Remailer Keys, etc.

"ub075@freenet.victoria.bc.ca" wrote:

>First off, anyone notice how quiet it is in here without LD?
>There used to be 30-40 messages a day, now I only see about 15
>(Or so.. no KF)

Nice, isn't it. And the S/N ratio has been much higher.
 
>Second, what size should a remailer key be? Is there really any
>need for military grade encryption on a remailer that might have
>3 or 4 nested messages, each encrypted?

Depends on how fast the system running the remailer is. Key length
has little effect on encryption time, but a major effect on decryption
time. So if the machine is fast, use a 1024 bit key. If the machine
is slow or heavily loaded, and there is nothing going through it
that might interest a spook, use a 512 bit key.

-- Mike (encrypt your hard drive, ask me how)

# time. So if the machine is fast, use a 1024 bit key. If the machine
# is slow or heavily loaded, and there is nothing going through it
# that might interest a spook, use a 512 bit key.

In his book Bruce Schneier points out that you want to use your crypto
algothrims for not only the next 20 years, but also you want
your keys to be secure for decades after you quit using them.

For batch systems like Remailers, I don't see any reason
not to use long keys.       strick