Here's an easier one: a 3 part code separated by
tildes. To properly decrypt, you must figure out
what each section means and answer the question
posed-
Code:
978
047
145
380
2
~~~~
01100001 01101101
01111010 01101110
00101110 01100011
01101111 01101101
00100000 01110010
01100101 01110110
00101110 00100000
00100011 00110010
~~~~~
%77%68%61%74%20%6b%69%6e%64%20%6f%
66%20%73%65%63%75%72%69%74%79%20%
74%6f%79%73%3f
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Decryption Challange part 1
Monday, January 29, 2007
Underground Economies
I just read an interesting article[pdf] from a recent issue of ;login:
It begins with an important figure: -$336(mil) was lost to online fraud
in the US last year. In a recent case, a Michigan treasurer fell
victim to a 419 scam and lost county funds!
Keep in mind that the above figure is likely an underestimate.
Identity theft (and similar online crime) is especially strong in
countries where computer skills are high and good job opportunities
low. And what is being done about this problem by credit card
companies, isps, the government, etc. ? "Not much," according
to the two CYMRU Team authors. If predictions are correct, and
I believe they are, these underground economies should experience
a boom in 2007.
This reminds me of a telemarketing call I recently got. It was from
my bank. A sales rep droned on and refused to let me say anything.
It was obvious that he was just reading a script. First, he told me
about the growing threat of identity theft. Then, he said that for a
low monthly fee, my bank would take steps to ensure that my
information (including social security number) would be safe.
So I have to pay extra money have my info guarded? Shouldn't
every possible safeguard be standard for a company I entrust
with my personal information (and money!) Where is the funding,
or even a plan to troubleshoot this situation? [It's likely that my
banks protection does nothing more than take my money. Oh,
and i hung up on the sales rep]
~~~~~
Another example related to this "underground economy"-
I've recently quoted HolyFather, writer of the HackerDefender
rootkit. In an interview, he talked about how hew has done
freelance programming for people who needed various kinds
of malware.
"IDG News: Did you code viruses or Trojans previously? Do
you do other kinds of software development?
It begins with an important figure: -$336(mil) was lost to online fraud
in the US last year. In a recent case, a Michigan treasurer fell
victim to a 419 scam and lost county funds!
Keep in mind that the above figure is likely an underestimate.
Identity theft (and similar online crime) is especially strong in
countries where computer skills are high and good job opportunities
low. And what is being done about this problem by credit card
companies, isps, the government, etc. ? "Not much," according
to the two CYMRU Team authors. If predictions are correct, and
I believe they are, these underground economies should experience
a boom in 2007.
This reminds me of a telemarketing call I recently got. It was from
my bank. A sales rep droned on and refused to let me say anything.
It was obvious that he was just reading a script. First, he told me
about the growing threat of identity theft. Then, he said that for a
low monthly fee, my bank would take steps to ensure that my
information (including social security number) would be safe.
So I have to pay extra money have my info guarded? Shouldn't
every possible safeguard be standard for a company I entrust
with my personal information (and money!) Where is the funding,
or even a plan to troubleshoot this situation? [It's likely that my
banks protection does nothing more than take my money. Oh,
and i hung up on the sales rep]
~~~~~
Another example related to this "underground economy"-
I've recently quoted HolyFather, writer of the HackerDefender
rootkit. In an interview, he talked about how hew has done
freelance programming for people who needed various kinds
of malware.
"IDG News: Did you code viruses or Trojans previously? Do
you do other kinds of software development?
HF: I code (mostly) security stuff. I can code Trojans, viruses,
whatever. But I have never coded a virus or Trojan for me. It
was always commercial stuff.
IDG News: Could you explain that more. Commercial for who
or what?
HF: I'm the coder. This means (people) hire me to code something.
I do accept or I do refuse (their) job offers; security stuff (including
trojans/virus/spyware) is what I can code and usually do not refuse
to make. For who? Who needs and pays."
