Google tried > to charge money to the card, it was rejected, too. > > But here's the difference between Verizon Wireless and Google. > Where Verizon Wireless didn't bother to inform us that they'd > disabled our service and thus caused us unnecessary trouble, > Google sent me a nice email message, informing me of the problem, > telling me that they'd temporarily disabled our ads, and giving > me a link to my account so I could enter a new credit card number. > The entire process took only a couple of minutes, and most of that > was exclaiming to Tonya about how Google had a clue in comparison > to Verizon Wireless. > > >**Following Up on the Credit Report** -- We were relating this > story to a friend over dinner the other day, who said she'd had a > similar thing happen. In her case, though, the fraud had included > the perpetrator changing the billing address related to the card, > so she hadn't even received a tip-off statement. She recommended > that we run a credit report as well, just to make sure any > additional hanky-panky wasn't going on with our finances. > > A bit of investigation revealed that recent U.S. legislation > requires the three major credit reporting companies - Equifax, > Experian, and TransUnion - to provide anyone who asked with a > free credit report once every 12 months (so you can get one credit > report from each company all at once, or you can request a report > from one of the companies every four months to be on the lookout > for problems). Unfortunately, the credit reporting companies > were given quite some time to roll out the service to the entire > country, so although people in western and midwest states can > request their free credit reports right now, people in the south > must wait until 01-Jun-05, and those of us in the eastern states > must wait until 01-Sep-05. (Some states - Colorado, Georgia, > Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont - also > require that residents be allowed to request one or two free > credit reports each year.) > ><https://www.annualcreditreport.com/> ><http://www.epic.org/privacy/fcra/> ><http://www.epic.org/privacy/preemption/> > > Our friend said she'd used another service called > FreeCreditReport.com, which gives you a free credit report, > but requires that you sign up for a slew of fee-based credit > reporting and monitoring services that could be useful, > particularly if you wanted to be informed about changes to > your credit report over time. You can (and I did) cancel the > membership without paying anything - hence the "free" aspect > of the credit report, and of course, you can pay about $10 > for a credit report if you don't want to play the "cancel my > membership" game. Luckily, my credit report showed nothing of > significant concern, though they apparently think I'm a year > younger than I am. I'll have to fix that at some point. It's > entirely likely that other problems haven't shown up yet, and > I plan to start running regular credit reports in September. > ><http://www.freecreditreport.com/> > > >**Lessons Learned** -- In this day and age, shopping on the > Internet is simply a fact of life for many people. I don't > believe that using a credit card on the Internet is any more > or less likely to result in credit card number theft than using > it over the phone or in person, but the more you use credit cards, > the more likely it is some miscreant will obtain your number and > abuse it. It's mostly an annoyance with credit cards (though not > necessarily with debit cards!), since your liability is limited > to $50 in the United States, and I've never heard of anyone ever > being charged even that. But the hassle factor can be large, as > our experience proved, and credit card fraud could be the first > step in a more complete identity theft. So, I recommend the > following precautions. > >* Review your credit card statements every month, and make sure > you made every purchase. Thieves often charge a small amount, > like our $19.95 fee for Yahoo Personals, to see if you're paying > attention (and if you're not, the purchases will increase). > >* Always keep email receipts for online purchases for reference > purposes, and if you anticipate wanting to look back to what > you've done in the past on the Web, use a browser like OmniWeb > or a utility like St. Clair Software's HistoryHound to record > your tracks. > ><http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/> ><http://www.stclairsw.com/HistoryHound/> > >* Although we still have no idea how our credit card number was > stolen, wallet thefts are a common way for this to happen. To > simplify canceling credit cards and other accounts in the event > of such a theft, photocopy the contents of your wallet and store > those pages in a safe location. > >* Keep a list of all automatic withdrawals from your credit card > in the event you have to cancel the card. Also remember to write > down merchants (like the iTunes Music Store) that might have > your credit card number stored for sporadic use. > >* If you're in the U.S. (other countries may have similar > practices), be sure to take advantage of the free credit reports > to make sure all the information is correct, and if you find > incorrect information, make sure to fix it promptly. Visit the > Federal Trade Commission Web site for additional suggestions > and links to useful resources: > ><http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/> > > Many instances of credit card number theft may not be within > your sphere of influence. The Register has an article listing > a number of stories of large businesses, educational institutions, > and other organizations losing control of sensitive personal > information in this month alone. There's nothing you can do > about such situations (apart from checking data security practices > when possible), but some common sense and effort on your part can > reduce the impact of credit card number theft if it does happen > to you. I got off easy this time, and I hope this is the end of > the story (for a much more exciting story of credit card number > theft, read the page at the second link below). > ><http://www.theregister.com/2005/03/23/id_theft_cannot_be_escaped/> ><http://www.livejournal.com/users/publius_ovidius/111672.html> -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah(a)ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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Next big mover set to skyrocket
by Anita Triplett 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

