On Thu, 29 Mar 2001, brainteaser wrote:
So am I right in saying there isn't, and never really was, a way of making truly anonymous transactions?
I don't know if I'd go that far. I can say that I've spent many years looking for it as an intellecutal exercise and I've yet to find a system that couldn't be cracked with good forensics and a search warrant. Another aspect is whether you want the entire transaction anonymous or just some aspect of it. For example, you could arrange to meet a bum at one time and place. Have the bum execute your plan (ie go into store and then head down street) and then meet you at another time and place. Have the two meeting in a residential neighborhood where you've scoured the neighborhood for obvious external cameras. The point here is to increase the cost of the cops finding the video. If they see a video camera on a house and they say saw the bum turn down that street from the store camera they could subpeona that camera. So you'd want to create a situation where the cost to find the camera was prohibitive. This of course has its own problems like the bum running off w/ your money. There'd still be the geographic similarity you, the bum, the store, and the MO share. You'd probably never want to use that site or bum again. And so on. My personal belief is there is no security. That the best you can hope for is an escalating growth in complexity and cost. Others differ on this point. ____________________________________________________________________ If the law is based on precedence, why is the Constitution not the final precedence since it's the primary authority? The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------