Home » Archimedes archive » Acorn User » AU 1998-13 (Christmas).adf » Features » RC5Crack/HelpNotes

RC5Crack/HelpNotes

This website contains an archive of files for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, Acorn Archimedes, Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 computers, which Dominic Ford has rescued from his private collection of floppy disks and cassettes.

Some of these files were originally commercial releases in the 1980s and 1990s, but they are now widely available online. I assume that copyright over them is no longer being asserted. If you own the copyright and would like files to be removed, please contact me.

Tape/disk: Home » Archimedes archive » Acorn User » AU 1998-13 (Christmas).adf » Features
Filename: RC5Crack/HelpNotes
Read OK:
File size: 0F78 bytes
Load address: 0000
Exec address: 0000
File contents
In article <na.23e4a1486a.a70320parr@argonet.co.uk>, D.Parr
<parr@argonet.co.uk> wrote:
> But what does it do and what is the aim?

OK, RC5 is a public key encryption technique being pushed (amongst others)
by a company called RSA Inc. Their latest offering is a 64-bit key (ie a
pair of 64-bit prime numbers), and they are offering a prize of $10,000
dollars to anyone who can crack decode a test message encrypted with this
technique.

One way to solve such a problem is called the Bovine algorithm, which is
basically an exhaustive search of the key space (~2^63 keys). This, not
surprisingly, takes a long time 8-).[1]

distributed.net are using the Bovine algorithm and achieving the necessary
computational power by providing client applications that sit on your
machine trying out keys in any idle time the machine happens to have.

To set it up is very straightforward - download your client (go to
http://www.distributed.net/rc5 and follow the link to the cient download
page). You need to spend a few minutes configuring it - a "standard"
UK-based home machine work need to be set up something like:

  User:                Your email address
  Firewall:            No special encoding
  Preferred keyserver: euro.v27.distributed.net
  Connection mode:     Offline always
  Blocks to buffer:    10 (the default is quite reasonable)
  Checkppoint files    Ticked (the default name is usually sensible)
  Enable E-Mail log:   I haven't bothered.
  Logging:             Moo for each block completion
  Log to file:         Ticked
  Performance:         The default seems OK
  Autolaunch client:   Ticked
  Run hidden:          Not ticked

All this is covered in a StrongHelp manual, and !Help messages are also
provided.

Having configured the client, you tell it to connect to the distributed.net
keyserver, and it downloads a number of blocks (by default, a block is 2^30
keys) and starts trying them out. At your convenience, you connect back to
the keyserver, and the client uploads any completed blocks and downloads
more. About a day after you upload your first solved block(s), your get an
email welcoming you to distributed.net and gives you a password. Once you
have the password, you can connect to distributed.net, perform an "Email
search" on your email address, and you can join a team (eg the Acorn Users
Group teamis team #4266).

If distributed.net are successful and get the $10,000, it is split as:

  $1,000 to the person who cracked it
  $1,000 to the team the person belongs to
  $6,000 to a charity decided by vote of the participants
  $2,000 to distributed.net (for providing the infrastructure, etc)

Realistically, you don't have much of a chance of winning any money - but
distributed.net provide some quite interesting statistics on their pages,
and the more people who provide solved blocks, the better Acorn machines
look (when I looked this morning, the Acorn Users Group is about 2100th out
of anout 4,000 teams - the aim is get AUG into the top thousand).

distributed.net also maintain stats on individual keysolvers (there are
something around 70,000 people who are part of "the fasted computer on
Earth") and individual architectures (ie x86, ARM, PowerPC etc) so it makes
quite interesting reading at times.

The Acorn client is very well behaved (apart from the cow on the iconbar,
you wouldn't realise its there), and on my RPCSA I get about 110,000
keys/sec if I run it in the desktop, and about double that outside the
desktop (which means outside the desktop a single 2^30 block takes about 1
1/2 hours).

> Does it make toast?

No, but the cow does moo when it completes a block - is that good enough?


[1] I assume it's called the Bovine algorithm 'cos it's slow and stupid.