Microunits & Macroresults
For years, I used the Windows Defragementer, thinking that
other defrag software had minimal benefits over it. Upon
using a program called UltimateDefrag, I must say that I was
very wrong.
Here's a brief outline of how it works. If you're still confused,
check out the site, which has an excellent explanation.
~
You hard disk is basically a circle filled with little clusters that
store data. There is an arm that spins around the disk to retrieve
the data. The data in the outer portion of the disk is retrieved
at a significantly faster speed than data on the inner portion.
This program allows you to specify which programs/files
you'd like to put in that outer portion of your hard drive. This
equals amazing speed increases (you just have to know where
all the files for a particular program are located)
~
You can download a fully functional 7-day trial if you'd like.
Use the method described: label certain program folders as
important so they will be written to the outer section of the
hard disk.
No more Firefox startup delays!
other defrag software had minimal benefits over it. Upon
using a program called UltimateDefrag, I must say that I was
very wrong.
Here's a brief outline of how it works. If you're still confused,
check out the site, which has an excellent explanation.
~
You hard disk is basically a circle filled with little clusters that
store data. There is an arm that spins around the disk to retrieve
the data. The data in the outer portion of the disk is retrieved
at a significantly faster speed than data on the inner portion.
This program allows you to specify which programs/files
you'd like to put in that outer portion of your hard drive. This
equals amazing speed increases (you just have to know where
all the files for a particular program are located)
~
You can download a fully functional 7-day trial if you'd like.
Use the method described: label certain program folders as
important so they will be written to the outer section of the
hard disk.
No more Firefox startup delays!
P2P Bonanza
After trying out countless crap software on several fresh
installs of Windows XP, here are my favorite p2p clients.
Bittorrent:
I'll omit the obvious examples [namely: azureus, utorrent,
bitcomet, bittornado, etc.] and link to a few excellent, lesser
known clients.
-BitSpirit
-Ktorrent
Direct Connect Network:
This network allows you to connect to 'hubs' that cater to
your interests. Many of the quality hubs have requirements
to join, like sharing a certain amount of files. These clients
allow for speed boosts and downloading from multiple sources.
Personally, I prefer Strong DC++ because you can tinker with
its settings to increase download speed.
- Strong DC++
- DC++
eDonkey Network:
Big file selection, and you can reach pretty good speeds on it.
-eMule
-eMule Plus
Encrypted Friend-to-Friend Network:
It's likely that we'll see many more losses for 'free' file sharing
in the future. I believe that encrypted-transfer, friend-to-friend
(f2f) networks will become more and more common because of
this. See the f2f wikipedia entry for more info.
-WASTE (also allows for encrypted instant messaging)
Fasttrack Network:
If you still use Kazaa, a removal tool exists for it. Replace it with
an adware free version which includes faster download speeds
and lots of handy tools.
-Kazaa Lite Resurrection
Gnutella Network:
I'm not a big fan of the Gnutella network, but if you're still
using Limewire or Bearshare, it's time you learned. Get
yourself some quality, malware free Gnutella clients. Just
make sure to uninstall the old ones and do a malware scan.
- Shareaza
- Phex
SLSK Network:
Soulseek - Ok, it's the only client for this network. But it
has an amazing selection of music (even very obscure artists)
Make sure to get version 156c, not 158.
- http://www.slsknet.org/
installs of Windows XP, here are my favorite p2p clients.
Bittorrent:
I'll omit the obvious examples [namely: azureus, utorrent,
bitcomet, bittornado, etc.] and link to a few excellent, lesser
known clients.
-BitSpirit
-Ktorrent
Direct Connect Network:
This network allows you to connect to 'hubs' that cater to
your interests. Many of the quality hubs have requirements
to join, like sharing a certain amount of files. These clients
allow for speed boosts and downloading from multiple sources.
Personally, I prefer Strong DC++ because you can tinker with
its settings to increase download speed.
- Strong DC++
- DC++
eDonkey Network:
Big file selection, and you can reach pretty good speeds on it.
