From: blane@aa.net (Brian C. Lane)
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 1996 14:50:54 +0800
To: mpd@netcom.com (Mike Duvos)
Subject: Re: $10K offer if you can break the code
In-Reply-To: <199608170104.SAA14968@netcom13.netcom.com>
Message-ID: <32154c32.5692262@mail.aa.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Fri, 16 Aug 1996 18:04:33 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:

>> MMMmmmm.... Money!
>
>Don't cash the check yet.  It's security by obscurity using the
>highest quality "unpublished algorithms" and up to a 48 byte
>key phrase.  
>
>He's only willing to send out the free version by return snail 
>mail - no Net access.  Any crack you submit must also decrypt
>other messages they will feed it, must be completely documented,
>and any prize awards are at their sole descretion. 
>
>He's also selling the high performance "9600 Baud" version for
>$100.  

  Looks like a crock to me. He gives no email address to contact him with,
no business name, and it sounds like an extremely user un-friendly program.
People are definatly better off using PGP.

  I'd bet that his unpublished algorithm is an XOR with the key, and that
it could be broken pretty easily. I'd also be that there is no $10,000
reward.

  People like this guy give cryptography a bad name. They target people who
don't know much and are susceptible to his claims and who would be better
off using PGP or ViaCrypt.

  What can we do to dispute his claims? Has anyone gotten a copy of his
sample message yet?

   Brian

------- <blane@aa.net> -------------------- <http://www.aa.net/~blane> -------
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