-- 
Nick Roberts
tigger @ argonet.co.uk     ZFC Tc    http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/tigger/
G3.12:  GS/M d++@ s:+ a+ C++++ U--- P--- L- E? W++(-) N++ o? K- w--- !O M+
        V++ PS+ !PE Y+ PGP t+ 5 X- R+ tv b+++ DI++ D--- G+ e++(
00000000  0a 49 6e 20 61 72 74 69  63 6c 65 20 3c 6e 61 2e  |.In article <na.|
00000010  32 33 65 34 61 31 34 38  36 61 2e 61 37 30 33 32  |23e4a1486a.a7032|
00000020  30 70 61 72 72 40 61 72  67 6f 6e 65 74 2e 63 6f  |0parr@argonet.co|
00000030  2e 75 6b 3e 2c 20 44 2e  50 61 72 72 0a 3c 70 61  |.uk>, D.Parr.<pa|
00000040  72 72 40 61 72 67 6f 6e  65 74 2e 63 6f 2e 75 6b  |rr@argonet.co.uk|
00000050  3e 20 77 72 6f 74 65 3a  0a 3e 20 42 75 74 20 77  |> wrote:.> But w|
00000060  68 61 74 20 64 6f 65 73  20 69 74 20 64 6f 20 61  |hat does it do a|
00000070  6e 64 20 77 68 61 74 20  69 73 20 74 68 65 20 61  |nd what is the a|
00000080  69 6d 3f 0a 0a 4f 4b 2c  20 52 43 35 20 69 73 20  |im?..OK, RC5 is |
00000090  61 20 70 75 62 6c 69 63  20 6b 65 79 20 65 6e 63  |a public key enc|
000000a0  72 79 70 74 69 6f 6e 20  74 65 63 68 6e 69 71 75  |ryption techniqu|
000000b0  65 20 62 65 69 6e 67 20  70 75 73 68 65 64 20 28  |e being pushed (|
000000c0  61 6d 6f 6e 67 73 74 20  6f 74 68 65 72 73 29 0a  |amongst others).|
000000d0  62 79 20 61 20 63 6f 6d  70 61 6e 79 20 63 61 6c  |by a company cal|
000000e0  6c 65 64 20 52 53 41 20  49 6e 63 2e 20 54 68 65  |led RSA Inc. The|
000000f0  69 72 20 6c 61 74 65 73  74 20 6f 66 66 65 72 69  |ir latest offeri|
00000100  6e 67 20 69 73 20 61 20  36 34 2d 62 69 74 20 6b  |ng is a 64-bit k|
00000110  65 79 20 28 69 65 20 61  0a 70 61 69 72 20 6f 66  |ey (ie a.pair of|
00000120  20 36 34 2d 62 69 74 20  70 72 69 6d 65 20 6e 75  | 64-bit prime nu|
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00000190  65 73 73 61 67 65 20 65  6e 63 72 79 70 74 65 64  |essage encrypted|
000001a0  20 77 69 74 68 20 74 68  69 73 0a 74 65 63 68 6e  | with this.techn|
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000001d0  72 6f 62 6c 65 6d 20 69  73 20 63 61 6c 6c 65 64  |roblem is called|
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00000c60  69 74 65 63 74 75 72 65  73 20 28 69 65 20 78 38  |itectures (ie x8|
00000c70  36 2c 20 41 52 4d 2c 20  50 6f 77 65 72 50 43 20  |6, ARM, PowerPC |
00000c80  65 74 63 29 20 73 6f 20  69 74 20 6d 61 6b 65 73  |etc) so it makes|
00000c90  0a 71 75 69 74 65 20 69  6e 74 65 72 65 73 74 69  |.quite interesti|
00000ca0  6e 67 20 72 65 61 64 69  6e 67 20 61 74 20 74 69  |ng reading at ti|
00000cb0  6d 65 73 2e 0a 0a 54 68  65 20 41 63 6f 72 6e 20  |mes...The Acorn |
00000cc0  63 6c 69 65 6e 74 20 69  73 20 76 65 72 79 20 77  |client is very w|
00000cd0  65 6c 6c 20 62 65 68 61  76 65 64 20 28 61 70 61  |ell behaved (apa|
00000ce0  72 74 20 66 72 6f 6d 20  74 68 65 20 63 6f 77 20  |rt from the cow |
00000cf0  6f 6e 20 74 68 65 20 69  63 6f 6e 62 61 72 2c 0a  |on the iconbar,.|
00000d00  79 6f 75 20 77 6f 75 6c  64 6e 27 74 20 72 65 61  |you wouldn't rea|
