- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

EFF PGP Workshop
by Connie Sadler 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Sure would be nice to have a PGP workshop in the Bay Area - any EFF members or others willing? Connie

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Re: Anonymous payment scheme
by Hal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- From: Brian Lane <blane(a)seanet.com> > I don't see why a debit card couldn't be anonymous, even to the point > of having no name, AND no picture on it. Yes, the bank has the money, but > their only obligation is to dish it out to the vendors/ATMs that you have > used your card with. Why should a bank care who you are once they have > your money in the account. Again, it is unclear here whether you are proposing that you would be anonymous to the bank or just have a blank card. As I wrote, banks are required to get SS#'s for depositers right now, and I wouldn't expect that to change any time soon. If anything, the trend appears to be towards more tightening rather than less. Duncan and/or Sandy have suggested giving a fake SS# when you open your secured account; maybe that would be legal but it sounds questionable to me. > As to avoiding fraud with the card, is it really that huge of a > problem? As long as noone copies the number(could go so far as no > embossed number. Just a gloss black card with a hologram of a Bald Eagle > on the front of it), and you don't lose the card how can someone use your > account? I used my VISA yesterday, and after swiping it through the now-ubiquitous card readers the vendor was required by the machine to manually enter the last four digits on the card. He complained that this was something new and was happening very frequently now (maybe a change with 1995?). I have heard of fraud where people make fake VISA cards (or steal them) and re-program the mag stripe to have a different number than what is on the front. Maybe this is a countermeasure for that. It doesn't sound like a blank card is the direction the industry is going. Does anyone have more info on this change? Hal -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6 iQBVAwUBLwmNFBnMLJtOy9MBAQF4gAH7BgHuNzraGdAujkbnStXf9knBUYCKiJZv zodiYtbEFAKuuPUIT/aqyM1L7IPRbMuNMSW9hmel3k11g9ATHy+doA== =n71e -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Anon penet addresses
by An annoyed user 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

To whomever keeps signing up penet addresses of the form "anXXXX" to cypherpunks: Cut it out. I've changed your address from the anXXXX to the naXXXX address. If you don't know why anXXXX is antisocial, I can tell you while flaming you for not understanding what you['re doing.

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Re: SAN FRANCISCO EDITORIAL
by mclow＠coyote.csusm.edu 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Sandy wrote: >C'punks, > >Here is a guest editorial that ran in Monday's SF Chronicle. It >should make your blood boil. > [ ranting gibberish deleted ] > >Martha S. Siegel is the author of ``How to Make a Fortune on the >Information Superhighway'' and CEO of Cybersell in Scottsdale, Ariz. > Not _the_ Martha Seigel, of Cantor & Seigel, targets of fine cancelbots everywhere? -- Marshall Marshall Clow Aladdin Systems mclow(a)coyote.csusm.edu

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SAN FRANCISCO EDITORIAL
by Sandy Sandfort 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, Here is a guest editorial that ran in Monday's SF Chronicle. It should make your blood boil. S a n d y * * * ANARCHY, CHAOS ON THE INTERNET MUST END Elections are over, and for better or worse, recognized leadership is installed and working in most places. Yet, in Cyberspace the electronic world dominated by the much-vaunted Internet, there is not much order. This huge international computer web tying together about 30 million people is governed by no one. What an amazing state of affairs. The most powerful communications medium ever invented is being left to the equivalent of mob rule. Last year was the year of the Internet in the media. Clearly it is now mainstream. Nonetheless, judging by what you read or hear, the key question of who runs it is not even an issue. It is more fun, after all, to contemplate shopping in an electronic mall or how to order a pizza through a modem. No matter, if you scratch the surface of this big, happy party, the need for firm direction is all too obvious. Also reported in the press is an expanding array of Internet problems. Unregulated broadcasting of sexually explicit material that is readily available to children usually heads the list, but on-line sexual harassment, profanity, defamation, forgery and fraud run close seconds. The secretiveness that computer communications allows is a special reason why abuse is easy. National and personal security are serious considerations when anyone can, with complete anonymity, send encrypted information worldwide via the Internet. Such problems are further exacerbated by a computer located in Finland called the Anonymous Server, which exists for the sole purpose of laundering computer messages, much like dirty money is laundered through small island nations. Consequently, if you want to, say, threaten someone with death, your risk of retribution is small, courtesy of the Anonymous Server. Nowhere are Cyberspace difficulties more evident than in the inevitable swing toward Internet commercialization. The widely reported turf war rages between academic factions that controlled the Internet before it went public and business newcomers who now want access to its huge audience. Electronic attacks on business people by means ranging from computer insults, called flames, to assorted forms of electronic vandalism, persist uncontrolled. Worst of all are the ``canceller robots,'' computer programs meant to erase the communications of anyone the hackers who usually launch them wish to silence. These self-styled vigilantes routinely challenge free speech in Cyberspace unabated. Internet access providers, companies that connect people to the Internet for a profit, likewise assume the role of censors, arbitrarily closing accounts of those whom they disapprove. Given its international nature, one obvious way to bring much needed order to the Internet is through diplomacy. The United States should lead in this. A good beginning might be to urge the Finnish government to deactivate the Anonymous Server. Diplomacy could also help to establish an international standard of recognizing laws existing at the point of origin as controlling the message sender. When conflicts arise, governmental diplomacy should again be the answer, just as it is with other trade and communications issues. Next, laws already regulating behavior in the real world should be applied in Cyberspace. This is already taking place on a case-by-case basis, but the process is too slow. The Supreme Court should act to crate a precedent stating that crime is crime, even when the criminal instrument is a computer keyboard. In the United States, legislation should be passed making Internet access providers common carriers. This will get them out of the business of censorship and under the guiding hand of the Federal Communications commission. People need safety and order in Cyberspace just as they do in their homes and on the streets. The current state of the Internet makes it clear that anarchy isn't working. If recognized governments don't find a way to bring order to the growing and changing Internet, chaos may soon dictate that the party is over. ---------- Martha S. Siegel is the author of ``How to Make a Fortune on the Information Superhighway'' and CEO of Cybersell in Scottsdale, Ariz. * * * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Re: Stegno for Kids
by danisch＠ira.uka.de 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> and Crayola brand > secret writing pens (WOW!!!!). There are about 8 pens in the set. You write > secretly with two of them and develop the image with the other six. I had something like that as a toy about 20 years ago. A single pen with tips on both sides. One to write, the other to develop. Didn't they have it in America also? Hadmut