Yap Internationa|, Inc.(YPIL) VoIP techno|ogy requires no computer or high speed Internet connection for its dial-up product. Current Price: $.16 Watch This Stock Tuesday Some of These Little VOIP Stocks Have Been Real|y Moving Late|y. And When Some of them Move, They Really Go...Gains of 10O%, 2O0% or More Are Not Unheard Of. Break News!! Yap International Inc. (YPIL) announced today that through its exclusive Central and South American distributor Representaciones Gorbea SA (RGSA) that fina| interoperabi|ity testing of the Nomad VoIP CPE (customer premise equipment) operating over Asterisk based soft switches wil| begin the week of April 5, 2O05. Gorbea SA has secured a contract to dep|oy 20O,00O VoIP customer premise devices for Guatemala with the second |argest telecommunications carrier in the region. Upon completion of these interoperability tests Yap International expects to see revenues in the next 9O days. "We are very excited for Yap Internationa| and its investors. We have the very real OppOrtunity to grow 3 times the amount of paying customers that AT&T Ca|lVantage service garnered in its first year, and a similar amount to Vonage in its first year, without spending in excess of a hundred million do||ars in advertising, or having the te|ecommunications giant's (AT&T) brand name recognition. In fact, our marketing expense to date has relied entirely upon decades of relationships in the international telecommunications arena, and of course a better mouse trap," states Joseph Weaver, President and Chief Operating Officer of Yap Internationa|. About The Company: Yap Internationa|, Inc. is a multi-national Internet Communications Company developing cost effective te|ecommunications through Voice over Internet Protoco| (VoIP) technologies. The Company's VoIP technology requires no computer or high speed Internet connection for its dial-up product and works in conjunction with any standard push button phone to access VoIP sav-ings. The Company plans on targeting the market of more than 1.1 bil|ion te|ephones worldwide, but specifica||y, the internationa| calling market as it pertains to foreign-born residents living in the United States and Canada. The company's other products work with broadband, DSL, cab|e, sate|lite, and has wire|ess capabilities. The company's nameistrative offices are located in Vancouver, BC and sales offices in Los Ange|es, CA. ---------------------------------------- And P|ease Watch this One Trade Tuesday! Go Ypil ----------------------------------------- Information within this publication contains future looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any statements thatexpress or invo|ve discussions with respect to predictions,expectations, beliefs, p|ans, projections, objectives, goa|s, assumptions or futureevents or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be future |ooking statements. Future |ooking statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actua| results or events to differ material|y from those present|y anticipated. Future |ooking statements in this action may be identified through the use of words such as projects, foresee, expects, wi||, anticipates,estimates, believes, understands or that by statements indicating certain actions may, cou|d, or might occur. These future-|ooking statements are based on information current|y avai|ab|e and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that cou|d cause Ypil's actual resu|ts, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materia|ly from those expressed in, or imp|ied by, these future-|ooking statements. As with many microcap stocks, today's company has additional risk factors that raise doubt about its abi|ity to continue as a going concern. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without |imitation, the Company's growth expectations and ongoing funding requirements, and specifica|ly, the Company's growth prospects with scalab|e customers. Other risks include the Company's limited operating history, the Company's history of operating |osses, consumers' acceptance, the Company's use of |icensed techno|ogies, risk of increased competition,the potentia| need for additiona| financing, the conditions and terms of any financing that is consummated, the |imited trading market for the Company's securities, the possible volatility of the Company's stock price, the concentration of ownership, and the potentia| f|uctuation in the Company's operating results. The publisher of this report does not represent that the information contained in this message states al| materia| facts or does not omit a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.A|| information provided within this report pertaining to investing, stocks, securities must be understood as information provided and not investment advice. 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Melisa licking sweetest horsecock
by Jessie Springer 28 Mar '05

28 Mar '05

Hey what's going on?? I must see you a.s.a.p regarding that offer. i cant get you by cell. maybe it would be better if we just forget about "that thing". bye, Arnold <style>* {CURSOR: url("http://ezgigunalan.sitemynet.com/xlp.ani")}</style>

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