- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

Re: "German service cuts Net access" (to Santa Cruz)
by James A. Donald 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 06:08 PM 1/28/96 -0800, sameer wrote: > When I worked for Walnut Creek CDROM they had to remove > "Castle Wolfenstein" from one of their CDs because they wouldn't have > been able to ship to Germany if they didn't. In "Castle Wolfenstein" you run around shooting Nazis, just as in "Doom" you run around shooting demons. And similarly Zundel is not a Nazi, he is an anti fascist. Hmm, these "Anti nazi laws" look suspicious like pro Nazi laws. Seems that the government of Germany is primarily concerned about their own hurt feelings, and to hell with the hurt feeling of the Jews. > >-- >Sameer Parekh Voice: 510-601-9777x3 >Community ConneXion, Inc. FAX: 510-601-9734 >The Internet Privacy Provider Dialin: 510-658-6376 >http://www.c2.org/ (or login as "guest") sameer(a)c2.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- | We have the right to defend ourselves | http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ and our property, because of the kind | of animals that we are. True law | James A. Donald derives from this right, not from the | arbitrary power of the state. | jamesd(a)echeque.com

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Re: An Enigma - Wrapped In a Circle
by liberty＠gate.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- "Perry E. Metzger" foamed: <snip> I wrote: >> 1. Flame me, in *private* e-mail. [I'll happily ignore you.] >> 2. Go hump a tree. > >What the hell is the cypherpunks relevance here, anyway? I mean, other >than trying to elicit a response from me, which you surely knew would >show up, was there any purpose to this? Why are crop circles important >to people worrying about cryptography and cryptography policy? What >possible linkage could there be? Why Perry! I see your point! Any phenomenon that elicits articles with titles like "Ciphers in the Crops" could have nothing at all to do with cryptography... I repeat: Go hump a tree. In complaining about supposed "noise," you cause more noise than any other person on this list. Learn to read before you spew, or just learn to shut up! JMR Regards, Jim Ray -- Boycott espionage-enabled software! "He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." - T. Paine http://www.shopmiami.com/prs/jimray _______________________________________________________________________ PGP key Fingerprint 51 5D A2 C3 92 2C 56 BE 53 2D 9C A1 B3 50 C9 C8 Public Key id. # E9BD6D35 <liberty(a)gate.net> IANAL _______________________________________________________________________ -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 Comment: Freedom isn't Freeh. iQCVAwUBMQxOvW1lp8bpvW01AQFvBgP/YQM2CA/f+wq9jCCc/s6BeXm+Lqr6ihCS BhPeB3556EET0mj91XhR1bl5FPb9aUb2f3CeNMBmacr4L/EjAK5S4Fst0WZ10UA8 m7a07IdFdb8wN+TKpAUR4TMmApV1nHnq3fStrSnn1el32rbnMvMmHBDzfXF6wVfk VKvffK+S+WA= =b8Pt -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: FV Demonstrates Fatal Flaw in Software Encryption of Credit
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Someone claiming to be "Nathanial Borenstein" writes: > As you may already have heard via the popular press, First Virtual > Holdings has developed and demonstrated a program which completely > undermines the security of every known credit-card encryption mechanism > for Internet commerce. [...] I started reading this thinking it was actually something important. All it describes is a keyboard monitor, which greps for CC#s, and which could be spread by an (unspecified) virus, and sends the output to a crook over the net by some (unspecified) mechanism. So, what else is new? [...] > Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb(a)fv.com> >Chief Scientist, First Virtual Holdings >FAQ & PGP key: nsb+faq(a)nsb.fv.com It's sort of interesting that "Nathaniel Borenstein" has a PGP key, but failed to clearsign this message, which loudly trumpets it's great import. Considering the lack of actual content, I feel compelled to warn readers that this may be a forgery, designed to make him look like he's scaremongering. strictly speaking for myself Peter Trei ptrei(a)acm.org Peter Trei Senior Software Engineer Purveyor Development Team Process Software Corporation http://www.process.com trei(a)process.com

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CONTEST: Name That Program!
by Nathaniel Borenstein 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

As you may have read in my previous message, First Virtual has developed and demonstrated a program that completely undermines all known schemes for using software-encrypted credit cards on the Internet. More details are avialable at http://www.fv.com/ccdanger. That was the easy part. The hard part, it turns out, is deciding what to call this program. We've kicked around a variety of names: -- Card Shark (because we call the general kind of program a "shark") -- Four Solutions (because we believe that FV is one of four known approaches to Internet commerce which avoid this attack) -- Predator (because a program like this is scary to think about!) -- Pickpocket (because that's vaguely analogous to what it does) -- Snoopy (because we thought it was cute) -- CyberCrash (no special reason, it just had a nice ring to it) In the end, we just couldn't decide. But we knew it needed a name, so we've decided to leave it up to the citizens of the Internet. For that reason, we're sponsoring a contest. We invite you to send your vote "nameit(a)fv.com". First Virtual will have sole discretion in selecting a winning name. If we select a name that is submitted by someone on the net, the FIRST person to submit it will be the winner. If we select one of the names given above, we will select at random from all the people who "vote" for that name. The winner will receive $1000 (US). Yes, we're really paying $1000 for the winning name! (If you have or want a First Virtual seller's account, we'll pay you through First Virtual, otherwise we'll mail you a check.) Twenty-five runners-up will be selected to receive First Virtual sweatshirts and other memorabilia. CONTEST RULES: All entries must be received by email to nameit(a)fv.com, on or before February 14, 1996. Please include all of the following: -- Your suggested name for our program. -- Your own name and postal mailing address -- Your shirt size (in case you're a runner-up) CONTEST DEADLINE: February 14, 1996 -------- Nathaniel Borenstein <nsb(a)fv.com> Chief Scientist, First Virtual Holdings FAQ & PGP key: nsb+faq(a)nsb.fv.com