00000d10  6c 69 73 65 20 69 74 73  20 74 68 65 72 65 29 2c  |lise its there),|
00000d20  20 61 6e 64 20 6f 6e 20  6d 79 20 52 50 43 53 41  | and on my RPCSA|
00000d30  20 49 20 67 65 74 20 61  62 6f 75 74 20 31 31 30  | I get about 110|
00000d40  2c 30 30 30 0a 6b 65 79  73 2f 73 65 63 20 69 66  |,000.keys/sec if|
00000d50  20 49 20 72 75 6e 20 69  74 20 69 6e 20 74 68 65  | I run it in the|
00000d60  20 64 65 73 6b 74 6f 70  2c 20 61 6e 64 20 61 62  | desktop, and ab|
00000d70  6f 75 74 20 64 6f 75 62  6c 65 20 74 68 61 74 20  |out double that |
00000d80  6f 75 74 73 69 64 65 20  74 68 65 0a 64 65 73 6b  |outside the.desk|
00000d90  74 6f 70 20 28 77 68 69  63 68 20 6d 65 61 6e 73  |top (which means|
00000da0  20 6f 75 74 73 69 64 65  20 74 68 65 20 64 65 73  | outside the des|
00000db0  6b 74 6f 70 20 61 20 73  69 6e 67 6c 65 20 32 5e  |ktop a single 2^|
00000dc0  33 30 20 62 6c 6f 63 6b  20 74 61 6b 65 73 20 61  |30 block takes a|
00000dd0  62 6f 75 74 20 31 0a 31  2f 32 20 68 6f 75 72 73  |bout 1.1/2 hours|
00000de0  29 2e 0a 0a 3e 20 44 6f  65 73 20 69 74 20 6d 61  |)...> Does it ma|
00000df0  6b 65 20 74 6f 61 73 74  3f 0a 0a 4e 6f 2c 20 62  |ke toast?..No, b|
00000e00  75 74 20 74 68 65 20 63  6f 77 20 64 6f 65 73 20  |ut the cow does |
00000e10  6d 6f 6f 20 77 68 65 6e  20 69 74 20 63 6f 6d 70  |moo when it comp|
00000e20  6c 65 74 65 73 20 61 20  62 6c 6f 63 6b 20 2d 20  |letes a block - |
00000e30  69 73 20 74 68 61 74 20  67 6f 6f 64 20 65 6e 6f  |is that good eno|
00000e40  75 67 68 3f 0a 0a 0a 5b  31 5d 20 49 20 61 73 73  |ugh?...[1] I ass|
00000e50  75 6d 65 20 69 74 27 73  20 63 61 6c 6c 65 64 20  |ume it's called |
00000e60  74 68 65 20 42 6f 76 69  6e 65 20 61 6c 67 6f 72  |the Bovine algor|
00000e70  69 74 68 6d 20 27 63 6f  73 20 69 74 27 73 20 73  |ithm 'cos it's s|
00000e80  6c 6f 77 20 61 6e 64 20  73 74 75 70 69 64 2e 0a  |low and stupid..|
00000e90  0a 2d 2d 20 0a 4e 69 63  6b 20 52 6f 62 65 72 74  |.-- .Nick Robert|
00000ea0  73 0a 74 69 67 67 65 72  20 40 20 61 72 67 6f 6e  |s.tigger @ argon|
00000eb0  65 74 2e 63 6f 2e 75 6b  20 20 20 20 20 5a 46 43  |et.co.uk     ZFC|
00000ec0  20 54 63 20 20 20 20 68  74 74 70 3a 2f 2f 77 77  | Tc    http://ww|
00000ed0  77 2e 61 72 67 6f 6e 65  74 2e 63 6f 2e 75 6b 2f  |w.argonet.co.uk/|
00000ee0  75 73 65 72 73 2f 74 69  67 67 65 72 2f 0a 47 33  |users/tigger/.G3|
00000ef0  2e 31 32 3a 20 20 47 53  2f 4d 20 64 2b 2b 40 20  |.12:  GS/M d++@ |
00000f00  73 3a 2b 20 61 2b 20 43  2b 2b 2b 2b 20 55 2d 2d  |s:+ a+ C++++ U--|
00000f10  2d 20 50 2d 2d 2d 20 4c  2d 20 45 3f 20 57 2b 2b  |- P--- L- E? W++|
00000f20  28 2d 29 20 4e 2b 2b 20  6f 3f 20 4b 2d 20 77 2d  |(-) N++ o? K- w-|
00000f30  2d 2d 20 21 4f 20 4d 2b  0a 20 20 20 20 20 20 20  |-- !O M+.       |
00000f40  20 56 2b 2b 20 50 53 2b  20 21 50 45 20 59 2b 20  | V++ PS+ !PE Y+ |
00000f50  50 47 50 20 74 2b 20 35  20 58 2d 20 52 2b 20 74  |PGP t+ 5 X- R+ t|
00000f60  76 20 62 2b 2b 2b 20 44  49 2b 2b 20 44 2d 2d 2d  |v b+++ DI++ D---|
00000f70  20 47 2b 20 65 2b 2b 28                           | G+ e++(|
00000f78