Why I Like Multiple Cryptography

Why I Like Multiple Cryptography

Well, it's only been almost 5 years since my last blog post. I've got to stop wasting so much time doing this. ;-)

I've recently been researching the concept of multiple layers of cryptography. There seem to be so many people that disparage this concept and yet it seems to make sense to me. What's interesting to me is the focus on the mathematics of things like cascade encipherment rather than the practicality of it in real life. That's the issue I want to raise an this blog post.

I have my whole hard drive encrypted. However, I also have TrueCrypt containers which I use for sensitive information like my finances. I use a VPN to communicate with the Internet. However, I also use TLS (https://) when talking to my bank. 

It seems to me that the benefit is largely a function of audience and not just the mathematics of the cryptography. If my laptop is open and running then you may have access to files which would otherwise be encrypted, but you will not have access to my financial records unless I have also taken the steps to decrypt those. If you are are my Internet service provider, you'll not be able to see my Internet traffic. However if you are my VPN provider you may be able to see my traffic but not that which is encrypted with TLS. 

This just seems to make good sense to me and I have a hard time finding anything positive about this on the Internet.  I wonder what crypto gurus have to say about it?  Doesn't this make sense for the common person?

iPhone blogging

I installed a new iPhone app just for blogging. So far so good.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

ClickOnce Deployment Issues

I love ClickOnce, but it can be a problem if your application checks for new versions at startup and your connection to the Internet is down. One problem reported was:

The details button gave me lots of information, but the primary part was this:

ERROR SUMMARY Below is a summary of the errors, details of
these errors are listed later in the log. * Activation of C:\DOCUME~1\RBRIGH~1.RAN\STARTM~1\Programs\Startup\WALLPA~1.APP resulted in exception. Following failure messages were detected: + Exception reading manifest from http://intralink.domainnamechanged.com/proxy1.html: the manifest may not be valid or the file could not be opened. + The 'br' start tag on line 4 does not match the end tag of 'center'. Line 7, position 3.

This is very misleading. The root problem was just that my proxy server settings were wrong on my laptop. I don't think these error messages would help you discover that.

Test

Test

Poster Child for the Ignorant and Belligerent

The Register has an interesting article entitled "Oklahoma city threatens to call FBI over 'renegade' Linux maker." It's great. The City Manager for the town of Tuttle, OK , Jerry A. Taylor demonstrates:

1) Technical Ignorance While Claiming Technical Expertise
2) A Belligerent Attitude
3) Pointless Threats
4) Inability to Take Responsibility
5) Inability to Show Appreciation
6) How to Embarass the Whole Town
7) Political Suicide

Its a classic customer support story. Fun for the whole family. You can read all the emails here.

The Robots are Coming!

Woo Hoo! New Lego Mindstorms announced. I've enjoyed toying with the currunt versiona a bit. Now we're getting a very cool upgraded version. I'm picturing combining both! Maybe I'll hook up a wireless video camera and have it patrol the house. Maybe I'll arm it with some kind of gun that shoots dye like they use to catch bank robbers! or maybe a tranquilizer dart! Hmm... how could it get a DNA sample I wonder...

San Francisco Pictures - Then and Now

An amusing little way to spend some time... Scenes of San Francisco from Alfred Hitchcock's film Vertigo shot in 1958. Compare them to the same location in 2003. Take the photo tour.