Well, doesn't it make some sense given the utility of prime numbers in cryptography, that the NSA, or anyone else interested in breaking codes for that matter, would have simply dedicated a computer or two to the long-term project of determining all of the prime numbers under x bits long? Granted this would take a while, but the NSA has the time, the computers, and the other resources necessary to do this. Having all of these prime numbers would greatly reduce the effort necessary to crack PGP/RSA-type cryptosystems which rely on prime numbers. It would reduce the number of factors a brute-force attack would have to check dramatically. Or am I completely off-base? Mephisto ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi. Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized, and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned. Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.