From: Hal <74076.1041@CompuServe.COM>
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 93 22:13:49 PDT
To: <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Subject: ANON: Chaining to Penet remailer
Message-ID: <930416050708_74076.1041_FHD24-1@CompuServe.COM>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Well, after a fair amount of experimentation I have learned who the
mysterious an10757@anon.penet.fi is.
 
It's me.
 
Or, more specifically, it is my remailer operating at hal@alumni.caltech.edu.
If you send mail from this remailer to anon.penet.fi for posting or remailing
it is identified as comin from an10757, the same address used in the post
by "Nowhere, Man".
 
This address is different from the address I get if I just send to
ping@anon.penet.fi from that account.  I think the reason is that the mail
sent from the remailer is identified as comin from "nobody" instead of "hal"
in the From: field.  This causes Julf's remailing software to assign a
different anonymous ID.
 
I don't see any problems with this (not right away, anyway) and in fact it
seems to me to be a desirable feature.  I think we should document this for
people who want to use the Penet remailer for posting, in a more untraceable
way.
 
Send mail to either:
 
hal@alumni.caltech.edu              (posts as an10757@anon.penet.fi)
hfinney@shell.portal.com            (posts as an19579@anon.penet.fi)
 
Have as the first lines of your message:
 
::
Request-Remailing-To: anon@anon.penet.fi
X-Anon-To: news.admin.policy
 
Follow this with a blank line, then your message.  Put whatever newsgroups you
like (separated by commas) after X-Anon-To.
 
This method of posting does not allow you to receive replies.  I have set
"nicknames" for these two accounts as "Untraceable account" which will appear
in the "From" line on the postings.  Hopefully that will offer a clue that
the normal reply mechanism doesn't work.  Maybe the nickname should say so
more explicitly?
 
I believe this approach would work with most of the other Cypherpunks
remailers.  The one thing for remailer operators to watch out for is
what is put in the From: line when the remailer sends it.  You want it
to be different from your regular account name or else your anonymous
ID will be used for all messages through that remailer.
 
Naturally, this is vulnerable to abuse.  If "Nowhere" or someone else continues
to post obscenities and flames then Julf may have to block off all of our
cypherpunks remailers, which would be unfortunate.  Until there are more
remailers I think anonymous posters need to continue to exercise some self-
restraint.
 
Hal