From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 01:19:03 +0800
To: pnet@proliberty.com
Subject: RTFM
In-Reply-To: <279b5b66b1c8ac3768a7bfc174f33a21@anon.efga.org>
Message-ID: <v03102800b131ba8e4791@[207.167.93.63]>
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At 7:12 AM -0800 3/15/98, Anonymous wrote:

>I wish Schneier indicated _how_ one makes compressible ciphertext. I am
>certainly no expert here. Have much reading to do!

Offhand, there are many ways to "pad out" ciphertext so as to make it more
compressible by standard compression algorithms.

-- duplicate every character several times, right after it first appears.
This clearly lets a compressor find "compression patterns." True, it looks
pretty obvious to a human eyeball, but it shows the theme.

-- insert sonnets from Shakespear. Same as above.

-- generally, lower the entropy by duplication, insertion, lengthening.


>> There have been hundreds of articles and comments here and on other mailing
>> lists about this. Not that your ideas are not welcome, just to let you know
>> why it's likely your ideas won't be met with a rush of excitement. You
>> might try finding these old analyses and seeing what you can add.
>>
>
>A polite "no amatuers allowed in the clubhouse." How does TCM expect the
>newcomers to learn, if no one will share their accumulated knowledge? That
>is the reason I signed up for this list - to _learn_.

Not a "no amateurs allowed." Not at all. Just an obvious comment that one
cannot expect those of us who've been on the list for years to rewrite and
rewrite and rewrite the same essays. Search engines will turn up much
discussion. If newcomers are too lazy to read Schneier, to read the FAQs,
to read some of the many thousands of articles so conveniently accessible
with search engines, I have no sympathy for them.


--Tim May

Just Say No to "Big Brother Inside"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^3,021,377   | black markets, collapse of governments.