Dale Thorn wrote:
It appears to me that PGP encryption et al is really 1940's technology, albeit fancied up by 1990's computers. Why use keys and cyphers when all you should have to do is maximize the randomization of bits in a [...] Algorithm: Select bit-groups of random length from the file until the file is completely processed. Shuffle the bits in each group randomly and save each group back to the file. Repeat if needed using different key-strings for each successive encryption, for increased security.
Very nice. There are just two little issues: a) How do you generate the random bytes? b) How do you transmit them to the other side, without having a secure channel? In 1940, you needed airplanes to solve b), now you can use PGP (or any other combined strong asymmetric & symmetric crypto) to solve b) and partially even a), saving you a lot of fuel ;-) BTW: In my opinion, your 'randomization of bits' corresponds to cyphers, and the way you randomize them corresponds to 'keys'. My 0.2 cents worth. Gec