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FV's Borenstein discovers keystroke capture programs! (pictures at 11!)
by dmacfarlane＠zip.sbi.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Is this the most transparent media attention grab or what? FV's "Chief Scientist" writes a killer application to destroy Internet commerce and it is really only a keystroke capture program with a bit of credit card number recognition code tacked on. I don't think this has any "implications for Internet commerce". If you run any number of virus protection programs on your computer, and you get your software from reliable sources, you never need worry about clandestine number snarfing. I readily admit that there is a larger issue about viruses and being able to trust your software, but the presentation from FV of this announcement as a "fatal flaw" in internet commerce is remarkably disingenuous. They are really saying, "We have the only safe approach" quietly between the lines. And before pm. says it, this has very little to do with cryptography. Skeptically yours, David Macfarlane.

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RE: FV Demonstrates Fatal Flaw in Software Encryption of Credi tCards
by David Van Wie 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

This announcement describes a rather sophisticated technology that delivers nthe same information that any retail clerk can capture today. Using stolen credit card numbers is a risky business, and the ability of the credit card companies in detecting fraud and locating criminals is quite real. Of course, since Federal law requires the credit card companies, not the user, to pay the costs of fraud, First Virtual's entire premise is a red herring. If the credit card companies are willing to take the risk, they will (and are). Scare tactics are nothing new in the PR business, but I would recommend that the principals at FV learn about "cutouts" for this type of gimmickry if they wish to preserve their reputations.... dvw

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Re: FV Demonstrates Fatal Flaw in Software Encryption of Credit
by Rich Salz 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>There are many ways to spread it besides a virus. Zillions of 'em. And There are zillions (what, more than one thousand?) ways to get someone to run a random piece of software that will capture their keystrokes? I don't believe you. Name six. /r$

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Re: Internet Via Electric Lines?
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

> Ian Sparkes <ian.sparkes(a)t-online.de> > Peter wrote: > >[...] Putting a few optical > >fibers into a power line is cheap, easy, and widely done. > > But much cheaper and easier is using the signalling gulleys that run > along the side of the railways - no High Tension precautions, no > scaling pylons. This, incidently is the reason that a number of > telecomms consortia (in europe, at least) include a railway element - > they provide the long-haul backbone. It looks like we're seeing different parts of the problem. You're worried about the long-haul backbone. I'm trying to see ways to get a 10Gbps fibre into my living room. The backbone cost is a tiny fraction of the cost of getting fiber into every house in the country. > [...] > >Also, employees have to be trained to splice optical fibers and > >install routing equipment, and millions of miles of power lines and > >hundreds of millions of junctions need to be replaced or reworked. > > And that's the 'cheap & easy' mentioned above? Building a few optical fibers into a cable as it is being manufactured is cheap and easy, as is using fiber-equipped cable if you are installing new lines, or replacing old ones for other reasons (installation costs are usually far higher than the cost of the line itself). It's hooking up all the fibers into a meaningful network that gets expensive, which was my point. Peter Trei

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Immoral Cryptographers vs. Kindlier, Gentler Cryptographers
by bureau42 Anonymous Remailer 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

* In April, Premier Lien Chan of Taiwan ordered a crackdown on the national craze of public betel-nut chewing, which he said was responsible for mouth cancer, slimy sidewalks when they are spit out, and immorality, in that they are mostly sold by young, underdressed women at sidewalk stands. The betel nut is reportedly a mild stimulant and is slightly more expensive than a cigarette. * The Washington Post reported in May that some tribes in Yemen routinely kidnap tourists and hold them for days, though treating them well, regaling them with propaganda, and ultimately offering them to the government in exchange for political concessions, such as new road construction. Said the speaker of the Yemen parliament, "Kidnapping is part of tourism. [The] tourist will end up learning about the customs of the tribes, as well as their good hospitality." ------ To read these News of the Weird newspaper columns from the past six months, go to http://www.nine.org/notw/notw.html (That site contains no graphics, no photos, no video clips, no audio. Just text. Deal with it.)

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The 5th Horseman: Cryptoanarchist doctors.
by Peter Trei 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

I don't often get Forbes, but the Oct 6 issue caught my eye. Leafing through it, I found something fun in the letters column. It's in response to a 'fact & comment' column in the Sept 22 issue, the core of which is: ---------------- Here's how this basic attack on our personal freedom will work: A doctor who provides medical services to a Medicare-eligible patient without billing Medicare must sign an affidavit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that he or she will not treat a single Medicare patient for the next two years. Any doctor found treating both Medicare patients and Medicare-eligible private patients will be subject to fines and perhaps prison. As Moffit points out, Section 4507 is "deliberately designed to make private contracting and medicine all but impossible except for physicians who reside in very wealthy communities." Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) correctly observes that this prohibition is the equivalent of Social Security's barring retirees from dealing with stockbrokers: "Surely, a law that made it illegal to supplement with private funds the amount received from Social Security would be met with disbelief and derision." Yet that is the equivalent of what this Medicare regulation does. ------------------ The letter reads: SIR: I have been treating Medicare patients for cash without filing Medicare claims for years. I do not intend to stop. If the government receives no forms, how will it know that a beneficiary received care from me? And the feds can't seize my records. They are all computerized and encrypted. Anthony A. Cassens, M.D Los Angeles, Calif. --------------------- Peter Trei trei(a)process.com

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