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From: greg@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Gregory Nowak)
Newsgroups: alt.flame,news.admin
Subject: Re: Forgeries
Message-ID: <1701@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 10 Feb 88 08:24:44 GMT
References: <1368@nmtsun.nmt.edu>
Reply-To: greg@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Gregory Nowak)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 38

In article <1368@nmtsun.nmt.edu> caasnsr@nmtsun.nmt.edu (Clifford Adams) writes:
>In article <8802080327.AA02920@jiff> gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU () writes:

>> If anyone feels strongly enough about protection against
>>forgeries, one system which does not involve any fixes by anyone
>>but the user himself is to post a large number which is the
>>product of two large enough (say, ~10^30) primes or pseudoprimes.

>	A very good try.  But this method can have a vicious flaw.

A PERFECT try. It has no vicious flaw.

>What if the forger is the first one to post the number?  He can then
>claim that the real user is the one posting all the forgeries.  And he
>will have proof, if others believe in the method.

Read my lips, you innumerate slob: He uses a DIFFERENT composite
number for EACH posting. There are LOTS of 25-35 digit primes -- I
sincerely doubt that even Gene Ward Smith will run out of pairs of
primes no matter HOW many hours a day he spends posting articles.  One
could even set up a probgram to include a hefty prime AUTOMATICALLY in
each posting. Then if you decide to doubt Gene's posting the assertion
that shit stinks, you SAY SO in a posting on the net, or email Gene --
hwereupon he sends the FACTORS of the number which is uniquely
associated with the article you were worried about. The system works
because it takes TOO LONG to factor 70 digit primes -- not even a
forger could get the job done.

Does EVERYONE understand how this works now?

Kudos to Gene for reminding the net of one of the uses of math.


-- 
...!seismo!princeton!phoenix!greg


                                 Greg Nowak/Phoenix Gang/Princeton NJ 08540