"agrep" version 2.0.4 available via anonymous FTP from sunsite.unc.edu (including source) has a feature of cryptographic interest: fuzzy searches. For example, agrep -2 cypherpunks newsgroupspooldirectory would find all occurrence of"cypherpunks" or any such pattern with up to two errors of substitution, addition or deletion. cpyherpunks, cyphernks cipherapunks would all be found, fer instance. And the thing is Boyer-Moore sublinear FAST. Also has egrep features looking for up to 30,000 (yes, thirty thousand) patterns simultaneously with Boyer-Moore speed. For the NSA the applications are obvious: look for a bounch of keys words like revolution Timothy May NSA quickly. For us a good initial use might be to screen out "bad" passwords that are to simply a variant of a normal word. For example, if agrep -3 <prospective password/phrase> usr/dict/words or the lyric library, or the star trek location list or whatever, if anything were found then that password FAILS. This is a lot easier to use than other available tools. Like, MacPGP2.2 source, I will mail this on request IF you cannot do anonymous FTP from where you are. Grady Ward