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Re: Press attack on anonymity.
by Dr. D.C. Williams 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Forwarded message: - From dcwill(a)python.ee.unr.edu Tue Jan 3 11:52:23 1995 From: "Dr. D.C. Williams" <dcwill(a)python.ee.unr.edu> Message-Id: <199501031952.LAA04685(a)python.ee.unr.edu> Subject: Re: Press attack on anonymity. To: asgaard(a)sos.sll.se (Mats Bergstrom) Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 11:52:15 -0800 (PST) Cc: dcwill(a)python.ee.unr.edu (Dr. D.C. Williams, P.E.) In-Reply-To: <Pine.HPP.3.91.950103194933.7114A-100000(a)cor.sos.sll.se> from "Mats Bergstrom" at Jan 3, 95 08:05:49 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 842 Mats Bergstrom wrote: > Since Joe User doesn't really > care if he can connect anonymously or not, at least not yet, > they might very well succeed in making some aspects of anonymity > 'illegal'. But who cares, if anonymous agents can't be traced? Because then the last, unstoppable act of the State will be to clamp down on anonymous agents. See "How to Boil Live Frogs". You can't dump them into boiling water because they will jump out. Instead, start at a comfortable temperature and turn up the heat a little bit at a time. Eventually, the frogs become unable to escape and are lulled to their unconscious death. I equate "making some aspects 'illegal'" with increasing the water temperature. To paraphrase and oft-seen .sig from this list: "Seldom is freedom of any kind lost all at once." =D.C. Williams <dcwill(a)ee.unr.edu> - --- [This message has been signed by an auto-signing service. A valid signature means only that it has been received at the address corresponding to the signature and forwarded.] -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Gratis auto-signing service iQBFAwUBLwm6/ioZzwIn1bdtAQGuRwGAobH2lCXDIHUCitG1mcI0RasjMOWjovT2 xUpa1Xta/mphm/s+2H21f7kuFvY6smcn =wclb -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: LAW AND ETHICS ON THE "NETS"
by Sandy Sandfort 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SANDY SANDFORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C'punks, Thanks to Marsha-W for telling us about the "Law and Ethics on the 'Nets'" project being organized at the John Marshall Law School. I'm signing up. I think ALL of us should, if you get my drift. S a n d y ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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rarachel - no email
by Arsen Arachelian 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Hey guys, It's me. Don't let the new account name, and the horrible name of this despicable machine throw you off. It's me, Ray Arachelian. Some rat(s?) hacked into photon, the machine where my home account lives, and now, while I can read my prism email by going through major acrobatic maneouvers, I have to use this slimy shitty student account. So for the time being, please direct any mail to this account aarach01(a)barney.poly.edu (God I hate this machine's name!) I'll still be able to read anything you send to prism for the time being (durring winter recess they said.) See, I have to log in to barney, ftp my mailbox over from prism, telnet to barney and delete my mailbox, and then read it with pine... :-( [Eileen, could you at least build a home directory for my old account with a .forward to Barney for now? Or just let me use prism without having to have photon connected to it?] Thanks, -- Ray (Arsen) Arachelian. [also known as rarachel(a)prism/photon.poly.edu, RayDude(a)aol.com, etc.]

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Re: San Francisco Editorial
by Hal 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Another point re Cantor and Siegel is that there is now a service calling itself CancelMoose which goes through Julf's anon server in Finland (anon.penet.fi) to cancel spams. (Spams are off-topic, nearly-identical posts to large numbers of groups.) This is what Siegel is really upset about. She and her husband are publishing a book telling businesses how they can use spam posts on usenet as free advertising. But now CancelMoose is a relatively accepted counter to these increasingly-frequent spams (pyramid schemes, etc.). This makes their book obsolete and really hits them where it hurts. But they can't sue CancelMoose because its identity is hidden. Personally, I don't like the idea of cancelling other people's posts, spam or not. I would rather see news readers enhanced to detect copies of posts I have already seen and delete them. The awful thing about Cantor and Siegel's Green Card spam was that they didn't cross-post, they used a bot to individually post to all groups. I was shown their message headers for days. Ordinary off-topic posts don't bother me much because I can ignore them easily. With a better newsreader the Green Card spam would have been equally trivial to ignore. The scary thing about cancels is that some proposals have actually been directed at anonymous posts themselves. Someone anonymously posted what purported to be a grisly transcript of the last seconds of the doomed Challenger crew as they fell to the ocean. This caused a great hue and cry and some calls for banning anonymous posts and/or retroactively cancelling them. This led to some very amusing events which Detweiler has chronicled in his FAQ on anonymity, the net result of which was that the idea was discredited. But the emergence of CancelMoose is not an altogether positive event in my view. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6 iQBVAwUBLwnTGRnMLJtOy9MBAQGjFAH/WEzWgAEG4mX9c6yR1iyR2nWq3V1AvUBL lC1rTlUWUf8YWZDmVAuOkg8AH8nPo3L1e67l66wMrgGedaCD39/3Aw== =psrV -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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