A distribution solution!

Jim Nalbandian lassie!jim%lassie at netcom.com
Mon May 2 22:30:38 PDT 1994


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

PGP distribution to the masses.

To preface this message first I would like to state that the clue full people
here on the Internet forget that the rest of the world is truely clue less.
Of course they also may consider you as the clueless ones.

It is often stated that PGP is available on numerous Internet FTP sites and
many BBS's. The average person knows as much about FTP sites as they hear
on the evening news about the information superhighway. They may  keep
financial books or maybe write books on their computer but they do not have
substantial online experiance and they may have a need for secure data
encryption or secure way to send data to a publisher, business partner etc.
Disk mailers are still sold rather widely. The average person trying to 
download PGP from their local BBS has a few steps to go thru. These clueless
computer users once again may be unfamiliar with the intricacies of online
BBS use but does not mean that they  should not be allowed to access
a good crypto program. First they must find a bbs number localy to call. Then
they must wait X number of hours before the phone is not busy to connect. Once
online they have to register and do a call back verification and then they
can access the file area where PGP should be only to find it is not on this
board. So they download a list of BBS's in their area and start going thru
the same call, verify, is it there loop. This may be an endless loop in some
areas. Anyway this is a mute point as the clueless average user has never 
heard of RSA or public keys or PGP.

Should criminals have PGP or other crypto software? Should distribution be
regulated to only law abiding citizens? Should guns be registered, or should
gun owners be registered. The average low level drug dealer uses both the
common plastic baggie and the digital pagger. Maybe the government should
regulate the sale of baggies at supermarkets, after all you have to have a
container to put drugs in to sell them ("hold your hand out I'll drop an
oz. of coke in it"). Then again there could be a five day waiting period on
pager and celular phones sales and instalation. This would definatly solve
many problems with those pesky drug dealers. Of course there is always cars
that could be regulated. They are contributory to many crimes and deaths.
How would you make sure the person you are selling your used car to will
never drive while intoxicated or break any speeding laws. You can not.

What's the point here? Well if there is a mandated crypto standard then every
zip on internet of PGP or other crypto software could disapear overnight, 
just deleted by the system admin under penalty of law. There would still be 
copies on local BBS's but as we have discovered the average computer user does 
not access these. How could people change this I wonder?

People talk about handing PGP or other crypto software out but there is a
substantial cost to the return of each disk. 1 disk=one user. In my opinion
the easy way to do it would be this:

1) Find someone with a free use BBS that would like more traffic on his BBS.

2) Upload the files for PGP and other crypto software on their system in
   maybe a special file area.

3) Take out an add in the Sunday paper (maybe get the BBS owner to pay
   half of the cost)that reads as follows;

        "!!!FREE!!! Unbreakable data encryption software. ###-####
              8N1 file area is CRYPTO !!!Absolutely FREE!!!"

They now know where and how to precisely find the stuff and what it does.
Now the average person has access to the software and use of the software
in a rather large scale. If you had a choice to encrypt your data for free
or pay to add some chip that is not secure. If you take the secure factor
out of the equation then all that is left is the fact that one is free and
the other costs good hard earned cash. I don't know about you, but I learned
rather young that "If it is free, get two of em!".

Thanks for your time!  :{)}







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--
          * Spelling errors are intentional and international *
        Jim Nalbandian       netcomsv!lassie!jim%lassie at netcom.com
        Tempe, Arizona, USA                   N7SZS at K7BUC.AZ.US.NA
No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest
reason for the people to retain  there right to keep and bear arms
is as a last  resort to  protect  themselves  against  tyranny  in
government. <-------- Thomas Jefferson                            --






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