Re: Usenet Fuckology-101

On May 26, 12:46 pm, "Jonathan" <w...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"BradGuth" <bradg...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:1180190283.105168.245900@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





When I get my multi terabyte PC or MAC, I too would be interested in
having the likes of Xnews at my disposal. However, that's still not
related to what the public is getting to see.

Usenet as such should be for the greater public good, and not for the
greater evil, as it currently is.

The local ISP and of whatever's GOOGLE served are each capable of
knowing where each and every byte is going, and of where each byte
originated. Their computers know of this because, without such
knowledge is where all that's internet or usenet would soon enough
fail to function. Ignoring and thereby allowing whatever is known as
being bad for us as end-user clients, is exactly what the likes of
Hitler or worse cults would do, and it's also why we'd long ago
started taking advantage of, poking fun at and of why we're still at
war with those mostly innocent Muslims, along with active plans for an
all out WWIII of global energy domination if necessary against
primarily other Muslims.

OK, well if you're paranoid about govt snooping, here's a
faq designed to thoroughly frustrate any and all govt
agencies from bothering you online. It is possible
to send messages to usenet with complete
anonymity even from the most capable agencies.
Keep the text, as links to this faq
have a way of disappearing.

Having the ability to post anonymously is a basic
human right, and the path to maintaining a free
and open internet that will serve the rights of
the people, instead of restricting them.

This version of the faq is a bit dated and some
of the links may not work anymore. But this
is the security faq from the ng that caused
the NSA to write the carnivore program, which
can word search any e-mail. The security
faq was that good. Once the govt agencies
realized they couldn't silence any dedicated
speaker, they decided on another path.
To ban all adult speech on the internet
with the Communications Decency Act.
That law passed but led to a Supreme Court
challange the gave the internet First Amendment
protection in Reno v ACLU.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Security and Encryption FAQ Revision 15

by

"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks."

Article 12 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Disclaimer and justification for this FAQ.

Many countries operate a legal system designed to suppress individual
freedom. Such countries often do not obey basic human rights. The law
in these countries may be based on guilty until proven innocent. My
intention in offering this FAQ, is to legally challenge these threats to
our freedom. It is not my intention to promote any illegal act, but to offer
people the option of freedom of choice. How they use that freedom
is entirely down to the individual.

Revisions in this version of the FAQ include BestCrypt version 6. BestCrypt
has been included because the latest version 6 has a particularly useful
undocumented feature that offers a form of plausible deniability that is all
but undefeatable, so far as I know. More about this later in the FAQ.

The FAQ has 2 main Sections.

Part 1 concentrates on passive security. It is intended to be useful to
both posters and lurkers.

Part 2 is to maximize your privacy whilst online, particularly for Email
and Usenet posting.

I have assumed three security levels:

Level 1. For those who wish to protect their files from unauthorized
access. These users are not too concerned at being found with encrypted
data on their computer.

Level 2. This is for those who not only wish to hide their private data,
but to hide the fact that they have such data. This might be an essential
requirement for anyone who lives in an inquisitorial police state where
human rights are dubious, or where there is no equivalent to the United
States 5th Amendment.

Level 3. This is for those who not only need all that is offered by level
2, but additionally wish to protect their computer from unauthorized
access. Protecting themselves from hackers whilst online and snoopers who
may try and compromize either their software or add substitute software
that could reveal their secret passphrases.

Part 1 explains the 3 security levels and offers help in achieving
them.

1. How does encryption work?

In its simplest sense, the plaintext is combined with a mathematical
algorithm (a set of rules for processing data) such that the original text
cannot be deduced from the output file, hence the data is now in encrypted
form. To enable the process to be secure, a key (called the passphrase) is
combined with this algorithm. Obviously the process must be reversible, but
only with the aid of the correct key. Without the key, the process should
be extremely difficult. The mathematics of the encryption should be openly
available for peer review. At first sight this may appear to compromize the
encryption, but this is far from the case. Peer review ensures that there
are no "back doors" or crypto weaknesses within the program. Although the
algorithm is understood, it is the combination of its use with the
passphrase that ensures secrecy. Thus the passphrase is critical to the
security of the data.

2. I want my Hard Drive and my Email to be secure, how can I achieve this?

You need Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) for your Email and either Scramdisk or
BestCrypt for your private files on your computer.

