[LAD] [OT] Richard Stallman warns against ChromeOS

[Folderol]

On Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:56:24 -0500
gene heskett <gheskett at wdtv.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, December 15, 2010 05:51:45 pm Jörn Nettingsmeier did opine:
> 
> > On 12/15/2010 11:14 AM, gene heskett wrote:
> > > Ralf I suspect, if he were to use pgp, would be like me, and only
> > > trust pgp-2.6.2a, the last one before they put Zimmerman in jail for
> > > a few years. I have often said, and have been called the uber
> > > paranoid for it, that one of the conditions of his release was that
> > > the next generation of pgp had a back door.
> > 
> > as they say, paranoia doesn't mean they're not after you!
> > 
> > :-D
> > 
> > i think this problem is mitigated somewhat by using open protocols with
> > open crypto implementations that have undergone public scrutiny. unless
> > you want to believe that "the NSA has quantum computers anyway and have
> > solved the entire problem space years ago" :)
> > 
> Not NASA, FBI.  There are reports of 2 or 3 guys witnessing their machinery 
> busting a post 2.6.2a PGP's key in 30 seconds.  No clue if that passes the 
> snope's sniff test or not, could be nothing more than propaganda to 
> discourage its use too.  It is still a problem for some methods though, 
> just look at all the hoorah about R.I.M. a few months ago, and I doubt 
> their encryption is even equal to a 256 bit PGP key.

Hmmm. GPG is mostly compatible with PGP and it has had crypto experts working on
it for years. I would be surprised if they hadn't noticed any back door by now,
and I don't see how PGP could have a major vulnerability without it reflecting
back to GPG.

Just my 2d

-- 
Will J Godfrey
http://www.musically.me.uk
Say you have a poem and I have a tune.
Exchange them and we can both have a poem, a tune, and a song.