-eMule
-eMule Plus
Encrypted Friend-to-Friend Network:
It's likely that we'll see many more losses for 'free' file sharing
in the future. I believe that encrypted-transfer, friend-to-friend
(f2f) networks will become more and more common because of
this. See the f2f wikipedia entry for more info.
-WASTE (also allows for encrypted instant messaging)
Fasttrack Network:
If you still use Kazaa, a removal tool exists for it. Replace it with
an adware free version which includes faster download speeds
and lots of handy tools.
-Kazaa Lite Resurrection
Gnutella Network:
I'm not a big fan of the Gnutella network, but if you're still
using Limewire or Bearshare, it's time you learned. Get
yourself some quality, malware free Gnutella clients. Just
make sure to uninstall the old ones and do a malware scan.
- Shareaza
- Phex
SLSK Network:
Soulseek - Ok, it's the only client for this network. But it
has an amazing selection of music (even very obscure artists)
Make sure to get version 156c, not 158.
- http://www.slsknet.org/
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The College Life Is The Life For Me
For those at university: a compliment to my previous post.
"Comprehensive statistics on computer break-ins at
colleges do not exist. But in the first six months of this
year alone, there were at least 29 security failures at
colleges nationwide, jeopardizing the records of 845,000
people. Both private and public institutions have been hit."
At UCLA -
"Personal information on 800,000 students, alumni
and others is exposed. Attacks lasted a year, the school
says."
[possibly including social security numbers]
I wonder what sort of encryption they had for this
sensitive data. The article provides another example
of a breech, though it was different in cause.
"...a hacker atSan Diego State used an outdated computer
network in the drama department to find a way into the
financial aid system. The Social Security numbers of more
than 200,000 people were exposed."
"Comprehensive statistics on computer break-ins at
colleges do not exist. But in the first six months of this
year alone, there were at least 29 security failures at
colleges nationwide, jeopardizing the records of 845,000
people. Both private and public institutions have been hit."
At UCLA -
"Personal information on 800,000 students, alumni
and others is exposed. Attacks lasted a year, the school
says."
[possibly including social security numbers]
I wonder what sort of encryption they had for this
sensitive data. The article provides another example
of a breech, though it was different in cause.
"...a hacker atSan Diego State used an outdated computer
network in the drama department to find a way into the
financial aid system. The Social Security numbers of more
than 200,000 people were exposed."
Everybody likes words with 'Crypt-' in them
Cryptobiont, cryptozoology, etc.
Recently, a friend and I had a debate: He insisted that if the
government had the need, it could decrypt any data - that
nothing was fully secure. While I had to concede to the second
part, I didn't entirely agree with the first.
If I had some data, and used the 63kb application Bcrypt to
encrypt it (using a very strong 56 character password) - it's
doubtful that the file could be decrypted. Maybe partially,
but secure passwords can go a long way if you have good
encryption algorithms. Bcrypt provides 448-bit encryption!
"There are two kinds of cryptography in this world:
cryptography that will stop your kid sister from reading
your files, and cryptography that will stop major
governments from reading your files. This book is
about the latter."
-- Preface to Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier
On a (very) slightly related note, I happened across an
interesting article that talks about how US government
websites are constantly hacked. For example, 19 sites
were hacked in the last 27 days.
Recently, a friend and I had a debate: He insisted that if the
government had the need, it could decrypt any data - that
nothing was fully secure. While I had to concede to the second
part, I didn't entirely agree with the first.
If I had some data, and used the 63kb application Bcrypt to
encrypt it (using a very strong 56 character password) - it's
doubtful that the file could be decrypted. Maybe partially,
but secure passwords can go a long way if you have good
encryption algorithms. Bcrypt provides 448-bit encryption!
"There are two kinds of cryptography in this world:
cryptography that will stop your kid sister from reading
your files, and cryptography that will stop major
governments from reading your files. This book is
about the latter."
-- Preface to Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier
On a (very) slightly related note, I happened across an
interesting article that talks about how US government
websites are constantly hacked. For example, 19 sites
were hacked in the last 27 days.
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