Page 3 of 3 FirstFirst 123
Results 21 to 30 of 30

Thread: FBI Virus Cracks Encryption

  1. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    1,027
    Darkes,

    I know... (I've read about PGP at least 5 years ago and used it ever since and understand very well how it works..)

    My point in my post was to hear the story of those who claimed it "wasn't all that good"...

    Of course it can be circumvented with keylogging, anything can... (Not pointing this against you Darkes) An analogy would be watching over someone's shoulder dialing in a safe's combination... Sure you can then get in the safe, but the safe worked as advertised...

    Ammo

  2. #22
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    485

    PGP algorithm

    If anyone is interested just to clarify my posts about how PGP works.
    To encrypt a message you use your private key, together with the recipients public key. When the recipient receives the message they, in turn, use their own private key together with your public key.
    Sounds strange but you do not need to know the private key of the person who sent you the message in the first place (you'll have to work through the maths to see why that is so!).
    From a mathematical point of view the only weakness is if you can somehow deduce a users private key from the public key that has been made available. In theory this is possible (one lucky guess would do it), but in practice it is very difficult.
    So unless you have some criminal/terrorist intent in sending emails, PGP is pretty good (it will protect you from any hacker/ commercial organisation attempting to eavesdrop on your message). And any government would need to invest considerable effort to try and break the message, which they would be unlikely to do without good reason.

  3. #23
    The name of this virus... Is Sub7
    ------------EViLSEED
    Hackers are impervious. Resistant is futile.


  4. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2001
    Posts
    872

    Question About this Magic Lantern

    This "Magic Lantern" must be pretty magical. I mean, considering what -=solarismka=- said:

    I was just thinking, M$ being what it is I figure that the FBI would brobably be able to crack any of the M$ Boxes and deploy the virous. But could they do it on another operating system like linux, BSD or even Apple..............

    The FBI would have to implement all OS's into this one program. I mean malacious hackers/crackers do not only use M$. Unix, Linux, Apple...MS-DOS...all are reasonable OS's for carrying out a task of mass destruction. And besides that fact, how will they single out malcious online users, ...or will they just do a mass spreading of this 'virus' ...so this keylogger will infect every home/office computer in America..or even the world, for we all know here that the US shouldn't take all the credit. . And what about cracked OS's...I have alot of OS's...but I can't look you straight in the eye and tell you that my Windows2k Pro was purchased. *cough*cough*. Might not make a difference for XP since M$ can upload to your PC without you having any prior knowledge of it.
    And with this infamous keylogger, how will they regulate DoS attacks. I truely don't realize (yet at least) the purpose of this program. For you could be sending a brutal attack to the FBI itself without typing any keys or even knowing that you are.
    Yet in my case, PGP is "pretty good". If it wasn't...nobody would be using it. The computing world is very similar to reality. For instance, if you have to protect your "castle" from attack, you would use a solid structure like stone to build your fortification. You would know from previous structures that a wooden wall isn't the best defece when the enemy has burning arrows. So the idea was trashed. Same with PGP, if it wasn't hard to decypher it would be needless, totally useless to advancement. But it is good. From what Darkes said, you can get a pretty clear picture of what your dealing with when your using PGP.
    Obviously there are ways of decyphering the "passcode". But nothings perfect, yet PGP is pretty damn near.
    ...This Space For Rent.

    -[WebCarnage]

  5. #25
    Old-Fogey:Addicts founder Terr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    2,007

    Re: About this Magic Lantern

    Originally posted by [WebCarnage]
    The FBI would have to implement all OS's into this one program. I mean malacious hackers/crackers do not only use M$. Unix, Linux, Apple...MS-DOS...all are reasonable OS's for carrying out a task of mass destruction. And besides that fact, how will they single out malcious online users, ...or will they just do a mass spreading of this 'virus'
    From what I had understood, the FBI *intends* to use this as a strictly targeted infection. They will get their wiretap permission from a judge (or not, as the case may be, given the new anti-freedom pro-liberty laws (yes, there is a difference)), and then they will target a specific machine. Perhaps 'convincing' relatives of the subject into trying to infect him/her. (The usual: "We just want to find out. It could prove him/her innocent.")

    So no, I doubt this will be a full effort to spread it far and wide. They will probably have different version sfor different systems, and will take the subject's OS into account.
    [HvC]Terr: L33T Technical Proficiency

  6. #26
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    11

    we're all suprised that any govern"mental" agency would want to moniter activity on the net. Who determines who to watch? Who determines who watches? do we form a secret agency to watch the secret agency? Because i ask for a search on "sensitive" material does that make me a "cyber-terrorist" suspect? or is it the quest for knowledge? Any one who thinks for a minute that we are "free" here in cyber space should look into paid E-mails for profit. and buy a few bridge's. If you conduct yourself in a manner that is less than noble, you should expect reprecusions, if you don't you should be issed:

    Happy trails

  7. #27
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    18

    Post

    Yeah... that's what happens when 10% of the people who could vote do vote.
    . . . the majestic equality of the law, which forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. - Anatole France

  8. #28

    Talking

    Originally posted by dumbdawg

    we're all suprised that any govern"mental" agency would want to moniter activity on the net. Who determines who to watch? Who determines who watches? do we form a secret agency to watch the secret agency? Because i ask for a search on "sensitive" material does that make me a "cyber-terrorist" suspect? or is it the quest for knowledge? Any one who thinks for a minute that we are "free" here in cyber space should look into paid E-mails for profit. and buy a few bridge's. If you conduct yourself in a manner that is less than noble, you should expect reprecusions, if you don't you should be issed:

    Happy trails
    I know I'd be on the "pissed" end of the scale

    Good question though, who does call someone a terrorist?...........

    I also have to agree on a previous post that there is probably versions of the virous for all OS's....................

    The question is can someone like ourselves be able to catch them on our systems.... Nuke there virous and be on our marry way???
    -=SolarisMKA=-

  9. #29
    It's a sad day in America (land of the free?). The sad part of all this is the american people seem to be willing to relinquish more and more of their personal liberties in the name of 'protection'. The Constitution is full of checks and limitations on the federal governments power. These were put there for a reason! If the people keep asking for the gov. to become more involved in our personal lives we are heading down a very treacherous road indeed!
    We Know Who You Are.....

  10. #30
    Originally posted by hillbilly75
    It's a sad day in America (land of the free?). The sad part of all this is the american people seem to be willing to relinquish more and more of their personal liberties in the name of 'protection'. The Constitution is full of checks and limitations on the federal governments power. These were put there for a reason! If the people keep asking for the gov. to become more involved in our personal lives we are heading down a very treacherous road indeed!
    I agree!!!!!
    -=SolarisMKA=-

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •