From: usura@vox.hacktic.nl (uSuRa)
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 94 12:14:10 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Remailer-list pinging frequency
Message-ID: <DeukRc2w165w@vox.hacktic.nl>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


raph@kiwi.CS.Berkeley.EDU (Raph Levien) writes:

: 1. Encrypt the ping, so it looks like so much PGP traffic.

A good idea, if a c'punk remailer cannot decrypt a message it should be
considerd "down".
 
: 2. Pad it with a random amount of junk (but not _too_ much :-), so
: traffic analysis based on size will fail.

That would be the start of RemailerNet. :)
 
: 3. Chain it through other remailers. A good approach might be to
: choose two random remailers out of the "top five," and sandwich rebma
: between them. The drawback is that it penalizes rebma for their
: latency and failure rate, but this might be acceptable.

One question about your "suggested path", it looks like you thake the 
tree fastes remailers [if using kiwi.cs.berkeley.edu]. 
If the two remailers from Hal Finney are consecutive [ie. 1 and 2 fastes] 
a suggestion to mail from alumi to portal would IMHO be wrong, 
because for security reasons both remailers should be regarded the same, 
since they are operated by the same person. [same goes ofcourse for the 
usura@hacktic.nl and the vox.hacktic.nl remailers wich are operated by me]



--
Exit! Stage Left.
Alex de Joode                                 <usura@vox.hacktic.nl>