Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!unido!tub!tmpmbx!pengo
From: pengo@tmpmbx.UUCP (Hans H. Huebner)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Crypt() in Elm - This may be a problem!
Keywords: crypt elm international
Message-ID: <971@tmpmbx.UUCP>
Date: 1 Jul 88 15:32:48 GMT
References: <470@altnet.ALTOS.COM> <278@clout.Jhereg.MN.ORG> <407@targon.UUCP> <10298@ncc.Nexus.CA> <370@vector.UUCP> <196@iaoobelix.UUCP>
Reply-To: pengo@tmpmbx.UUCP (Hans H. Huebner)
Organization: netmbx GbR, Berlin, West Germany
Lines: 31

In article <196@iaoobelix.UUCP> woerz@iaoobelix.UUCP (Dieter Woerz) writes:
>But nobody mentioned that every UNIX system has a crypt function to
>be used for password encryption. And as far as I have noticed, this
>seem to work the same on all machines. We have ported password files
>from VAXen to Suns and HPs and all users could log in under their
>normal passwords.
>So you seem to be able to use the crypt feature at least with every
>elm in the world, ok not with every mailer in the world. But normally
>I use this feature on our local machines to tell others about a
>changed password, so that noone can accidently read it.
For more speculation: As far as i know, you *may* export binaries from the
USA which use crypt(), but you may *not* export the library functions or
the crypt(1) command. Why this is so is somehow obvious - Unix needs the
standard crypt function for the password encoding, but the [insert your
favourite US secret service here] doesn't want non-amerikans using their
encryption scheme for their private stuff. OK, this is the hard world, and
we can't change it (except by doing a complete and compatible rewrite of
all encryption functions - any volunteers?)
I think encrypted mail can be quite handy, especially if you either know
that the machine you're using is not safe or if you don't trust your sysop.
Calling an external program would be the best approach in my opinion,
especially because any two persons can use their own favoured obscure
encryption utility.

	-Hans

-- 
Hans H. Huebner, netmbx     | PSIMail: PSI%026245300043100::PENGO
Woerther Str. 36            | DOMAIN:  pengo@tmpmbx.UUCP
D-1000 Berlin 20, W.Germany | Bang:    ..!{pyramid,unido}!tmpmbx!pengo
Phone: (+49 30) 332 40 15   | BITNET:  huebner@db0tui6