Re: Anonymity: A Modest Proposal

s1018954@aix2.uottawa.ca wrote:

>On Wed, 18 Oct 1995, t byfield wrote:
>
>> At 9:42 AM 10/18/95, Hal wrote:
>> 
>>         Of course. The problem is that protocols as implemented permit
>> header-forging: it's a practical fact of the net, and one that maybe
>> shouldn't be overlooked on (basically vague) 'moral' grounds, any more than
>
>The courts can't overlook it either. There goes liability. If I posted 
>pirated software from this account, according to what you're saying, I could 
>claim a forgery and show reasonable doubt.

How difficult is it to forge headers?  How difficult is it to trace a
message to the actual sender if the header is forged?  Is there a way to
quantify traceability on a simple scale, for rough purposes?

Lee

Lee Tien
Attorney
tien@well.sf.ca.us
(510) 525-0817 voice
(510) 525-3015 fax

Lee Tien writes:
> How difficult is it to forge headers?

Trivial. If you want to make even the Received: headers look right, it
takes a bit more work, but its possible.

> How difficult is it to trace a message to the actual sender if the
> header is forged?

If they know what they are doing, its very hard.

Perry