PGP is here:http://members.tripod.com/cyberkt/

Scramdisk is here:http://www.scramdisk.clara.net/

BestCrypt is here:http://www.jetico.com/

Both PGP and Scramdisk version 3.01R3c are free. The newer version of
Scramdisk, version 3.02A is not free. BestCrypt is commercial ware.
The source code has been published for PGP and for Scramdisk version
3.01R3c. The source code for version 3.02A has not yet been published. The
souure code for the encryption side of BestCrypt has been published, but
not the proprietary Windows interface. Scramdisk version3.02A, BestCrypt
and PGP support Win95/98/2000 and NT.

3. What is the difference between these Programs?

PGP uses a system of encryption called public key cryptography. Two
different keys are used. One key is secret and the other is made public.
Anybody sending you mail simply encrypts their message to you with your
public key. They can get this key either directly from you or from a public
key server. It is analogous to ssomeone sending you a box and a self
locking padlock for you to send them secret papers. Only they have the
key to open the box.

The public key is obviously not secret - in fact it should be spread far
and wide so that anybody can find it if they wish to send you encrypted
Email. The easiest way to ensure this, is by submitting it to a public
key server.

The only way to decrypt this incoming message is with your secret key. It
is impossible to decrypt using the same key as was used to encrypt the
message, your public key. Thus it is called asymmetrical encryption. It
is a one way system of encryption, requiring the corresponding (secret)
key to decrypt. PGP is simplicity itself to install and use. I recommend
you use one of the Cyber-Knights versions.

For your normal hard drive encryption, you will need a symmetrical type of
encryption program. The same key is used for both encryption and
decryption. Scramdisk and BestCrypt are especially good because they are
"On-The-Fly" (OTF) programs. This means that the program will only decrypt
on an as needed basis into RAM memory. More about this later in the FAQ.

One question often asked by newbies is whether the passphrase is stored
somewhere within the encrypted file. No. The passphrase is passed
through a hash, such as SHA1. This is a one-way encryption. This output
hash is what is stored within the encrypted container. The program will
look for this hash and compare it with the hash it produces from the
passphrase that you type in to mount the container. If they are identical,
the container will be decipherable and will be mounted.

4. I have Windows 95/98, am I safe?

Windows is definitely not a security orientated program. One simple
method of improving your computer security is to disable the Windows
swapfile. To ensure reliable operation and dependant on what programs you
run, you may need several hundred megabytes of RAM. If you are serious
about your privacy, I would recommend investing in as much RAM as you can
afford and turn off the swapfile. I suggest a minimum of 128 Megs and
preferably double or even quadruple that.

5. Apart from the Swapfile, what else can Windows reveal to a snooper?

User.dat can reveal all sorts of interesting things about your computer
habits. Take a peek by opening in Notepad or Wordpad. Press CTRL-F (i.e.
the Control key and the F key together). Type in the box, X:\ (or whatever
drive letter you use to store any critical data). Press "Find" and
continue throughout the file. Alternatively, you could input .jpg, or .avi,
etc - you get the idea. You cannot edit this file in Notepad or Wordpad.
The only way to edit user.dat is by using regedit.exe. My experience
suggests you will not be able to easily remove embarrassing entries.

If you find information that you would rather not be there, you will either
need to restore from an earlier backup of these files, or simply bite on
the bullet and re-format your hard drive. This is extreme, but may be the
only alternative. At least you then start with a clean slate.

Remember the format command: Format c: /s (it is vitally important that
you include the /s to install the system files). Obviously back up your
data, Email address book, etc., etc., before proceeding.

Dependant on how paranoid you are, after formatting you may choose to first
install "Zapempty" or another Dos based

read more »- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -...

Thanks once again, for what I pretty much already knew about.

I'm actually hoping that whatever MIB or government spooks keep doing
their usual topic/author tactic of stalking, bashings and banishments,
as well as their efforts of contributing their silly spermware/
fuckware that's clearly intended for terminating my poor old PC, as
that only proves I'm worth the effort.

Keeping my message(s) up for the public to review without custom
encryption, seems the only right thing to be doing. Unlike yourself
and most others in Usenet, I'm not trying to hide. Unfortunately, my
home is within friendly fire range of various local DoD training, so
I'm hoping that such mainstream damage-control will not go quite that
far.
-
Brad Guth

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